The Big Little Lies Meryl Murder Watch, Episode 4

By Hazel Cills | July 1, 2019 | 12:39pm

Entertainment TV

The Big Little Lies Meryl Murder Watch, Episode 4

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.

Season 2, Episode 4: “She Knows”

1 to 10, how close is Meryl to being murdered: Not even close. At this point, I’m more worried about Adam Scott (I refuse to Google his character’s name, I just refer to the husbands by their wives’ names anyway) killing everyone, to be honest, or Amabella growing up to be a psychopath. That said, Celeste did slap her, and is doing crazy stuff on Ambien (like bringing a man home from the bar and forgetting he’s even there.) Twenty bucks says she ends up killing Mary Louise in an Ambien-filled blackout! This episode gets a 1.5. Rest easy, dear Meryl.

1 to 10, how close it Meryl to murdering someone: Mary Louise is seeking custody of her grandkids and moves into an apartment in Jane and Ziggy’s building, seemingly obsessed with getting closer to all three of the boys. Viewers also get a little bit more info as to what happened with Perry’s childhood “accident” involving the death of his brother Raymond. “Grief is meant to be shared,” Mary Louise says, and explains that Perry’s father left the family after Raymond’s death. “I deserve to be blamed,” she says. Um, okay, I’ll take your word for it.

So did Perry kill his brother, or did Mary Louise? It seems fishy. It occurred to me that maybe Mary Louise is less interested in finding her son’s killer (and potentially murdering them) than trying to re-do motherhood via her grandchildren in exceedingly clingy ways. Given she’s going through the official channels to regain custody, I’d say she’s annoying but not murderous, though the vague history involving Raymond gives me pause. I’m giving this episode a 4 in the likelihood of Meryl murdering someone department (and honestly, a 7 in the likelihood that Meryl already has murdered someone department.)