“What we had was powerful, and essential, and it was supposed to last forever.”
Infidelity and inappropriate sexual situations are all over this first episode. We get introduced to the besties, Eleanor, Mary and Nancy, very quickly and are launched straight into the “whodunnit” mystery of Nancy’s murder.
Let’s break down episode one: Eleanor.
Morning After Hangover
We open on Eleanor (Kerry Washington) being questioned by the police. The vibes? Immediately suspicious. Off rip, she seems to be lying, which sets a tense tone for the mystery ahead.
We’re treated to our first flashback of many this season, this one 11 hours ago. Eleanor received frantic texts from Nancy (Kate Mara). Despite the stress, the core trio of Eleanor, Nancy, and Mary (Elisabeth Moss), eventually meet up to celebrate Mary’s birthday.
Nancy’s Secret Life
The dynamics of their friendship start to become clear pretty quickly, with Mary being kept in the dark, while Eleanor and Nancy share a salacious secret: Nancy has been having a secret affair. Though, Eleanor isn’t exactly in a position to judge, as she’s currently sleeping with her subordinate, which we learn in this episode.
This leads neatly into meeting Nancy’s husband, Robert (Joel Kinnaman), who called Eleanor in a panic because Nancy never came home after the birthday celebration. When El gets to his house, Robert was adamant about calling the police immediately. Actually knowing what’s going on, Eleanor tried to stall him, but eventually realizes she has to come clean to explain Nancy’s absence. She tells Robert that Nancy was cheating on him with a man named David.
Ultimately El’s reveal doesn’t matter much because the police arrive anyway to deliver devastating news: Nancy’s body was found; she was murdered. This was an absolute gut punch of a scene with Washington and Kinnaman doing solid work expressing their sorrow. Dead is one thing, but murder is a whole different ballgame.
The episode moved at a rapid pace with Eleanor being the center of the plot. She’s the one who identifies Nancy; she’s the one who breaks the awful news to Mary (and the affair, woof). Then it becomes a media storm, with the news picking it up because Nancy Hennessy is a picture-perfect, wealthy white woman.
Familiar Family Friction
As the investigation heats up, the cracks in the family foundation reveal itself. Nancy and Robert’s daughter, Cora, shakily tells Eleanor she doesn’t feel safe with her father, which creates a rather ominous vibe. Later, we meet Robert’s sister, Kit, who runs a strict program; she makes everyone around her feel like they’re idiots, for a lack of a better word. The tension between Kit and El is palpable and if you think you’re going to get an answer as to why, think again.
The memorial/funeral was typical for rich people, but the biggest mystery is a suspicious man in a jean jacket lurking at the funeral, who El seems to recognize. This episode does a lot of the typical “whodunnit” set-ups a lot of murder mysteries do, but it doesn’t feel lacking or boring; there’s a strain in the air that you can feel.
Incomplete Answers and More Questions
Things get particularly interesting when an artist named Davide is taken into custody as Nancy’s suspected lover and killer. Eleanor is super skeptical about this because she believes Nancy would have mentioned to her that her lover was a Black man. This is one of the few instances throughout the series where race and racial divisions are brought up. Sometimes it works with the narrative, other times it feels very hamfisted.
The slow reveal that the nude painting of Nancy hanging up in their home was created by her maybe lover causes Robert to lose his grip on propriety and destroys it very publicly. El is absolutely appalled and at this point you might be wonder why is El so involved with this family and Robert, in particular. Don’t worry, Mary informs El (also us) that those two have always had a connection and everyone, including Nancy, knew about it. Whew, this is messy already.
Having apparently never seen a murder mystery before, Robert asks El to go with him to a ballet opening (Nancy’s original seat, no less) and she agrees despite some hemming and hawing. The fact that they’re supposed to be in mourning with an ongoing police investigation happening barely registers to these two. Don’t they know how this looks? Who cares? They’re rich!
More mysteries abound: a photographer working for Eleanor’s family is seen snapping photos of Eleanor and Robert together. This can only end well, right?
Final Thoughts
A strong, tantalizing start to what is going to be a wild season. When people die with secrets, it almost assuredly means endless drama. Our trio of best friends are already dealing with multiple losses at once: the loss of their friend, the loss of the image they had of her, and the loss of their privacy.
I was a tad bit distracted at times by some of the outfit choices Eleanor was wearing (the ruffled denim jacket, dear Lord why?), but overall absolutely enthralled already with this puzzle.
Check out our non-spoilery review of the entire season here.
New episodes of Apple TV+’s “Imperfect Women” drop every Wednesday through April 29, 2026.
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