It’s here, it’s happening.
Big Little Lies is back on our TV screens tonight.
It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally going to return to Monterey with Reese, Shailene, Nicole, and the rest of them as they keep secrets, tell lies, and just desperately try to get through the day.
The first episode of Big Little Lies season two has already aired in the States (and in Ireland, if you fancied stayed up until 2am last night), but for the rest of us, it’ll be kicking off at the respectable hour of 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
So, in order to prepare ourselves for season two, here’s five things you should know before diving back in.
Please advise.
1. Season two will be quite different to season one
While the first season of Big Little Lies was all about keeping secrets, season two looks set to be about telling them.
Or rather, them spilling out without any agency from the characters at all.
Season one saw secrets around abuse, money, friendships, and power, but season two has amped things up considerably as each of the characters struggles to retain the one secret that could ruin them all – the murder.
The women will attempt to sell the story that the killing was nothing more than an accident, but the more they lie, the more the truth begins to seep out beyond their control.
2. One character’s guilt may ruin everything
Keeping secrets is easy – except when the crux of the secret is about you and you’re relying on everybody else to keep their mouths shut.
Each of the Monterey Five may have been present for the death of Perry, but it was Bonnie who pushed him from the steps, meaning that she is the primary culprit.
The official teaser trailer for season two showed that Bonnie was struggling to deal with the weight of the secret as she desperately tries to push the incident out of her mind.
Secrets never stay buried though, especially not when you’re wracked with guilt.
3. Meryl Streep’s character is going to cause A LOT of hassle
Following Celeste’s husband Perry’s death, his mother Mary Louise (played by the exquisite Meryl Streep) decides that she’s going to show up to Monterey and ask some questions.
Naturally, this presents a bit of a curveball for the women, as they desperately try to keep their secrets secret and the murder a thing of the past.
Mary Louise is going to be so much hassle, in fact, that she clashes with Madeline, Celeste, Jane, and even her twin grandsons as she wears her grief on her sleeve and refuses to butt out of her family’s lives.
But at the end of the day, Mary Louise is simply a mother trying to find out what happened to her son.
We can’t begrudge her that. Can we?
4. It will be dark… but it’ll still be funny
And thank god for that.
One of the things that set Big Little Lies season one apart from the rest of the thriller dramas out there was its comedic moments.
The show was upsetting, it was dark, it was difficult to watch at times as Jane recalled her rape and Celeste struggled to the deal with her abuse, but amidst all the pain and drama were moments of genuine hilarity (Madeline’s one liners, we’re looking at you).
Season two looks set for more of the same, which is absolutely a relief considering the heaviness of the plot.
It features Reese Witherspoon chucking an ice cream at Meryl Streep.
C’mon, it’ll be great.
5. Perry is definitely dead… as far as we know
The end of season one saw abuser Perry meet his very fortunate end when he was shoved from the top of some steps by Bonnie.
He was killed, that was it, it was all over – until actor Alexander Skarsgård said that it wasn’t entirely unlikely that Perry would be returning at some point.
“I don’t even know if I’m really dead or not,” he told NBC last year.“I feel okay right now but we’ll see.”
Either way, it’s fairly likely that Skarsgård will be returning through flashback, so if you happen to see his name pop up in the credits, don’t get too excited.
He’s not rising from the dead.
Probably.
Big Little Lies season two airs tonight on Sky Atlantic at 9pm.
