Despite working on stage and film for decades, bad sisters Actor Anne-Marie Duff had never played a character like Grace Williams.
When Grace first appears in the Sharon Horgan comedy-drama, she's a sweet, tormented soul navigating an abusive marriage to the world's deadliest villain, John Paul (Cress Bang). Season 1 of the Apple TV+ series follows Grace's sisters Eva (Hogan), Vivi (Sarah Greene), Ursula (Eva Birthistle), and Becca (Eve Hewson) as they attempt to kill JP. In the end, he is killed without incident, and Grace and her daughter Branade (Saiz Quinn) are freed from his suffocating grasp. But Season 2 reveals that that newfound peace doesn't last long.
bad sisters Contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 2.
Two years after JP's death, bad sistersIn the second season of “, viewers are introduced to a lighter version of Grace, who is happily married to new boyfriend Ian (Owen McDonnell) in the premiere. As vows are exchanged and the cake is cut, the bows tied neatly in season 1 begin to come undone, bringing back memories that haunt the Garvey girls. Together, the sisters can survive anything, but Grace meets a tragic end in a car crash at the end of episode two after becoming isolated from her support system.
“I thought it was a really great idea,” Duff told Decider over Zoom. “There's a very beautiful but very sad inevitability to Grace's death, because she's very bad at being rescued, right? In season 1, she was very isolated by her husband's terrible bullying. For the duration of 2, she is isolated from the sisters who are meant to save her, so there is no other way out for her than her final departure, really.
To commemorate the return of the great show and the death of Very Good Bad Sister, Duff talks about the emotional roller coaster of filming the final scenes alongside Owen McDonnell and Fiona Shaw, and how the role was played by her. She spoke to Decider about what it means to her and what it means to her. I'm excited to see it moving forward as a fan.
Naturally, we have to start with the devastating ending of Season 2, Episode 2. There, Grace is in a car accident and Branade and Eva learn that she has passed away. What did you think when you learned of this heartbreaking development?
I found out about it before I received the script, but I wasn't really shocked. I thought it was a really great idea. I love when the writers and show creators mix things up a bit and there are surprises. And there is a very beautiful, yet very sad inevitability to Grace's death. Because she's really bad at being rescued, right? In season 1, she was very isolated due to her husband's severe bullying. However, during Season 2, she becomes isolated from the sisters who were supposed to save her. In other words, there is no other way out for her than her final departure.
There is no doubt that Grace's sisters will be completely devastated by her loss. But I think it was tough for you to leave Season 2, even as an actor, because this is such a great show and you've developed such an incredibly strong relationship. Were you emotional on set when you shot your final scene?
It was interesting, so I shot that crash as the final scene, but that never happens during filming, right? It was the middle of the night and I was alone with a bunch of stuntmen, so I was very scared of doing something technically wrong. I was feeling all the emotions you feel when you leave a show. And then a brilliant director whispered in my ear, “Don't forget the truth about the character.'' Last night was a very powerful night for me. I had never experienced anything like that before.
Before Grace dies, she shares some very hot scenes with Angelica. Angelica is a tremendously frustrating and terrifying character, and we see more of her as the season progresses. What was it like competing against the great Fiona Shaw?
I mean, what a gift to all of us. We were so excited when she showed up. We were just overjoyed. Fiona and I had known each other socially for a long time, but we had never actually worked together. It was truly heaven. I love watching her because her technique is so amazing. She is very playful, dedicated, curious and a great member of the team. In a way, I think that comes from being a real theater actor. She is definitely a troupe member of the show. It was truly heaven.
You both are amazing. We know that Season 2 will take place two years after JP's death, so we'd like to think that the sisters had a lot of great times that we didn't see, one of which was with Grace. It was early in Ian's relationship. What was it like sharing extensive scenes with Owen McDonnell?
Working with Owen was great. It was a completely different dynamic than working with Claes, and it was exciting for me as an actor. He's such a gentleman and so curious that you can believe Grace trusts him completely, falls in love with him, and doesn't see any red flags.
Should viewers trust Ian completely going forward? He straight up dumped Grace when he needed her. This is a major red flag in my book.
that's right. Grace leaves without anyone knowing anything, so there are still many secrets left after Grace leaves. I mean, she still holds all these secrets. But his story is very interesting, [the season] To be continued.
No one misses John Paul, but you brought up Claes Bang, and he was such an important scene partner for you in season 1, so did you feel his absence this season? ?
Well, Claes has a strong personality, so it's natural to feel his absence. But I think I tied JP to him so much that I actually felt free. Filming Season 1 was tough for me. Because for eight or nine months, I kept doing those scenes with him and he insisted on calling me “Mom” between takes. [Laughs] Yeah. Oh, that was so much fun.
After Season 1, I told Sharon Horgan that it was like shipping Grace and Roger, but the Michael Smiley scenes in Season 2 have such a dark tone. He and Angelica really feel like loose cannons this season. Have such romances ever crossed your mind? And how worried should we be about him after Grace's death?
know. He suddenly becomes a wannabe rosary after Grace's death. After Roger aided and abetted her murder, I think there was no hope for them to continue a normal relationship because she forced him to help her. They didn't plan this together. She corners him, it's really an abuse of trust. So it's not surprising that he gets mad at her, but he loves her. It's a complicated little dynamic, right?
You did an amazing, award-winning job on this show. Looking back at the warm reception that led to the series and Season 2, and seeing people see themselves in Grace, what did this role mean to you?
It was a real gift for me. This is such a great article. But I had never played anything like this before. In the first place, there was a sense of transparency in Season 1. She's like an invisible woman, desperately trying to blend in with the world and keep it calm and perfect, and it's so exhausting. The pressure of holding everything in and denying yourself. So in Season 2 we're moving into what we think is a more free space, but that's also a lie and that's why she's so quick to testify. She immediately told Ian this part of her secret. These are all gifts to actors. She's so swollen from all the play she's had to do, isn't she, Grace? Put all your feelings and thoughts into it. So I was very grateful to Sharon Horgan.
Before you start packing, do you know who's in your trunk and are you, as a fan, looking forward to watching the rest of the season?
Of course I know who's in the trunk. [Laughs] But I'm very excited. Because after I died, I intentionally didn't read any scripts. That's because after seeing this work, I wanted to discover everything for myself. This is much more fun for me. And I end up meeting my sisters at an unexpected moment. I just love getting to see them play different sides of the characters.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
new episode of bad sisters Season 2 premieres Wednesday on Apple TV+.
