Fall (Binged) Finale: Why Women Kill - Season Two

Why Women Kill was American dark comedy-drama anthology television series created by Marc Cherry.

The second season in my mind was far better than the first season, which aired all the way back in 2019. Season one was on CBS All Access before it became the new and improved Paramount+. While the first season was messy set across, multiple time periods, whereas the second season, changed its focus to a single time period. 

Now way ahead of the writers strike (currently in its second week) series was renewed for a third season, then scrapped before production could begin in July 2022.

Anyway Marc Cherry has given us a good few dramas over the years. Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids, now this.

So what does this second season look like?

In the season opener we head to 1949 in Los Angeles, Alma Filcott is an awkward housewife and wallflower who yearns to be seen. When a member of the exclusive Elysian Park Garden Club, Vonda Van Esen, dies, Alma sees this as an opportunity to join, only to be ridiculed by her next-door neighbor Mrs. Yost as she must be nominated by an existing member to join. 

At a brunch Rita Castillo, the president of the club, recognizes Alma through her husband, Dr. Bertram Filcott, a respected veterinarian, and invites her to a fundraiser at her home. Meanwhile, Rita is secretly cheating on her wealthy husband with a struggling actor, Scooter Polarsky, who in turn is cheating on her with Alma's daughter Dee, so she hires private investigator Vern Loomis to investigate Scooter. 

When Rita's husband Carlo tries to catch her with Scooter, he falls down the stairs and has a stroke, but survives. At the fundraiser, Alma wears an expensive pin she found in the attic with the label Enid Dolan, February 14, 1945, on it, which club member Grace recognizes as her Aunt Enid's who died on that date.

A shaken Alma returns home and finds a box filled with objects labeled with dates and the names of dead people. Later, Alma's husband Bertram after euthanizing his client Maisie Moran's dog, learns she has no family left and is suffering from cirrhosis. He comes over to her apartment where he euthanizes her, taking her hand fan as a memento.

SPOILER ALERTS, season two and the series ends HERE!

Vern confronts Alma about Isabel's death, so she lies about Isabel. Alma visits Bertram in the hospital and tells him Vern knows, but Bertram refuses to kill Vern. Alma then finds Scooter in the hospital recovering and planning on leaving for New York with Rita, where she tells him Dee is pregnant with his child. 

Dee is arrested as the police found her fingerprints on Mrs. Yost's stolen goods, but Vern gets her out. Dee then runs into Scooter who reveals Alma told him about the baby. Dee confronts her mother horrified to learn she was planning on killing Vern and framing Scooter. 

At Alma's inauguration for club president, Rita confronts Alma as Carlo's killer in the back alley. Alma admits to Carlo's murder, but accidentally confesses to Isabel's as well by stating details of her death the press did not release. 

Rita tries to expose Alma at her inauguration, but Alma brutally kills her with a screwdriver. During the inauguration, Alma is exposed by the blood on her stole and a chef finding Rita's body. Alma goes home where she reveals Rita's death to Bertram, who in return reveals he confessed to all their crimes to Vern and decided to commit suicide together. 

Alma lets Bertram kill himself and decides to turn herself in instead. Alma is arrested, found guilty of multiple homicides and sentenced to be executed. However, Alma is happy because the world is finally paying attention to her.

It was a fun, addictive, super easy to watch ten episodes. So if like me a load of series are wrapping up, maybe given this highly camp series a crack!

Just to recap my post for Fantasy Island yesterday. The series has in fact been cancelled.