Major spoilers are ahead from Imperfect Women episode 3!
The second episode of Imperfect Women ended with Eleanor making a very bad decision. After helping Robert store Nancy’s old belongings at the Ojai house, she ends up sleeping with him. It was already revealed that Eleanor had liked Robert back when they were younger, but he ended up getting with Nancy instead. Although Nancy may be dead now, this gives Eleanor no right to betray her best friend. Will she have to face the consequences of her actions? Let's move on to episode 3 to find out!
Eleanor confronts Robert about the apology letter he sent to Nancy
The previous episode left off with Eleanor finding a letter in Nancy's things at the Ojai house. It's a letter that Robert had sent to Nancy after he found out she was having an affair with a man named David. In it, Robert apologizes to Nancy for his "extreme" reaction to learning about her affair. After reading the letter, all Eleanor can do is sit there in disbelief. The night Nancy was murdered, Robert made it seem like he had no idea that Nancy was sleeping with someone else. Now, Eleanor knows he was lying.
Robert walks into the room, and Eleanor immediately confronts him. Robert explains to her that on the day he found out about Nancy's affair, he didn't conduct himself in the best way. While he didn't hurt Nancy, he tells Eleanor that he did yell and break things during their argument. He even explains that on the night Nancy was murdered, she had told him that she was going to see David and end things. However, he didn't go with her because she said she wanted to do it on her own.
Robert then basically tells Eleanor that he regrets not going with her. Suddenly, we see two quick flashbacks that appear to show Eleanor and Nancy arguing. That's strange! Once the flashbacks wrap up, Eleanor and Robert then talk about the fact that they crossed the line and slept together. However, they don't talk about the topic for long because Eleanor has to get back home to get ready for an awards ceremony later that day. Also, it's worth mentioning that Eleanor keeps the letter.
After handing over Nancy's notebook to Mary, Eleanor heads back to her job. As she's walking into the building, she's stopped by Mary's son, Marcus. Apparently, she helped him with something in the past and neither of them told Mary about it. That's weird! The episode then cuts to Eleanor's company's office. As she's leaving the restroom, she bumps into Jordan. He basically confronts Eleanor about her ghosting him. With everything going on with Nancy's murder and her sleeping with Robert, Eleanor decides to break things off with him.
Following the award ceremony later that night, Mary approaches Eleanor with Nancy's notebook. She found a disturbing portrait of a man that Nancy had drawn in her journal. Mary thinks it could be Nancy's stepfather, Scott. Eleanor then tells her that the portrait looks like the same man that she saw at the church during Nancy's funeral. Mary believes the best thing to do is to show the sketch to the police, but Eleanor hesitates. Luckily for her, she doesn't have to give her opinion because Donovan interrupts their conversation.
Cora finds out about Eleanor and Robert's secret affair
Later that night, Eleanor finds herself driving to the Ojai house while listening to a recent voicemail that Robert left her. Once there, she ends up hooking up with Robert again before they begin playing around in the pool. That's until Cora shows up with her friend. Cora immediately accuses Eleanor of sleeping with her father, but she and Robert come up with a quick lie. Robert then tells Cora and her friend that they'll stay the night at Ojai house before going back to school the next morning.
We're then shown Eleanor and Robert speaking alone. Although what they're doing is risqué, they decide to still keep seeing each other secretly. The next morning, Eleanor arrives at her company's office and finds everyone looking at her funny. Her co-worker pulls her aside and explains what's going on. Apparently, Cora uploaded a TikTok video revealing to the world that Eleanor is sleeping with her father. Uh oh!
While driving to Mary's house, Eleanor speaks with an angry Donovan on the phone. He scolds her for getting involved with Robert and reminds her of how things will turn out once Robert's family finds out. As Eleanor pulls up to Mary's residence, she hangs up the call. However, her conversation with Mary doesn't go well either. Eleanor comes clean to Mary about her secret affair with Robert and shares that articles are going out about it. Now, people are thinking that maybe she and Robert had something to do with Nancy's murder because of the affair.
Eleanor even tells Mary about the apology letter that Robert wrote to Nancy. Mary responds by saying that they need to take the letter to the police because it's hard evidence. She thinks that Robert killed Nancy, but Eleanor tells her that they can't take the letter to the authorities because she doesn't believe Robert is capable of murder.
Eleanor then goes on to talk about how she and Robert have something real, but Mary cuts her off by basically saying nothing about their relationship is real. She even tells Eleanor that Robert is using her before kicking her out of her house. Eleanor heads to Robert's house next and finds herself stopped by Detective Gantz as she's walking up the driveway.
Apparently, Jordan spoke to Detective Gantz and shared that Eleanor didn't get to his house until 1 a.m. on the night of Nancy's murder. Since Nancy was murdered at midnight, the authorities are now suspicious of Eleanor. However, Detective Gantz is unable to get any information from Eleanor because she refuses to speak without her lawyer.
After entering Robert's house, Eleanor and Robert speak in one of the rooms. Eleanor tells Robert that the best move is for them to release a joint statement, denying the rumors. However, Robert shuts down her idea and tells her that his attorneys have advised him not to speak to her. This shocks Eleanor, who had thought they were actually going to try at a real relationship. But Robert acts cold towards her and even asks for his letter back. Eleanor then curses at him before leaving the house.
Mary has new details about David
Back at her residence, Eleanor sits on the floor. Donovan shows up at her front door, and she lets him in. He tries his best to comfort Eleanor before he asks her if she thinks Robert actually killed Nancy. While Eleanor doesn't give him a straight answer, she hints that he might have. Donovan then tells Eleanor that she must tell him everything she did on the night Nancy was murdered.
We're then taken to a lawyer's office, where Eleanor recounts to them everything she did the night Nancy died. While most of the story we already knew, there are some new details. Remember earlier in the episode when Eleanor and Marcus were talking about a past situation that she helped him with? Well, that happened the same night. After leaving dinner with Mary and Nancy, Eleanor went to Jordan's house. However, she left after Marcus called her. Once she handled that situation, she headed back to Jordan's place. Shortly after, Robert called her about Nancy.
After Eleanor tells the lawyers all this, they basically tell her that they'll handle things going forward. She and Donovan then leave the office and go their separate ways. We're then shown a flashback to just three hours before Nancy's murder. This is the same flashback that's been shown in quick flashes throughout the episode. Apparently, Nancy tried to get Eleanor to go with her to talk to David but Eleanor refused. This is something that Eleanor is now struggling with.
Suddenly, she hears a knock at her front door. It's Mary! The third episode then ends with Mary telling Eleanor that she knows who David is. Dun dun duuun!
Imperfect Women is now streaming on Apple TV.