5 biggest takeaways from the Season 2 premiere of Big Little Lies

3. Bonnie is feeling alienated by her guilt.

If you recall the season one finale, Bonnie was the one who gave Perry the real finishing blow. She shoved him over the ledge. Afterward, she was willing to come clean with the police. If she had, there was a chance she wouldn’t have been in much trouble because of Perry’s violent actions, especially if all the other women vouched for her.

But instead, they decided to cover it up and before Bonnie could say anything, it snowballed beyond her control. Now she is struggling with the guilt of killing Perry on her own and feels alienated from the others.

Her husband, Nathan, doesn’t know how to get through to her in her current state of reticence. He even seeks advice from Ed, claiming he’s better at communicating with women. All this does is culminate in an argument between the two men with Nathan calling an Ed a snide-f**k, which was pretty amusing, I might add.

2. Jane is working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

To my great surprise, I honestly felt Jane appears to be the most well-adjusted in the aftermath of Perry’s death. I suppose it makes sense, he did rape her. She and Renata are both doing better than the other Monterey Five, for now, anyway. Although not all is perfect with Jane, she and Celeste have a conversation about Perry’s estate. Jane hasn’t been cashing her checks and Celeste’s questions her as to why.

To put it bluntly, Jane calls it “rape money.” Still, her new job at the Monterey Bay Aquarium can’t be paying too well. The money could be a great deal of help to Ziggy. I wonder if she might reconsider. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if Mary Louise found out about the mysterious payments going to Ziggy Chapman.

Celeste and Jane, the two women who bore the brunt of Perry’s abuse, have a stunningly disquieting conversation about who is to blame in the case of the abuse. Jane questions if Celeste hates her, even a little, for committing adultery. Both women continue to blame themselves for the actions of this one vile man. Jane also asks Celeste if she’s glad Perry’s dead to which Celeste answers “it’s complicated.” An understatement if I’ve ever heard one.

It’s easy for Celeste to hate the violent parts of Perry, but she’s still grieving the man he once was or the man she thought he was. It doesn’t help that often their sexual encounters were mired in violence, leading to her feeling aroused during moments of intense fear. None of that is easy to unpack. It’s no wonder she’s struggling and having a mother-in-law waiting to question her grief with bated breath around every corner isn’t helping matters either.