The second season of the HBO drama “Big Little Lies” deals with the investigation into the death of Celeste’s (Nicole Kidman) abusive husband, Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgard), at the Otter Bay Trivia Night Gala. The debut episode for the second season was watched by over 2.5 million viewers, which is a 34% increase in viewership over the first season. The popular HBO series also garnered 16 Emmy nominations and acting wins for Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern. The whole cast returns for the show and the lies keep snowballing, while getting bigger.
The first season hid the mystery of who had died. Until it ended with the revelation that Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) killed Perry by shoving him down a steep flight of stairs. Detective Collins (Ron Brooks) continues to distrust the group of women dubbed the Monterey Five, which includes Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman) Renata (Laura Dern), Jane (Shailene Woodley) and Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz). We also discover that Celeste’s husband, Perry, is the father of Jane’s son Ziggy (Iain Armitage). This is shown in a flashback montage when Jane’s memory is jogged once she sees Perry at Trivia Night. She immediately remembers that he is the diabolical rapist who is the subject of her revenge fantasies.
The first season directed by Jean-Marc Valle introduced us to the private and public lives of affluent mothers living in Monterey, California. The teleplay for the first two seasons is written by David E. Kelley based on the popular novel by Liane Moriarty. Celeste appeared to be in a happy and loving relationship with her handsome younger husband Perry. In reality, Perry would constantly beat her up and forced her to engage in violent make up sex. Celeste and Perry started to attend couples counseling therapy sessions with Dr. Reisman (Robin Weigert). Eventually Celeste decides to attend the sessions alone and she confides in her therapist about Perry’s violent temper and patterns of physical and sexual abuse. Celeste makes plans to leave Perry. But he learns that she wants to move out and he fights with her on Trivia night. Bonnie notices something is wrong and intervenes to protect Celeste from harm.
I’ve watched the first three episodes of Big Little Lies Season 2 directed by Andrea Arnold. I will tell you enough to tease the season without spilling too many spoilers for viewers. The story quickly draws you back into the glitzy beachside world of Monterey without missing a beat. My biggest takeaway is that Meryl Streep dominates every scene that she is in as Perry Wright’s over protective mother, Mary Louise Wright. She initially arrives in town under the pretense of helping to raise her grandchildren.
Mary Louise likes to spar with Celeste’s friends as she digs for answers into the true cause of her son’s death. The first encounter between Mary Louise and Celeste’s best friend Madeline immediately turns into a confrontation. “I find little people to be untrustworthy,” Mary Louise chides. “You strike me as a wanter.” Mary Louise doesn’t believe Madeline’s answer that her son lost his balance and fell on that fateful night of the fundraiser. Mary Louise continues her sleuthing as her list of suspects continues to grow. Celeste and Bonnie are the two women from the group who are left the most emotionally damaged from Perry’s death. Celeste keeps having nightmares and talking in her sleep. Alexander Skarsgard returns for the season to reveal aspects of his character in flashbacks as Celeste, Mary Louise and his children watch home movies and remember him in their lives. However poor Bonnie is left a total wreck after his death. She completely shuts down and becomes severely depressed. All because she was the one who killed Perry.
In Episode 2, Tell-Tale Hearts, we understand why the title is inspired by the famous tale by Edgar Allen Poe. Bonnie’s mood change has caused so much concern for her husband Nathan, that he calls her mom Elizabeth (Crystal Fox) to help her out. Bonnie tells Madeline that she is wracked with guilt, because she can’t tell her husband about causing someone’s death. “I’m having a hard time with the whole thing, it’s going to get us all…the lie,” Bonnie confides in Madeline. Elizabeth figures out that Bonnie transformed from a carefree bohemian spirit into a haunted soul after she attended the fundraiser. Bonnie and her mother have a tense relationship. The Have and The Have Not’s actress, Crystal Fox, does a good job of adding depth and substance to the backstory for the only multi ethnic African-American main character on the show. We can understand why Bonnie navigates the world of a piloxing yoga instructor. Elizabeth uses jargon about seeing visions and invoking traditional old world spirituality that grants understanding to know why her daughter is in distress.
Celeste decides to admit the truth to Mary Louise that Perry was an abusive husband. But Mary Louise can’t admit that her perfect son was ever capable of hurting anyone. “You left some things out. You were planning to leave him the very night he died,” Mary Louise argues. Celeste’s inner turmoil drives the arc of the season as she accidentally goes for a joyride after taking too many sleeping pills. Celeste is also haunted by the violent legacy Perry left for his children. She is scared that her twins, especially Max who was bullying Renata’s daughter Amabella in the first season, will continue to have a violent temper like their father. All of the women in the group know the truth about Perry as their own webs of lies become more entangled.
Laura Dern is pitch perfect as the over the top housewife that you love to hate. Madeline makes a last ditch effort to save her marriage by going to couples therapy. While Jane finds a love interest and starts dating a co-worker. We are drawn in to watch the stories about the Housewives of Otter Bay, because the ensemble casts including the children play the psychological tension. It’s the cover-up in Season 2 that drives the momentum of the upper class drama so well. Mary Louise is digging so much and constantly spilling details to Detective Collins. The suspense with that story line and watching Meryl Streep release a blood-curdling scream to mourn her son, is enough reason to watch what happens next in the season. I hope that the cast decides to reunite for a third season to give us more insight into these rich characters.
Big Little Lies airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO.
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