Big Little Lies

Solid work by Nicole Kidman in ep 2 as it appears that even after his death, the pain Perry inflicted on his family is far from over. I liked that exercise that Celeste's shrink made her do. Watching Bonnie fall apart is kind of sad...I have a feeling she's going to confess before the season is out. Meryl Streep made some really interesting acting choices in that scene with Kidman after Mary Louise has learned she has another grandchild. Just like in The devil Wears Prada, Streep can bring so much power to a scene without ever raising her voice. Laura Dern and her husband in the car were hysterical and Reese Witherspoon was aces in that scene where her marriage ended, with a grand assist from Adam Scott.

Only watched episode one so far. Loved it.

Gotta agree with all you just said. I wasn't sure where this second season was going to go, but wow, it's going there! Seriously, the revelation about Perry's fathering Ziggy came out in ways that seemed really believable, and to watch virtually everyone unravel because of it was riveting.

Streep has this understated way of creating so much tension in what could have been a stereotyped character. I feel so bad for Celeste -- knowing she needs the help of her mother-in-law but yet hating every minute of it. And it's a subtle layering that the twins both love their grandmother, oblivious to the undercurrents between her and their mom. So well played. Kidman does a great job standing up next to Streep, which has to be intimidating for any actress.

Madeline and Ed's marriage is crumbling, and that too seemed to happen organically. I think the storyline could have felt trite and melodramatic/soap opera-ish in lesser hands. These actors/actresses are all doing a great job with very delicate lines and scenes.

So far, so good this season.

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Ep 3 featured some serious flashes of brilliance...Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) is really starting to piss me off...this woman is in complete denial about the kind of man her son was and thought Jane was just going to roll over and submit Ziggy to a paternity test? Then five minutes later, she sees the resemblance between Ziggy and her son, begs Jane to be a part of Ziggy's life, but still accuses Jane of leading Perry On? I'm so done with her and I'm glad Celeste FINALLY asked her to move out...only Meryl Streep can get under my skin with a character the ways she does. Cannot believe Celeste is still trying to glamorize her relationship with Perry and that final shot of her in bed was a shocker. Loved when Renata yelled at the school principal and the teacher. That principal was funny as hell, and I loved Madeline's speech and that one shot they inserted of the auditorium with Ed being the only person in the room, that was awesome. It's also nice to see that Ed (Adam Scott) found the mason jar where Madeline was keeping his balls and got them back.

Camo got banned? Ouch... my soul hurts. I'll really miss that guy. As he mentioned, he and I shared over 2000 words each in the TV tab on this show. I have the first season on DVD, and ever since I've been hoping for a second season. I haven't seen anything from the second season so I did avoid reading a couple of posts that seemed to contain... well I wouldn't exactly say spoilers, but I just don't want to hear any clues. I did hear that Streep was joining, and I don't really like her, but hopefully she'll be good. I have liked some of her work, like The Hours, but she is pretty one dimensional. Anyway, for those who don't know my take on Big Little Lies, I was drawn to the show initially by Shailene Woodley, and throughout the show she was consistently my favorite part. If it wasn't for Woodley I seriously would not care at all for the show. In interviews she talked about the potential for her character in a second season, and that excited me, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. So I'm really glad to hear that it's getting a second season. I love her character, and feel that she's a stark contrast from the rest of the cast. She, to me at least, feels the most down to earth and honest of all the portrayals. I'm a fan of Skarsgard too though, and was pleasantly surprised to see him in the show. Overall though the show has had a phenomenal cast, and newcomer Kathryn Newton impressed me. I may delay my gratification unti lthe second season finishes... but we'll see. I don't watch a lot of TV shows, but this is definitely locked to my radar.

The first few posts in this thread had me cringing, but thank goodness Yoda turned it around to a positive tone and it's been mostly positive since. It's actually a very rich and deep show compared to most, with excellent acting and writing across the board.

Meryl Streep is continuing to crush it on this show as the character of Mary Louise has graduated to pure evil. The scene where she showed up at the pumpkin party was a brilliantly manipulative move on her part...she knew no one would turn her away even if she made that weak-ass offer to leave which she had no intention of doing. Love the hate/hate relationship between her and Madeline (Reese Witherspoon)...those two crack me up whenever they share the screen. Loved when Celeste slapped Mary Louise but can't belive she apologized for it just hours before Cruella DeVille filed for custody of here sons. Laura Dern was brilliant in that scene with the bankruptcy litigator, though I will take a pass on what would possess her to throw an 8 year old a disco party...this child wasn't even a concept when The Tramps recorded "Disco Inferno". Not to mention that most of the guest were dressed for the 60's not the 70's. Ed (Adam Scott) needs to stop sending Madeline mixed messages...he ether needs to work on the marriage or move out. That scene where's he's sleeping with her and continually pulling away from her just makes him look like an idiot. And what was that weirdness with Bonnie and her mother on the dance floor? And why does Celeste continues to take all this medication when it's causing blackouts? Continuing drama should always raise questions and episode 4 did it in spades.

Finished episode 3 and it seems every episode is great. Off the top of my head this is probably the best female cast I can think of, TV or film. I've never been a Laura Dern fan but she's incredible in this.

She is...won an Emmy for season 1

I didn't know that but I'm not surprised.

Well, episode 5 was full of surprises, but then again every episode is. I thought it was really cool the way the twins had Ziggy's back and beat the crap out of that bully, though I found it a little hard to believe that this kid we've never seen before had the whole scoop on Ziggy. Big bouquet to Adam Scott who is becoming a better actor thanks to this show, I don't think I have ever enjoyed this actor onscreen more and in a very complex role. I complained last week that Ed was sending Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) mixed messages...well that was certainly addressed this week. Scott was absolutely brilliant in that scene in the car pulled off the road. I also loved Ed's brief encounter with Nathan in the opening scene, that was hysterical. Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) continues to weave her spell of evil through Monterrey...her encounters with Madeline and Renata (Laura Dern) both had me on the floor and her little plea to the judge in that one scene made me want to slap her. Nicole Kidman was powerful in her two scenes with her kids...my mouth literally dropped open when one of them called her a bitch. It certainly was a full 46 minutes, I'm spent.

The ending was a nice little cliffhanger for next week.

Anyone who follows my posts regularly knows that if I'm emotionally invested in what I'm watching, I do a lot of talking back to the screen. Well, I was talking back to the screen pretty much throughout ep 6...this show is getting under my skin unlike anything has in a long time. Superb work by Nicole Kidman, Denis O'Hare, and Meryl Streep during Celeste's first cross examination...O'Hare was properly greasy and Streep contributed volumes to the scene without uttering a word. I was a bit surprised to see all of this promiscuity pop up from Celeste, I felt like I missed something because a lot of it was news to me. Kidman was just heartbreaking as you could see Celeste already feeling her kids being taken away from her. Loved when Ed caught Madeline in her wedding dress and were any of us really surprised to learn that Renata's husband was doing the maid? Cannot wait fro Celeste to cross examine Mary Louise...wow, talk about a cliffhanger!

Agreed. Last night's episode was difficult for me to watch. Custody battles are surreal, ugly things in real life. Watching this one play out was emotionally draining for me. I literally kept checking the clock to see how much more of that torture I was going to have to endure. And yes, Kidman was brilliant. You could almost see the seething rage and fear just under the surface, and her gargantuan efforts to rein them in while she was on the stand.

No, we saw only the one man with Celeste. The rest of them were supposed to be news to us, and then later Celeste tells the other women that Mary Louise must've had someone following her. That totally creeped me out.

There's only one episode left this season. I fear we're not going to get much resolution to many of these subplots. Probably mainly just the custody battle will get resolved. Perhaps some of the situation with Bonnie's mom, too. But I don't see the entire investigation into Perry's death being resolved completely in this season. I have ONE possible theory that would do that, but since I'm guessing they want another season, I doubt they'd do it:

I'm shaking...I'm still not happy that season 2 was only 7 episodes, but the finale was spectacular...Celeste's questioning of Mary Louise was worth the price of admission alone. I had been on pins and needles about this scene and what was going to happen and i was not let down at all. My jaw dropped when Celeste played that tape, I thought Mary Louise was going to evaporate into a puddle of water. Kidman and Streep did the kind of work in that scene that wins Emmys...or should win Emmys. The episode could have been about nothing else and I would have been satisfied. Loved when Renata destroyed her husband's mancave....that guy is such a scumbag. Could someone explain to me why Renata is not divorcing this guy? Does it have something to do with the bankruptcy because outside of that, I don't get why she's staying with this guy. What am I missing there? I will be saying prayers for a season 3 because this episode had a real air of finality about it. Who knows how long all this incredible talent is going to remain available for a third season? I mean Mary Louise is definitely out, didn't expect Streep to be available for more than a season anyway, but surely a lot of this cast might be turning down other work to continue with this. I hope they can make a third season work, because I am completely addicted to the Monterrey Five.

Renata's husband certainly turned out to be a louse but I loved his character. I thought for a while that Bonnie's husband was being set up to be a bad guy but it never happened and I felt bad for him. The character of Jane's BF puzzles me. I figured he would turn out to be some kind of creep. At the very least, I don't see the attraction there. Loved the closing version of CCR's Have You Ever Seen the Rain. It sounded like Willie and Dolly but I didn't check. Hope there's a season 3. The story could go in any direction and I don't think it would matter with these great characters.

Well, with the Monterey Five walking into the police station at the very end tells me they need a season 3. I'd hope all the main actors/actresses knew that once that scene was filmed. Sure, we could guess what might happen, but we need to see it. There were hints that they'd *all* be screwed for what actually happened, not just Bonnie.

As for why Renata stayed with her husband: Probably for her daughter's sake, first and foremost. But I suspect she's leaving now. That scene with her curled up with her daughter ("It's gonna be okay") kinda felt like she was now starting to think post-marriage thoughts. I'll tell you that it's definitely a process to learn how to think single again after a betrayal, and if there are children involved, nobody rushes into it quickly. I don't think all THAT much time has passed since the news broke about everything her husband did -- not in terms of coming to grips with it and deciding to leave him, anyway. The affair with the nanny is likely the straw that broke the camel's back here.

GREAT scene in the courtroom. So glad to see Celeste kept her cool, even though I wonder how much of that "Your honor, I want to speak!" crap a real judge would have taken. Sheesh. "My turn!" "Now my turn!" "No, now me!" "I get to speak again!" She'd already made her decision but she's still letting Mary Louise speak yet again? Wow. I'd guess that's pretty unrealistic and was there only for the emotional dramatic punch for the viewers.

Well, THIS is disconcerting... There might not be a season 3 after all.

https://ew.com/tv/2019/07/24/big-lit...m_term=6476697

Totally agree with above. Excellent post from @Yoda.

Went back for another stab at this. I must have been on crack if I said I didn’t like this show since I LOVED season 1. The excellent theme music sets the scene & it progresses from there. Even the young children are excellent actors.

Very unsure about season 2, but I own it on dvd so will definitely watch it after a little while. Not gonna read the season 2 posts yet as I don’t want to ruin it for myself.

BTW, I had no clue on the whodunnits until it was all over. Never guessed for a second.

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I thought Streep might make the show top-heavy, but she didn’t. It had to be something different for Streep being in an ensemble rather than being the lead actor. I thought she was good.

Easy for a man to say, but I see Jane’s reasoning.

The ending made no sense. Bonnie will have a murder rap, for sure, since Perry never did anything to her. Not premeditated, but no way was it manslaughter.

The other 4 are gonna have an accessory to murder rap. All of them lied to the cops. So where does that leave their relationships with their men? Jane’s boyfriend will support her. Bonnie just told Nathan she never loved him so there’s that. Renata is definitely done with her husband so he won’t care. But what doesn’t make sense is that Ed & Madeline just renewed their vows on a pledge of honesty. Did Madeline ever tell Ed about the murder & helping Bonnie avoid a murder rap? Ed is gonna flip! So none of this made any sense to me.

NY Times says there won’t be a 3rd season most likely. Reese & Nicole are both backed up with other commitments (the pandemic didn’t help) & nobody will be available for another season. Works for me.

The scenes with Bonnie’s dying mother were so tiresome. Never did see the point of all that. Super boring.

Just had to come here and say that I just finished watching the entire series again last week and it was just riveting from beginning from beginning to end. Streep's character made my blood boil.