'Big Little Lies' season 2 episode 2 spoilers show Mary Louise getting suspicious as the Monterey Five fight among themselves
This article contains spoilers for season 2, episode 1 and 2
'Big Little Lies' just premiered with its brand new season 2, and boy, they were not messing around when they promised the rage gets quite real this time. The Monterey Five have returned to our screens and reprised their roles as dysfunctional matriarchs effortlessly. But they have a new threat right by their side, in the form of Celeste's (Nicole Kidman) mother-in-law, Mary Louise Wright, played by Meryl Streep who was added to this season and has garnered a massive fanbase over social media.
The first episode showed the five ladies - Celeste, Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz), and Renata (Laura Dern) - reunite at their kids' schools as the session kicks off, but tagging along like a shadow of suspicion everywhere they go, seems to be the dreaded mother-in-law, who is visiting her late son's family to mourn his loss. Streep's character has given off strong vibes of her roles from previous films. In that, she is part Miranda Priestly from 'The Devil Wears Prada', and part Violet from 'August: Osage County' - channeling the equally ruthless, intimidating vibes under the facade of a caring face.
And this gets more evident in the upcoming episode 2 titled 'Tell Tale Hearts', as the newly released promo for the same reveals the Monterey Five stressing about the possibility of Mary Louise snooping around. Naturally, suspicion and doubt arise amidst the motherly figures, with trust issues and the need to protect their children gaining the spotlight on their list of priorities.
The official synopsis of the upcoming episode reveals that "Renata faces an uncertain future when Gordon lands in legal trouble; Corey asks Jane out on a “practice” date; Celeste opens up to Mary Louise about her relationship with Perry; Ed confronts Madeline about her secrets." The promotional trailer, however, focuses on Bonnie admitting that "I'm having a hard time with the whole thing, it's gonna get us all." By it, she means the five of them accidentally leading to Celeste's abusive ex-husband, Perry Wright's (Alexander Skarsgard) death, which they unanimously decided to lie about and label as a fall.
Madeline tries to remain calm and composed and help Bonnie deal with it, while Mary Louise tries to help Celeste deal with the accident. "Grief - it's meant to be shared. I want to be here when you need me, Celeste," Mary Louise says in the upcoming episode and her voice once again sounds more of an alarm, or a warning, than a compassionate gesture. Renata observes all of this and tells Madeline "I'm telling you, I think she's (Mary Louise) been watching."
Turns out she isn't wrong at all, because the coming episode will also show Mary Louise laying down her suspicions on Celeste, gentle, and that too in a sickeningly sweet manner. "You know something's up, didn't you? You were planning to leave him the very night he died," she reminds her, and it is evident that it takes a toll on the newly widowed woman. This is also probably what leads to the air of suspicion amidst the Monterey Five as Celeste questions Madeline's motives because she was the one who insisted that Perry "fell" down the stairs.
This whole discussing behind her back thing shocks and agitates Madeline and she snaps at Celeste, but Jane, on the other hand, has a bigger crisis fronting the widow, as she decides she can't lie to her son Ziggy anymore about who his father really was. It's the holy trinity of crisis for Celeste, with two of her friends making things understandably inconvenient for her, while she still misses her former husband - his loss having left her life quite colorless. In the end, it is the mean but loyal Madeline who seems to see the light in the situation they have landed in, as she reminds them: "We're not gonna break. we have to stick together, that's the only way we've gotten this far."
'Big Little Lies' season 2 episode 2 airs on Sunday, June 16, at 9pm, only on HBO.