‘Bad Sisters’ Recap: ‘Saving Grace’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season finale of ‘Bad Sisters’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. This article also contains discussions regarding domestic abuse, suicide, and sexual assault, which may be triggering to some individuals.
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One thing that fans of the Apple TV+ series, Bad Sisters, can agree upon… is that one giant question has been nagging at us more and more as the season has rolled along. Specifically… who killed John Paul? And the reason that particular question has continued to haunt us is simple… because this show has offered up a masterclass in mystery writing. Because from the very beginning to last week, there has been so much potential at a reveal or a clue as to who helped this monstrous prick of a man finally met his maker. Not to mention, any time we've come close to a potential answer or John Paul's, either this Grade A, A-Hole, managed to escape the clutches of death or something far worse happened in his stead.

But after ten magnificent and engaging episodes, the truth was finally revealed in the show’s season finale. For ‘Saving Grace’ finally saw the killer emerge from the shadows and wouldn’t you know it? It was Grace all along. And this wasn’t a crime of passion or an accident on her part, oh no… she killed her husband in cold and calculated blood, simply because… he finally went too far. For her moment of confession revealed to her sisters… a dark birthday celebration. One where she tried desperately to be intimate with the man she loved dearly, only to have that fail and that of course, became her fault and her problem and well, that was more than she could bear. Which is why she stood up to John Paul and put him in his place regarding how he has treated her, and well… that is when things took a supremely ugly turn.

For John Paul was not to be talked to in this manner and he couldn’t stand the idea of his wife standing up to his toxic behavior. But despite his best attempts to wrongfully put Grace in her place… she was having none of it and she stood her ground and the situation devolved quickly. To the point where disgusting truths came out, such as how John Paul assaulted Eva, which prompted an abortion, and he even slugged Grace in the gut when she slapped him for what came out of his mouth and well… that’s when Grace finally realized what kind of monster she had married and she opted to deal with this in a brutal and cold manner, through murder by asphyxiation. And once the deed was done, Roger came up to help her stage the body. 

A revelation that left her sisters more worried than surprised. Since Matt figured this out on his own by making a trip back to the cabin. Which meant in Becka’s eyes, Matt had to go to protect Grace from prison time. A dark act she couldn’t commit to in the slightest, thankfully, since it almost pushed her to harm herself. But her sisters made sure that didn’t happen and they all united to try and figure out a way forward with Matt that would make all parties happy and keep Grace out of jail and well… they figured it out. For if Grace withdrew the claim, there was no need to investigate its validity, so she did just that and that brought forth a happy ending. Where Thomas kept his family business and became a father, and Matt found strength and the Garvey sisters… found peace at last.   

For they were finally free of the biggest monster in their lives, and they could once again support each other and know joy without having to look over their shoulders and well… that’s a shockingly unexpected ending to this murder mystery, but it is par for the course. For this series was all about offering up a unique exploration, one that made sure to cover all the bases as to what could motivate a person to kill. Which here, involved hopelessness and abandonment and outright devastating pain. But all that aside, we have indeed reached the end of the mystery and of one incredible season, one that might be the end of the journey since there’s no more mystery to solve. But it would be interesting to see Apple TV+ bring these characters back for another season under the umbrella of a new crime to deal with, but if not… then this was a perfect ending through and through. One that told a compelling story and left us with plenty to think about when it comes to matters of murder.  

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