HBO's 'Big Little Lies,' created by David E. Kelley and based off of the New York Times bestselling book written by Liane Moriarty, might easily be the best show of 2017.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
A perfect life is a perfect lie
The slogan for "Big Little Lies" is essentially what the message of the series boils down to: no life is perfect, and those pretending their life is perfect are lying. The show is, however, more profound than one simple theme. On the surface, the series is a dark comedy drama wrapped up in a murder mystery. Underneath that, it is interwoven with the psychological examination of women, family, culture, trauma, relationships, and, ultimately, the fragility of humanity.
It is made abundantly clear in the show that it does not matter who you are or where you come from, or what your background is, life applies to all of us, and we are all flawed.
People are not all bad, or all good
The psychological component of the series is the core of the show's foundation. Scenes were crafted carefully, with seasoned and talented actors bringing moments to life through specific mannerisms and expression. One of the initial themes of the show relates to classism and gender roles. On the surface, many of the arguments seem petty, but it's really about perspective and expectation.
Renata Klein (Laura Dern), for example, unequivocally believes that her self-worth in Monterey is based purely on how she is seen by the rest of the town, especially the other women.
The tension between Renata and Madeline Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) is revealed early on in the premiere episode: for them, it's stay-at-home mothers versus working class women.
Madeline is a stay-at-home mom who volunteers at the community theater, while Renata is a CEO and mother. The two characters acknowledge that their respective roles make them targets for judgment.
And that's the fascinating part: they are both fighting for their right to be respected as who they are, worried about what others think about them. While striving for their identity, they are, essentially, after the same goal. But they're still, at first, on opposite sides of the battle lines.
Renata easily could have been a one-dimensional character.
The antagonist that you love to hate, that makes our protagonists' lives all the more complicated. This story, however, is about showing how people are never one-dimensional.
Renata is just another person trying to get by and make sure her kid is safe. She is loud, dismissive, and, despite a false demeanor she carries around town at simply being the sweet, rich business woman, she is powerful and a fighter. She makes mistakes and is as flawed as the next person. She wants so badly to fit in and goes about it in all of the wrong ways because the culture she lives in informs what it means to belong in a negative, gossip-like society. Part of her feels that if she can't fit in, she has to be superior to maintain her stance on a level playing field with other women such as the equally loud and powerful Madeline Mackenzie.
Tear through the surface of what makes a human being and you will always find the truth, and the best moments with the characters on the show is when they are stripped down to their truths. Renata is as angry as she is sweet. She feels singled out and bullied because she is a successful business woman and her walls begin to crumble when her daughter becomes the victim of a bully.
Renata lashes out publicly, causing Madeline, Jane (Shailene Woodley), and Celeste (Nicole Kidman), to form their opinions even more about her. But her truest colors are revealed when Jane shows up at her house after weeks of strife and they both apologize, genuinely. Renata listens, isn't dismissive, is calm and understanding.
It's not only a lesson in communication but in how multifaceted human beings are.
Renata goes from being an antagonist to a protagonist not because she changes but because someone finally listens and understands her, and she bonds with the women, allowing them to see the complete package and not just the "ugly" parts they had seen before.
Every character has a moment that reveals what's underneath the pretending, as Ed (Adam Scott) would say - the moments that bring to light every piece of a person instead of the parts they allow to be shown. When Madeline cries after finding out Jane was raped; when Abigail Mackenzie (Kathryn Newton) watches her mom with her sister Chloe and you realize that Abigail feels she is losing her mother to the attention she no longer receives; when Celeste finally comes clean to her therapist about the abuse and that she wants to leave her husband Perry (Alexander Skarsgård), and so on.
Out of the female characters, Jane is probably the most genuine throughout. The big secret is of her past sexual assault and Ziggy's father, but her attitude and how she treats people is relatively consistent. She doesn't have to hide so much her personality, but her history, so there's more of an obvious vulnerability that the audience follows during her journey.
One of the most significant scenes plays out in episode four between Celeste and Madeline after they have effectively shut down the witch hunt to end the play, 'Avenue Q.' Celeste becomes emotional and admits that being a mom is not enough for her; she felt alive being a lawyer again in the meeting with the mayor and the “concerned parents.” She feels ashamed for saying it, but Madeline agrees that her life was so consumed by her daughters that forgot about her own.
What I love about this scene is the pure honesty that I feel many mothers experience. It seems taboo to say being a mother is not enough, but the truth is, that statement and being a good mom are not mutually exclusive. It's being human. Living for another human being, no matter if it’s your children or someone else, does not fill in every gap of what your life is supposed to be.
When both mothers – who obviously love their children – allow themselves to be honest, it is a refreshing moment many women can relate to. Madeline volunteered at the community theater to have more than just a life as a mom. But she felt pressure from what was expected of her. The show shines a light on the sexist attitude that motherhood has to be everything for a woman when that simply isn't true.
Writing with purpose
'Big Little Lies' is a perfect example of how every element of a story should be crafted with a purpose. For example, when Jane forgets that Ziggy's family tree assignment is due the following day at school. What's the point? Well, it causes her to seek out Madeline's help with the project and ultimately leads to Jane revealing the truth about her rape to Madeline, which sets into motion its own chain of events on the show.
Even the music plays an important part of the story. It drives many scenes, especially when characters are reflecting about their situations. The lyrics are almost always paralleling what is playing out onscreen. The editing, particularly in flashbacks or in every intense scene between Celeste and Perry, is maintained effortlessly, revealing moments to the audience when the writers and filmmakers are ready to.
The twists throughout the show work exceptionally well because they are stunning yet obvious once revealed. When you learn that Perry is the faceless monster from Jane's past, and then his murder occurs right after, it all makes sense that the season was leading up to this conclusion. Even learning that Max, Celeste's and Perry's son, is the one who has been hurting Amabella is so incredibly logical you almost can't believe you missed the clues.
Children imitate their parents; if we were looking for a possible violent child, it would probably be one who witnesses violence from their own father at home. Foreshadowing plays a big part in finding those connections.
There are jokes made throughout the series about death or true desires of wanting to kill someone.
The most notable, though, is how often we see a repetitive memory of Celeste gazing at the knives in her kitchen. This is, inevitably, a foreshadow not just of her preparing to finally end that relationship, but that Perry is the murder victim all along. The audience also witnesses a parallelism between Jane and Celeste, both women suffering from trauma at the hands of a man. This unspoken connection is a foreshadow to the biggest reveal of all: that Perry is Ziggy's father.
When we learn that Perry is dead we run through the list of suspects and consider the possibilities. Did Jane get her revenge? Did Celeste push him? They would both make the most sense. But what about Madeline? She becomes a quick suspect as well because she always goes out of her way to "fix" things and is loyal.
In a great twist, however, Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) is revealed as the one who pushed Perry down the stairs and killed him to save Celeste. Bonnie is presented throughout the entire season as being the peaceful being; she wants no fighting or strife, no violence, and for her husband (Madeline's ex) Nathan (James Tupper), to get along with the Mackenzie's. In the end, she's the one with the most blood on her hands and you're left sitting there thinking: "I should have seen it coming."
The domino effect
Actions lead to consequences. It's brought up by the witnesses in the first episode, that had Jane not stopped to help an injured Madeline, that, from their perspective, none of this would have happened.
But, you could argue that had Jane not stepped into Madeline's life like that, and ultimately, Celeste's and Renata's and so on, that Celeste might be the one dead.
Celeste makes her final move to leave her husband when she learns that her son Max is the one who has been bullying and hurting Renata's daughter, Amabella. Ziggy was blamed at first - a huge catalyst in the story - but he was, in fact, keeping the secret because Amabella asked him to. Would Celeste still be with Perry had she never found out the truth about what her husband's actions were doing to her kids? Would she still be alive?
The abusive relationship was leading up to an explosive climax, and, in this chain of events, it ended up being Perry paying those consequences. In another timeline, maybe one where Jane doesn't come to Monterey, Celeste might be the one who was killed; or, at the very least, still being abused. Jane was also able to receive some closure from her own trauma.
Season 2?
David E. Kelley and the cast of 'Big Little Lies' have been asked about a possible second season numerous times. While the cast appears to be on board for another visit to Monterey, Kelley explained to Entertainment Weekly that they are "kicking it around."
He made it sound as though the group doesn't want to do a second season if they don't have the proper material for it. Kelley says that, while a decision hasn't been made yet, "it'll be story-driven when it is." Another key factor is Liane Moriarty: part of the decision is based on whether the author comes up with another story idea, Kelley confirmed with Entertainment Weekly. The creator even said he would be open to Moriarty becoming a screenwriter for the show if she wanted to, especially for her "excellent dialogue."
The show definitely provided a good amount of closure in the finale. The mystery was solved, bonds were formed, and, for the moment, our main characters were all seemingly happy and safe. However, with the suspicious detective watching them on the beach, and some secrets still hidden (Madeline's affair), the story undoubtedly continues. Will the truth come out?
Will Madeline, Jane, Celeste, and Renata do everything they can to protect Bonnie? Would any of them, especially as survivors and children to protect first and foremost, ever betray one another after what they have been through? They are all, after all, only human. We can only hope those many questions will be answered with a second season.
