‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 7 Recap

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Bad Sisters Season 2 Episode 7.

When the second season of Bad Sisters started, it seemed as though the Garvey sisters might have been able to finally pull away from the toxic mess they found themselves in a few years prior. The sisters were all doing their best to move on, but they should have known (just as the audience should have) to never trust Grace’s (Anne-Marie Duff) taste in men. There were some questions raised in last week’s episode that perhaps Angelica (Fiona Shaw) was right; Ian (Owen McDonnell) is turning out to be suspicious. And this week’s episode proves it: the Garveys have once again been brought down by an evil man who has infiltrated their lives.

Eva Discovers Ian’s Betrayal in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 7

The opening scene shows Eva (Sharon Horgan) going for a run, when she receives a text notification from the Dublin City Bank: “The transfer request from Blanaid Williams’ Child Saver Account has now been completed.” Now we know how Ian’s plan from the previous episode has played out. He convinced Eva to put his name on Blanaid’s (Saise Quinn) account so that he could then move the money to his own. Eva frantically tries to get in touch with Ian, but he won’t pick up the phone. When she arrives at his house, she discovers that all of his stuff is completely gone. We then see Ian rejecting Eva’s call and walking into the police station to drop off an envelope anonymously. Detective Una Houlihan (Thaddea Graham) opens it later to find a flash drive, which just so happens to be a video of the sisters and Angelica getting on the boat at the marina. Ian has turned the Garveys in.

Eva calls to check that Blanaid has made it to camogie practice unscathed, and is reassured to hear that everything is fine with her. But then she gets a call from Ursula. She arrives at the police station and checks in, saying, “All of my sisters have been arrested.” Houlihan questions Bibi (Sarah Greene), Ursula (Eva Birthistle), and Becka (Eve Hewson) separately, but they all act clueless about Angelica’s whereabouts. Houlihan is starting to get frustrated at their obfuscation when Detective Fergal Loftus (Barry Ward) interrupts her interrogation. He informs Houlihan that Angelica has been found, and she’s alive! He accuses Houlihan of “chasing nothing,” and says the investigation is now officially closed. The three sisters are released, and as soon as Eva leaves them, she heads to the bank to get confirmation about what she already knows. Blanaid’s account is now empty, and Ian has transferred all $100,000 to himself. There’s nothing the bank can do because Eva basically authorized him to be on the account.

Eva then meets with her sisters (who are terribly worried about the way she’s been acting that day). She confesses that Ian cleaned out the account and that she got played. She also realizes that they can’t go to the police about Ian because “he knows everything.” But then the sisters start putting some of the pieces together. Eva says, “Grace must have found out that he was just using her too,” and that the money she withdrew from the bank was not for Angelica like they thought, but to pay off Ian. Ursula volunteers to speak with Angelica about what happened on the boat to buy them some time.

It’s a Miracle Angelica Is Alive in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 7

When we see Angelica in the hospital, she is badly injured. The sailboat boom that hit her in the face in Episode 5 has left her horribly bruised and with a nasty gash on her forehead. Miraculously, she was only in the water for three hours before she was rescued. When Ursula arrives at the hospital, Angelica acts afraid initially. Roger (Michael Smiley) tells Ursula that “she remembers getting on a boat with you and then nothing.” Ursula explains the accident and says that Becka nearly drowned trying to search for her. When Roger asks Ursula why they didn’t tell him (or the police) the truth about Angelica’s whereabouts, she says, “Ian convinced us not to… he said we’d get done for murder.” Roger isn’t sure whether to believe her story, and asks her to leave.

Houlihan shows up at the hospital and tells Ursula that she’ll be following up on their story soon. When the detective meets with Angelica, the woman notes sadly that Grace would have baked her a cake after her accident. She says that they connected because they “both knew grief,” and that’s how they became friends. But when Houlihan asks about Ian and his involvement in the bereavement group, Angelica admits that she never believed Ian even had a dead sister in the first place.

The ‘Bad Sisters’ Seek Outside Help in Season 2 Episode 7

The sisters are dead set on finding Ian (to at least confront him and maybe get Blanaid’s money back). Becka is tasked with asking Joe (Peter Claffey) if he knows where Ian might be camping out. But when Becka finds Joe at the local pub, their talk doesn’t go well. For starters, when Becka asks if she can play pool with him, he responds with “I think I’m done playing games with you.” They bicker back and forth, and it’s easy to tell that Joe is extremely hurt by Becka pulling away and not telling him about the pregnancy. After things get heated (Becka throws a pool ball at him and accidentally smashes glasses on the bar), they’re kicked out. It’s clear that Joe still loves Becka, despite the arguing, and when Becka tells him she’s keeping the baby, he seems torn. After Becka tells Joe that she just needs his help finding Ian, Joe hits the nail on the head when he says, “You Garveys really know how to pick a prick.” It doesn’t seem that Joe is actually going to assist with their search, and he storms off.

The sisters reconvene at the house, and Eva is rapidly falling apart (especially with how much she’s drinking). She says, “I know what you’re all thinking. What kind of an excuse for a woman shags her dead sister’s husband?” The sisters encourage her not to be so hard on herself and to lay off the alcohol. But Eva won’t be deterred: “I’m not drunk, just broken.” Just when things are looking hopeless, Joe shows up at the house and gives the Garveys a key piece of information. He knows that Ian is a gambler. This detail leads Bibi and Becka to corner Roger at the pub (since they know Roger also likes to gamble). They have to win him over first and reiterate how sorry they are for Angelica’s accident. He tells them that Angelica is not a bad person, and that “hurt people hurt.” Becka asks for Roger’s help to find Ian and says, “We need to find him to honor Grace.” He does remember seeing Ian at the horse races, and offers to help, saying, “Girls, you had me at honor Grace.”

The sisters head to the horse races (which is a nice throwback to Episode 1 this season), but it’s not the same as the last time they were there with Grace. Eva laments that now Ian has tainted one of the last memories they have of the five of them together. The sisters ask around if anyone has seen Ian, and Eva thinks she spots him at one point. But after catching up with him, she realizes that it’s just someone with a similar appearance. Roger does figure out by asking around that Ian’s real name is Cormac, and he’s from Tyrone.

Houlihan and Loftus’ Partnership Is Over in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 7

Even after Loftus tells her to quit looking into the Garveys, Houlihan continues to investigate the case. She searches for Ian’s name in a database and finds no results. Then she attends Loftus’ retirement party. She confronts Loftus, saying, “You had me lie to those sisters.” But Loftus doesn’t feel all that guilty for his actions. He tells her that the money he stole was to help him win custody of his daughter, but she’s still disgusted by his unethical behavior. She gets up on stage to give a speech about her former partner. It starts off as a bit of a roast because she’s so angry, but when she sees Loftus’ young daughter join him, Houlihan backs off and finishes by congratulating him on his retirement.

A little later in the episode, Ursula meets up with Loftus (not for a date like he assumes). She asks for help locating Ian, but Loftus says, “I’m celebrating the end of my career, the end of everything.” When she pushes, he says he’s retired and can’t offer help even if he wanted to. He does slip up and mentions finding the money at Grace’s house (not in her car like the sisters were told), and Ursula pieces together what he’s done. She tells him he’s a disgrace as she leaves the restaurant.

All the Pieces Come Together in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 7

In the middle of the Ian drama, Becka and Matt (Daryl McCormack) have a nice moment. He tells her what a great mother he thinks she’s going to be, but that he’s not interested in being with her because he doesn’t want to break up a family. It’s clear that they still have love for each other, but that the time for a romantic relationship has passed. Becka tells him, “You saved me… at the worst time of my life,” and Matt responds, “You too. And that’s the truth.” They part ways for good perhaps (but not before Becka tells him that she found out she’s having a boy).

Eva spends some time looking at old photos of Grace. Then she’s inspired to take Ian’s phone (that the sisters found in Episode 2) out of a box. She remembers that someone at the horse races knew that Ian’s lucky number was five, so she types in five repeatedly, and the phone unlocks! Eva learns where Ian lives, and decides to go there (on her own, which is not what Bibi suggests). After asking around, Eva discovers Ian’s real name is Cormac Sweeney, and she finds out where he lives. A pregnant woman answers the door. Eva asks for Cormac, and the woman says no one lives there by that name. Eva holds up a picture of Grace and asks if the woman knows her; she mentions Grace has died, and the woman’s expression changes. But the woman continues to insist she can’t help.

Eva leaves, clearly distraught that she’s made no further progress in her search. But then the woman goes into the house, and we see that Ian is there (with two other kids!). She angrily says, “You said they’d never come to our door or anywhere near our kids… You need to sort this out.” This exchange shows that Ian’s deception as a swindler is even deeper than the Garveys suspected. Houlihan had asked another cop for assistance digging into Ian’s identity. The officer sends over a coroner’s report for a homeless man named Ian Reilly who was found deceased. The note from the officer says, “I tried to contact Sgt. Cormac Sweeney, the investigating officer, to see if he had any more information, but he left the force in 2019.” So, we now know that Ian/Cormac is a former police officer, and he stole a dead man’s identity!

But the crimes don’t end there. Houlihan also discovers several complaints in his file, including embezzlement, fraud, and domestic abuse (which feature pictures of the woman Eva talked to covered in bruises). The last scene of the episode is a harrowing one. Eva goes to pick up Blanaid at school but is told that Blanaid’s stepdad picked her up. When Eva shows up at Grace’s house, who should come out to greet her but Ian (or Cormac!) himself. The action in this episode is non-stop, and with only one episode left, the stakes have never been more intense. Will the Garveys be able to escape once again from a very bad man, or will Grace’s mistakes continue to haunt them forever?

New episodes of Bad Sisters Season 2 are available to stream every Wednesday on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

Watch on Apple TV+