A Fitting End
With the recent news that Why Women Kill has been renewed for a second season, we begin the finale in 1963 with Beth Ann revealing she’s bought a gun, much to the horror of her husband. As she discusses plans with Mary, they deliberate over whether to kill their husbands or not. Meanwhile the real Sheila speaks to April and invites her in, intending to tell her the truth. As they do, Beth Ann gives Rob drinks before confronting him about the gate being unlocked that fateful day their daughter died. She implores him to tell the truth but he looks her right in the eye and lies. Mary writes a note to Ralph telling him she’s leaving him for Rob, prompting him to grab the pistol from the top drawer while she hides under the bed. As Ralph heads out, Mary phones Beth Ann. A knock at the door prompts her to hurry over, expecting it to be Ralph. Only, it happens to be April. In 1974 Tommy saves Simone at the last second from Naomi trying to kill her. Soon after, Tommy heads to Simone’s and they have tea together. He tells her to press charges against Naomi but she refuses. We then jump forward six months to find our protagonist selling all her paintings to pay for Karl’s medical bills. Meanwhile, Hector arrives and tells her Karl has been stealing sleeping tablets but when she confronts him about it, he tells her he needs those to stop the pain. A trip to the hospital puts everything in perspective soon after too, as Simone sees the effects of this disease first-hand while Jimmy lies in hospital. Heading home, Karl pleads with Simone to administer a shot to see him off with dignity. He asks her to get changed and they dance together. In 2019 Taylor tells Eli to take it easy as they leave the hospital before they discuss moving out and away from Jade. Taylor also decides not to pursue an open relationship anymore, much to the relief of Eli. As they head home, they find Jade in the kitchen brandishing a knife. After talking, she hurries out the back while the police arrive and tell them Duke has been murdered. They ask who may have done it and it’s here they tell the police everything. As we reach the crescendo of our drama, all three stories merge together. Rob and Ralph fight while Beth Ann and April hurry off. Simone and Karl continue to dance until he finds himself too weak to carry on while Jade stabs Eli before Taylor exchanges the favour, plunging the knife into her stomach. Ralph shoots Rob repeatedly in the chest before hurrying out as Beth Ann looks on in glee. Simone gives Karl his shot and kisses him one last time. As the episode closes out, Beth Ann passes the house keys over to Simone. With a more relaxed outlook on life and a changed persona, we then cut forward to see an elderly Simone handing the keys over to Taylor and Eli. They then hand the keys over to a new couple. Only, the wife finds out her husband has been cheating on her and immediately grabs a shotgun and shoots him, continuing this deliciously dark cycle of murder in the house. As far as finales go, Why Women Kill ends much the same way it began – with a lovely sense of irony and a great blending of all three stories. Handing the keys over is a really nice touch too and finally seeing our different protagonists interacting is a great touch that helps cement the series as one of the better ones released this year. Why Women Kill is one of those shows that’s hurt by early reviews. I’ve said it many times before that a full season review rating should be reserved for just that – a full season. When it comes to this wonderful drama, this is a perfect example against judging a show by the first few episodes. What began as an artistic trio of stories dancing around a singular idea, quickly blossomed into one of the best shows of the year. Between the strong writing and well paced segments, right across to the different themes and ideas explored each episode, Why Women Kill may just be one of my favourite shows of the year, balancing the artistic juxtapositions and smart editing with the perfect finale to balance things out. With new characters and a different storyline promised for the second season, this is one that show I can’t wait to see return. Whether it can live up to these lofty heights and raise the bar further remains to be seen but for now, Why Women Kill bows out in the best possible way.
