Meryl Streep Makes Her Big Little Lies Debut; Plus More Cast Members Announced
Filming has commenced on the second season of HBO’s Big Little Lies and star Nicole Kidman shared on Instagram a sneak peek of multiple Oscar winner Meryl Streep on the series’ set.
Streep has joined the cast as Mary Louise Wright, the mother of Alexander Skarsgard’s deceased character Perry (aka the mother-in-law of Kidman’s widow Celeste).
In related BLL news…
TVLine reports that Merrin Dungey is set to return for Season 2 of the HBO drama. Dungey’s Detective Adrienne Quinlan will be a recurring guest star next season.
Also returning: Robin Weigert, who plays Celeste and Perry’s therapist Dr. Amanda Reisman; Kathryn Newton, who plays Madeline’s oldest daughter Abby; and Sarah Sokolovic, who plays Tori, the wife of theater director Joseph, who Madeline had an affair with in Season 1. Weigert will be a recurring guest star, while Newton and Sokolovic will be series regulars.
Joining the cast are: Crystal Fox (The Haves and the Have Nots) as Bonnie’s mother Elizabeth Howard, and Mo McRae (Empire, Pitch) as Michael Perkins, a teacher at the kids’ school who has a beef with Renata.
Season 2 of the Emmy-winning HBO drama will bring back headliners Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern, as well as co-stars Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott and Zoe Kravitz.
Big Little Lies‘ seven-episode second season is slated to premiere in early 2019.
First Look at Big Little Lies Season 2
Heads up BLL Fans! We got our first look at Season 2. Although not much, Laura Dern did post a Behind The Scenes look at her and co-star Resse Witherspoon. They are sitting down at a table and maybe they are gonna grab some coffee.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BghqJRQn802/?utm_source=ig_embed
No release date has been given for Season 2 and details are scarce. However, you can catch up on Season 1 on HBO GO.
Source: TVLine
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 107
All good things must come to an end, and Big Little Lies is no different. The show (season?) ended with this seventh episode, “You Get What You Need”, and if the show was waiting for an episode to give answers to the audience, it was clearly this one.
The episode begins with Perry’s retaliation on Celeste for what she did to him before. Celeste was crying on the floor, while Perry was already apologizing for something he probably didn’t regret doing. Celeste goes to the therapist again and we see a scene that has practically no words, and, since those are usually some of the best, this one was no different. Celeste says Perry will go on a trip on the following day and she will then move out with the kids. But a lot can happen in a day, especially that day, because it was when the school dinner was going to happen.
I was very surprised when we found out that Perry knew about Celeste’s new apartment. The way he said it, like it was a mundane thing, made it look even more threating than if he had actually tried to be threatening. Perry tries to convince Celeste to stay, giving her the talk that he will change, that she has to help him fight the demons inside him, but Celeste had made up her mind about and it was great seeing her finally (almost) free of Perry.
The first major reveal of the episode was the identification of the bully at school: Max, one of Celeste’s twins. It made a lot sense that it was him. Firstly, because the bully would have to be one of the 5 (Ziggy, Cloe, Skye, Max or Josh), since it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to throw in some random kid when the show is about to end. Secondly, because even though both Perry and Celeste always said that the kids had no idea what was going on, hiding things from children usually only makes them more aware of it. Maybe they never saw anything, but they heard it and put two and two together. I really thought Renata was going to make a huge deal about this, but she was just surprised. And it was so great that she went to find Jane to apologize to her about how she treated her son. Renata definitely came a long way in these short 7 episodes, and I am glad the show didn’t end with her continuing to be the villain.
In the meantime, Madeline is convinced that Tori knows about her and Joe, while Joe says that there is no way that she knows. I think, actually I am sure, that Tori does know, since she said so to Madeline’s face in the previous episode. It is really a shame that Madeline didn’t tell Ed about it. I choose to believe that she did tell him and that he forgave her, but it would have been great to see Madeline admit that in front of her husband. Ed is a great guy, and I think he would forgive her.
Speaking of Ed, that scene in which he sang “Wonder of You” was so so good. Adam Scott has an amazing voice and that performance was priceless. Sure Nathan did good too, but nothing compared to Ed. It was a shame we didn’t get to see Madeline, Celeste or Jane sing too.
And while Nathan was singing, we got our second big reveal. Celeste joined Renata, Madeline and Jane while Bonnie followed Perry, putting all 5 warrior moms in the same place. While Perry was telling Celeste they needed to go home to talk things out, Jane realized that Perry was the guy who raped her, Ziggy’s father. I honestly didn’t think Perry was Ziggy’s father, because it seemed a bit obvious, but I am glad that, like the bully, Ziggy’s father wasn’t just a character that was thrown here, coming out of nowhere. After Jane, and without a single word spoken, everyone got to the same conclusion she did.
After a cut in the scene, we get to our third reveal, the reveal we had been waiting for since the first scene of the first episode: the dead body. Or should I say, Perry’s dead body. When we realized that they were lying about the fact that he fell, I thought that Jane was the one who had pushed him, and so they were trying to make sure no one found out that Perry was Ziggy’s father. But the final reveal turned out to be even better. And the way it was shown made it so much better still. We got to see flashes of Perry’s fight against the moms intertwining with shots of waves hitting the rocks. The ocean is the combination of millions and millions of small drop. One small drop would never stand a chance against a big rock, but when they all join forces, they slowly make the big rock disappear. Bonnie was the one who pushed Perry. He was beating all 4 of the women there, and Bonnie pushed The Monster (how ironic is it that that was what Perry used to call himself?) causing him to fall to his death.
Big Little Lies finished with a great scene showing all moms who had overcome their differences and their problems for a woman in need. And that new formed bond led them to the beach, each with their significant others (no, I don’t mean their husbands/lovers, but their children, because ultimately it was through their kids that they met each other). These women don’t need husbands nor lovers to protect themselves, they never did, and they never will.
It has been said that this may not be the end, that a second season might be coming. I am not sure how to feel about this. From my experience, a miniseries should remain a miniseries. This season was really fantastic, and I am worried a second one might take that away, because a bad new season would make the whole show drop. I hope that, if a season 2 is coming, that is not this show’s fate, but I am worried it might be. I am also concerned that season 2 will turn this show into a cop show. The cop made it clear that she knew the mothers were lying, so she could come back and start investing Perry’s death, and they would all end up screwed. I really hope this isn’t be the case, because the show was great without any cops knocking at the mother’s doors.
This episode was absolutely fantastic. Lots of reveals, lots of drama, and lots of women strength. It is definitely worthy of a 9.7/10.
With this I conclude my reviews of the show (or maybe just of season 1). I really hope Nicole Kidman will win an Emmy for this. Sure all actors and actresses were great, but Nicole was especially great. The awards will be delivered on September 17th, so root or her (or another favorite of yours), because I will too!
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 106
Big Little Lies continued with episode 6, “Burning Love”, and in it we saw that tensions continue to rise, getting into a whole new level of high.
With only one more episode to go, it was to realize that in this one some arcs were closed, like the one involving Madeline’s play. Opening night finally arrived and everyone seemed to like it. In the end of the play, we find out a shocking truth: Madeline cheated on Ed with Joseph the previous year. After thinking about it a bit I realized that this wasn’t so shocking after all: Ed and Madeline don’t seem to have a lot of love and sweet moments in their relationship. Even Perry and Celeste have more sweet moments than they do. But there was finally something in this episode that I really enjoyed. After arguing a bit, Ed told his wife: “Madeline, I’m the lucky one. I get to wake up every day next to the girl of my dreams”. This may not look like much just reading it like I put it here, maybe just something anyone would say in order to stop arguing, but what really made it sweet was how Ed said it, like it was the most natural thing in the entire world. Even though there aren’t many sweet moments to compare this one to, it was definitely the sweetest this couple shared (so far) in my opinion.
Something else that was wrapped up was The Dinner (which was turned into a Lunch). It is inevitable to talk about Abigail’s project while talking about The Lunch. We learned last episode that Madeline’s oldest daughter was working on a secret project. I honestly didn’t give it a lot of thought because it didn’t seem very important at the time, but I was absolutely shocked when I heard what it actually was. Sure it is for a noble cause, sure Abigail is trying to fight sex slavery, but what she tried to do is beyond wrong. One of the first things I thought about when I learned about this was how Madeline would react, and that did not disappoint, in the funniest way possible. But it was really cute to see the heart-to-heart conversation that mother and daughter had after The Lunch.
Jane’s storyline began in the most unfair way possible: there was a petition going around and gathering signatures to get Ziggy suspended. There is only one word for whoever created this petition: they are an asshole. At first it seemed like it was Renata, but closer to the end we were made to believe that it was someone else. It was also nice seeing Jane go apologize to Renata. We had seen all the women in this show being venerable, and in this one we also got to see Renata do the same. She is of course just trying to protect her daughter, same as everyone else. She is simply doing it in her own unique way, just as we all do.
Celeste’s journey in this episode was, as usual, really great. Nicole continues with her amazing work, and that totally reflects on the character. As it always does, the couple begins the episode with some romantic moments, but things escalated very quickly in this episode. Celeste goes back to the therapist and she provides her with some advice on what she should do: rent an apartment and tell a friend about the abuse. It was great seeing how professional and convincing this therapist is, trying to convince Celeste of all this, by using reason. Celeste doesn’t really believe what the therapist told her, she still edto want to try to make things work, but the last drop was when, after they fought and came from the hospital, Perry said that Celeste is lucky he didn’t kill her. This made Celeste start looking for apartments for her and the kids, making it now one step closer for her to leave her husband.
It was nice that in this episode none of the 3 main mothers were sidelined, they all seemed to have about the same amount of screen time. One thing that is really unique about this show is how the episodes end. Usually episodes of most other shows end with a plot twist, or a badass line that really makes you want to watch more, and that is great, but Big Little Lies ends really naturally, making you wonder if the episode did really end. This show doesn’t need a plot twist in the end of each episode to make people keep watching it, because each episode is already a plot twist in itself.
This was, as always, a really great episode. This show is really getting better and better and so I am giving it a 9.0/10.
Only one more episode left, and it promises to be a really great and mind-blowing one. We will finally find out who is dead, we will see Ed and Nathan go on a singing battle, we will find out who is the bully, find out what Celeste will do with her life… Next episode really seems like it will overcome all the other previous ones combined. The episode is entitled “You Get What You Need”, so don’t miss it, along with my review.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 105
Big Little Lies returns with episode 5, “Once Bitten”, in which tensions continue to rise and matters of violence (both domestic and bullying) continues to be a pressing concern.
The episode title is a reference to Amabella, because Renata found out she was bitten. Amabella didn’t point fingers to who did it this time, but her mother did that job for her and blamed Ziggy. This is something that was extremely predictable since this storyline for Ziggy has been playing since the beginning of the show, but it still continues to be unfair. I understand that, the same way Jane believes in her son when it comes to this matter, Renata believes in her daughter, but I think she still uses this to continue to get back at Madeline, since Jane is her friend. It seems that in this show the mothers (especially Madeline and Renata) use their children to get in each other’s way, and that is, in my opinion, a little bit over the line.
This accusation totally got under Jane’s skin and I would, of course, be surprised if it had happened in any other way. But this part of the episode wasn’t where Jane shined. Celeste and Madeline were originally going to go with Jane to meet Saxon (the guy they believed was Ziggy’s father), but Jane soon changed those plans. She called Madeline to go pick Ziggy up from school because she had work to do, and so she went on her trip to visit Saxon. I kind of blame Madeline for not realizing that Jane was going to go after Saxon (because I did realize that when Jane called her), but maybe Madeline simply wanted to believe her friend was telling the truth, and so she did. Jane gets there and, from what I understood, she realized that Saxon wasn’t Ziggy’s father after all. I am not 100% sure this is what happened, but I am positive it was, because after smelling him, Jane just left, and I don’t think it was because she was scared.
After that really-nice-to-see scene of the meeting with the mayor last episode, the play is finally good to go, they are free to present it. It was definitely a wise choice, because Celeste said they didn’t have anything to support them in a trial. But this is not what Madeline and Joseph were talking about in this episode. What really was on their minds (especially on Joseph’s mind) was the kiss(es). The accident scene was really intense and amazing. The car totally came out of nowhere and I barely had time to be surprised. Happily Madeline was OK (Joseph was too by the way). But sometimes bad things have good consequences and Madeline was more than happy to have Abigail visiting her and sleeping in her old room (even if it was just for one night).
One thing I feel that is lacking is Madeline and Ed’s relationship. We see them together sometimes, but it doesn’t really look like they are a couple, they just seem like two friends living together (if it wasn’t for their daughter). We saw in this episode a hilarious attempt to have sex, but it failed and they didn’t seem very eager to try again. With only 2 more episodes to go, I really hope that there will be more focus on them.
Lastly, there is the couple that gets the most screen time: Perry and Celeste. If they had almost decided to take a break from violence last episode, they definitely didn’t do the same this time. The thing about these two (and that still makes me ship them) is the fact that they have sweet moments together pretty much every episode (like the moment they were having lunch and started attacking Celeste, or when this couple hugged in the airport close to the end). But sometimes the cute moments don’t overcome the bad ones and this was one of those cases. Perry definitely lost his temper and Celeste even admitted that she was afraid for her life in the moment he raped her. There was also something that I thought was really interesting: I am not sure if it was done on purpose or not, but there was a scene in which Celeste was alone at “Blue Blues” listening to music and we hear Perry’s voice saying that he will change. This made it feel like “Perry will change” is a tune that he plays over and over and Celeste hears it every time and believes it.
The scene with Celeste in the couple’s therapist was definitely the best of this episode, in my opinion. It was finally in this scene that Celeste realized that she is a victim of domestic violence. At first she refused to believe it, saying that she hits him back and so she takes her share in the violence. “I am not a victim”, she sayed. But as the scene unfolds, she got to the conclusion that what she is put through every day is far from being normal. But it seems like Celeste still wants to make things work between the two of them and I would actually like to see that. As I said, I like their relationship (aside from the violence and rape) and I think their family is really sweet. But it is obvious that something drastic will need to happen for this to actually work.
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This was a great episode with great acting (as usual), and someone definitely needs to win an Emmy out of this. This show is really getting better and better, and I am giving this episode an 8.8/10.
I can’t believe there are only 2 more episodes to go, but that is the hard truth. Episode 6 will be all about “Burning Love”, so miss my review.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 104
Big Little Lies continued with the fourth episode of the season entitled “Push Comes to Shove” and the mothers definitely found all kinds of trouble in this episode.
Madeline did definitely not start the episode with the right foot because she is proposed, by Nathan, to have a couple’s dinner, which means, of course, Madeline and Ed, Nathan and Bonnie. I am not sure if Madeline could hate the idea of this dinner any more than what she already did. But it was really nice seeing her blow off some steam when she got home and found Ed singing for her dressed as Elvis Presley.
But this is far from being everything Madeline did in this episode. The play situation was finally more discussed and we learned both the name of the play, Avenue Q, and why so many people think it is inappropriate: there is a sex scene between puppets. When I heard this is why they wanted to stop the play I was surprised, because I thought it would be something more drastic. Renata defended why she wanted the play to be cancelled by totally avoiding the subject and suggesting a whole new play, saying that what their kids need is nostalgia. I think this statement of hers made it completely official that she only went after the play because Madeline supports it and she wanted to win against her. She made such a big deal about this just because of one sex scene. There are plays which you are advised to take your children with you, others where your children should stay home. And just trying to shut down a play based on this, seems very childish. Fortunately, Celeste was there and she kicked a lot of ass. I think this was the first time Celeste shined (I don’t mean Nicole, she has been shinning from the beginning, but Celeste hasn’t, at least not in a good way). As we found out later, Celeste loved that moment as much as we did.
Last about Madeline: I definitely did not enjoy her kiss with Joseph. I really like seeing her and Ed together, and I hope she doesn’t leave him for Joseph (which I don’t think she will).
Celeste and Perry seemed to have taken a break from the violence, and they had a few sweet moments in this episode (like the one in which Perry tells Celeste he would like to have a daughter). But it didn’t take long for them to start arguing and then returning to violence closer to the end. Celeste told Perry she was having a meeting with the mayor, and he did not like that very much. Don’t get me wrong, Perry doesn’t have an excuse for beating Celeste, and I am not taking anyone’s side in this, but this time Perry is right. It seems that Celeste never tells him anything. He overreacted a bit when he said she was going back to work (which she at least wasn’t when she started), but this is totally something one would share with their significant other, long before the meeting actually took place. And it is not just this meeting: in the first or second episode Perry stayed one more day to take the twins to their first day of school and he wanted to meet the teachers but that had happened the day before, and Celeste just went on her own, without even telling him what they were doing. When the highest stage of a couple’s relationship is when they are miles away from each other, there is definitely something very wrong.
It was nice seeing that Celeste doesn’t want to settle with just being a mom. Of course it is great but she doesn’t really do anything all day (and still has a baby-sitter, which is beyond weird and ridiculous). She loved going to the meeting with Madeline and she loved the feeling she got from being there and being a badass. She wants to go back to work, but she is afraid of Perry, as the couple’s therapist found out.
Lastly, Jane also found some trouble of her own: she said in this episode she wanted to move away, but then she seemed to put it aside. The teacher was nice enough to go talk to her about Ziggy, but she mistook the signs she got from class, because maybe both Amabella and Ziggy are both being bullied. This makes the fact that Amabella told everyone Ziggy was the bully look very strange. If they are both being bullied, why point at him? Maybe this is all part of the bully’s sick game.
Jane took Ziggy to a child psychologist and she said that is Ziggy is most likely not the bully, and finally understood that he himself might also be suffering from bulling. This show really deals with a lot of great subjects and it keeps adding and that is really incredible.
This episode was a great one as usual. I hope that Jane starts getting more screen time, because I think for the past 2 episode (3 and 4, I mean) it seems she is being sidelined by the other two moms. I am giving this episode an 8.3.
This show is definitely too small, and there are only 3 more episodes left, so don’t miss my review of episode 5, “Once Bitten”.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 103
Big Little Lies continues to surprise and conquer with episode 3 entitled “Living the Dream”, which sounds a bit ironic since all characters are definitely far from living their dream life.
The episode continues with Madeline’s attempts to sabotage Amabella’s party, organizing and founding “Disney on Ice” tickets. I continue to say that this is unfair for Chloe, because she makes it clear she would rather go to the party, than that “stupid show”. Chloe is a smart girl and she is also Ziggy’s friend and I think if Madeline had talked to her about it, she would be OK with doing this.
But while Chloe preferred to stay, Perry would like to go to the “Disney on Ice”, but Celeste is not particularly fond of this idea. Of course Perry didn’t want to go to see all those princes and princesses dancing on rollerblades, but to spend more time with his two sons. I think Celeste loves her husband, but she prefers the long distance relationship they have while he is away, than while Perry is in town. And I also think that Perry loves his wife too, he simply doesn’t really know how to love her and how to continue to make her love him, so instead of the Sweet Nothings, Perry uses violence. This may seem illogical to all of us in the outside, but maybe in his head it makes sense, maybe he doesn’t mean to hurt her. Maybe this is the language he speaks because that could be what he used to see in his home, and so it is normal to him. All of these could be explanations. Of course none of these makes the beating OK, but it helps us understand his situation. I don’t want to judge Perry (at least not yet) because we don’t really know a lot about him. But it seems like we will find out.
Speaking of this problematic couple, it was really amazing the scene in which they go to the couple’s therapist. It looked like Celeste didn’t want to tell the therapist about the fight, and she also made it seem like the beating was her fault too, because she put it as “we fight” and “we get angry”. It is totally not unusual that couples fight (it may even be one of the most common things there are), but what is not normal is that it leaves bruises (both psychological and physical). At least Perry had the decency to admit what he does, which is definitely a step in the right direction. Making him the one who mentions this might mean that Perry wants to change, but he simply doesn’t know how. One thing is for sure: going to see a therapist was definitely a great idea and it also seems that it started paying off, because Perry and Celeste finished the episode dancing, so maybe things will change. Or not, since it seems like those two go back and forth. We’ll see.
But Perry and Celeste are definitely not the only ones with troubles in paradise, because it looks like things are starting to blow up on Jane’s face. I think it was last episode that the teacher asked the first grade class to make a family tree and I thought that meant more complications for Jane and turns out I was right. Seems like Ziggy doesn’t know much (or at least much of the truth) about his father, but he really wants to know at least his name, giving the excuse of having to put it in the tree. This leads us to find out what happened: Jane tells Madeline the actual story and we find out that Jane was also a victim of domestic violence (or kind of). I read some comments of people saying they think Ziggy’s father is Perry, but I don’t think so. Jane knows Celeste and, even though we didn’t see a scene that showed that, I am sure Celeste showed Jane pictures of her family and Jane would have recognized him. There was also a really great and intense scene in the end of the episode in which Jane saw someone breaking into her house and so she grabbed a gun to protect herself. This turned out to be kind of a hallucination, but it showed that she is afraid Ziggy’s father might come back someday, or she wouldn’t have a gun.
Not being able to happen in any other way, Madeline is also far from “Living the Dream”. Her play is looking more and more in danger and, like this wasn’t enough, Abigail left to go live with her father and Bonnie, because she feels like she is living the life her mother wants her to live, instead of living it in her own way. It was really funny when, while “handing over” Abigail to her ex-husband, Nathan said that Ed was always looking at him, watching him. Nathan is starting to feel threatened by Ed, and he definitely should be, because Ed looks like that kind of badass that no one sees coming.
It is also starting to look like the murder that will happen will be a rushed crime of hate, since it is said that there is a lot of blood and broken bones. Will Perry lose control and kill Celeste? Will Celeste kill Perry in an attempt to protect herself? Will Ziggy’s dad come back and kill Jane, or Jane ending up killing him? Is this related to Madeline and Renata’s war? Looks like we will have to continue to tune in for answers.
This was a great episode and I can’t wait to see more of these 3 moms and their struggles through life. I am giving this episode an 8.2/10.
Stay tuned for my next review of the fourth episode entitled “Push Comes Shove”.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 102
In episode 102, “Serious Mothering”, of Big Little Lies we continue to see the struggle of these 3 mothers to live their lives and raise their children the best way they can.
Reese Witherspoon has done a lot of movies and her acting is always on point, but here in Big Little Lies it feels like she is not just perfect for this role, but beyond perfect. In fact, there may not even be a word that describes how well this role suits her. Her Madeline is funny, loyal to her friends, mean to her enemies, a great wife and an amazing mother. All the characters are different in their own way, but Madeline is my favorite character in this show. But no one is flawless and it was a little unfair of her to use Chloe to ruin Amabella’s party. I understand she is trying to protect her friend, Jane, and she should definitely continue to go for it, but she shouldn’t use her daughter like that, since she hadn’t even talked to her about it (not even after saying that).
All shows nowadays try to touch on a sensible subject, and Big Little Lies “chose” domestic violence. But what we see in this show isn’t really what we usually see: man and woman argue, man beats woman, woman cries and stays defenseless and then man leaves coming back later to apologize. Here we see that Celeste and Perry start arguing and he slaps her, like what usually happens on TV’s domestic violence. The unexpected about this is that Celeste fights back. Right after she gets slapped, she slaps Perry back. Then he pushes her, apologizes almost immediately and they have make-up sex (which kind of felt like rape). This is to say that, unlike what TV makes us believe in, there is more than one kind of domestic violence, and just because one of them fights back doesn’t mean that it is any less a crime. Celeste later mentions this to Madeline and, probably against what she thinks, she should see on Madeline’s face that this isn’t normal. The problem is that she probably thinks that it is. She is in a good relationship with a younger and a good looking man, she hears people say that their relationship is the best, and so maybe she thinks that there has to be a price to pay, because not everything in life can be good. That last part is obviously true, not everything in life can be good. But shouldn’t we be able to feel safe in our own home, with our own family? Yes, of course we should.
In this episode we are pretty much introduced to Ed (Madeline’s new husband). I know that he was in the pilot, but he also wasn’t at the same time. Sure we saw him in some scenes, and heard him speak a few lines, but I think all we learned about him in last episode is that he is Madeline’s husband. I don’t think we even knew that he was Chloe’s father (I actually thought Nathan was). But I understand that some characters have to be sidelined in some episodes for others to shine, because there isn’t enough time for everyone to be in the spotlight in the same episode. Happily, he wasn’t sidelined this time and we learned more about him. We even saw him being a little bit badass in the scene he spoke with Nathan. It appears that in this show the roles are reverse, because man are usually more direct than women. However, in the scene with Nathan, Ed definitely left his intentions clear, but in a more indirect way. It was an amazing scene though.
I thought that Madeline didn’t like Bonnie because she was her ex-husband’s new wife, and it seemed like she was overreacting a bit to what concerns her, but my perspective definitely changed in this episode. Bonnie took Abigail to the “Planned Parenthood” and that was completely not her job. Even though it was Abigail who asked for it, she should have called Madeline. But this is not the reason why I think she is a little bit of a bitch, at least not on its own. After Ziggy kissed Amabella (the poor kid was just trying to make amends) and after the school director said that Skye incited the kiss, Bonnie said that she didn’t believe Skye would do that, since she is very peaceful. This is definitely a big piece of sh*t. She doesn’t mind lecturing other girls about whatever she wants, but when it comes to her own daughter things obviously change. I guess she is not as OK about the subject as she seemed.
This was a great episode and it seems that the flash-forwards are getting more and more close, because Renata already started talking about a fundraiser dinner, which is probably THE fundraiser dinner (you know, the one where someone will get killed). I am giving this episode an 8.0/10.
Stay tuned for my next review of episode 103, because it seems that things are starting to heat up because “war” was already announced and our new favorite TV mothers will be “Living the Dream”.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 101
Big Little Lies begins with an episode that totally fits its name: “Someone’s Dead”. We found out there is a body but we still have no idea who is dead and if it was or wasn’t a murder (it probably was).
Before I actually start reviewing the episode, let’s take a moment to appreciate the killer cast this show brought together: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern… And these are just some of the big names. This is definitely one of the reasons this show was successful. Of course the story contributes, but a new show must always catch people’s eye so that they watch it. And a cast like this is totally a big eye catcher. And because of this, of course this show couldn’t possibly be left out of the Emmys. It is nominated for 16 Emmys including both Outstanding lead and supporting actress, Outstanding limited series, Outstanding supporting actor, amongst others.
The episode followed both present and future (or present and past, depending on your point of view) and that is nice to watch because gives it a faster pace. In the flash-forwards we see the police questioning some suspects that knew the people involved in that found raiser and possibly the victim. I was assuming we would find out who died by the end of the pilot, but I guess I was wrong. But at least it is a miniseries, or it would end up like “Pretty Little Liars”. It was a good show, but it was a very long one for the story they had to show and so they repeated the same idea over and over. As a 7 part show, this will probably not happen here. I do love a good mystery and that is what “Big Little Lies” seems to offer.
We see the struggle of 3 moms about to “lose” their children to first grade. Things are definitely changing in their lives and some of them feel uneasy about that. That first day the daughter of Renata Klein, who is Madeline’s “enemy”, had bruises in her neck and she blameed Ziggy for them. It may not seem like much of a dig deal, but according to what we hear in flash-forwards, that was when it all began (or maybe a bit before when Madeline tripped and twisted her ankle, according to another person). The point is that there wasn’t really a big event, a big explosion of anger. Something smaller happened and the butterfly effect managed to do the rest.
There was also something that caught my eye (and my ear) in the episode. We saw Celeste and Perry in the beginning of the episode, and then through the course of it, and they seemed really sweet (maybe too sweet according to a lady in a flash-forward). But of course that things aren’t always butterflies and there is something going on underneath. Celeste told Perry the incident at the school and how Amabella blamed Ziggy for what happened to her and Perry said he didn’t want their kids near him, just to be safe. After Celeste replayed that she was sure she girl was lying or mistaken, Perry got violent and grabbed her. This is to say, if you think that someone’s life is perfect while yours sucks, then stop, because there is no such thing as a perfect life, and when someone makes their life look perfect, that is usually because their life sucks more than yours.
It was also really great to see Madeline’s side of things. Usually in movies or shows someone like her is the bitch mom no one likes, but I am glad this isn’t the case. It was nice seeing her struggle with her daughters and especially that last part when she and Abigail talked. I think Madeline is a bit like Renata and I thought it was weird they didn’t like each other, but maybe the reason for that is because they are so alike.
This was a nice first episode. As I said, I was hoping to find out more in the flash-forwards, but this way is good too because I get to make my theories on who is dead and who killed who. I will give this episode a 7.8/10.
Hope you guys check my next review of episode 102, because there is some “Serious Mothering” coming our way.
Big Little Lies Season 2 In Early Development
Our girls are getting ready for an encore!
HBO is close to officially announcing a Season 2 for Big Little Lies. The premium cabler’s programming president Casey Bloys confirmed during the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour on Wednesday that he has asked author Liane Moriarity to “take a crack at” coming up with a story for a potential second season. “I’ll be very curious to see what she comes up with,” he added.
Emmy Award nominees Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon have both expressed interested in continuing the story. But, executive producer / director Jean-Marc Vallée, who directed all seven Season 1 episodes, has been the sole naysayer.
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Vallée: “There is no way; there’s no reason to make a Season 2. That was meant to be a one-time deal, and it’s finishing in a way where it’s for the audience to imagine what can happen.”
Bloys is a bit more positive that Vallée can be swayed. “I know [Jean-Marc] said that… but Nicole and Reese can be very persuasive. First we have to see the material and see if it’s worth everyone’s time. And if it is, [we’ll have a] conversation about directors.”
Maybe those 16 Emmy Award nominations and the boffo ratings Season 1 received might make for a convincing argument?
H/T: TVLine