Bad Sisters began airing its season 2 on Apple TV+ on November 13, 2024. The Irish black comedy series follows the Garvey sisters who murder their sister Grace’s abusive husband John Paul (JP).
As the show progresses, some chilling details about JP’s past come out, showcasing that he has always been a monster who does not care about his loved ones. In one of the episodes, the series delves into JP’s family background, revealing that he had a sister named Laura.
Laura does not appear significantly in Bad Sisters, but her character plays an important role in explaining JP’s troubled personality. In season 1, episode 4, it is hinted that Laura died in childhood and her brother might have been responsible for her death.
Bad Sisters hints at Laura's death in season 1
Laura finds a mention in Bad Sisters Season 1, episode Baby Becka, when Becka visits JP’s mother, Minna. Minna shows her a family album, containing JP’s childhood pictures. As the two have a conversation, the lady addresses Becka as ‘Laura,’ telling her:
“But your brother, he loved frogs, Laura.”
This depicts Minna is still going through unresolved trauma involving her daughter. While looking at the album, Becka comes across a picture of a little girl holding a cat. The kid is seen wearing dungarees and a headband.
Minna tells Becka that the picture is of her daughter, Laura, who had a cat named Miso. She adds that Laura is gone now, and she does not expect her to come back.
This hints that Laura died in her childhood. Becka then continues to explore the photo album and finds a picture of a little JP wearing the same attire as his sister and holding her cat. This points toward JP’s apparent role in Laura’s death. However, the show does not explicitly confirm if he indeed killed his sister.
Laura is mentioned once again in Bad Sisters Season 1, episode 8, The Cold Truth when a flashback sequence shows JP visiting his father, George, in need of some money. While he tells his dad about his financial issues, George emotionally manipulates him about how he rarely meets his mother.
George does not offer him money and instead jokes about how Minna once made JP wear his sister Laura’s clothes and clicked his picture. While JP leaves the place, George accidentally swallows a glass taxidermy eyeball and chokes. JP initially thinks of helping him out but eventually decides to let him die.
He then hides his father’s corpse in a walk-in-freezer in their basement and later throws it in a pond. The remains pop up in the Garvey sisters’ car’s trunk in Bad Sisters Season 2. Hence, Laura’s character does not get much screen space but is important in highlighting JP’s cruel tendencies and horrific past.
Claes Bang, who plays JP in Bad Sisters, reflected on how he played an abusive character who does not shy away from harming his family. He said in an interview with GQ:
“I don't think [John Paul] does anything he does to be an evil person or an asshole. I think mainly he does it to try and defend himself. I think he feels that the sisters are a threat to his family. So he's trying to separate himself and his daughter and his wife from the other forces.”
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“But I always try to look for anything in a character to see if there's something within myself that I can use and I suppose we all have that narcissistic inferiority complex, where you're full of jealousy or hatred. All of these things are in there.”
Bad Sisters Season 2 airs new episodes on Apple TV+ on Wednesdays.
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