Big Little Lies Review: She Knows (Season 2 Episode 4)

Where the previous episode moved too slowly, Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 4, “She Knows,” packs quite a bit into the hour-long glimpse at the lives of the Monterey Five. We’re celebrating Halloween and Amabella’s 8th birthday, while Mary Louise crosses more lines and the lives of our favorite chaotic moms become more and more unhinged. 

CELESTE

Mary Louise is Monterey’s most persistent uninvited guest, I’ll give her that. Every little mannerism that Streep pours into this character is absolutely incredible. She instantly makes everyone uncomfortable the moment she walks into any room. She has this fascinating ability to force just about anyone into letting her do whatever she wants, and it’s perhaps the most impressive use of manipulation that I’ve ever seen. 

Celeste: You’re moving in with your son’s rape victim for God sake it’s not right. 

As satisfying as it is to watch Celeste slap her in the face, (no seriously, go watch that moment a few more times) she definitely comes out on top in their latest battle. She’s decided to fight Celeste for custody of the boys, and while her methods and motives are extremely questionable, I also can’t really argue with her either. 

Celeste is spinning out of control, and she hasn’t been able to get a handle on her mental health whatsoever. As much as she loves her children, she is creating an unsafe environment for them and giving Mary Louise ample ammunition for taking her down in the custody battle.

After seeing Celeste misuse alcohol and Ambien earlier this season, it was definitely too much for me to expect her not to get into even more trouble with those substances down the line. You would think that she would know better by now than to mix the two, but here we are. Her near catatonic state when Mary Louise returns with the boys is horrific, embarrassing, and the last line that Celeste needed to cross to push Mary Louise into filling her request for custody. 

Unfortunately for Celeste, this incident isn’t even the only evidence that Mary Louise has against her. She’s hit Mary Louise and been accidentally violent towards the boys. It makes me extremely anxious that Celeste basically refuses to listen to her therapist by the end of this episode. She desperately needs to prepare for a fight if she wants to keep her boys, and pretending that everything will be fine just isn’t going to cut it. 

JANE

Destroying Celeste isn’t Mary Louise’s only goal on “She Knows,” she also barrels right through Jane’s set boundaries and begins renting an apartment in Jane’s building. She does so under the guise of being involved in his life as his grandmother, without Jane’s consent (like mother, like son I suppose), all while still refusing to believe that Perry actually raped Jane. 

Jane is completely justified in her anger and outrage at Mary Louise’s behavior. And while she can’t exactly argue with her on the grounds of Celeste being entirely well, she’s well within her rights to be upset about Mary Louise’s continual invasion of her space.

Jane also takes another baby step forward in her relationship with Cory by telling him that she was raped. I understand the importance of this storyline, and I deeply hope that it is inspiring to the women who have experienced what happened to Jane. Cory is seemingly unoffensive and I hope he stays that way for Jane’s sake. I think this relationship is important for catharsis, but I don’t think it’s endgame.

MADELINE

“She Knows” opens with another flashback to the night that Perry died, and we see more of the Monterey Five’s immediate reactions. Madeline immediately takes charge, assuring both Celeste and Bonnie that they didn’t push him down the stairs. 

As many mistakes as Madeline has made, I truly believe that she is always trying her best and she’s always trying to fix things, whether she’s the person who broke them or not. When she decided that they would all say Perry fell on his own, she was doing so to protect her friends.

Now, Bonnie and Celeste, in particular, have begun to regret going along with that version of the story, making Madeline carry the blame for the lingering guilt and paranoia that each of them continues to carry around. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if Season 2 of Big Little Lies ends with Madeline taking the blame for Perry’s death. 

On “She Knows,” she tries multiple times to build a bridge with Ed and he flat out ignores her at pretty much every turn.

Madeline: If you’re going to leave me, can you just do it? Can you just get it over with? 

I understand that Ed needs some time to process Madeline’s affair, but he’s been treating her with indifference for much longer than he’s known about her betrayal, now he’s just doing it more aggressively. Ed doing nothing, either to repair their relationship or end it, is almost worse than if he chose to leave her. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. Living with Ed right now must feel like living with a ghost. 

I’m with Madeline–if he’s going to leave just do it already. For once in your life, Ed, have some emotions. 

RENATA

Renata continues to barely keep up the charade that everything in her life is fine, as the reality of Gordon losing all of her money begins to really set in. With every episode, I question more and more whether there is any love in their relationship at all. Each time we learn something about Gordon’s history with Renata, it becomes more and more apparent that while there might be an attraction between them, this was mostly a marriage of convenience. 

Renata: Tell me to stop talking, please. Just–all the time. 

I completely agree with Jane who is shocked that Renata is still with him through all of this. Granted, divorce is expensive, but as far I can tell, Gordon is more trouble than he’s worth. He adds nothing to Renata’s life and now he’s taken away everything she’s worked so hard for. So why does she stay? Maybe it’s all for Amabella. 

We keep getting tiny details about Renata’s past, so I’m beginning to wonder if her parents will be making the trip to Monterey too before the season is over. Renata is proudly self-made and obsessed with how her personal wealth crisis will effect Amabella more than anything else. It can only be deduced that, at the very least from her perspective, Renata had a childhood that she both hated and might be more than a little ashamed of.

Renata: It’s not about you Gordon. Since I was old enough to dream of having my own family, in my head I’ve been planning my child’s life, what it would entail, what she would have. The opportunities I could give her. So I’m having a difficult time reconciling that all my dreams have gone to shit.  

She desperately wants to create a life for Amabella that is vastly different from the one she had, and the fact that Gordon would gamble all of that away is incredibly insulting. Renata knows she’s better than Gordon, I want to see her realize that she’s also better off without him. 

BONNIE

Bonnie’s mother suffers a stroke after absorbing the “bad energy” in Renata’s home and experiencing one of her visions. I still don’t really know how I feel about this storyline and now I’m just desperate for none of Elizabeth’s visions to come true. 

Throughout every episode of Big Little Lies Season 2, we’ve seen a lot of imagery connecting Bonnie to the ocean and indicating that she’s drowning. The way these moments are intercut sporadically throughout the episodes very much mirrors the way that Perry’s death scene was sprinkled throughout the first season. I desperately hope that the way this is being done with Bonnie rests more on the metaphor of her drowning than it happening in actuality. 

I know Elizabeth is down for the count, but I’m not above forming a circle of protection around Bonnie myself. One that also protects her from her crazy parents. Elizabeth has been borderline harassing Bonnie, and now that she’s fallen ill Bonnie’s father’s first instinct is to blame his daughter. 

Bonnie’s parents are the type of parents who clearly mean well but really do more harm than good every time they open their mouths. Can the go home now?

OTHER THOUGHTS

• What happened to Raymond? What was the accident? DID SHE KILL HER SON? How did being left by her husband shape how Mary Louise raised Perry? Do you think that because she raised him on her own she feels extra responsible for the terrible person he became and that’s why she’s so desperate to believe he wasn’t evil?
• My new favorite running gag is the courthouse body scanner going off every time Renata walks through it. 
• Hats off to the Trump shade as Renata and Gordon enter their bankruptcy hearing. 
• Seeing all of these ladies actually be friends and share little moments of happiness together is one of the true highlights of this season. 
• Nathan saying “we were playing” after Renata breaks up the fight between him and Ed is pure comedy gold. 
• Can Celeste stop hooking up with sleazy men and realize she’s in love with Jane? Celeste and Jane should date, that’s all I’m saying. 
• Who do you think the episode title is referring to? Detective Quinlan? Mary Louise? Elizabeth? Let me know in the comments! 

What did you think of this episode of Big Little Lies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Big Little Lies airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

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