Big Little Lies Season Finale Review: I Want to Know (Season 2 Episode 7)

Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 7, “I Want to Know,” is one of the most satisfying season finales of any television series I have ever seen. This conclusion tells such an important story about the pain and difficulty of healing and the absolute necessity that we keep trying even when it feels impossible. 

Season 2 of Big Little Lies shows us how each of these complicated women handles trauma, tragedy, and the often unbearable burden of simply being human. From the storytelling to the acting, “I Want to Know” is a tour de force of talent and an incredibly necessary narrative in the current television landscape.

CELESTE

Nicole Kidman has an inherent softness and femininity in almost everything she does, which is part of what makes her cross-examination of Mary Louise so compelling. She never sacrifices any of those feminine qualities in one of–if not the most–powerful moment(s), we have ever seen from Celeste.  

Throughout the courtroom scenes, Celeste is measured, brilliant, and honest. She never loses her temper or lets Mary Louise get under her skin; Celeste is in her element and she knows that while she may not be perfect, she is the right person to raise her boys. 

Mary Louise is the absolute epitome of being able to dish out judgment while being completely unable to take it herself. She lives in a world of complete denial, incapable of accepting the truth because that would mean she had failed. That she failed her son, and his family, that she failed as a mother. 

Celeste: My husband physically and emotionally abused me. Your honor knows that abusers don’t just happen, they are more than likely to be victims of abuse themselves. Whether or not this witness is an abuser is certainly not beyond the scope of this inquiry. 

Mary Louise convinced herself that her son could never be a violent, abusive, rapist, the way so many people convince themselves that people close to them could never do something so awful. She outright refuses to believe the truth from Jane or Celeste, because it is easier to believe the lie. When she’s confronted with the footage of Perry beating Celeste within an inch of her life, her whole world is turned upside down.

Watching Celeste and Jane handle Mary Louise’s gaslighting is absolutely excruciating. So many women have been in that exact position, I’m one of them, and it never gets any easier, but you do get stronger. 

It’s understandable why Mary Louise was so committed to her delusions but that doesn’t make it right. 

Madeline: Are you perfect? No. Am I perfect? No. There’s no such thing. Celeste, look how far you’ve come, look how strong you are. 

Celeste knows that she has so much to learn and she will have to work really hard to make sure that she raises her boys to be loving, gentle, compassionate young men but I believe she’s up to it. 

Celeste: You lost your boys, you don’t get to take mine. 

When Celeste wins the custody battle she does so with dignity and honor so sincere that the audience cannot help but cheer for her. She has her sons go and hug their grandmother even after Mary Louise did everything in her power to ruin Celeste’s life. 

RENATA

Laura Dern has brought some incredible levity to this season, while also telling the story of another incredibly strong woman. Gordon has ruined Renata’s life and humiliated her multiple times over, but she doesn’t let any of that stop her. On “I Want to Know,” Renata finally, finally, draws the line and takes glorious revenge in the most chaotic and inspiring moment of rage. 

Women have so many reasons to be angry; watching Renata let herself lean into that absolute fury and hysteria, and say enough is enough, is so freeing. 

Renata: Maybe he should’ve shown a woman a little respect! I’m done. No more bulls–t, no more lies. 

She’s so powerful and fiercely protective of everyone she loves. I have no doubt that from here moving forward, Renata will rise up with her daughter and give her the best life that anyone could ask for. She’ll teach Amabella how to take on the whole world and maybe even how to save it. 

JANE

Jane’s moments in this episode are brief but they are full of healing in a way she’s more than earned. Being raped by Perry will always be a point of trauma for her, but it won’t always control her. Seeing her be able to feel happiness, love, and sexual attraction inspires such a genuine sense of hope. 

Your story doesn’t end when someone tries to take everything from you, and as hard as it is to keep going it’s so important to try. Because eventually we begin to heal, and from that healing, we can be reborn into even stronger and more beautiful versions of ourselves, not because of the pain but in spite of it. 

MADELINE

Madeline is also able to find a new beginning for herself and for her marriage. After much deliberation, Ed comes to her with the idea that they renew their wedding vows. It’s no secret that I’ve never really cared much for the men of Big Little Lies but Ed approaches this situation with such earnestness, genuine love for his wife, and a desire for both of them to do better, that I am actually incredibly impressed. 

Being in a relationship, in a marriage, means truly committing yourself to another person in every way and choosing to make that commitment every day. 

Ed and Madeline have both made mistakes and they’ve evolved beyond the people that they were when they got married. Choosing to recommit to each other and to their marriage and their daughters is the most mature and healthy choice that I think they could have made in this situation.

They know now, what it really means and they understand the work that they both have to put in to make their marriage good again, and that work is worth it for the love they still share.  

BONNIE

Can I just say that I am so grateful that Big Little Lies Season 2 ends not with Bonnie drowning, but with her finally coming up for air?

For the entirety of Season 2, Bonnie bore the weight of this secret a little more than every other woman in the Monterey Five. They may have shared the lie together, but ultimately she was the one who pushed him making her guilt that much stronger than everyone else’s.

Bonnie didn’t have to kill herself or her mother in order to be able to breathe again, she just had to tell the truth. Not just about Perry’s death, but about every little lie that she’s swallowed down all her life. The abuse from her mother, being in a relationship with someone she didn’t love, all of it was choking her to death and killing Perry was just another hand over her throat. 

It’s breathtaking, in a good way, to see her realize that she doesn’t have to let the lies suffocate her anymore. 

The final moments of “I Want to Know” are perfect. As the soothing strains of Have You Ever Seen the Rain? play over each of these women choosing to be true to themselves, and beginning to heal, they all come together to support Bonnie as she does the same. 

In this episode, Celeste says the lie is the friendship, but she’s wrong. The lie may have created the friendship, but it’s grown so far beyond that.

These women are all so different, each of them complicated and complex, flawed and brilliant in their own ways. They’re bonded by the things that they share: motherhood, sisterhood, and the bravery it takes to let someone see your pain, to see theirs in return, and the courage to be there for one another no matter what. 

Big Little Lies takes us through some of the darkest trauma imaginable and then shows us that there are still sunny days on the other side of it.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• Chloe and Abigail should have more scenes together. I love these nosy sisters. 
• Chloe and her “connections,” this child I swear. I want to be this cool when I grow up. 
• Celeste deleting the videos of Perry is so symbolic of the closure she’s finally able to get. I am so proud of her. 
• Tag yourself I’m Ed getting into high-intensity workouts. 
• Actually, scratch that. I’m Renata smashing every stupid thing that Gordon loves. 
• The music for this show is incredible, thank you.
• I almost don’t want a Big Little Lies Season 3 because this ending is so perfect. What do you want from the future of this show? Let me know in the comments!
• That said I would watch approximately 1000 more hours of Nicole Kidman interrogating Meryl Streep. 
• If every single one of these women doesn’t win an Emmy for this season it will be a crime. 

 

What did you think of the Season 2 finale of Big Little Lies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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

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