The journey of the “Monterey Five” has finally come to an end and might I say it was a predictable one. Spoilers Ahead!
Season 2 wasn’t as good as season 1…
The finale “I Want To Know” of season 2 of Big Little Lies premiered this Sunday on HBO possibly marking an end to the series. The finale more or less wrapped up the stories of the five female leads but it didn’t make season 2 as impactful as season 1. The end was more or less predictable from the start with the women going to the police to confess everything.
What happens in the finale episode?
In the court, Celeste presents a video which was secretly captured by her sons. The video shows her husband Perry beating her. And interestingly, Celeste reveals that her mother-in-law, Mary blamed Perry for the death of his brother when they were children.
In the past, Mary had lost her temper while driving resulting in the death of Perry’s brother. Since then, Mary had abused Perry mentally and probably physically which in turn made him abusive as he grew up. So, the custody battle between Celeste and Mary ends with the court’s decision in Celeste’s favor.
Madeline is seen regretting to lie in the first place about Perry’s death and says the secret was tearing them all apart. But then, Celeste replies that “the lie is the friendship”. Ouch! That seemed a bit rude. In season 2, so much hype was given to the lie surrounding the leads’ lives but the rather plain ending didn’t match up to all the built-up throughout the season.
Madeline was apprehensive of her relationship with Ed after she revealed about her adultery. But in a twist, Ed proposes her to renew their marriage vows which they do in a very intimate and small setting with only their daughters present.
And in this finale also, Renata hasn’t disappointed us. When she returns home from the court, she sees her husband Gordon still playing with toy trains. He tells her that he’s allowed to keep them after a collector bought them all. An enraged Renata goes all Hulk, grabs a bat and destroys all the stuff, before hitting Gordon square on the chest. Throwing her ring at him, she leaves the house.
And finally, Jane was able to come out of the trauma from her rape. She takes a step forward in her relationship with Corey and gets intimate with him in the end. Last but not least, Bonnie comes to good terms with her mother who died after a short recovery. Bonnie tells Nathan that she’s never loved him and leaves him.
The story had lost its track in season 2…
With the entry of the character of Mary Lousie, all the other characters were sidelined. Bonnie’s mother’s entry in the show was a total waste. Why bring her in the show if she was to be put to a coma and later on declared dead? Surely, her entry with all her powers and the visions added an exciting feel to the season in the start but the finale proved that it was all for nothing.
The story in Season 2 looked like dragging and wasn’t cohesive. If in the end, all of them had to easily surrender to the police, then they could have done it much earlier minus all the melodrama. The season lost its track with most of the screen time given to only a few characters. More focus could have been given to all the five women showing their friendship and the emotional struggles they were going through.
All in all, it was good that the show ended without further dragging things on. And as far as season 3 is concerned, it doesn’t look like there’ll be one which is undoubtedly good news.