'Big Little Lies' season 3 could see the Monterey Five adapt and take on new relationships if they don't confess about Perry's death
This article contains spoilers for season two's finale.
'Big Little Lies' ended its second season on a very expected cliffhanger. Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman) pretty much obliterated her heinous mother-in-law, Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) in the custody battle of her twins. Following this, the Monterey Five were seen walking into the police station, probably to confess about the death of Celeste's husband, Perry (Alexander Skarsgard.)
But while that cliffhanger was a little anti-climactic coming after the otherwise explosive finale, it did leave scope for a potential season three. And should there be one, the questions plaguing us are whether or not the five mothers confess that Perry was pushed by Bonnie Carlson (Zoe Kravitz) or do they change their mind?
While HBO boss Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter that a third season is unlikely owing to highly conflicting schedules, fans can hope that the show will come back for a third run. But hopes aside, was that season two finale as final as it looked?
Sure, Renata Klein (Laura Dern) dumped her good-for-nothing scamming, lying, cheating husband Gordon (Jefferey Nordling) and Bonnie told her husband Nathan that she isn't in love with him. But where do the now seemingly single moms go from here? Even Renata's life savings and the empiric fortune she had built go down the drain, thanks to her stupid husband's careless stock investments. Could it be possible that the two mothers and their daughters move away from Monterey? That is of course unless they actually do confess to the accidental murder of Perry, in which case, hello prison?
Things ended on a pretty final note for Celeste too. She got the custody of her kids and Mary Louise expectedly left the town of Monterey. But should a third season get greenlit, it is possible that Mary Louise returns to take away her grandchildren from their mother for a second time around. If the Monterey Five really do not confess, it's possible that a potential season three would entail on Celeste finally going out and seeing other people. It will be an interesting angle to see her around a man and in a relationship that is not as volatile, violent, and beyond toxic, as her marriage to Perry.
Speaking of new relationships, the one plot we are craving to see unfold is Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) and her coworker, Corey. It was beyond wholesome to see Jane finally be able to let another man into her life, after her past with Perry. A simple one night stand in a drunken stupor had led to brutal intercourse between her and Perry, despite her repeatedly resisting and declining consent.
Her son, Ziggy, is a child from the same and season two revealed the truth about Ziggy's father's identity to the six-year-old boy. All of this trauma needs to unpack and with Corey's sweetheart nature, it will be interesting to see how Jane and Ziggy adapt to the new addition in their lives.
But the one plot we are absolutely dying to find out more about is Madeline Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) picking up her husband, Ed's (Adam Scott) phone and spotting something out of the ordinary. Our guess is it's a message from Tori — the same theatre director's wife who Madeline had an affair with. Season two focused a lot on Ed finding out about the affair and Madeline spending the entire season trying to convince him to stay, but Tori wanted to get back at her and had suggested Ed to be part of some wild threesome fantasy she and her husband have.
In the finale, right after Ed and Madeline reconcile and renew their vows, we see a text reach Ed's phone and Madeline picks it up to read it. Does she find out about Tori's proposition? Now if there's a third season, we could find out more about that. What will the groveling Ed Mackenzie do now that the tables have turned? In his defense, he did not sleep with anybody though. So it should be easy.
All of these speculative plots are however based on the assumption that the Monterey Five do not confess. If they do, the third season could focus solely on their trials and tribulations. Honestly? The ladies need a break. They have been through enough.
'Big Little Lies' season two finale aired on Sunday, July 20, and both seasons are available for streaming on HBO.