Imperfect Women Killer Reveal Reworked Until the End, Says Corey Stoll
Corey Stoll in 'Imperfect Women.'
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[This story contains major spoilers from the series finale of Imperfect Women.]
If you’re a fan of prestige television, then your antenna was probably raised during the first few episodes of Apple TV’s Imperfect Women, as House of Cards and Billions alum Corey Stoll took a backseat. But it soon became clear why an actor of this caliber was needed.
“They gave me the first four episodes, which was just a real tease; there wasn’t that much,” Stoll tells The Hollywood Reporter after the finale of the limited series. “Then they sent the next few episodes, where it was clear this was a fun, challenging role. The character has to do some pretty crazy right angles, and with another cast, in another situation, it might feel a little scary to do that where I’d feel sort of exposed. But this was such a strong cast, I knew that they would all go for it and not be shy about making these bold moves.”
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Based on Araminta Hall’s 2020 novel of the same name, Imperfect Women opens with the murder of socialite Nancy (Kate Mara). In the aftermath, her longtime friends Mary (Elisabeth Moss) and Eleanor (Kerry Washington) search for answers, including the identity of the mystery man who Nancy was having an affair with and who she’d begun to fear.
Episode five, “Louise,” finally brought Stoll’s Howard to the forefront. Mary’s husband and father of their three children is a professor and author who has been out of work, and, essentially as a favor to Mary, Nancy hires him to provide historical information for the program notes of the ballet production that she’s helping put on. An unexpected bond begins to blossom between Nancy and Howard, eventually turning into a steamy affair.
After Nancy’s death, Mary’s suspicions arise when she finds a passage from Howard’s book in her late friend’s belongings, realizing it’s the same one Howard gave to her when they had an affair during Howard’s first marriage. She tears the house apart and stumbles upon Nancy’s ring, prompting her to seek out Howard’s ex, Jenny (Sandrine Holt), who said he’d been abusive to her. Just as Mary is suspecting Howard is Nancy’s killer, she gets a call that her young daughter is in the hospital, having swallowed some of Mary’s illegally obtained Adderall. It becomes clear to Mary that Howard purposely poisoned their child to ruin Mary’s credibility and keep the kids in his custody. As she sneaks into the house to get more evidence, Howard successfully manipulates her, denying the accusations involving Nancy and offering to take Mary back into their family.
Mary relents, only for Eleanor to pull strings to have Howard brought in for questioning. But, in the opening of the finale, “The Bridge,” he’s released when footage shows Scott Reid (Wilson Bethel), the former boyfriend of Nancy’s mother, near the scene of the murder. Upon being arrested, Scott asks to see Eleanor and Mary, telling them that Nancy called him because she was afraid of Howard and wanted Scott to rough him up. But Scott showed up too late, catching a glimpse of Howard standing over Nancy’s body. “Your husband killed your best friend,” he says to Mary, “what the f— are you gonna do about it?”
In an emergency custody hearing, Jenny speaks out against Howard, and the judge rules that children will not be allowed with either parent. Howard responds by kidnapping Mary, planning to stage her death as a depressed woman who killed herself after losing her kids. As they reach the same location under a bridge where Nancy died, the episode flashes back to the murder. Howard wants Nancy to be with him, arguing that she’s never been more alive than with him. She says things between them are over, and she’s going to tell Mary. When Howard contends that Nancy doesn’t care about Mary, Nancy slaps him, and he responds by shoving her into a cement wall, and the hit to the back of her head kills her. “She would be alive if it wasn’t for you,” he tells Mary back in the present. A struggle ensues, and Howard stabs Mary in the shoulder and then strangles her. Likely believing she is dead, he goes to grab the knife, but he’s then run into by Eleanor’s car. He manages to get up an