The details of the murder at Otter Bay’s trivia night finally come to light
We made it!
Its the seventh and final episode ofBig Little Lies, a series that investigated and celebrated complex women.
And it did it with a generosity and kindness not usually afforded characters like this.
Even the villain, and there is a great villain, earned a bit of sympathy from us.
With out further ado, lets get going.
For this episode we will take it chronologically, since the big climax involves all our leading ladies.
Meanwhile, upstairs, their mother Celeste screams as she lands on the floor.
She starts shaking and crying for what may be the first time from the blows Perry has thrown.
She balls up into the fetal position, clearly terrified of her husband, afraid of his touch.
The news should come as a welcome relief, but Madeline is distracted.
Its Tori, Josephs wife, and Madeline is creeped out by the feeling shes being watched.
Ed sees the car too, but it looks like hes still in the dark.
Madeline goes straight to see Joseph, but any flame he carried for her has now turned into fury.
Its unsettling, to say the least, and Madeline leaves a bit shaken.
Will Joseph enact his revenge for dissing him tonight?
Celeste then bursts into her therapists office.
(Its interesting how this woman only seems to have Celeste as a client.)
The therapist is clearly miffed that Celeste still has to keep up appearances and go to trivia night.
Your husband is ill, Celeste, but so are you, she says.
But Celeste is adamant and still holds on to the charade that Perry would never hurt her children.
Now we switch to Ziggy, who is trying to get out of going to school.
He wont say why, but Jane finally gets Ziggy to admit who is bullying Amabella.
Hes scared to do so.
Amabella made him promise for fear that if the perpetrator is identified, Amabella might get killed dead.
But Jane persists, and Ziggy points to the bully in the class picture.
Its Max, Celestes son.
Things just got real.
This might feel like too neat of a resolution.
Since Jane and Renata have already made up, him threatening her seems wholly useless.
To which Jane responds, Youre straight.
Thanks for the moment of levity.
Nathan and Madeline are then given a moment together at school.
Madeline responds with a good deal of attitude before taking a breath and actually complimenting him.
Nathan responds with, Despite all of our s, I root for you.
Its the first moment of respect the two give each other the whole series.
But good things arent meant to last.
The images are quick cuts, put together with no music, and the result is quite affecting.
Its the most severe hes been yet, and Celeste has hit the breaking point.
Whats worse is shes not his only victim.
Hes also thrown Skye down the stairs and has been hurting her too.
While Jane is trying to make her feel better with lines like, Kids bully.
They grow out of it, Celeste knows too much, only to say, Sometimes they dont.
Then Celeste has her moment of ultimate strength.
Its when she goes to talk to Max.
She doesnt yell at him; she doesnt punish him.
She talks to him and tells him she loves him.
She has to break the cycle of abuse, and shes chosen this moment to do so.
Madeline, who has now chosen Abigail as her No.
1 confidante, regales her teenage daughter with the details of her contentious meeting with Joseph.
Its an odd moment.
But what do I know.
It seems the confiding has worked.
Abigail drops her plan and, all feels resolved between mother and daughter.
And… her jig is up.
The terror that crosses her face is palpable.
Shes reluctant to leave the house.
I dont know about you all, but my heart started beating faster.
I was sure afraid for her.
Meanwhile, the guests are arriving at the gala.
So Madeline starts drinking.
And so does Ed, for that matter.
Perry pulls right through the valet line and parks his car overlooking a bluff.
Hes begging Celeste to keep him.
Hes desperate, but shes resolute.
Theres nothing thats going to change her mind now.
Bonnie starts singing Elvis Dont, and its beautiful.
Ed loves the performance and tells Madeline so.
She only answers with, Im sure the room is full of erections.
He agrees with her.
Another brief moment of levity.
Jane shows up with Tom, much to Madelines surprise.
Back in the party, Ed is about to sing.
He pauses, sees Tori looking at Madeline; everyone is staring at him.
He swigs his triple vodka and gathers some courage.
He has to know at this point, right?
But then he begins singing, and it only makes Madeline feel worse.
Shes drunk, her husband is singing her a love song The Wonder of You and Madeline starts crying.
She runs out of the room with Jane following her.
And poor Ed is left on stage without his wife rooting him on.
Celeste runs into the party looking for her friends, looking for an escape from Perry.
Tells her the truth about her son.
Nathan and Ed get into it after Eds performance.
The two start pushing each other, only for Ed to spill a drink on Bonnie.
Then Bonnie sees Perry grab Celeste, and we watch her follow Celeste out of the party.
Its unclear why shes so invested.
Then it all goes to s. Perry comes down the stairs.
Celeste wont leave with him.
Its all too much.
He starts running toward them.
And we cut to flashing lights and the same crime scene that opened the series seven long episodes ago.
The victim is out on the back terrace and we still dont really know who it is.
But we do, right?
Its at this moment when I wish I didnt read the book.
Would I like this conclusion more or less had I not known whose body was lying on the step?
And whos the one who caused him/her to be there?
Dead on his back.
All of the women are giving their testimony.
And all are done without audio.
She is badly beaten.
The cops dont believe them.
They know they are lying.
But they dont understand why.
We cut to the funeral.
Bonnie appears especially bereft.
Celeste walks the boys away from the grave site.
She hugs Jane, whom shes now tied to forever.
Ziggy is her twins half-brother, and both women have been hurt by Perry.
Its all very neat, but does that make it any less satisfying?
The women are all on the beach with their children.
And then we get the details.
We flash again to Perry running at the five women.
Hes out of control, beating on Celeste and any other woman who tries to defend her.
Bonnie sees it all from up above, and something clicks.
She runs to these women and unexpectedly pushes him down the stairs.
If you read the book, youd know that Bonnie had an abusive father.
A self-defense plea wont really work for Bonnie in this scenario.
Madeline and Bonnie hug.
Jane cries on Toms shoulders, and Nathan and Madeline seem to come to an understanding.
Is this really where we are leaving these characters?
Yes, the mystery is solved.
No one is going to jail.
The bad guy got his due, but do we really end here?
I dont know about you guys, but I could spend more time with these characters.
A second season might not feel as organic, but there is certainly more to tell.
What happened to Bonnie?
Where does Celeste go from here?
How will Madeline fill the void in her life?
And what will Jane do now that revenge is not clouding her judgment?
The five women look out at their children and the ocean for a moment of redemption.
What did you all think?
Too neat and tidy?
It was fun recounting these women with you.
Hope you enjoyed the ride.
