Tom thinks Eva is deflecting. Despite Matt’s opinion that they should be looking for fraud, not murder, he wants the coroner to exhume John Paul’s body. In a flashback, John Paul puts his name in for the same promotion Eva is going for. Eva further notices how he sucks the joy out of his daughter Blánaid’s life. For instance, he tells the teenager it looks like she’s “asking for it” when she dances around the house. Ursula also has an unpleasant run-in with John Paul. She’s cheating on her husband Donal with a man named Ben, and JP sees the two of them on a stroll. He likely doesn’t believe her story that Ben is her photography teacher. Later, Bibi tells Eva she can’t stop thinking about their earlier conversation. She wasn’t joking when she said she wanted John Paul dead. He’s killing Grace, so shouldn’t they kill him first? Eva is outraged at the thought, so Bibi outlines her plan to cause a house fire while JP is staying alone in his cabin. Eva still disagrees, if for one reason only–he’s their niece’s father. At Blánaid’s Catholic confirmation, John Paul makes an underhanded comment about Ursula’s “after hours” photography lessons in front of her husband. He also confronts Eva about gifting Blánaid with a bra. When Grace tries to defend Eva, JP blows up at her for turning the blame onto him–something she didn’t do. Steaming, Eva goes to Bibi’s. She wants to execute her plan, and Bibi assures her they’re doing the right thing. That weekend, John Paul will head up to his cabin so he can participate in a 15k hike. Eva gifts Grace and Blánaid with concert tickets so they will be busy the night she and Bibi try to kill him. In the present day, Tom needs the widow’s permission to get a coroner to exhume John Paul’s body, so he and Matt pay Grace a visit. He gives her papers to sign, without informing her what those papers are. She signs them, unthinking. Back in the past, Eva and Bibi sneak into the cabin once they’re sure John Paul has gone to bed. Bibi turns the stove on, but Eva takes her lighter from her. “I need to finish this,” she says, before lighting a candle. The two then run outside and jump into the bushes. Just then, John Paul calls Eva’s phone, and she hurriedly silences the call. When the cabin explodes, they hear John Paul’s screams and assume he’s burning to death. But he was not in the house. He’s outside, witnessing fire consume his property.
The Episode Review
I can see the repeated reinforcement in this series of John Paul’s general repulsiveness getting tiring. At least–even in just a few scenes–we have ample reason to know why Bibi and Eva want the man dead. The show’s set-up, rather than portray the two as misguided and crazy, manages to make the sisters antiheroines to root for. The episode’s bringing Blánaid in only helps, by providing a catalyst for Eva getting in on Bibi’s plan. I think she just needed a more “selfless” reason to proceed. The episode ends in a pretty extraordinary twist. Why did John Paul call Eva? Did he see their car? Did she leave something behind? Or was he simply mad about the concert tickets? Either the sisters are in trouble–or this was simply a hitch on the road to an even bigger plan.
