Big Little Lies: 5 shocking moments from Season 2, Episode 4

The true intentions of Mary Louise’s extended stay in Monterey are finally revealed in the fourth episode of Big Little Lies’ second season.

We’re more than half-way through the second season of Big Little Lies already (there are only seven episodes)! Things are rising to the boiling point as each woman contends with the wreckage the Perry lie has made of their life.

Some are dealing with a more corporeal antagonist, Mary Louise. Her agenda becomes clear in this week’s episode. She wants the boys, and she’s determined to prove Celeste is an unfit mother.

But Mary Louise will soon learn that Celeste is no easy target. She’s a survivor. She will fight tooth and nail for her boys.

5. The slap heard ’round the world.

In a moment long overdue, Celeste gets a chance to do something we’ve all been itching to since Mary Louise showed up on the scene with her pursed lips and judgment – she slaps the glasses right off her face!

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The incident occurs at a pumpkin-carving party where Mary Louise joyously announces she’s moved into the same apartment complex as Jane. Celeste tells her she needs boundaries. It’s not okay to move into the same building as the woman your son raped.

But Mary Louise still doesn’t believe it was rape. She suggests Perry was sleeping around and if there was one “there were others,” which is what triggers the slap from Celeste.

Is Mary Louise pissed? If anything she’s eerily gleeful. Her plan to make Celeste seem as unhinged as possible to snatch the boys from her is working just fine. Even more despicable? Her initial reaction to Celeste’s slap is to ask her if it’s foreplay.

4. Renata is forced to hand over her wedding ring.

Renata and Gordon are off to bankruptcy court. It’s not looking good. They owe millions in liabilities, and they’re going to lose the house in addition to Renata’s wedding ring and the Tesla. They’re even forced to get a ride home with their lawyer. Renata won’t recover from the humiliation any time soon.

She decides to make the most of their final days in the upper-crust by throwing a wild birthday bash for Amabella. It’s a disco-themed party that feels more enjoyable to the adults than the kids, but Renata doesn’t know the meaning of subtlety. It’s why we love her.

3. Mary Louise wants custody of the boys.

A snake in the grass, Mary Louise begins courting attornies in Monterey Bay. She goes behind Celeste’s back to meet with family lawyers so Celeste won’t be able to hire them due to conflict of interest. When the time comes for her to drop the ball about her plans, it’s ill-timing for Celeste. She’d taken an Ambien the night before and clearly doesn’t remember what happened.

A shirtless bartender ambles out of her bedroom in front of the boys and their grandmother. She can barely contain her smile. This isn’t going to be an easy fight for Celeste, but it’s clear she’s determined to see it through based on what she tells her therapist.

2. Nathan and Ed almost get in a fight.

Not much headway has occurred on the Ed/Madeline front. He’s still sulky and bitter. Ed is reeling from his wife’s affair, it’s understandable, but at some point, as Madeline points out, he either needs to leave her or try to fix things. Hanging around and moping isn’t going to make things better for either of them or their daughters.

Ed’s aggression manifests towards other people too. Although he’s always had disdain for Nathan, it just about boils over into a full-on brawl in the middle of Amabella’s party when Nathan attempts to comfort Ed for a moment.

1. Elizabeth’s drowning premonition.

Again with the drowning! Someone is going to before the season’s out, I’m just scared who it’s going to be – though all signs point to Bonnie, I’m desperately hoping that isn’t true.

Bonnie’s mother, Elizabeth, is disturbed by the energy at Amabella’s party. The stress causes her to have a seizure. At the hospital, we see a glimpse of her dream in the episode’s final seconds. She sees her daughter, drowning.

Odds & Ends

• I loved hearing Jane defend Mary Louise, but it was sad to realize she is worried about Celeste and her pills, deep down.
• The detective assigned to Perry’s case is still sniffing around. She shows up at the hospital for an unrelated case while Bonnie’s mom is there and Bonnie snaps at her, raising suspicion. Then she shows up to lunch to ask Madeline for a copy of her speech. She snarkily tells her to find it on social media.

A new episode of Big Little Lies titled “Kill Me” will premiere July 7th at 9/8c on HBO.