Big Little Lies Season 2 premiere recap: Meryl Streep steals the show

The Season 2 premiere of Big Little Lies and introduction of Meryl Streep was some of the best television the series has provided us to date.

When I heard that Big Little Lies was getting a second season, my initial reaction was what are they going to do next and how? After reading the book before watching the series I thought the last season ended perfectly and I wasn’t sure how the next season would play out; however, Meryl Streep’s addition to the already star-studded cast is a perfect fit.

Streep plays Mary Louise Wright – the mother of Perry, Celeste’s (Nicole Kidman) abusive dead husband. Last season we saw Perry get pushed to his death by the “Monterey Five”, as the local gossipers now call the protagonists. Of course, Mary Louise shows up looking for answers, the real answers.

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While everything in Monterey seems to be going back to normal – Renata (Laura Dern) hasn’t changed one bit when it comes to protecting her precious Annabella and threatening teachers. Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) is still concerned with her public image, particularly at the school gates and Jane (Shaliene Woodley) has a new job at the local aquarium and appears to be working past her trauma.

Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) on the other hand is the polar opposite, an emotional wreck since the events of last season. Previously Bonnie was a free spirit and positive influence in everyone’s lives, but now she’s being eaten alive by holding in the secret that she’s responsible for killing Perry and isn’t able to forget it. Who could blame her? This was quite a traumatic event to handle without any counseling or the support of your friends.

The recently widowed Celeste is not only getting frequent nightmares about Perry she is also stuck in a real one. She is drifting around like a ghost with no emotion or feelings, with her only intention to protect her boys and she does an incredible job in doing so. Celeste was controlled by Perry for years and now she has his mother attempting to do the same thing but in a different unsettling way.

Mary Louise intently listens in on Celeste’s dreams to put together what happened that night. Simply put, the last dream Celeste had wasn’t very good for her case about not knowing what truly happened to Perry. At the end of the episode, Mary Louise watches Celeste’s dream and seemed to have good intentions with her comforting tone, until she surprises the audience with a question directed towards Celeste, “So, who are we going to kill?”

Mary Louise knows something is not right, and I trust her to somehow get to the bottom of it. Streep is great at moving around Monterey and observing what is going on around her, even by taking digs at Madeline about her height and untrustworthy nature. Streep’s cryptic maneuvering around Monterey fascinating and a great way for us to get some insight on her personality. She is the mystery that raised a monster – we don’t know what she is capable of yet.

Around Celeste and the boys she was nurturing and looking after them but that quickly changed around her dinner table performance. She described Perry as “the most amazing man” and goes off on a rant that ends with a long terrifying scream, showing her crazy almost psychotic side that’s bound to become further unhinged as the season progresses.

I can’t wait to see how the next episodes play out and which of the Monterey Five is going to explode, if not multiple. Although this episode was essentially a reunion/recap episode it was good to build the foundations for the rest of the season. HBO does a great job of bringing Monterey and the characters to life while making it aesthetically pleasing and captivating.

What did you think of Big Little Lies Season 2 premiere? What were your thoughts about Meryl Streep’s performance? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The episodes will be available to purchase through Amazon Video after the season fully airs or you can watch through HBO Now with the Amazon Channels add-on.