Round Two: Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies: Season 1, Episode 2 “Serious Mothering” (B)

I’m not sure how to feel about this show. Its main character, Madeline, is accurately described as a rabble-rouser, someone who insists on taking a stand on every single thing as if it was the most serious and important argument of her life. Taking on the cause of Ziggy not being invited to Amabella’s birthday party is one such instance, and Jane made a good point that Renata would likely fault her and blame Ziggy more for causing such a problem. I was surprised that Renata gleefully came over to Madeline and Celeste while they were out enjoying their evening, and only after Madeline made it clear that she wasn’t going to let the accusations slide did it become a big thing, one which apparently also involved Nathan and Bonnie’s daughter. The men on this show really aren’t very nice, with Perry actually being abusive and manipulative and Ed telling Madeline to shut up before threatening once again to start a huge fight. Ed’s encounter with Nathan wasn’t terribly pleasant either, and it was far more passive-aggressive than Madeline’s very direct chastising of Bonnie for taking Abigail to Planned Parenthood without asking her first. There is an interesting difference in the seemingly platonic, lackluster marriage between Madeline and Ed and the far more worrisome and deeply sexual relationship between Celeste and Perry, which conveys a lot of unhappiness and loneliness. We’re still not anywhere closer to finding out who got killed and why, and I think that continues to drag this show down a bit.