“Mary had no interest in the world’s idea of perfection.”
Episode 6 begins chapter 3 and shifts the lens to Mary. It’s got everything: tension, gaslighting, and the slow realization that the man you share a bed with might be a monster. By the end, the cozy domesticity of her life has been completely dismantled, leaving us with a chilling portrait of Howard as a master manipulator, and likely a killer.
Let’s break down episode six: Mary.
There’s Something About Mary
The episode opens with Mary speaking in third person and it shows her in her writing group, showcasing some fiction she’s written. This stylistic choice makes her life feel like a distant narrative, a clever nod to how she’s detached herself from her own exhausting reality to survive.
We learn the sordid origin story of her marriage: Mary was Howard’s TA, and she willingly stole him from his wife. While Mary has spent years resenting Nancy for being the more interesting blonde, she’s beginning to realize the common denominator in her unhappiness isn’t Nancy, it’s Howard.
Mary’s perfect mom exterior is fueled by an Adderall addiction. She shadily picks up her “prescription” at a grocery store and carefully hides her stash in a mint tin on a high shelf to protect her daughters. Despite her substance abuse, her scenes with her children are genuinely sweet, highlighting the heavy lifting she does as a mother while Howard plays the part of the philandering academic.
Untangling a Web of Lies
When detectives show up at the Simpson household to question Mary about Eleanor and Robert’s affair, Howard is quick to paint Robert as a man with a temper. Mary backs this up, mentioning a fight Nancy had with Robert. However, the detectives poke holes in Mary’s timeline from the night of the murder, noting she was heavily intoxicated and may not remember everything.
Howard steps in to save her, claiming she was home by 10:30 PM and he was with her all night. A flashback shows him tucking her into bed, seemingly the protective husband. But the facade dissipates when Mary finds an underlined page of Howard’s obscure Roman poet translation hidden in Nancy’s scrapbook. When she confronts him about the impossibility of Nancy having his specific work (that he also shared with her), Howard pivots to classic abuser tactics, using Mary’s Adderall use to make her feel unstable and crazy.
The episode snowballs with an increasing sequence of devastating reveals that rock Mary’s entire reality. Marcus, their son, reveals he is Eleanor’s true alibi. His guilt overwhelmed him and he couldn’t handle thinking the police could arrest his aunt for his other aunt’s murder. More importantly, he innocently mentions that Howard wasn’t home when he tried to seek his parents out for help, shattering the alibi Howard gave himself.
Mary searches the house for the blazer Howard was wearing that night and finds Nancy’s Claddagh ring buried in a box in a closet, a ring she always wore. But the reveals didn’t stop there. Mary fled to Jenny (Howard’s ex), only to find out Howard’s “unstable wife” narrative was a lie. Jenny left him and, as a result, he got so violent with her it left scars.
A Predator in Sheep’s Clothing
Mary reunites with Eleanor, telling her everything she knows. El rightfully calls Howard “a predator,” which is true, but it makes Nancy’s reality that much more strikingly sad; Nancy has been pursued by mostly predators her whole life. However, Howard is one step ahead. He calls Eleanor with devastating news: Mary’s daughter is in the hospital after swallowing the Adderall from the mint tin.
The episode ends on a haunting note. As their daughter fights for her life, Howard and Mary lock eyes. She is wrecked with hysterical guilt, but Howard’s gaze is grim and suspicious. It begs the question: how did a child reach a tin on a high shelf (we saw Mary repeatedly put it up there throughout the episode), or did Howard move it somewhere where the kid could access it to silence his wife? Diabolical.
Final Thoughts
This episode was staggering with reveal after reveal and Elisabeth Moss doing incredible acting in every single scene. Watching Mary finally wake up to Howard’s true nature is terrifying and feels rooted in real life. All signs point to Howard being the killer, but with his daughter’s life hanging in the balance, he’s now using Mary’s own addiction as the ultimate weapon to keep her quiet. A truly phenomenal episode anchored by Moss’ ability to act with just her eyes.
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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