MAJOR spoilers are ahead from Imperfect Women episode 8!
The seventh episode of Imperfect Women concluded with Howard being taken in by authorities for questioning in connection to Nancy’s murder, following Eleanor’s decision to seek help from Robert. This put Mary in a difficult position, especially after she chose to remain with Howard for the sake of their children even though she suspects he's Nancy's killer. Now, Howard thinks she had something to do with his arrest.
As Mary and Eleanor find themselves at odds at the end of the episode, they both catch a shocking live news report. Someone anonymously gave the police a video showing Scott at the park on the night Nancy was killed. Because of this, Scott is now being treated as the main suspect, and police are actively searching for him.
But who's the real murderer? Is it Howard or Scott? Or, could it perhaps be someone completely unexpected? Find out by following along with our recap of the eighth and final episode of Imperfect Women below!
Eleanor visits her mom
Episode 8 begins with a flashback set five nights before Nancy’s death. Mary and Nancy are seen leaving a diner together before going their separate ways. As Nancy gets into her truck, she receives a text from an unknown sender containing explicit photos of her. It's likely from Howard since they were secretly hooking up, and he's mad she broke things off. Nancy then calls someone and says she needs to see them. The identity of this person is unknown for now, though it’s likely to be revealed later in the episode.
Once the opening credits wrap up, we're then taken back to the present time. Mary is at the Child Protective Services (CPS) facility because her two younger daughters are being held there. Remember, Howard has temporary custody of their kids after the drug incident. However, the kids had to be taken to CPS after he was arrested.
One of the workers walks up to Mary and hands her a business card from a legal aid who can provide her with housing for the night. Howard then approaches with a police officer. He's been released since the authorities had nothing to hold him on, and is coming to pick up their kids. Mary tells him that she had nothing to do with his arrest, but Howard ignores her. He even tells her he'll make sure she never sees their kids again. Once he walks away with their daughters, Mary heads to a hotel.
The next morning, the police hold a private meeting with Robert, Eleanor, and Mary. They inform them that they're actively searching for Scott. They then ask Eleanor and Mary for information about Nancy and Scott's relationship. However, Eleanor and Mary tell them that Nancy hadn't spoken to her family in a very long time. Well, that's what they thought.
Detective Ganz tells them that Nancy and Scott had been in contact recently. They were able to track a number to a now inactive phone purchased by Scott, and apparently, Nancy called him five nights before she was killed and on the actual night of her death. Aha! So it looks like it was Scott that Nancy called in the flashback from earlier in the episode! The meeting comes to an end, and Robert storms out of the building.
Eleanor tries to talk to him, but he brushes her off. Mary then walks by, and she and Eleanor get into a heated argument. It ultimately ends with Mary saying some hurtful words to Eleanor. Later on, Mary sits in a meeting with her lawyer about the upcoming child custody hearing. Howard is trying to take their kids to Ohio for his new job.
Mary's lawyer advises her that their focus should be on getting a stellar character witness. That should help her strengthen her case in court and demonstrate that she is a fit and stable parent. The only problem is finding someone willing to publicly vouch for her since she and Eleanor aren't on the best of terms. Elsewhere, Eleanor heads back home to finally visit her mom. While there, she has a heart-to-heart conversation with her. Her mother gives her some really good advice and tells her to go back to Los Angeles to be there for Mary.
Back in California, Mary asks Robert to serve as a character witness for her custody hearing. However, their conversation is cut short when Detective Ganz arrives and tells them that Scott has been found and has been taken in by the authorities.
Mary and Eleanor meet with Scott
Mary and Eleanor both receive calls and texts from Scott's lawyer. Scott wants to meet with them in person and tell his side of the story. In the end, they both decide to agree to the meeting. At the police station, Scott tells Mary and Eleanor that he didn't kill Nancy. He then proceeds to tell his story.
According to Scott, he met with Nancy at a bar five nights before she was killed. While there, she told him about everything, including the secret affair she was having with Howard. Then, on the night she was murdered, Nancy called Scott again. She asked him for help scaring Howard because he wouldn't leave her alone. But sadly, Howard had already killed her before he could.
The night Nancy was murdered, Scott headed to the park where Nancy told him she was meeting Howard. However, he didn't see her in her car so he decided to call her. Nancy answered the call, and Scott could hear her and Howard arguing. But it took him a minute to figure out where exactly they were. As he ran across the street to make his way under the bridge, he almost got hit by a car. That's where the video footage the news report was showing came from!
Once he neared the bridge, Scott could see Howard crouching over Nancy's dead body on the ground. He explained to Eleanor and Mary that he had seen Howard remove something from Nancy's hand. As viewers, we know it was Nancy's ring. After hearing Scott's story, Mary and Eleanor are even more certain that Howard killed Nancy. They try to get Detective Ganz to listen to their story that Howard is the murderer, but she brushes them off because they don't have solid evidence.
Later on, Eleanor and Mary open up to one another about the secrets they've been concealing from each other. This leads Eleanor to want to be a more truthful person all around. She then heads to Robert's house, where she tells him that she's going to come clean to Cora about everything. Although Robert doesn't want her to do this, Eleanor stands firm in her decision.
Howard kidnaps Mary
It's finally time for the custody hearing. At first, things appear to be going in Mary’s favor after Howard’s ex-wife testifies about how difficult and harmful he can be as a person. But ultimately, the judge rules that their kids are not safe to reside with either parent. In other words, Mary and Howard's kids will have to be placed in temporary protective custody until the case is resolved.
Eleanor then tells an emotional Mary that she'll come over to her hotel later that night to pick her up and take her back to her place. However, Howard ends up kidnapping Mary before she ever gets the chance to leave. He then takes her under the bridge where Nancy was murdered. He plans to kill her and make it seem like it was a suicide. During this scene, we learn that Howard really did kill Nancy. He basically confesses to Mary. He wanted to be with Nancy, but she didn't want the same.
Meanwhile, Eleanor learns that something happened to Mary after she arrives at her hotel and discovers she isn't there. It doesn't take her long to put two and two together and realize that Howard has taken her. Back under the bridge, Mary tries to get Howard to let her go. She basically tells him that if he frees her, she won't tell anyone what he did. That he'll be able to just run away. As Mary tries to call Eleanor, she accidentally drops the phone. However, the call still goes through.
Eleanor figures out where Mary and Howard are based on their conversation and heads there. While this is going on, Mary and Howard get into a physical altercation under the bridge. Howard gets the upper hand and starts choking Mary until she's seemingly unconscious. He then runs to get the knife that he dropped on the ground, but ends up getting hit by a car as he stands up. It's Eleanor! Eleanor runs to check on Mary, and Howard gets up from the ground at this time.
He begins choking Eleanor, but is stopped after Mary starts repeatedly stabbing him in the back with the knife. The scene then cuts to the police arriving at the location. Mary is loaded into an ambulance, with Eleanor accompanying her in the back.
The eighth and final episode then ends with Eleanor and Mary moving on with their lives. Eleanor has a new man in her life, while Mary celebrates one of her daughters' birthdays with family and friends.
Wow, what a thrilling series! After eight episodes of trying to figure out who murdered Nancy, it turns out Howard was the killer after all.
The complete Imperfect Women series is now streaming on Apple TV.
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