User Reviews

Liane Moriarty poured her heart out to write this, after being reluctant about going awry from her mystery genre; & David E Kelly brilliantly adapted it to the screen; the result being one that evokes all kinds of realistic emotions, more positive so than negative, which is not very commonly found these days on television, at least without them seeming cheesy. High-five to the Monterey 5 for getting this right. This is also the perfect iconic performance for Meryl at her age, for playing a mean, cunning old mother who is in denial & can't mend her ways. The kids were all adorable & smart, & not shown only as dumb plot vessels in an adult show.

Now as per few claims about the ending not being that good, I respectfully disagree, but I think they misunderstood the characters. Let me explain. This season wasn't just about how fictionally satisfying it would turn out to be, & how masterfully they could hide the truth to win brownie points, but how realistically close enough it could get & still be satisfying. And it all came from the original author!

If it wasn't evident enough, Bonnie wasn't going to expose anyone, she was to go confess only her part & was obviously going to clear others' names. In her situation, she had to do it to get out of her misery, it was either that or self-harm in other, more severe way (Given what we know about her character exactly. We can't project our personal feelings on her, because that would be unfair & like expecting a horror movie character to hear you warning him/her to not walk into trouble, which the character obviously isn't aware of, firstly because they aren't even aware that they are in a horror movie). At this point of time, Bonnie had nothing to lose, so she cleared all her ties with everyone, as she was stronger after revealing the truth to her mother, which had a somewhat cathartic effect on her. She sent that text only to warn the others & let her confess.

But of course the others would not let that happen, not because they were afraid of being charged (they were always never going to be charged as severely as Bonnie), but after knowing what she's been through & how much the lie has hurt her further more than for anyone. Instead of rebuking her, or being any more fearful, everyone understands & respectfully joins her to confess together & justify Bonnie's doing, instead of letting her unjustly take the blame upon herself. Remember, all this was mainly just to save Bonnie, not themselves; so now that she wanted to confess, it was her decision to make & others stopping her is not right of them. They wanted to make sure that only the truth, the entire truth & nothing but the truth comes out with strong witnesses & evidence to back it up. They all knew that now, after all of their personal healings, there's nothing they could lose, even if the truth comes out. In fact, if the real truth comes out, I'm sure that everyone would actually receive the support from their beloved, who would make sure they are only minimally charged, may be with fines & alternative correctional services instead of serving jail time. The truth couldn't have come out better before this; so the timing is actually perfect.

And no, Celeste, Jane, Renata wouldn't be separated from their lone children with no one to take care; if that was a possibility, they would've never taken that step. And no, Gordon didn't just suddenly become evil & selfish to fit the plot ending, the thing is, he always was, he was only hiding to save his a**. His worst flaws kept unravelling slowly, one by one, but Renata, no matter how mouthy & snobby, always forgave him to keep the family together & stay out of public embarrassment. But she didn't deserve it, & so when she finally realized that he had not an inch of respect at all for her, even after all his shenanigans, she snapped & gave him a taste of his own medicine; & I stand by her actions, it was damn satisfying!

Also thanks to that video twist, which started the butterfly effect for all of this to happen seamlessly. The video could also serve as an evidence for standing up to a monster that Perry was. It can be used to show character proof & used as a device for evidence for self-defense.

I don't know if there'll be a 3rd season ever, but if there'll ever be, it should only exist to subvert our expectations that this season did. This season also taught me a little about the inner workings of American judicial system (bankruptcy, civil & criminal) about marriages, parenting, mental health & drugs closely & realistically. The dialogues were on another level of forcing the audience to think in newer ways & there are so many you can use as quotes, even the ones coming from the minor characters. Now there is not one, but two very different but satisfying finales with season 1 & 2 - One criminal but moral & having each others' backs; Another forgiving, accepting, healing, dealing up to everything courageously & having each others' backs. Being a human, not a mechanical robot, if all this is not satisfying enough, I don't know what is.

Favorite scene with

Bonnie Carlson (Zoe Kravitz) - Telling Nathan that she's not in love with him.

Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman) - Questioning Mary Louise on the Stand and showing her proof of Perry's abuse through the eyes of their sons.

Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) - Ziggy asking her if she loves Corey and that he wants them to be together because he makes her happy.

Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) - Ed telling her where they stand and surprising her by saying that they need to renew their Wedding Vows.

Renata Klein (Laura Dern) - Very furious with Gordon for getting to keep his trains while she's lost everything and being told to calm down. Smashing and destroying his trains, hitting him and finally walking away.

I was holding my breath literally with every scene throughout this episode. I'm surprised i'm still alive, haha! I will say, it honestly cannot end on what it just ended on?!? I'm talking about that final scene as that Willie & Paula Nelson cover of CCR's Have you Ever Seen the Rain, plays over it. Ugh!! I guess it still (sort of) leaves it open for season 3, even though I know they said that they're not gonna do it (but, that's what they said about Season 2, and now look where we are).

2x07 highlights for me included the courtroom scenes. High praise for Meryl and Nicole, on phenomenal acting throughout this season when they go at it. And Celeste really got Mary Louise by the tongue this episode. I also LOVED when Ed proposed the idea of renewing their vows (that's right Tori, f off, lol!). I couldn't stop smiling during those scenes. So cute!!! (yes, even though I know Maddie cheated on him 😢). Loved Renata, as always she's such a boss, & yessss to Jane finally being able to allow her self to be with Corey! All the while I also felt bad for Nathan, yet glad for Bonnie that she was able to let go of her feelings.

Shoutout to Adam Scott, who is still mah boi, hahah. He really got to show more of his dramatic side, which is underrated in my opinion. I really hope thanks to BLL, this means that he'll get more dramatic roles, cause he's seriously good at it & is more than the comedic (but, I still love him, lol) characters.

Anyway, I really loved this episode, it was somewhat of a bittersweet ending. But, if there were ever (one can hope, because this show is phenomenal) to be a season 3, I definitely have some questions to be answered. I'm actually interested in the aftermath. For example, Ed & Madeline just renewed their vows, so uhhh, what's his reaction when he finds this out about Perry's death?!? & so wait, Bonnie told Nathan & her father?!? So after all this effort they (supposedly) turned themselves in?! I mean i get that the lie was indirectly/directly unravelling their lives, but come on now! There's definitely more questions i've been asking throughout this season, and I can't think of them right now as i'm processing this finale, however, I found this season to be way too short compared to last season, I just wish it were longer (also, minutes wise, this season is actually shorter). Wish there was more! I've been rewatching the weekly episode at least 1-2 times more a week, & I can definitely say I just have to rewatch this one.

I´m one of those people that wasn't convinced that a second season would be a great idea, but now that I´ve seen this season, I must say that it really was good. In this ending, we saw the conclusion of all of the characters problems, and giving us a clue of how they will face the future after the "Monterey Five" tell the truth, the same as they faced the ending of the first season, together. It was a very satisfying ending. But I don´t think that they should have a third season, but if they do one, because this show is very successful, please, keep the great acting, great screenwriting and most important, as in this season, necessary even when at first glance doesn't feel like it, because this was first class television. By the way, that scene with Mary Louise and Celeste in court, was priceless, Meryl and Nicole should win every award out there.

Acting, visuals, music = 100%

The plot was very basic in the end, it had potential but seemed to peak half way through & never really hit the heights of last season which was expected, but I can see why they ended it like they did, there will be no S3, this is them wrapping up any loose ends (not many) left from the first season, I think.

This was with no doubt an amazing season with top of the line acting and production. But honestly, it felt like a big filler. There was no point to it at all. I love the humanizing aspect of the season, and the respect between everyone which is what the feminine side is all about. But season 1 as standalone is better without this one.

The only issue I have is Laura Dern - this made me hate her more than I already did! Everything else is great, I don't wanna spoil, and just wanna say I love the editing so much!

The finale was filled with emotions, and great acting as throughout the entire show. However, feeling a bit dissatisfied with this ending, as the plot was not indicating such a riskless conclusion. The story's scope was about 2 years, yet there were no signs of the Wright boys being aware of their father's behaviour up till now, moreover having a recording about one of the abuse. Seems like a bit poor writing in order to ultimately win over Mary Louise - who as well abused her son and blamed for the accident - and still had no clue about his son's aggressive conduct, and got shocked by it after the recording was shown.

Also, why was Gordon such vile and obnoxious and triggered her wife when he ruined their lives? Did not really match with his character we got to know earlier.

Lastly, trying to understand the human side of the confession they make at the end, but come on, they got through everything, after Celeste got her children, for the first time in a while they did not need to be afraid of the lie being questioned again, and yet they are eventually going to confess, in reality - which the show was nicely focusing on - facing with jail for false testimony and manslaughter. Humanly right, got it, but there could have been many more opportunities when it actually would have made sense with less harmful consequences.

Great show, great cast, could have been longer with more screen time with the kids, though.

Celeste and Mary Louise battling it out in court was the only interesting thing that happened in this let down of a finale. Bonnie and her mom are super boring and have zero relevance to the storyline. Jane and her new boyfriend are also super boring. Renata going ham on the train set was fun. Her character was probably the most interesting this season. Maddie and Ed are kind of sweet, but no fireworks. After a fantastic season 1 finale this one was just disappointing.

The entire 2nd season of "Big Little Lies" was exceptionally well-made (and acted), but a disappointment compared to the first. The mystery elements were totally MIA and their absence was felt; the season lacked drive. This final episode is basically all about an intense courtroom sequence about a custody battle; to say that the final scenes are anticlimactic would be an understatement, but then again, the previous six episodes hadn't built to anything more spectacular, either. If they ever do a third season, the cast is there, the location is there, the talented directors are there - they would just need a story to tell. *** out of 4.