Imperfect Women Recap ‘Eleanor’: Say less than you know

Imperfect Women Episode 1

Near the end of the first episode of this Apple TV adaptation of an Araminta Hall novel, Kerry Washington’s character, Eleanor, switched to a quick voiceover. It was structurally notable because though the episode opened with a voiceover as well, it was later revealed to be Eleanor’s statement to the police soon after the body of her best friend Nancy was found. This time, the voiceover was just piped in, a quick word about something her mother used to say, as she did what any other person would have deemed ill advised – put on a lovely evening dress and joined her dead friend’s husband at the ballet, the same husband who had no alibi on the night of the murder and who was being treated by the police as a suspect. What was so important about the words, ‘Have more than you show, say less than you know’ that it needed to be inserted into the scene as Eleanor walked up those dramatic stairs, then locked eyes with the handsome, immensely wealthy Robert (Joel Kinnaman) in a tux? 

We will need to wait a while before this is answered, because Apple TV is sticking to its usual schedule of releasing the first two episodes, then one episode per week. I am completely fine with this. Time in between episodes means that we have space within the tv fandom to digest what we watched and discuss it. This was how things were in a bygone era, and as an old-fashioned tv fan, I support this. 

Imperfect Women is centred around three friends who have been each other’s everything for the past 25 years. Nancy (Kate Mara) married the son of the founder of Hedgerow Capital; work for her meant philanthropy, sitting on the board of different organisations and serving as patron to artists. Eleanor (Ms Washington, luminous as ever) was the boss at International Rescue + Relief. Mary (Elisabeth Moss) had three children and another one on the way; of the three, she seemed to live the most normal suburban life. 

How much of our lives do we truly share with those we are closest to? Eleanor knew (and Mary did not) that Nancy had a lover, that she was trying to break it off, but she claimed it was complicated. Mary knew (and Eleanor did not) that Nancy’s husband Robert had a temper, especially when he was drunk or was jealous. Mary and Nancy also knew that Eleanor had a connection with Robert that went beyond him being the husband of her best friend.

It was Eleanor that Robert called on the night that Nancy did not come home. The girls were together for dinner celebrating Mary’s birthday. Eleanor woke up on her lover’s bed (a co-worker, Jordan) to Robert’s call. Robert wanted to call the police but Eleanor talked him out of it; she wanted to speak to him in person first. Eleanor was also frantically texting Nancy. Once she reached their house, she would have no choice but to tell Robert what she knew, that Nancy had a lover.

Robert’s first question when Eleanor arrived was whether Nancy was done with him, which meant that he was aware there were problems in their marriage. All Eleanor knew about the lover was his first name, David, and that they met at work. As Robert processed this, two cops arrived with the horrific news that a body was found with his wife’s identification. They needed someone to formally identify the body; it was Eleanor who did that.

Eleanor’s conversation with the police following her identification of Nancy’s body was not exactly friendly. Were the police already suspicious of Eleanor, a woman they found in the victim’s house, with the victim’s husband, before sunrise? They also thought that Eleanor was the last person to see Nancy alive, apart from the perpetrator. The police allowed her to go, but advised her not to leave town.

Given her husband’s family’s enormous wealth, Nancy’s death attracted press attention. Robert’s father and his sister Kit wanted to hire a crisis firm to help them control the narrative. They also arranged for a fancy, rigidly controlled memorial, complete with paper made from lime and rose petals from Nancy’s garden. Their wealth, however, could not shield young Cora from her grief. She even asked Eleanor to stay at the house because she did not feel safe with her father. Robert seemed open to that, but Eleanor said she would come by often but did not think it was a good idea to live with them. 

David turned out to be Davide, or D.H. Boyette, an artist whose work hung in the Hennessey home. Following his arrest, a furious Robert yanked the painting from the wall and violently tossed it outside on the pavement and into the bin. Eleanor followed him, trying to calm him down, trying to tell him that the police could have people watching, but his grief and fury could not be contained. 

Robert later went to Eleanor’s apartment to apologise for his behaviour. He was in a tux because he and Nancy had planned on going to opening night of a ballet, something she loved and he was incredibly bored with. He thought by going, he might feel her with him, and he asked Eleanor if she wanted to come with him. Eleanor initially said no, the optics would be bad (true), but she later changed her mind. Why, it has not been revealed yet. As Eleanor and Robert walked inside the venue, someone was taking photos of them from a car, someone who referred to Eleanor as the ‘boss’s daughter’.

This is an interesting beginning, a pilot that lingers on the characters enough to make us start to get to know them and be intrigued by them. This also feels like it is more than just another rich people murder mystery. Kerry Washington remains immensely watchable, and her chemistry with Joel Kinnaman’s Robert gives the show a dangerous, compelling edge. 

Rating: B+

Strays

🏠The opening credits are lovely, both the music and those cracks of flowing gold.

🏠Eleanor suggested an open marriage to Nancy; she said it was not Robert’s style.

🏠Eleanor told Mary she blamed herself because she told Nancy to break it off with her lover, so she went to do that, and died.

🏠Eleanor has been ignoring her lover Jordan’s messages.

🏠Mary brought her young daughters to the memorial because her husband did not believe in shielding them from grief. Kit: ‘I’m so sorry you couldn’t find childcare on such short notice.’ That was a smooth rich person verbal slap. 

🏠Eleanor saw a man in a denim jacket at church, and wondered if anyone from Nancy’s side of the family came. Mary did not think they would dare. 

🏠Mary asked Eleanor if her teenage son Marcus could volunteer for her and she agreed.

🏠Eleanor was feeling a little guilty because she gave the name David to the police and Davide was arrested. She thought that if Nancy’s lover was Black, she would have mentioned that to her Black best friend. 

Episode Title: Eleanor

Episode Writer: Annie Weisman 

Episode Director: Lesli Linka Glatter

Original Release Date: March 18, 2026

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