Season 2 should’ve been a two-pronged story, focused on Bonnie and Celeste. Kelley and Liane Moriarty gave us mysticism and visions and unrevealing flashbacks peppered throughout an ultimately unfulfilling season finale.
#BIG LITTLE LIES SUMMARY EPISODE 7 DRIVER#
Rather than allowing Bonnie to become a main driver of the story, instead of investigating the real ripple effects of abuse and childhood trauma, or examining the complexities of race, or the layered dynamics between mothers and daughters, David E. But after promising us more contextual information about Zoe Kravitz’s character and her history with abuse (something further complicated by the fact that, in Moriarty’s original novel, Bonnie’s abuser was her father, and both were white), Big Little Lies planted its flag atop Caricature Mountain, turning Bonnie and her relationships with her mother, father, husband, and daughter into little more than fleeting magic tricks. It was supposed to be surprising that Bonnie was the culprit, and it was. The way the show tossed Bonnie’s incredibly compelling story to the side - after barely showing her at all in Season 1 in an alleged effort to not telegraph too hard that she was Perry’s pusher - was a failure of storytelling on a fundamental level. Everyone was operating at their best, and happily ever afters seemed guaranteed: Madeline and Ed’s vow renewals! Smooch times for Jane! Renata finally getting a divorce from her trainwreck of a marriage (har har har)!Įxcept for one thing - the series’ most pervasive issue its biggest, not-so-little lie of all: that this show ever really cared about Bonnie Carlson’s story at all. That Perry’s mother was played by Meryl Streep was a truly inspired casting move, by any standard, and the back and forth between Streep and Kidman was enthralling stuff, resulting in the no-duh revelations that A: she was at fault for Perry’s brother dying and, B: also contributed to Perry’s abusive behavior, making her an unfit guardian for two small boys.
#BIG LITTLE LIES SUMMARY EPISODE 7 SERIES#
The series wasted no time putting Renata’s bombastic meltdown and vocal loyalty into action, an amuse-bouche before the main event: Mary Louise versus Celeste. So where did the Season 2 finale leave us? Mostly resolved, if sometimes frustratingly so.