When it was announced that Meryl Streep would be joining Big Little Lies season two as Celeste’s (Nicole Kidman) mother-in-law Mary Louise, who comes to Monterey to find out what really happened to her son, I had one small question: will these bitches have to murder Meryl?
I mean, the “Monterey Five” as they’re known did kill Celeste’s abusive, rapist husband Perry, after all. The last thing they need is a nosey grandma played incredibly by Meryl Streep to figure out what all the women actually did together, which is cover up Perry’s murder like an accident. But as I watched the first episode, I realized that Mary Louise is a little unhinged herself; she’s rude, she screams, she’s just getting too close to Monterey.
Will someone have to kill Meryl, or will Meryl have to kill someone? Every episode of Big Little Lies Season 2, I’ll rank on a scale of 1 to 10 how close Meryl is to being murdered, or to murdering herself.
Season 2, Episode 2: “Tell-Tale Hearts”
1 to 10, how close is Meryl to being murdered: Mary Louise is so annoying that I think I want to murder her? Those teeth alone! All of the women are deeply paranoid and distracted with their own trauma; Renata imagines a court room laughing at her, Bonnie sees a mystery man trailing her on the road. Given their collective mental fragility and inability to purchase waterproof mascara, I feel like any one of them could snap on her. That Mary Louise also doesn’t believe Celeste was abused, that Jane was raped, or that Perry’s death was truly an accident, doesn’t help either. “You were going to leave him the very night he died,” she says to Celeste. Uh oh, she’s starting to suspect something. I’m giving the possibility of Meryl being murdered a 4. Hopefully, if it happens, it can be a collective effort!
1 to 10, how close it Meryl to murdering someone: Well, Mary Louise gives Celeste a sleeping pill, which incidentally makes her wake up at 3 a.m. and crash her car. Celeste is fine, but it’s fishy, though considering how often the women on this show manage to jam out to Neil Young (???) in their cars while driving it’s a wonder more of them aren’t getting into crashes, sober or not! Mary Louise clearly has it out for Madeline, who she calls an unlikable person. And after Renata’s husband is arrested by the FBI for fraud, she speculates that someone is tipping off the police. Might that be Mary Louise? Who’s to say! Based on this episode, I’m going to give the possibility of Meryl killing someone a 6. She’s testy and overly suspicious but not quite murderous… yet.