ADVANCE PREVIEW: Why Women Kill? Season 2 is a Scandalous Ride
Why Women Kill? is back for its second season and this season is just as scandalous as one would hope it would be, well at least for the first two episodes. The new season opens in a different period of time, 1949, with a brand new set of characters. There is Alma (Allison Tolman), a housewife looking to join an elite garden club in town. Bertram (Nick Frost), the local veterinarian married to Alma. Hollywood starlet, Rita (Lana Parrilla) who is unhappily married to a wealthy old man. Dee (B.K. Cannon), Alma and Bertram’s daughter who is just trying to make it on her own and Scooter (Matthew Daddario), Rita’s paramour. The thing about all of our new characters, they each have their own secrets. Secrets that could threaten every relationship they hold dear and help the audience answer the show’s overall question, “Why do women kill?”.
Creator Marc Cherry does a nice job crafting new stories that are all aimed to answering the show’s overall question without making it feel like you are just watching the first season all over again. The first two episodes of the season do a nice job of setting up the players. They go over who everyone is while also starting to unravel some of the secrets these new characters are hiding. For the characters who’s secrets are still unbeknownst to the audience, the episodes begin laying the groundwork to their secrets, which will leave viewers with their own theories. However, whether or not those theories come true, only time will tell.
Tolman and Parrilla are fantastic as Alma and Rita. The two characters could not be more different and yet, I was begging for more scenes with the two together. Tolman and Parrilla play so well off each other and have such wonderful chemistry. Every scene is a joy to watch. Cannon’s Dee will have many fans rooting for her by the end of episode two, while Frost’s Bertram will have fans rooting against him. Daddario is a nice addition to the cast, but, for now, his Scooter is merely a plot piece to push along Rita’s story. However, I get the feeling that will change as we get further into the second season.
If the scandalous stories don’t draw you in then the costumes definitely will. Costume designer, Janie Bryant really outdid herself this season finding pieces that not only showcase the time, but also showcase the character. Each costume is filled with so many details that speak to the character that sometimes you find yourself wondering if the costumes are characters themselves. If anything though, you will want to be rocking your own 40s look when all is said and done. Fans of the first season will not be disappointed with this new season.
Photo credit: Sarah Coulter/ ©2021 Paramount+, Inc.