“I know who David is.”
The third chapter of “Imperfect Women” was a whirlwind with mysteries revealed, delusions eradicated, and proof that TikTok is a problem.
Let’s break down episode three: Monster.
Grief, Lust, and Betrayal
Tsk, tsk, Robert. Don’t you know the most suspicious person in a murdered woman’s death is her husband? Especially one who LIES about not knowing about her affair! We’re right back to where we left off last episode. Eleanor confronts Robert about the letter he wrote Nancy apologizing for his reaction. So he actually knew about the affair before Ellie told him because of the naked photos someone sent to Nancy’s phone.
Does this stop El from sleeping with Robert again? No, of course not. She ends up fooling around with him, hanging out in his pool, and guess who shows up when she wasn’t supposed to? Cora! The awkward tension in this season is so much fun to watch. El needed to come back down to Earth and withering stares from a legal teenager will do that for you. They tried to explain it away to her, but she’s not an idiot. By morning, Cora has posted a scathing TikTok: “Don’t you hate it when your dead mom’s best friend fucks your dad?”
This sends everyone into a tizzy; the media runs wild with the idea of an affair, El’s global peacemaker status is in jeopardy, Donovan is spiraling, and Jay, her coworker, is done being played with. We saw the fallout of their coupling coming a mile away. El deluded herself into thinking this was okay and it collapsed spectacularly in front of her. And the worst part about it? Robert doesn’t even care about her, which only adds insult to injury. When she sought refuge at Robert’s house, it was filled with lawyers and his strict family. Their private conversation was brutal; Robert pretty much shut her down coldly, their tryst was just a product of grief and Ellie should’ve never thought of it differently. Woof.
Further Deconstruction of a Fractured Friendship
Mary and Eleanor’s friendship finally hits its breaking point. El confesses everything about the affair, the letter Robert wrote and Mary’s reaction isn’t exactly supportive, in fact, it’s pretty explosive. Mary is horrified by the affair but mostly wants to take the letter to the police. El, desperate to protect her (delusional) connection to Robert, refuses. The fight turns nasty with Mary calling El out for the ultimate betrayal (fucking her dead best friend’s husband), then kicks her out. Eleanor truly is adrift at sea with a dwindling lack of support; a consequence of her own stupid behavior.
One thing that’s particularly interesting is the root of Mary’s obsessive investigation. It feels like this is deeper than Mary feeling guilt around not being as close with Nancy as El was, it feels more like Mary might have a less than platonic fascination with Nancy.
Bye Bye Alibi
Of the many hits Eleanor took this episode, one of the worst gut punches was Jay turning on her. Throughout the season so far, you could see this car crash coming from far away. Sleeping with your employee is one thing, but lying to them, treating them poorly, and then trying to ghost them is an extremely stupid series of decisions.
Just when things couldn’t get worse, Jay, after being dumped by El (giving classic avoidance attachment here), gives a statement to the police. He told them that his boss didn’t arrive at his place until 1:00 AM the night of the murder. Her alibi is officially cooked. Things do not bode well for her at this point. All El had to do was appease this man for however long she needed him or gently discuss boundaries with him or do literally anything besides what she actually did. She dug this hole for herself.
Unreliable Truths
We’ve been seeing glimpses and flashes of Nancy in El’s memory, suggesting that their last meeting was less than pleasant. This plus everything else in the episode feels like a set-up for the reveal that the “global peace keeper” had something to do with her friend’s death. But this actually gets cleared up a bit for the audience.
The episode does a wonderful job with the slow reveal of the source of El’s crushing guilt. A flashback to three hours before Nancy’s death reveals a rough argument: Nancy begged her best friend to come with her to end things with her lover but El refused and in her frustration screamed at Nancy to get out of the car. It was the last time they spoke. Obviously, we know now about her underlying feelings for Robert and how much that fueled her impatience with Nancy’s antics. But guilt is tricky and it can eat away at you.
A couple other reveals in this episode set up for a wild ride later this season. Perusing through Nancy’s art journal, Mary finds a drawing of a terrifying man. She suspects it’s Scott, Nancy’s abusive stepfather, the same man El thought she spotted at the memorial. This will lead neatly into the next arc focusing on Nancy.
Another reveal that is actually pretty significant: it turns out El’s “missing hours” involved more than just driving; she was helping Mary’s son, Marcus, get out of trouble with some bookies. Because of his legal troubles, she kept it secret from his parents, the police, basically everyone until it became too dire not to share. By the time Mary shows up at El’s door, it feels like there’s almost too much going on already. Mary knows who David is and that secret won’t be revealed for a while. Hello, cliffhanger.
Final Thoughts
This chapter, the final in the Eleanor arc, was a doozy and a much-needed push the narrative needed to really get going. El becomes more and more unlikeable as she makes one poor decision after another. Her bad taste equals our entertainment. As we head into the Nancy arc, it might feel like the story is being left on a cliffhanger but her chapters are necessary to keep building momentum.
Rating:
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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