Spoiler alert: This post contains a story from episode 3 of Imperfect Women, now streaming on Apple TV.
Eleanor, played by Kerry Washington, is a truly imperfect woman. One of the three leads in Apple TV’s thriller series Imperfect Women, Eleanor has had no shortage of failures in her first three episodes.
The drama, based on the novel of the same name by Araminta Hall, follows the lives of three best friends, Mary (Elisabeth Moss) and Eleanor, whose lives are shattered when Nancy (Kate Mara) is murdered. Mary (Elisabeth Moss) and Eleanor end up reevaluating everything they thought they knew about her and their lives.
The first three episodes focus on Eleanor, through her perspective as she navigates the burden of knowing only that Nancy had an affair with a man named David, but not knowing any other details, and her long-standing feelings for Nancy’s husband, Robert (Joel Kinnaman). Eleanor, a director of an international nonprofit organization, begins an affair with Robert when they travel to Robert’s Ojai home in episode 2, but Mary and Eleanor’s brother Donovan are uncomfortable. (Leslie Odom Jr.)
Things come to a head in episode three when Eleanor (after they sleep together for the first time) realizes that Robert has been lying about keeping quiet about Nancy’s affair, and when she finds out, she realizes that Robert has written a letter to his wife apologizing for his outburst. He denies any involvement in Nancy’s murder, and Eleanor storms out of the house…but returns the next night and continues their illicit relationship. Robert’s college-age daughter Cora (Audrey Zahn) comes across the two fooling around in the pool and realizes she’s been tricked, despite their protests that nothing is going on between them. The next day, when Eleanor arrives at work, she is greeted with sharp stares and hushed whispers, thanks to a TikTok posted by Cora that went viral, saying, “Don’t you hate it when your dead mother’s best friend had sex with your father?!”
Stefania Rosini
Things didn’t get much better for Eleanor from there. The detective on Nancy’s case (Ana Ortiz) makes it clear that he thinks Eleanor is hiding something, Nancy’s brother bites her on the phone (“I told you so” is a common sentiment), and Mary (obviously) gets upset when Eleanor tries to protect her relationship with Robert. What about cake decorations? She heads to Robert’s house to plead with them to unite against the media frenzy, only for Robert to break off their relationship. “My lawyer is advising me to cut off all communication with you,” he said, delivering one last brutal blow to Eleanor. “There is no ‘us’.”
The episode ends with a twist in which Eleanor negotiates with her brother by her side as a lawyer, begging Eleanor to come with her to break up her relationship with Nancy on the night she died, but Eleanor refuses and ends up throwing Nancy out of the car. As Eleanor lies in bed, remembering the last time she saw her friend and wracked with guilt, Mary appears at the door and says she knows who David is.
Ahead of the show shifting its focus away from Eleanor in upcoming episodes, Washington spoke to Variety about Eleanor’s character arc so far, her tumultuous relationship with Robert, and how her character as a Black woman has been fleshed out.
We have to talk about Robert. Mary wants to go to the police when she learns that Robert has written a letter to Nancy apologizing for his violence upon learning of his affair, but Eleanor refuses. Why is Eleanor so sure he can’t do anything wrong? When you read the script, was there anything that annoyed you about her never questioning him?
I think when we really love someone or are infatuated with them (depending on who you ask and what section of the show they’re in), we can end up having blind spots about who that person is, aspects of their personality, depending on how Eleanor feels. However, I did not feel dissatisfied with Eleanor. Part of my job as an actor is to really understand the character’s behavior and get inside the character’s behavior. I try not to criticize the character, even though I get irritated with her sometimes, just like we get irritated with ourselves. Because I want to be able to clearly embody their decisions.
At one point on the show, she said she had been in love with Robert since he was 18 years old. Did she feel like she was in love with him or the idea of him and them finally being together after all these years?
It’s difficult for her to separate those thoughts. Until you’re with the person you love, all you have is what it’s like to be with that person.
She was very surprised when he broke off their relationship. What did she think would happen to them in the future?
I think she was hoping that her dream of being together would come true.
Can you see a world where maybe that could have worked?
In other words, it’s fiction, so anything is possible! There’s also a character that we’ve created, and we’re writing it, but it requires him to have different values. The situations and developments in the show are very provocative and provoke a lot of questions, introspection, and speculation. That’s part of what’s great about this show, it makes us ask those questions and think about what needs to change.
What do you say to people who think Eleanor isn’t showing much guilt about this?
I don’t agree with that. I think she ultimately feels very guilty. At the moment, she is so caught up in the infatuation, passion, and excitement of her unrequited love that she may feel that she has changed direction, but she must give the show time for all her emotions to unfold.
Moving on to his relationship with Nancy, why does she refuse to go along to end the affair?
I think it’s because she doesn’t want to be part of Nancy, who is frustrated with her choices and doesn’t appreciate her marriage, given the fact that she knows her choices affect Robert. She clearly doesn’t expect the night to end so tragically.
Mary, played by Elisabeth Moss, is passionate about solving mysteries, finding clues, and following leads. In episode two, Mary and a reluctant Eleanor go to talk to David, Nancy’s supposed lover and a person of interest in her case. Is there a reason why Eleanor takes a step back and looks at things calmly?
What happened to David is very frightening to her. Because she leaks information (about Nancy’s affair) that leads to the arrest of a potentially innocent black man. I think that gave her a pause on cooperating with the police and getting too involved herself.
Eleanor is shown to be a character who is quite conscious of public perception. Is that part of her job, and once Cora’s TikTok is posted and attracts police and public attention, will that add to the stress of the situation?
That’s great for her. She is clearly very stressed and angry about it.
You joined the project before Annie Wiseman’s script was written. Was there anything in particular you paid attention to when building Eleanor’s character?
Well, I’m also the executive producer of the show, so I’ve been involved in everything from developing the script to casting and hiring the room. Not so (especially with Eleanor’s character). Because we have a special writers’ room that is very talented and really embraces Black writers. I didn’t want to feel like it was my sole responsibility to understand and express Eleanor’s identity as a Black woman.
That being said, I wanted to discuss that aspect of Eleanor’s identity. In the premiere, there’s a scene where Eleanor says she’s Nancy’s only black friend, and then Robert asks if she knows David, presumably because they’re both black. What role does race play in Eleanor’s story and being part of a predominantly white friend group?
We wanted to find a moment where the choice to make Eleanor a black woman didn’t just mean coloring in brown crayon. It also has cultural meaning. So we wanted to make sure that we pulled that thread, not only in Eleanor’s life, but also in the lives of her friends and how they all interact with each other, including her relationship with her brother and, later in the series, her mother.
As for her brother Donovan, it starts off as a kind of tough love dynamic, and throughout the season, especially in episode 3 after their breakup, she starts to have eyes for him more and more.
I think they really, really love each other. The great irony of friendship is that we may be most afraid of telling the truth because the idea of telling it is so terrifying. She and her brother are related by blood and have the same last name. I think Eleanor’s leaning into her relationship with her brother is a test to see if people will stay if they hear the truth.
“Imperfect Women” is told through the perspectives of these three central women, and the audience only sees what they see in the episode. What can fans learn about Eleanor by seeing it from someone else’s perspective?
That’s one of my favorite things about this show, and one of my favorite things about this book. It feels like this whole book is about Eleanor, and then you turn to the page that says Nancy and you’re like, “Wait, that’s the dead girl!” how does she have a voice? The changing perspectives are the magic of this show.
Are there any characteristics of Eleanor that stand out to you?
How brave is her journey? And I really love Eleanor’s wardrobe! She takes big risks when it comes to fashion. I don’t know if I would personally wear all of them, but I love her clothes.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
