This article contains major spoilers for the Imperfect Women finale.
Across eight episodes, Imperfect Women has thrived on ambiguity. The series has deliberately played with viewers’ expectations about who might be responsible for Nancy’s (Kate Mara) murder to the point where no one feels entirely trustworthy, even as all signs point to Howard (Corey Stoll). That tension builds well, more so in the finale, which streams from April 29. The result is a messy, emotionally charged drama that thrives on the imperfections of its women, though not always as cohesively as it intends.
“The Bridge” finally delves into the uncertainty the series has spent the entire season building. Set across five days before Nancy’s death, the night of, and the present day, the finale reveals not only what happened, but why – and in doing so delivers an episode worth talking about, even if some of its revelations feel more inevitable than surprising.
The episode opens with Nancy being blackmailed with explicit images taken by Howard throughout their affair. Imperfect Women resists sensationalising this; instead, it uses the threat to underline how isolated Nancy had become, increasingly dependent on the very people who would fail her. At the same time, the series stops just short of fully delving into that complicity, often presenting it as a tragedy rather than something more uncomfortable. This is never felt more than with the episode’s handling of Scott Reed (Wilson Bethel).
Initially, the police remain focused on Scott, whose sudden disappearance and prior contact with Nancy appear to confirm their suspicions regarding his involvement in her murder. Robert (Joel Kinnaman) and Mary (Elisabeth Moss) are content to follow this theory, though Mary’s concerns lie primarily with her children, whom Howard is actively keeping from her. Eleanor (Kerry Washington) wonders if all the Adderall has gone to Mary’s head, while Mary retaliates by telling Eleanor to get a family of her own and stop leeching off others. It’s deliciously messy, and exactly the kind of drama the series could have leaned into more, given the friendships at the centre have never been as tight-knit as the characters would like to believe.
The structure here is particularly effective, as “The Bridge” separates the pair once more following their latest fallout. Mary especially struggles to process the idea that her husband truly is capable of such cruelty and violence, even if part of her already knows the truth. Her internal conflict is compelling, though the series occasionally rushes through the weight of that realisation in favour of plot progression, particularly during the custody battle Mary later faces.
Eleanor, with nowhere left to run, turns to her mother, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph. The series deserves credit for casting Ralph, Washington, and Leslie Odom Jr. as a family unit, even if it never has them appear in scenes together – a missed opportunity given the calibre of performers involved. For once, Eleanor cannot outrun her past, her friendships, or her guilt. Her mother’s insistence that Robert was never the one, but that her friends are the people she truly loves, becomes a turning point that allows her to do things right by herself, Mary, and Nancy.
The truth, when it comes, is both inevitable and devastating. Scott’s lawyer contacts Eleanor and Mary and arranges a meeting between them and his client as the police ignore his pleas of innocence. Scott describes Nancy reaching out to him in desperation, admitting the affair and that Howard was using compromising images to control her. After Mary’s birthday dinner, Nancy called Scott for his protection, asking him to scare Howard off. By the time he arrived, however, it was already too late.
Scott’s account of the night of Nancy’s death places Howard at the scene, leaning over her body. When Eleanor and Mary present this information to Detective Ganz (Ana Ortiz), she responds with indifference. The police have their suspect, and they see no reason to investigate further, given the evidence against Scott. It’s a frustrating but believable portrayal of institutional failure, one that forces the women to take matters into their own hands. Washington and Moss more than rise to the material, reminding us why they are television’s go-to women for compelling drama.
The final act shifts into thriller territory. After Mary brings Howard’s ex-wife in as a witness in the custody hearing to highlight his longstanding abuse, the judge rules that the children are in imminent danger and cannot remain with either parent. It’s a sobering outcome, and one that raises the stakes considerably. Howard’s subsequent arrival at Mary’s hotel room marks the beginning of a tense sequence that pays off the season’s slow-burning suspense. He guides her to the “dead zone” – the place where Nancy died – as Moss plays the moment with a calculating resolve that suggests Mary understands exactly what she must do to survive.
Stoll delivers the performance of his career here as Howard confesses. He frames Nancy’s death as an act of frustration, a response to her refusal to see the world as he does. In his mind, he offered her something beautiful, though in reality, he sought out submission and control. He convinced himself their relationship meant more than it did, and when Nancy rejected that version, he turned violent. His delusion is what makes him so terrifying, and Stoll’s performance gets right under the skin. The series is at its strongest here, when it stops circling the question of who and instead confronts the far more disturbing question of why.
The confrontation that follows is brutal. Mary fights back with everything she has, and Eleanor’s intervention is well timed. Director Jet Wilkinson more than matches the intensity of the fraught action envisioned by writers Annie Weisman and Kay Oyegun. By the time Howard is finally dead, there is no sense of triumph, only exhaustion and grief for all that has been lost
More importantly, the finale does not offer simple or neat resolutions. Eleanor, for her part, begins to move forward, naming a boat after Nancy in a gesture that feels both tender and insufficient. Mary and Robert, meanwhile, throw Juniper (Indiana Elle) a birthday party at the house Nancy rarely felt at home in. The series ends with the pair sharing a look that hints at something deeper, though whether that is comfort or something more remains unresolved. “The Bridge” succeeds because it embraces its messiness, even if it does not delve into it sufficiently, leaving you with further questions and fewer answers.
Imperfect Women closes as another quality series from Apple TV’s growing catalogue, cementing the platform as a consistent home for the best television has to offer – even when that quality comes with imperfections of its own.
