The award-winning drama series Big Little Lies is back on HBO, allowing viewers to follow up with the ladies in Monterey, CA after the murder investigation of Perry Wright. The ladies have seemingly walked away unscathed, with police authorities appearing to be content with the story that Perry slipped and fell. However, Bonnie, who did the pushing herself, feels a tremendous sense of guilt and can’t seem to get herself out of a funk.
As a new school year begins, the ladies must deal with quiet rumors about their involvement, drama with their kids, and constant worry that the authorities might eventually find out what really went down that night.
Beyond that, we have a few questions after the premiere of the second season on June 9, 2019.
How Could Jane Cash the Cheques Without Raising Suspicion?
Over drinks, Celeste asks Jane why she refuses to cash the cheques she’s sending from Perry’s estate. Ziggy deserves the money, Celeste insists, seeing as he’s Perry’s biological child and all. This is a great gesture on Celeste’s part.
How could Jane possibly cash the consistent stream of cheques without raising suspicion? One would imagine the police aren’t completely satisfied with the investigation, they might continue to look into each of the five women (the “Monterey 5”). If they see monthly cheques being sent from the wife of the deceased to one of them, might that not seem a bit suspect?
Does Perry’s Mom Know He Was Abusive?
This season sees the addition of Perry’s mom, Mary Louise Wright, played by the incomparable Meryl Streep. Interestingly, while she takes jabs at Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), calling her hard to read, Mary Louise herself is really difficult to read.
She’s clearly still processing her son’s death and committed to helping with her grandchildren. Mary Louise's obviously suspicious about what went down, which makes one wonder if she really thinks her son was a complete angel, or if she knows about his violent tendencies.
What is Going On With Renata’s Husband?
We don’t know too much about Renata’s husband Gordon (Jeffrey Nordling) besides that he is a high-powered executive. In the premiere, Renata is posing for a photo shoot in her home for a magazine article about powerful women in business, since she herself is a powerful exec.
We briefly see Gordon approach from the upper level, ask her what’s going on, tell her she looks great, before retreating back into his room. There, he’s playing with a train set and downs about three shots of whiskey (or some other alcoholic spirit) in less than a minute. Something’s going on there, and we want to know more.
Will Something Happen Between Ed and Tori?
The exchange between Ed and Tori at the grocery store, where she proudly declares that he probably didn’t recognize her because she had breast augmentation, seems too insignificant to have been included unless there was going to be more to it. Tori, as you might recall, is Joseph’s wife. You know, the same Joseph who had an affair with Ed's wife, Madeline.
They both have their suspicions that something is or was going on, especially since the car accident where they were together. Might Ed run into Tori again? Will they get payback by hooking up themselves?
Will Bonnie Go to the Cops, or Get Out of Her Funk?
One of the biggest question marks after the first episode is Bonnie. Will she be able to move on, holding on to the secret that she actually pushed Perry and he didn’t accidentally fall? Bonnie tells Madeline she wanted to tell the truth, admitting that she did it because she thought he would hurt Celeste (which, let’s face it, he probably would have.)
Once the lie was told, it was hard to go back. We see Bonnie moping around and even hanging around outside the police station, tempted to go inside. Will she be forever changed? Confess? Or, snap out of it and be able to move on?
Will the Police Find New Evidence?
The playback of the various police interviews with the five women, as well as the first season's beach scene, makes it clear the cops are keeping their eyes on the ladies. While Renata is assured by a friend that the cops have nothing, all it takes is one little piece of evidence to kick the case wide open and put all of the women in trouble.
So, while we’re fairly certain the police will find something else to go on, what will that something be?
How is Max Doing With His Anger Issues?
The big mystery around the first season was Renata’s daughter Amabella being bullied, and her insistent belief that Ziggy, the son of the new girl in town, was to blame. In the end, it was discovered that Max, one of Celeste’s sons, was the actual bully. Max had developed some violent tendencies, naturally after having witnessed his own father’s violent ways.
Has he been, or will he, go to therapy? In the first episode, we see him and his brother fight, with Max even stabbing his brother with a fork at dinnertime. We hope to see him progress through the season and not turn into his father.
Will the Ladies Turn On One Another?
Right now, Bonnie seems the likeliest person to turn on the ladies, either by confessing to the police, or telling Nathan what happened to get it off her chest. Should the police discover information that points towards one of the women, such as the fact that Perry raped Jane, or that he was an abusive husband, could the women turn on one another to save themselves?
It would be a sad turn of events for an otherwise tight-knit group. Nevertheless, nobody knows what someone may do if pushed into a corner.
What Will Happen if One (Or More) of the Husbands Find Out?
Speaking of the husbands, what will happen if one of them finds out? We can’t imagine them failing to understand why Bonnie pushed Perry. Will they be angered that the women lied to the police and could they provide another sense of worry?
Nathan is obviously fed up with Bonnie’s behavior, Gordon seemingly has a drinking problem, and Ed seems to be somewhat distant from Madeline. So who knows what might happen should one discover the truth. (For Madeline, probably more pressing is that Ed doesn't find out about the affair!)
Will it Be Revealed that Ziggy is Perry’s son?
The five ladies know that Ziggy is Perry’s biological son and that Perry is the anonymous businessman who raped Jane, which she didn’t discover until the final episode of season one. However, o one else does.
That is a huge bit of information that could play into the police investigation. It could point fingers at both Jane and Celeste for Perry’s death. Will anyone find out? We’ll have to wait and see.