‘Bad Sisters’ Recap: ‘Chopped Liver’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Bad Sisters’. To revisit the previous two episodes, click here.
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When we last settled in to discuss the wondrous Apple TV+ series, Bad Sisters, we talked at length about how this series was setting up a grand exploration regarding what drives people to potentially murder another human being. Since there was so much mystery surrounding the death of John Paul. To the point where his own insurance adjusters were getting involved in what might have brought him down. Which in turn led to some fascinating flashbacks regarding how two of the Garvey sisters made an unsuccessful attempt on his life, simply because he was a righteous prick to both of them on a consistent basis.

But is just being a rotten person and downright controlling, enough to really motivate machinations of murder? Because one cannot forget that this is an act that would stay with the killer for ages on end and might eat at their conscience and soul. Well as it turns out, the next episode in this fascinating series… opted to dive deeper into that reasoning since just dealing with a jerk that has gotten under a person’s skin too many times doesn’t seem like proper motivation. Which made ‘Chopped Liver’ quite the fascinating tale, for it revealed unto us that Ursula is another sister that had reason to bring John Paul to his literal knees, but only because the man exhibited a level of cruelty that was shocking to say the least. 

For we came to learn in this tale, that Ursula’s affair was something that John Paul discovered somewhere along the line, and that for some reason… really got under his skin. To the point… where he began to track Ursula’s movements when he had some spare time, which allowed for him to catch her and her lover in the act, and in turn… allowed for him to act and flex his muscles. Since he created a collision when she was trying to leave after an afternoon of passion, so he could confront her and demand that she put an end to the affair or have her dirty laundry aired out to her husband and the world. A move that rightfully stunned Ursula to no end because who the heck does that kind of a thing? Especially when… it is none of their business regardless of moral belief. It's her cross to bear.

But she promised to do as he asked to placate him, not counting on the reality that he would dig further on the matter and take it to a whole new level to exert power. Since he poked around in her phone to find fresh messages from her lover and when he did, changed her lover’s number to his own to get evidence of the affair to send to her husband. A move that embarrassed her to no end thanks to the fact that he asked for a risqué picture while posing as her beau and well… the horror of being violated in that manner by her sister’s husband, and being subjected to that kind of control and cruelty, was enough to motivate her to jump into the fray and help Eva and Bibi put this righteous a-hole down for the count via a plan… that also failed spectacularly, and instead took the life of Grace’s family’s dog instead. 

Which in turn, keeps the mystery alive since clearly… three of the sisters were woefully unsuccessful in their actions, or were they? And it is of course that mystery that keeps us going. But as we wait for it to unfold, we can bask in the wonder… of another fascinating chapter in this tale. One that explored a new angle for the reasons why we murder. Since clearly… cruel behaviors that put everything in jeopardy, can be a license to kill and it will be genuinely fascinating to see if John Paul did more horrible things to motivate the end of his life or if something else is at play here, as season one of this fascinating murder mystery continues along. Until next time.

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