Big Little Lies

[Ladybug]

Mar 13, 2005 12:45:42 GMT -4 Ginger said:

I'm rooting for any one of those women to walk up to Francie and tell her to either make an arrest or stop standing around in public glaring at them with her judgmental face.

This is the easiest money that Merrin Dungey has probably ever made. The cop character has maybe one scene, sometimes one line per episode, she just has to stand around looking intimidating. And a hat tip for the Alias reference

[mmmkrimpets]

Jul 1, 2019 6:23:32 GMT -4 Babycakes said:

I was just on ONTD and saw a pretty good and soapy twist that someone thought up:

You know how Mary Louise looked at Bonnie all weird?

SPOILER: Click to show

Spoiler
And separately ML shares with Celeste that people move on from a tragedy but not necessarily together? And how ML ex-husband had a family with someone else and is ostensibly a good father? What if.... ML ex-husband is Bonnie's dad

I could get behind that. Not that it would make up for the dip in quality this season, but it would be a "shocking" reveal.

That is possible especially if they follow the formula from the first season with Perry and Jane who went about their business, but didn't actually come face to face and confirm what some suspected until the very last episode. That reveal would also parallel Nathan's second or "other" family. Even if that isn't the outcome I firmly believe there is another person we have already been introduced to that is somehow connected to ML and her ex-husband.

[Ginger]

I always thought that Perry being Jane's rapist was way too much of a coincidence, but the show was so well done that they managed to pull it off. Ditto how Celeste only had to take one glance at Jane's face to know that her expression meant, "Celeste, dear friend, your husband who I conveniently have never met in the entire time I've known you is my rapist from 6 years ago."

If Mary Louise were to have some kind of surprise plot revelation connection to Bonnie, that would be too much. I think it would decisively wreck the season.

[kostgard]

Dammit, I knew something was off about Cory! I kept waiting for him to be revealed as, like, Perry’s cousin or something. But what the hell was he doing at the police station?

Meryl turns up the heat on Celeste, meanwhile she’s basically stalking them while they are at Jane’s apartment. Someone push her down the stairs.

We were robbed of a better Renata/Meryl scene. I know Meryl was expertly poking at all of Renata’s open wounds, but I wanted to see Renata just unhinge her jaw and eat her whole. Come on - Renata made it to the top of a male-dominated industry. She’s got it in her.

That couple’s therapy session looked like my idea of a nightmare. Looks Ed is thinking of giving Maddie a taste of her own medicine, but he’s probably going to get distracted by yelling at drama teacher.

And Ed was right about him and Nathan. They don’t have to get along. Just go away, Nathan.

It feels like finally something is happening.

[Babycakes]

Jul 8, 2019 0:16:23 GMT -4 kostgard said:

Dammit, I knew something was off about Cory! I kept waiting for him to be revealed as, like, Perry’s cousin or something. But what the hell was he doing at the police station?

Meryl turns up the heat on Celeste, meanwhile she’s basically stalking them while they are at Jane’s apartment. Someone push her down the stairs.

We were robbed of a better Renata/Meryl scene. I know Meryl was expertly poking at all of Renata’s open wounds, but I wanted to see Renata just unhinge her jaw and eat her whole. Come on - Renata made it to the top of a male-dominated industry. She’s got it in her.

That couple’s therapy session looked like my idea of a nightmare. Looks Ed is thinking of giving Maddie a taste of her own medicine, but he’s probably going to get distracted by yelling at drama teacher.

And Ed was right about him and Nathan. They don’t have to get along. Just go away, Nathan.

It feels like finally something is happening.

1. I was thinking that Cory was a plant hired by Meryl to get info on Jane/Celeste. That sounded like him giving a report to someone in the promo for next week. Maybe he's working with the detective?

2. Meryl continues to be a nice/nasty stalker person. I thought this was going to be the episode where someone finally bites it. There's a lot of suspects that could end up finally pushing her down the stairs and killing her.

3. I was confused at the Ed/Torie scene. I assumed she was there looking to hook up with him. But she's there with her husband and trying to make him jealous? Were they angling for a threesome? WTF?

4. Nathan continues to be as useful and as necessary as a bunion. Couldn't he have been off at a conference for the entirety of this season?

5. Episode 5 out of 7 they decide to do something. How craptacular.

The scene with the bully was a bit much. So it's just common knowledge now that Perry was a rapist, and is Ziggy's dad? And would kids really be taunting kids with such information? Not that they're not capable of being cruel little fuckers, but that was a reach to me.

[Spinderella]

Mar 27, 2005 13:52:29 GMT -4 Babycakes said:

So it's just common knowledge now that Perry was a rapist, and is Ziggy's dad? And would kids really be taunting kids with such information? Not that they're not capable of being cruel little fuckers, but that was a reach to me.

And this is where the show has put a nail in its coffin for me.

The knowledge of him so openly as being a rapist is why it's so hard to believe that any of these women would be walking around so freely without the case being truly solved. That shit would have made its way to the detectives a long time ago and that's enough motive to have all the town talking that these women murdered Perry for being a rapist to Jane and Ziggy coming from that union. Someone being pushed vs falling down a flight of stairs is a HUGE difference forensically and what comes up in an autopsy. When you fall, you're trying to break your fall and with it come defensive wounds and more damage instead of just being thrust into a concrete rod. But sure, let's just draw this out for months and months hoping the women commit another crime or spill the beans. Ugh.

This whole season has pissed me off.

[Wol]

I've been so disappointed with this whole season. Everyone is acting like an idiot and the plot contrivances are so stupid it's insulting to the audience. Meryl should just remove her dentures and let her fangs air out at this point. Celeste is the dumbest former lawyer ever. Is anyone else offended that the only major characters of color are being given the "magical negro" psychic treatment? Corey going full "21 Jump Street" as a police mole is hilarious. The only reason I'm still watching is to find out who killed Perry's little brother - Perry or ML.

[laurenj]

Jul 8, 2019 2:44:23 GMT -4 Spinderella said:

Mar 27, 2005 13:52:29 GMT -4 Babycakes said:

So it's just common knowledge now that Perry was a rapist, and is Ziggy's dad? And would kids really be taunting kids with such information? Not that they're not capable of being cruel little fuckers, but that was a reach to me.

And this is where the show has put a nail in its coffin for me.

The knowledge of him so openly as being a rapist is why it's so hard to believe that any of these women would be walking around so freely without the case being truly solved. That shit would have made its way to the detectives a long time ago and that's enough motive to have all the town talking that these women murdered Perry for being a rapist to Jane and Ziggy coming from that union. Someone being pushed vs falling down a flight of stairs is a HUGE difference forensically and what comes up in an autopsy. When you fall, you're trying to break your fall and with it come defensive wounds and more damage instead of just being thrust into a concrete rod. But sure, let's just draw this out for months and months hoping the women commit another crime or spill the beans. Ugh.

This whole season has pissed me off.

Yeah, is this all supposed to have snowballed from Chloe overhearing Madeline and opening her yap at school? We've gone from Ziggy not knowing what "assault" meant (or mishearing it as "salted") to all the kids in school knowing ALL of the sordid details and using them to bully Ziggy?

There's no way the detectives don't already know, but according to the show, they were just biding their time until Perry's mother shows up, Celeste gives her some ammo with the Ambien incident and slapping one of the kids, and ML takes her to family court, thus setting up a possible perjury situation? Quite a convenience for the police...

5. Episode 5 out of 7 they decide to do something. How craptacular.

I know! I had to look up the episode run last night b/c I knew last season was only 7 eps, but I figured this one would be longer (if nothing else, at least due to the first season's popularity) and that's why they were moving at a disjointed snail's pace with every storyline. But nope, 2 more episodes left and lots of loose ends to tie up. Unless they are planning to do a 3rd and really run the wheels off a previously great show.

We were robbed of a better Renata/Meryl scene. I know Meryl was expertly poking at all of Renata’s open wounds, but I wanted to see Renata just unhinge her jaw and eat her whole. Come on - Renata made it to the top of a male-dominated industry. She’s got it in her.

I didn't understand why Renata didn't just say "we're moving, that's why there's no furniture." I mean, I get why the writers wrote it that way, but it didn't ring true to the character at all. Renata, as we've known her thus far, would never expose a vulnerability like that, especially to someone like ML.

I always thought that Perry being Jane's rapist was way too much of a coincidence, but the show was so well done that they managed to pull it off. Ditto how Celeste only had to take one glance at Jane's face to know that her expression meant, "Celeste, dear friend, your husband who I conveniently have never met in the entire time I've known you is my rapist from 6 years ago."

Perry being her rapist was the impetus for the entire book, so I didn't have too much trouble with that point (also, in the book, there's far more background to how Celeste figures it out, she had much more information than the show had time to indicate). And Perry's frequently being away and not being terribly involved with the school world seemed plausible enough.

I'm having far more trouble with Jane and Celeste's relationship now though. There's some really heavy stuff being casually dropped into conversations (are you glad he's dead/don't you hate me for sleeping with your husband/I can't believe you could still enjoy sex, etc.) that seems totally implausible. Especially since it seemed like a classic triad friendship with Madeline being the joint of the three. Even with all they've been through, it still feels like Celeste and Jane would be types who'd only spend time together when Madeline is present to be the center.

I was thinking that Cory was a plant hired by Meryl to get info on Jane/Celeste. That sounded like him giving a report to someone in the promo for next week. Maybe he's working with the detective?

Or that maybe he is undercover police and the aquarium job was always a setup? If that's the case, way to officially kill any hope of Jane ever trusting any man!

[Ginger]

Aug 19, 2008 9:02:06 GMT -4 laurenj said:

Or that maybe he is undercover police and the aquarium job was always a setup? If that's the case, way to officially kill any hope of Jane ever trusting any man!

He might have been coming out of the police station because he committed some kind of crime. I think Bonnie in her paranoid state will assume that he is running an undercover sting operation, just like she assumed Francie was at the hospital to watch her.

If it is an undercover sting operation, puh-lease. Nobody would ever care this much about a guy falling down the stairs while clearly in the middle of beating the crap out of his wife with 5 witnesses all saying the exact same thing. Even if they suspect one of them pushed him, it clearly wasn't premeditated and all falls under the umbrella of justifiable/self defense. Big Deal.

I can only imagine Francie going to her superiors at the Monterey Police Department and requesting that they throw their resources behind a full-scale honeypot sting. Like if the Son from Big Love dates Jane for two years and marries her, eventually she'll confess that Perry fell because one of them stuck her foot out? They still wouldn't have a case.

That's why the whole foundation for this season is so weak.

[laurenj]

Jul 8, 2019 14:41:04 GMT -4 Ginger said:

Aug 19, 2008 9:02:06 GMT -4 laurenj said:

Or that maybe he is undercover police and the aquarium job was always a setup? If that's the case, way to officially kill any hope of Jane ever trusting any man!

He might have been coming out of the police station because he committed some kind of crime. I think Bonnie in her paranoid state will assume that he is running an undercover sting operation, just like she assumed Francie was at the hospital to watch her.

If it is an undercover sting operation, puh-lease. Nobody would ever care this much about a guy falling down the stairs while clearly in the middle of beating the crap out of his wife with 5 witnesses all saying the exact same thing. Even if they suspect one of them pushed him, it clearly wasn't premeditated and all falls under the umbrella of justifiable/self defense. Big Deal.

I can only imagine Francie going to her superiors at the Monterey Police Department and requesting that they throw their resources behind a full-scale honeypot sting. Like if the Son from Big Love dates Jane for two years and marries her, eventually she'll confess that Perry fell because one of them stuck her foot out? They still wouldn't have a case.

That's why the whole foundation for this season is so weak.

It really is. I can't quite understand why they changed the ending from the book for the first season if they hadn't intended to do a second. And if they did intend to do a second from the start, they could have drawn out the storylines longer and not had to rely on this flimsy premise.

Meryl's character didn't show up to stir the pot until however long after the actual incident, so there was no impetus for a full-scale investigation at the time.