Why Women Kill Season 2 Episode 7 Review: The Woman in Question
Carissa Pavlica
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It's a very slippery slope as you tumble over the tangled web of lies and deceit.
By the end of Why Women Kill Season 2 Episode 7, Rita and Alma are both a little worse for the wear.
If either of them comes out on top of things by the end of the season, it will be a miracle.
If Alma tumbled out of grace when Rita realized Dee was her daughter, Rita did a faceplant once Alma began her machinations.
Rita was reveling in her dumb luck that they didn't need to lift a finger to urge Carlo off this mortal coil, but her celebration was a little too soon.
With Catherine under the same roof, Rita's joy only made Carlo's daughter push harder for justice for her Papa. Even Catherine couldn't have expected such a windfall of evidence as was discovered in Rita's pocketbook, but Rita was gobsmacked.
She even had to engage in a genuine perp walk while Alma looked on with pleasure. Alma was hardly finished, though, and her actions stacked evidence all around town.
Sure, it was circumstantial, but in a town where gossip motivates both crime and justice, it was a pretty decent place to start.
Bertram, relax. The police can't prove Rita did something she didn't do.
Alma
Bertram was feeling alright, if a little skittish after what they accomplished. He hoped that Rita was reveling in her newfound freedom from her abusive husband. Depending on when he had those thoughts, he could have been right. He had no idea what his wife was attempting to pull off.
The timing of Rita's death with Dee's pregnancy and engagement were anything but fortuitous for Alma and Bertram. They were thrilled that Dee found a man, of course, but their dinner party took an unexpected turn when they discovered what Vern did for a living.
By the time that dinner took place, Alma had already sashayed through town, planting seeds about what she and Rita talked about in the kitchen during the garden club's surprise visit.
The ladies were so eager to denounce Rita in the wake of any scandal that Alma's words were like music to their ears.
But Vern, too, had been making headway with the case, as he was called to the local jail by the suspected killer. He and Rita have worked well together, and while he's not overly fond of Rita, Vern doesn't think she'd be stupid enough to kill her husband in her own home, leaving the evidence hiding in plain sight.
Vern was fresh off of that visit when he joined the dinner party. He was late, creating a stir. Had Dee chosen wrong again?
But his arrival swept Alma off of her feet -- until he spoke sideways about her hatred for Rita and how the news must have affected her.
That was the first inkling that Alma had that her plan wasn't as solid as she thought. She'd spent so much time in her own head of late that she had not fully taken in many possibilities of what could go wrong.
And damn, it's a long list.
Alma: Rita was my disease. She was a tumor, causing me no end of pain. Agony. So I had her removed.
Bertram: It's not the same thing!
Alma: There's so much suffering in the world because of cruelty and unkindness. Rich, beautiful people with power humiliating weak nobodies who displease them. Rita thought I was weak. So did I. You, you taught me that we all have power. If only we're brave enough to use it.
Bertram was beside himself. First, he realized that hatred rather than benevolence drove his latest kill, and that didn't sit well at all. Second, his wife lied to him. And third, now there was evidence out there that he was, in fact, a murderer.
I prevented suffering. That's how you justify your crimes. I can justify mine in exactly the same way.
Alma
It was not the dinner party success that anybody expected, but Alma did her darndest to turn it around. Unfortunately, her minor successes have turned her into a woman who thinks she can manipulate the world.
She's working hard to bury Rita, and she put in a good effort to pull Vern away from a job he loves.
Vern: Are you asking me to quit my job?
Alma: Vern. You're asking me to bless this hasty union with my daughter. And she's pregnant with another man's child? A little compromise makes for happier families. Don't you agree?
At least, she thought she was cunning and crafty, but since she missed so much of what makes Dee and Vern a great couple, she didn't even suspect that he'd continue working as a private detective, let alone helping to clear Rita of the charges against her.
Rita doesn't know it yet, but she needed the win. Everything was crashing down around her. Scooter thinks she did it and seems to be fine and dandy, taking up where he left off with Rita with Catherine.
Catherine managed to scare Isobel away when Rita's blackmail plans blew up in Isobel's face. And the only person she knew to still stand by her did a runner, too.
Only a woman as arrogant as Rita would think that offering her cousin a job as her maid would never come back to bite her in the ass. They seemed to enjoy each other's company, but with the skeletons buried in their closets, Isobel had finally had enough.
Of course, Rita was grasping at straws pinning Carlo's murder on Isobel. Isobel has mentioned poisoning Carlo the night before his murder, but suggesting that she would plant evidence on Rita was a step too far.
A scandal is the last thing that Alma needs now that her chances to get into the garden club have been increased. But Isobel now has proof that she was at the house the night of Carlo's murder. If all the finger-pointing comes to nothing, then they'd have their culprit.
Isobel is on the outs with Rita, and Alma and Bertram aren't exactly wealthy. She doesn't have to use the photo to free Rita, but if she uses it to her advantage, it would make more sense to ensure someone offers her something worth her while to either bury or use that photo.
If she's angry enough at Rita, she could request a hefty sum from Catherine to bury the photo so that Rita remains in prison. If that photo gets out and frees Rita, Catherine's right back where she started with her dreaded stepmother in the picture.
That photo alone could be used in so many ways. But there is also Vern to consider.
He has to be reeling after the strange dinner with Dee's parents. Their behavior was so odd regarding Rita and his career that his mind must be opened to the fact that they're not innocents.
And although Dee loves her parents, they have always thought too little of her, and with the unconditional love and support Vern shows her, she might not need to come up with reasons they wouldn't be involved.
We're rolling right into the final leg of Why Women Kill Season 2, and all of the balls are in the air.
Where do you think they will fall? Who will go down for what, and who will walk away free?
I had a chance to chat with Jordane Christy about the season so far, and we'll have that interview up for you on Friday morning.
Be sure to come back to see what's been on his mind, and leave comments below about what's on yours!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
