The Monterrey 5 are back and they have never been better. With a slow but powerful start, Big Littles Lies manages to thrill by creating a whole new scenario that will face the characters this season. The debut of Meryl in the series is not less than incredible, is who steals the show in this episode. Welcome Mary Louise.
23 Reviews
A Little Off, but Overall a Good Episode
hermesv-4174011 June 2019
While it is enjoyable catching up with all the characters, and meeting new players, the episode lacks the immediacy that captured my attention in the pilot. Though greatly directed, acted, and shot, the episode feels a little off. While all the jokes made me laugh, the abundance of them feels out of place. I am certainly interested in how the season will progress but right now I am not really as invested as I was in season one.
Big fan of this show, but...
hezzachan11 June 2019
Great start to an even greater TV show
dscalachavez10 June 2019
Filled with a (yet again) wonderful soundtrack, beautiful shots that convey much more than a simple picture (Shailene Woodley dancing, and Nicole Kidman staring into the ocean are just a few that come to mind), the first episode is a perfect entrance into what hopefully will be another amazing season.
The acting is great, and with the addition of Meryl Streep, who plays a passive aggressive mourning mother, it can only get better here on out.
The acting is great, and with the addition of Meryl Streep, who plays a passive aggressive mourning mother, it can only get better here on out.
Exceptionally great season 2 premiere!
UniqueParticle10 June 2019
The Monterey 5 are back in the best way possible with an outstanding addition Meryl Streep! Love this show so much and the editing in the craft was done so well. I really liked seeing Shailene Woodley dancing in a couple scenes and Douglas Smith is a decent actor included in this season.
Meryl Streep is stole the scene and she will steal the Emmy too
gautamparag10 June 2019
I was one of the people who thought the series should have ended at season 1 finale. I couldn't have been more wrong. There is so much to explore about Bonnie and the show dives right in. Awesome cinematography and score....no surprise there. But the icing on the cake had to Meryl Streep. If anyone could give the viewer chills, without even uttering an actual word.....it's Meryl. What an actor. What a Start.
Meryl killed it ... My Reese is wonderfull and Nicole is just Nicole <3
aminembenrejeb10 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Great First episode , we can feel a new vibe in the show
meryl premiere was just over the top i love her character that i think we will change a lot of thinls in th show obvi...
the new trio that meryl reese and Nicole are on fire
i love the other but i think that this 3 will be the glow of this season .
i m loving the scenes between Maddy and Marielouise
and can we talk about meryl scream OMG JUST WAW HER ACTING is sooooo Good .. and that ending line just perfect
Monterey 5
hugofilipe2010 June 2019
Monterey Five + 1
wragetz12 June 2019
Not the same
trimblecali2 July 2019
I loved season 1. But to me season 2 is just not the same. I can't stand Meryl Streep's character for one. Another thing is that a lot of the plot lines just feel pointless. It just kind of feels like they're stretching based on the success of season 1.
Brilliant End To The Beginning....!!
kpashwinkumar611 June 2019
Wonderful cast of actors and the Edits of the recap of the season 1 at the beginning was the best. This TV show is unique in its technical aspects and Digital Intermediate Colour was just awesome that gives the mood which has to be given to the audience. Meryl is the best choice for the the most vital role that keeps the audience hooked to the seats ,and the ending scene and the dialogue is the best one which makes it one of the best ending episodes.....!!!
What have they done?
lyb3-891-98588314 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
They ruined it.
We weren't watching it for the passive aggressive comebacks and the petty grudges, we were watching it for all it's emotional honesty. For all the subtle and yet brilliant ways they showed what our secular individual-centered society is doing to how we function as communities. The witty writing was just a bonus.
Now, we get a repetitive, on-the-nose shadow of season 1 (Oh, some young bloke makes an obvious metaphor of how beauty is often a sign of danger in nature, when meeting Jane. Such an original metaphor, if this was A SHAKESPEARE PLAY AND NOT A 2019 TV SHOW). Even the editing seems like mere mimicry, it doesn't serve the plot, it just imitates the style of season 1. And everything is so repetitive. Oh, Madeline is hitting her ex husband, how wild, how funny, how original. Oh her daughter doesn't want to listen to her, I don't remember seeing that before. What happened to them opening up to each other at the end of the first season? Dumb writing. That's what happened. It's like the characters did not become any wiser from what happened, but became more stupid instead.
Should've left it a mini-series, the way IT WAS ACTUALLY INTENDED.
We weren't watching it for the passive aggressive comebacks and the petty grudges, we were watching it for all it's emotional honesty. For all the subtle and yet brilliant ways they showed what our secular individual-centered society is doing to how we function as communities. The witty writing was just a bonus.
Now, we get a repetitive, on-the-nose shadow of season 1 (Oh, some young bloke makes an obvious metaphor of how beauty is often a sign of danger in nature, when meeting Jane. Such an original metaphor, if this was A SHAKESPEARE PLAY AND NOT A 2019 TV SHOW). Even the editing seems like mere mimicry, it doesn't serve the plot, it just imitates the style of season 1. And everything is so repetitive. Oh, Madeline is hitting her ex husband, how wild, how funny, how original. Oh her daughter doesn't want to listen to her, I don't remember seeing that before. What happened to them opening up to each other at the end of the first season? Dumb writing. That's what happened. It's like the characters did not become any wiser from what happened, but became more stupid instead.
Should've left it a mini-series, the way IT WAS ACTUALLY INTENDED.
Do you really care about anybody?
ObscureFilmLover11 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Last year this was an engaging mini series based on the fact that we didn't know the big secret until the end. This year we all know the big secret. And even though the mothers were over the top, each seemed to have a redeeming characteristic. For instance the Reese Witherspoon character took the Shailene Woodley character under her arm and guided her through first grade. This year, nobody is sympathetic except for the Meryl Streep character who is naturally grieving the loss of her son but doesn't know what the monster that he actually was. I will keep watching but these primary characters did nothing but grate my nerves for 80% of the first episode.
good start
pavlomatnenko12 June 2019
I miss the soundtrack very nice start
eberkerbatur26 June 2019
The new season started wonderfully when the episode lasted almost 10 minutes for me passed very fast but I wish we could see right after the incident but it looks like it's going to be great this season.
Everyone has said it but i will tell you again Meryl Streep acting is really great
This season looks like events will go a little bit over Bonnie
disturbing
Wango-6568112 June 2019
Excellent start to season 2
gridoon202415 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Nobody has missed a beat: it's as if the series had never really stopped, which helps you step right back into a familiar world (I'm so glad they kept the extraordinary title theme). I was a little worried about the change of directors, but newcomer (to the show) Andrea Arnold maintains the dreamy, distinctive style of Jean Marc Vallee (the final nightmare sequence is beautifully designed). Meryl Street, as Perry's mother, makes an amazing debut and elevates the show without hogging the spotlight (she plays cat-and-mouse with our ladies as she tries to find out what really happened to her son). Reese Witherspoon has a powerful confrontation scene with her older daughter. Monterey looks as inviting as ever. *** out of 4.
Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), and Renata (Laura Dern)
aab8746 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) -
Opening up to Madeline about why she's withdrawn and angry.
Celeste (Nicole Kidman) - Her Therapy Session.
Jane (Shailene Woodley) - Being warned about acting weird in front of parents and being called the Monterey Five.
Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) - Telling her daughter that she's going to College because she said so!
Renata (Laura Dern) - The Women In Power Photo Shoot.
Celeste (Nicole Kidman) - Her Therapy Session.
Jane (Shailene Woodley) - Being warned about acting weird in front of parents and being called the Monterey Five.
Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) - Telling her daughter that she's going to College because she said so!
Renata (Laura Dern) - The Women In Power Photo Shoot.
Dying to love this
sarahjanenorth15 June 2019
Loved the book, adored season one and was really happy to see it win accolades, get renewed and to not know in advance what will happen. I'm seriously hoping the premise of the entire season is not just focused on Streep discovering they lied to protect Bonnie and that she had raised a monster....
Whilst a lovely vehicle for Streep to win an obvious Emmy, we the audience already know these secrets and the overriding arc of season one (who dunnit to whom) was the compelling thread, with the sub plots and psycho dramas as great character writing!
If this season is simply based on the dramatic irony of the lie they told - or the untold history of one of the principles - then I think I may end up disappointed and I really really don't want to be.
I'm sure I will love to watch the wonderful acting as Nicole Kidman gives the most honest portrayal of the legacy of domestic abuse I've ever seen and Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dean both depicting their own brand or neurotic, helicopter parenting, I would love there to be another far reaching, serious crime, which we are as curious to see unravel as we were in season one.
Smooth Continuation
Littleman9515 November 2020
Amazing beginning of a new season. Everything is coherent and I definitely appreciate it.
There is just a thing that I didn't completely comprehend: You ask to the new husband of your ex-wife to have a lunch with your actual wife? Mmh.
Anyway, there is a new difficult situation for our girls, how they will handle it?
There is just a thing that I didn't completely comprehend: You ask to the new husband of your ex-wife to have a lunch with your actual wife? Mmh.
Anyway, there is a new difficult situation for our girls, how they will handle it?
Bad Start in Season 2
mwen001-229 June 2019
That is not as good Start into season 1! Bad directing and hyper nervous editing turned the first eps into a huge disappointment! It seems like they don't trust the new plot. All the scenes are very fast and almost nervous in acting and editing! Maybe it's getting better...
Release the Arnold Cut!
safenoe23 December 2020
Jean-Marc Vallée directed all episodes from series 1, and Andrea Arnold directed all from series 2. Well it was revealed in July 2019 that Andrea lost control with Jean-Marc being brought in to manage the edits. I feel bad for Andrea.
Anyway, here the Monterey Five are front and focus trying to keep their secret from the shock ending of series 1. The soundtrack is a major star to this series for sure.
Meryl Street appears as as Mary Louise, the mother of Perry. She wants to know how her son really died.
Anyway, here the Monterey Five are front and focus trying to keep their secret from the shock ending of series 1. The soundtrack is a major star to this series for sure.
Meryl Street appears as as Mary Louise, the mother of Perry. She wants to know how her son really died.
Unbelievable!
nasloranger14 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I wasn't going to write a review about this show, but I won't stop thinking about it until I do, so here goes...
First of all, I didn't read the book so I have no idea how the story ended; I can only go by what I watched in the first season. I started to watch Season 2 out of curiosity to see where they took the story after the conclusion of Season 1.
That said, I guess I just didn't get it - or believe it - when Jane recognized the wife-beating Perry as her rapist/father of her son Ziggy. Call me naive, but I honestly thought she was imagining it was him during the whole attack during the costume party. I thought because of the trauma she suffered during her rape that she simply put his face to her attacker. But to find out it was actually him who raped her years earlier had me thinking WTF?!
What are the odds that Jane would move to Monterey and become friends with Celeste, the wife of her rapist? Of all the people she could have met in that town, she meets her? That's just too much of a coincidence to be believable! Others have mentioned this also, but how is it that Celeste and Madeline and Jane all knew, without saying a word, that Perry was the rapist? Was it some sort of telepathy that these three women shared? Unspoken words and eye contact told them that, "OMG! it was HIM?!"
And now we find in the Season 2 opener that Celeste is giving Jane checks (which she isn't cashing, btw) because Ziggy "is part of Perry's estate". Are we to assume that an actual DNA test was performed to prove definitively that Ziggy is Perry's child? Wow, what a stretch in believability!
And speaking of believability, can anyone tell me how Jane can afford to live in a beach house - even a small one - in Monterey, CA? She is basically unemployed, and rents in that area are astronomically high! I mean high!! Again, what a stretch in believability!
So now Madeline has magically become a real estate agent over the summer months - and according to her, a successful one. She says the money is practically printing itself. But then we see her yakking on the phone, all the while rudely ignoring the clients she's showing a property to. Yeah, that's the kind of agent I want when I'm looking to buy a house! Once again this self-centered, ignorant, rabble rouser is just as annoying as she's always been.
I'm not going to even discuss the rest of the original cast, except to say that none of them have changed, imo. They are all a bunch of pathetic losers, and I could care less what happens to them - except for Ziggy. That little boy deserves better!
I'll finish by saying I can't stand the character that Meryl Streep portrays. The woman is creepy, and a total head case. Even if she did lose her son, who in their right mind let's out a primal scream at the dinner table, scaring the hell out of a couple little kids? Get a grip, lady! Meryl Streep is probably loving this role, but I just hate it!
Like I said in my subject line, the story is Unbelievable! I don't care what happens to any of the characters, and I'm not going to waste my time on watching whatever unbelievable junk the writers create for the rest of this season 2.
I'm done! Now that I've written this review maybe I'll stop thinking about it.
First of all, I didn't read the book so I have no idea how the story ended; I can only go by what I watched in the first season. I started to watch Season 2 out of curiosity to see where they took the story after the conclusion of Season 1.
That said, I guess I just didn't get it - or believe it - when Jane recognized the wife-beating Perry as her rapist/father of her son Ziggy. Call me naive, but I honestly thought she was imagining it was him during the whole attack during the costume party. I thought because of the trauma she suffered during her rape that she simply put his face to her attacker. But to find out it was actually him who raped her years earlier had me thinking WTF?!
What are the odds that Jane would move to Monterey and become friends with Celeste, the wife of her rapist? Of all the people she could have met in that town, she meets her? That's just too much of a coincidence to be believable! Others have mentioned this also, but how is it that Celeste and Madeline and Jane all knew, without saying a word, that Perry was the rapist? Was it some sort of telepathy that these three women shared? Unspoken words and eye contact told them that, "OMG! it was HIM?!"
And now we find in the Season 2 opener that Celeste is giving Jane checks (which she isn't cashing, btw) because Ziggy "is part of Perry's estate". Are we to assume that an actual DNA test was performed to prove definitively that Ziggy is Perry's child? Wow, what a stretch in believability!
And speaking of believability, can anyone tell me how Jane can afford to live in a beach house - even a small one - in Monterey, CA? She is basically unemployed, and rents in that area are astronomically high! I mean high!! Again, what a stretch in believability!
So now Madeline has magically become a real estate agent over the summer months - and according to her, a successful one. She says the money is practically printing itself. But then we see her yakking on the phone, all the while rudely ignoring the clients she's showing a property to. Yeah, that's the kind of agent I want when I'm looking to buy a house! Once again this self-centered, ignorant, rabble rouser is just as annoying as she's always been.
I'm not going to even discuss the rest of the original cast, except to say that none of them have changed, imo. They are all a bunch of pathetic losers, and I could care less what happens to them - except for Ziggy. That little boy deserves better!
I'll finish by saying I can't stand the character that Meryl Streep portrays. The woman is creepy, and a total head case. Even if she did lose her son, who in their right mind let's out a primal scream at the dinner table, scaring the hell out of a couple little kids? Get a grip, lady! Meryl Streep is probably loving this role, but I just hate it!
Like I said in my subject line, the story is Unbelievable! I don't care what happens to any of the characters, and I'm not going to waste my time on watching whatever unbelievable junk the writers create for the rest of this season 2.
I'm done! Now that I've written this review maybe I'll stop thinking about it.
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