S01.E03: Living The Dream

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

Madeline organizes a trip to compete with Amabella's birthday party to annoy Renata. Meanwhile, Celeste's roller-coaster relationship with Perry continues before their first therapy session with Dr. Reisman; Abigail's guidance counselor wants to meet with Madeline; Principal Nippal announces the theme for the fall fund-raiser; and Jane asks for Madeline's help with Ziggy's family-tree project.

[WhosThatGirl]

I loved the Lady who was like: "yeah I felt bad about taking the tickets but they're so expensive".

I feel bad for Little Amabella but not Reneta. 

Perry needs medication stat. Jesus. I guess this is a typical behavior for a person who abuses someone. I also kind of hate it. It feels cliche.

Also yay I called Abigail and wanting to live with Bonnie and her Dad. But she clearly doesn't see the truth about her dad for whatever reason because she doesn't seem to hold any sort of ill will towards her. I love Madealine and her "she wouldn't leave if I had cancer" and Eds "but you don't".

I hate it when people call their kids "gifted". I can't with that. Sorry Reneta.

Also Nathan, please MAN UP! Ed wants to fight you? My god. How old is Nathan? Is he like a man child?  

Poor Ziggy. But also poor Jane. But the story is kind of what we all expected, isn't it? We all suspected Ziggy was born from sexual assault.  I'm just curious to what she told her parents about where Ziggy came from if the first person she told was maddy.

I love the Music in this show! It's amazing. 

[CleoCaesar]

This show is practically birth control for me. I'd go on a rampage having to deal with psycho yuppie parents, birthday parties, petty politics and school projects, not to mention dozens of little kids around for years. Gah. The show does such a great job of showing all the festering crap under the pleasant suburban exterior.

Love pretty much everything about the show so far, especially the acting. Reese W and Nicole Kidman especially.

[Primetimer]

The effects of an absent father's sins are just one of the questions raised in Big Little Lies' third episode.

View the full article

[mojoween]

Keeping a gun under your pillow with a child in the house is a bad idea, Jane.

Ok so here's the thing.  Perry is abusive and that is bad and I am not in any way suggesting Celeste has it coming.  But I have to give her a side eye that she keeps making these plans or doing things with the kids and not telling him.  Any dad who loves his kids would be pissed at that.  Now obvs he goes way too far and I can't condone his reaction.

Also starting out your therapy session by lying isn't the best way to get help.

[Muffyn]

The show is definitely drawing me in.  Guessing that Ziggy was the result of rape didn't lessen how horrible that scene felt.  That was almost more brutal by keeping it somewhat minimal.  And Madeline's reaction when Jane told her was excellent, so controlled, that made her subsequent breakdown feel that much more real. 

Celeste saying there hadn't been violence and then her husband owning (a teeny, tiny portion of) it was interesting.  She has admitted she likes when it leads to rough sex and she conflates that with passion.  His OMG-she-could-leave-me-because-every-man-ever-would-want-her felt strange coming from a wealthy, highly-successful, very attractive man.  They are a very attractive couple.  I'm not sure she has one up on him.  If he wasn't an abuser, he could do quite well.  But, he's a controlling abuser, so, okay, he shouldn't get anyone ever.    

I've noticed a strange pattern in shows/movies with Laura Dern.  Someone always has to tell us she's pretty. 

[stagmania]

I hope the people who dismissed this show as a shallow guilty pleasure stuck around long enough to realize how off-base they were. There's so much here to think about and dissect, it's hard to know where to begin. It's a rare thing to see a story so concerned with the lives of women and all their emotional complexities.

That therapy scene was something. I'm still chewing on it, but I think it's clear that the show is not trying to depict Perry as a straightforward villain. And given the way they revealed Jane's backstory, not showing her rapist's face and having him use a fake name, I expect we know him, or will soon.

[stagmania]

4 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I still think Ed is a bad guy, and possibly even Jane's rapist.  It went from "I saw erections" to a shot of Ed watching Abigail on the patio.  Also, Ed said about Maddie, "Agitation is her preferred state," and Abigail said, "Well, it's not mine, if that matters."  Why would it matter?  It seems a bit like she's got something going on with Ed and maybe that's why she's on the pill and moving out and confiding in Bonnie.

Ed's about six inches too short and 50 pounds too light to be the guy we saw in the rape scene. I took Abigail's comment to mean that she doesn't want to live with Madeline's agitation-which is what she admitted a couple scenes later. Not seeing sinister Ed/Abigail vibes at all.

[mojoween]

4 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

 Also, Ed said about Maddie, "Agitation is her preferred state," and Abigail said, "Well, it's not mine, if that matters."

I saw it a little differently, in that Ed was basically saying this is how Madeline is and we just deal, and Abigail was saying that she would prefer some serenity in her life and no one is asking her or trying to get Madeline to stop being that way.  

It really does have to be exhausting dealing with Madeline on a daily basis.

[mochamajesty]

34 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Keeping a gun under your pillow with a child in the house is a bad idea, Jane.

Ok so here's the thing.  Perry is abusive and that is bad and I am not in any way suggesting Celeste has it coming.  But I have to give her a side eye that she keeps making these plans or doing things with the kids and not telling him.  Any dad who loves his kids would be pissed at that.  Now obvs he goes way too far and I can't condone his reaction.

Also starting out your therapy session by lying isn't the best way to get help.

Any therapist will tell you that patients lie. I am sure that therapist was watching body language and listening to not only what was said,  but what was not said.

 

Ed was looking at Abigail very inappropriately when she was outside.

Zoe Kravitz is the spitting image of her mother. I wonder if Bonnie's sexiness is going to be a thing later. Renata's husband sure liked it. Coupled with Renata's statement about his sex drive.

Edited March 6, 2017 by mochamajesty

[FemmyV]

Dear Mods: It would be so nice if we could have separate episode threads to include book talk. Just sayin' ...

 

40 minutes ago, WhosThatGirl said:

Also yay I called Abigail and wanting to live with Bonnie and her Dad. But she clearly doesn't see the truth about her dad for whatever reason because she doesn't seem to hold any sort of ill will towards her.

Good call. It's possible Abigail is just being a teenager, wants to enjoy teenage life and test the limits without having to answer to a parent that acts like a parent. So far, we haven't gotten to see Madeline go off about Nathan in front of Abby, but maybe the daughter knows how the mother feels and, just like a teen wants to prove their parents wrong, wants to move in to see how wrong Maddy is, about Nathan. So far, on the surface, it looks like Abigail is simply playing a card that she has, that's not available to kids who live with both of their parents.

Nathan continues to be immature / passive-aggressive and when I start to wonder what Bonnie sees in him, I notice that she's really the one controlling that relationship. Bonnie wants to do yoga, Nathan follows. Bonnie has to deal with a pissed off Madeline, Nathan goes and picks a fight with Ed, then comes back and complain Ed threatened to beat him up. Both made mountains out of that molehill. And now Abigail wants to move out. I wonder what they told her about Madeline's behavior.

Glad to see the Frozen trip didn't wreck Ammabella's birthday party, but it was kind of weird the main attraction was dancing MILFs. Laura Dern continues to impress in her isolation. To some extent, Renata is comic relief and I feel bad for her; I get the feeling she's the type of woman who doesn't have much use for other women. And her wardrobe rocks.

Perry and Celeste were less sexy, more sad, this week.

Jane needs to make up a sperm bank story, pronto.

And Ed's great.

[Gem 10]

I really felt upset for Maddie when Abigail left .. She really tries.  If it were me, I would be devastated.  Abigail treated her horribly with her wisecracks and always dismissing her.  Very disrespectful.  Good luck with your father and don't let the door hit you in the ass girl.   And, what's so sexy about Bonnie?  Maddie has it all over her IMO.

[FemmyV]

3 minutes ago, Gem 10 said:

And, what's so sexy about Bonnie?

She has moves.

[mochamajesty]

3 minutes ago, FemmyV said:

She has moves.

And youth and beauty

[archer1267]

I wasn't watching Jane's flashback scene on the beach that closely, but the man's footprints abruptly ended on the sand, didn't they? It made me wonder if he had drowned. Did anyone else see it that way?

Loved Chloe's "I made you a playlist." It reminded me of when I made a mix tape for someone I liked. Also loved that Ziggy hit a home run. It was always my perception growing up that if you were good in sports, you didn't get picked on the way other kids did. I hope this stuff about the strangling blows over and he finds his niche.

[humbleopinion]

Song that played out the episode ...

"Harvest Moon" by Neil Young circa 1992

[archer1267]

Quote

And, what's so sexy about Bonnie?  Maddie has it all over her IMO.

Attitude. Maddie is tightly wound, to say the least. 

[Gwen-Stacys]

1 hour ago, Gem 10 said:

And, what's so sexy about Bonnie?  Maddie has it all over her IMO.

She looks like Lisa Bonet 

[anniebird]

Are the people in the police interviews being played by actors doing uncredited cameos? I swear, one of them looks exactly like Courteney Cox.

[tongueincheek]

20 minutes ago, Gwen-Stacys said:

She looks like Lisa Bonet 

Zoe Kravitz is indeed equal parts her mom and dad. 

[lmsweb]

I've read the book, but I think I am enjoying the show (and the subtle changes they've made to the stories) even more than the book. Reese was born to play this role. Maddie almost reminds me of Tracy Flick all grown up. And I just looked it up and Reese did that movie (Election) 18 years ago. Now I feel old.

It's kind of widely known that Nicole Kidman has had *some* work done to her face, but holy shit is her body still rocking at 49 or what? Laura Dern looks fabulous as well. I really love that the show embraced the idea of using women 40 and over for 3 of the main leads.

Zoe Kravitz looks so much like her mother that I've had to do a double take a few times.

I think they've done a good job with the domestic violence storyline for Perry and Celeste. There are many more layers and nuances to most DV stories that people never know about unless they're in the relationship. In the media and news stories, especially if it involves the death of one of the parties, DV is portrayed as being very black and white. The storyline in the show feels very organic and more importantly, very believable.

The Maddie/Abigail story is breaking my heart. I've been there with a teenage daughter who I raised pretty much on my own for the first 12 years or so. Then she hit 14 and wanted to live with her Dad. She's 16 now and struggling with the fact that her Dad is too busy with another new girlfriend and her kids to pay any attention to her at all. I sat there bawling when Maddie walks into her room and sits on the empty bed, and looks at the empty closet. I just wanted to put my arm around her, give her a glass of wine, and hug her.

[Armchair Critic]

I thought I was going to hate Madeline but she's my favorite. I should relate to the single mom (my child goes to an upscale school with almost all 2 parent families, I'm divorced with no money) but I can't warm up to the actress. I keep thinking Perry is Ziggy's father but maybe that's too obvious? I also said last episode that I get a weird vibe about Ed/Abigail. And I still don't know who gets killed and I'm avoiding spoilers.

[lmsweb]

Oh, and the music in this show. THE MUSIC. So perfect, for every scene. I even looked up the song from last weeks episode to add it to my playlist (River by Leon Bridges). And the song for the title credits (Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka)

Edited March 6, 2017 by lmsweb
Hit post before I was done.

[Cardie]

1 hour ago, FemmyV said:

Dear Mods: It would be so nice if we could have separate episode threads to include book talk. Just sayin'

It would also be nice if we had a non-spoiler, non-book speculation thread for trying to solve he murder mystery.

I hope its kosher to speculate on evidence from this episode. Jane's rapist will probably be one of the husbands or exes. Perry is too obvious but both Nathan and Gordon send off danger signals with me. Am I correct that Jane has not met any of these guys?

The lead investigator mentioned many broken bones the victim suffered. That either indicates a strong, male perpetrator who beat the victim or a fall, either from one of the many cliffs or down those steep steps always under construction. My plucked out of nowhere sense of how the murder went down is that a man kills another man but the murderer is doing it on behalf of one of the four lead women.

Edited March 6, 2017 by Cardie

[taragel]

So I went right to Perry as Jane's rapist and that guy in her recollection sure did look like Skarsgaard. (It could be too obvious a red herring given the promo, maybe.)  But my next thought was that it sure looked like Jane was raped there in Monterey, so maybe the reason they moved here was so she could find and kill the guy. 

[WhosThatGirl]

Perry seems too obvious as well.  But I think she moved to Monterey to track down Ziggys father too. But that doesn't mean it's Perry. All the men on this show seem to have an odd underlying tone that they could do something like that. 

[lmsweb]

25 minutes ago, Cardie said:

I hope its kosher to speculate on evidence from this episode. Jane's rapist will probably be one of the husbands or exes. Perry is too obvious but both Nathan and Gordon send off danger signals with me. Am I correct that Jane has not met any of these guys?

 

She has met/seen Nathan, at the little pow wow when everyone got called into the Prncipals office when Ziggy kissed Amabelle. I can NOT remember if she's met Ed, but I am certain she hasn't met Perry yet, or Gordon. Gordon was not at the Principals meeting, only Renata.

Edited March 6, 2017 by lmsweb

[WhosThatGirl]

I think she's only met Nathan. I think Nathan was one of very few men at orientation, which is probably a point that stung Madealine as I doubt he went to any for Abigail.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Promo:

Clips:

 

 

 

Inside the episode:

[acid burn]

4 hours ago, Muffyn said:

I've noticed a strange pattern in shows/movies with Laura Dern.  Someone always has to tell us she's pretty. 

She's what my father would call a "handsome" woman.

[athousandclowns]

The breaking in scene is confusing to say the least. She wasn't sexually assaulted that way so why the gun under her pillow?  The hotel shot I could have sworn the guy was blonde.  What was the fake name he gave from what movie?? 

Thanks for song titles I ran credits 3 times trying to find the one playing during bedroom dance. 

Where is It they drive into work ? LA? 

Really good television. 

[chocolatine]

5 minutes ago, athousandclowns said:

Where is It they drive into work ? LA?

It must be Silicon Valley, and from Gordon's office window it looked like San Jose. LA (and even San Francisco for that matter) would be too far for a commute from Monterey.

[athousandclowns]

Thanks. Still a brutal commute I live there and traffic is crazy. I checked filming was Los Angeles. Only one house is in Monterey ( Kidman's ) the other two in Malibu. 

[chocolatine]

Just now, athousandclowns said:

Still a brutal commute I live there and traffic is crazy. 

100%. Makes me think the writers who decided to have the show based in Monterey and some of the characters work in SV haven't actually been to SV much. I guess the stunning cliff and beach views were more important than plausible geography.

[mojoween]

Those gift baskets were ridiculous for a six year olds birthday party.  My son gave and got little plastic bags of dollar store trinkets, heh.

[stagmania]

7 hours ago, archer1267 said:

I wasn't watching Jane's flashback scene on the beach that closely, but the man's footprints abruptly ended on the sand, didn't they? It made me wonder if he had drowned. Did anyone else see it that way?

I think the scene of her chasing his footprints was a dream. It was clarified when she told the story that he left right after raping her, she stayed in the hotel room numb for awhile, and then went out into the water herself. 

6 hours ago, anniebird said:

Are the people in the police interviews being played by actors doing uncredited cameos? I swear, one of them looks exactly like Courteney Cox.

Nope, she's definitely not in this.

5 hours ago, Cardie said:

I hope its kosher to speculate on evidence from this episode. Jane's rapist will probably be one of the husbands or exes. Perry is too obvious but both Nathan and Gordon send off danger signals with me. Am I correct that Jane has not met any of these guys?

The lead investigator mentioned many broken bones the victim suffered. That either indicates a strong, male perpetrator who beat the victim or a fall, either from one of the many cliffs or down those steep steps always under construction. My plucked out of nowhere sense of how the murder went down is that a man kills another man but the murderer is doing it on behalf of one of the four lead women.

The show is encouraging us to think it's Perry right now, which makes me think it won't be. None of the other husbands are tracking for me as a strong suspect, so I think it may be someone we don't know yet. Agree the broken bones could indicate a fall, but I don't think one of the men will do it. This show is very driven by the emotions and actions of the women, and I expect the murder will be driven by them as well. 

[Razzberry]

8 hours ago, Muffyn said:

His OMG-she-could-leave-me-because-every-man-ever-would-want-her felt strange coming from a wealthy, highly-successful, very attractive man. 

Yeah, I'm loving the show but this I almost have to laugh.  Even the therapist was like ' Dude have you looked in a mirror?'   I'm just not buying it.

 

[mochamajesty]

1 hour ago, Razzberry said:

Yeah, I'm loving the show but this I almost have to laugh.  Even the therapist was like ' Dude have you looked in a mirror?'   I'm just not buying it.

 

Abusers manipulate. I think that this was Perry's attempt to make Celeste second guess herself. Instead of  examining why Perry  grows  violent, Celeste now has to reassure him she won't leave him.

A subtle way to shift the blame.

Edited March 6, 2017 by mochamajesty

[Maire]

Glad I gave this show another chance after the pilot. It has really gotten deeper and I am enjoying it. The DV relationship is very well done. It runs the gamut but DV often looks this way; insidious, crazy-making. Not a Nicole Kidman fan but she's great in the role.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I thought it was very sweet of Madeline to hold it together so she could be supportive for Jane only to have to pull over and cry afterward.

I found it interesting that Perry was the one to bring up his violence to the therapist. Granted, he didn't admit the full extent of it, but the fact that he was willing to admit to it at all was surprising to me. Or is this the abusive version of humble bragging? I can't decide if he's really in love with Celeste (and therefore genuinely contrite when he apologizes or gives her gifts) or if he's just very deliberately manipulative. And is he really afraid that she'll leave him or is that his excuse for being controlling and abusive? One thing that really annoyed was that when the therapist asked why he thought a thousand men would be lined up to be with her, his answer was, "Well, look at her." Never mind that she was a successful lawyer.

I don't blame Celeste for not bringing up the violence. She is ashamed of it, but I think she is also afraid that she can't bring it up without his permission (which is why she kept looking at him throughout the therapy session before answering the questions). When you take into account that she doesn't feel free to be honest and the fact that she said she gave up her career and her family to move to Monterey with him, that's all classic abusive behavior.

Nathan is such a tool. "I think your husband wants to fight me." Gawd, the more we see of Nathan, the more I understand Madeline's resentment because not only did he abandon her and their daughter, but he's such a passive aggressive immature dick.

Quote

Makes me think the writers who decided to have the show based in Monterey and some of the characters work in SV haven't actually been to SV much. I guess the stunning cliff and beach views were more important than plausible geography.

People do it though and it's not all rich people who have fancy jobs in SV/SJ and beachfront mansions on the coast.. One of my friends lived in Santa Cruz and worked in San Jose, and he was not a high powered executive. He was an hourly wage earner (at some point he was only temping). One of Mr. EB's coworkers lives up in Sonoma and works in San Francisco. Other people I know live in Oakland and work at Google and Apple. For reference, it takes me over an hour to drive from Berkeley to San Francisco in morning traffic (which is about ten miles), so yeah, traffic is hellish. And when I lived in San Diego, I knew people who commuted from Temecula. Traffic is hellish, but sometimes you want to live outside of the city where you work and sometimes you can't afford to live in the city where you work (which is clearly not the issue on Big Little Lies, but I'll take a beach view over SV any day).

[mochamajesty]

8 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I thought it was very sweet of Madeline to hold it together so she could be supportive for Jane only to have to pull over and cry afterward.

I found it interesting that Perry was the one to bring up his violence to the therapist. Granted, he didn't admit the full extent of it, but the fact that he was willing to admit to it at all was surprising to me. Or is this the abusive version of humble bragging? I can't decide if he's really in love with Celeste (and therefore genuinely contrite when he apologizes or gives her gifts) or if he's just very deliberately manipulative. And is he really afraid that she'll leave him or is that his excuse for being controlling and abusive? One thing that really annoyed was that when the therapist asked why he thought a thousand men would be lined up to be with her, his answer was, "Well, look at her." Never mind that she was a successful lawyer.

I don't blame Celeste for not bringing up the violence. She is ashamed of it, but I think she is also afraid that she can't bring it up without his permission (which is why she kept looking at him throughout the therapy session before answering the questions). When you take into account that she doesn't feel free to be honest and the fact that she said she gave up her career and her family to move to Monterey with him, that's all classic abusive behavior.

Nathan is such a tool. "I think your husband wants to fight me." Gawd, the more we see of Nathan, the more I understand Madeline's resentment because not only did he abandon her and their daughter, but he's such a passive aggressive immature dick.

People do it though and it's not all rich people who have fancy jobs in SV/SJ and beachfront mansions on the coast.. One of my friends lived in Santa Cruz and worked in San Jose, and he was not a high powered executive. He was an hourly wage earner (at some point he was only temping). One of Mr. EB's coworkers lives up in Sonoma and works in San Francisco. Other people I know live in Oakland and work at Google and Apple. For reference, it takes me over an hour to drive from Berkeley to San Francisco in morning traffic (which is about ten miles), so yeah, traffic is hellish. And when I lived in San Diego, I knew people who commuted from Temecula. Traffic is hellish, but sometimes you want to live outside of the city where you work and sometimes you can't afford to live in the city where you work (which is clearly not the issue on Big Little Lies, but I'll take a beach view over SV any day).

He bought it up to shift the blame to Celeste ("I am afraid that she will leave me"), so now Celeste is consumed with proving to him that she won't leave him as opposed to examining why he is an abusive dick.   He is shifting the responsibility of fixing the relationship to Celeste.  After the session, the conversation was about Celeste leaving Perry, not the abuse.

And during therapy, he will (assuming the therapist falls for it) come off as honest and vulnerable. Blech. 

I hope that the therapist noticed how frightened Celeste looked, at how she kept looking at Perry.  In short, I hope that the therapist sees through his bullshit.

Abusers go to therapy for one reason: to hear (and to let the abuser hear) from a 'neutral' party that the abused person is at fault, not the abuser. 

[Razzberry]

6 minutes ago, mochamajesty said:

Abusers go to therapy for one reason: to hear (and to let the abuser hear) from a 'neutral' party that the abused person is at fault, not the abuser. 

He kinda blew that right away by admitting he gets physical.

Loving the music, but 1st graders digging Fleetwood Mac?  I wish.

 

 

[Gem 10]

9 hours ago, mochamajesty said:

And youth and beauty

O.k. O.k. 20 lashes with a wet noodle.  Bonnie is pretty & sexy!  I had to go back to the episodes and really take a look.  I consentrate more on Maddie in the scenes.   Bonnie's dance opened up my eyes.    BTW, does anyone agree that a lot of scenes are very dark and the conversations very rushed?  I keep rewinding to get what they are saying.   This is the best series so far.

[nara]

10 hours ago, mojoween said:

Keeping a gun under your pillow with a child in the house is a bad idea, Jane.

Ok so here's the thing.  Perry is abusive and that is bad and I am not in any way suggesting Celeste has it coming.  But I have to give her a side eye that she keeps making these plans or doing things with the kids and not telling him.  Any dad who loves his kids would be pissed at that.  Now obvs he goes way too far and I can't condone his reaction.

I wonder where that gun will be used, since it doesn't appear to be the murder weapon. Unless the broken bones mentioned belong to a shooter, not the murdered person.

Regarding Celeste, she seems to see control over the children (or their affection) as her only power over Perry. Dangerous game to play.

9 hours ago, mochamajesty said:

Any therapist will tell you that patients lie. I am sure that therapist was watching body language and listening to not only what was said,  but what was not said.

 

Ed was looking at Abigail very inappropriately when she was outside.

Zoe Kravitz is the spitting image of her mother. I wonder if Bonnie's sexiness is going to be a thing later. Renata's husband sure liked it. Coupled with Renata's statement about his sex drive.

Bonnie's sexiness is already a thing. A couple of witnesses were making snide comments about her. She is not endearing herself to the mothers.

9 hours ago, archer1267 said:

I wasn't watching Jane's flashback scene on the beach that closely, but the man's footprints abruptly ended on the sand, didn't they? It made me wonder if he had drowned. Did anyone else see it that way?

I did too, but perhaps it is just symbolic of him disappearin without a trace.

It will be interesting to see how Abby likes living with Nathan and Bonnie. Sure , it's fun to visit them, but I feel like Nathan, in particular,  would get annoying fast, and Bonnie would  attract too much attention of teenage boy friends.

[mochamajesty]

1 hour ago, Razzberry said:

He kinda blew that right away by admitting he gets physical.

Loving the music, but 1st graders digging Fleetwood Mac?  I wish.

 

 

I explained Perry's actions (or rather my interpretation) in my post. He would not have admitted it unless it benefited him in some way.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Where's the hippo?

No more shots of the cast gazing at the ocean, please.

Did they take the crown that was on the birthday cake, covered with icing/frosting, and put it on Amabella's head, without wiping it off?

[teddysmom]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

9 hours ago, taragel said:

So I went right to Perry as Jane's rapist and that guy in her recollection sure did look like Skarsgaard. (It could be too obvious a red herring given the promo, maybe.)  But my next thought was that it sure looked like Jane was raped there in Monterey, so maybe the reason they moved here was so she could find and kill the guy. 

Regarding the promo

  Hide contents

and the rapist image on the PC-- That guy is clearly not Skarsgard, even 6-7 years ago, and also blows my 'faulty memory' theory, I think.  So unless Jane is screwing with the women, and the show is following suit with us the viewers in the flashback images, I think it's safe to say her rapist isn't someone we've met yet, right?  

Spoiler

I thought it looked like Renata's husband. Didn't the image on the computer show a man with a beard?

Edited March 6, 2017 by teddysmom

[teddysmom]

  10 hours ago, mochamajesty said:

And youth and beauty

O.k. O.k. 20 lashes with a wet noodle.  Bonnie is pretty & sexy!  I had to go back to the episodes and really take a look.  I consentrate more on Maddie in the scenes.   Bonnie's dance opened up my eyes.    BTW, does anyone agree that a lot of scenes are very dark and the conversations very rushed?  I keep rewinding to get what they are saying.   This is the best series so far.

I need to rewatch with CC on. I couldn't hear half of what they were saying.

[teddysmom]

I thought it was very sweet of Madeline to hold it together so she could be supportive for Jane only to have to pull over and cry afterward.

I found it interesting that Perry was the one to bring up his violence to the therapist. Granted, he didn't admit the full extent of it, but the fact that he was willing to admit to it at all was surprising to me. Or is this the abusive version of humble bragging? I can't decide if he's really in love with Celeste (and therefore genuinely contrite when he apologizes or gives her gifts) or if he's just very deliberately manipulative. And is he really afraid that she'll leave him or is that his excuse for being controlling and abusive? One thing that really annoyed was that when the therapist asked why he thought a thousand men would be lined up to be with her, his answer was, "Well, look at her." Never mind that she was a successful lawyer.

I don't blame Celeste for not bringing up the violence. She is ashamed of it, but I think she is also afraid that she can't bring it up without his permission (which is why she kept looking at him throughout the therapy session before answering the questions). When you take into account that she doesn't feel free to be honest and the fact that she said she gave up her career and her family to move to Monterey with him, that's all classic abusive behavior.

Nathan is such a tool. "I think your husband wants to fight me." Gawd, the more we see of Nathan, the more I understand Madeline's resentment because not only did he abandon her and their daughter, but he's such a passive aggressive immature dick.

  Quote

Makes me think the writers who decided to have the show based in Monterey and some of the characters work in SV haven't actually been to SV much. I guess the stunning cliff and beach views were more important than plausible geography.

People do it though and it's not all rich people who have fancy jobs in SV/SJ and beachfront mansions on the coast.. One of my friends lived in Santa Cruz and worked in San Jose, and he was not a high powered executive. He was an hourly wage earner (at some point he was only temping). One of Mr. EB's coworkers lives up in Sonoma and works in San Francisco. Other people I know live in Oakland and work at Google and Apple. For reference, it takes me over an hour to drive from Berkeley to San Francisco in morning traffic (which is about ten miles), so yeah, traffic is hellish. And when I lived in San Diego, I knew people who commuted from Temecula. Traffic is hellish, but sometimes you want to live outside of the city where you work and sometimes you can't afford to live in the city where you work (which is clearly not the issue on Big Little Lies, but I'll take a beach view over SV any day).

Coworker's daughter & husband live around San Jose. He's a sports car mechanic and she's a free lance artist. They are not rich by any stretch of the imagination.

[teddysmom]

5 hours ago, mojoween said:

Those gift baskets were ridiculous for a six year olds birthday party.  My son gave and got little plastic bags of dollar store trinkets, heh.

I am so glad I grew up in the era where you had a cake, and played a few little games and sent everyone home. And you did not give a bunch of 6 year olds a gift basket for spending 2 hours running around your back yard and eating cake & ice cream. WTF.

 

7 hours ago, athousandclowns said:

Thanks. Still a brutal commute I live there and traffic is crazy. I checked filming was Los Angeles. Only one house is in Monterey ( Kidman's ) the other two in Malibu. 

I wouldn't be able to drive over that bridge. I have such a fear of heights. I have driven on the Skyway into Chicago and don't believe I took a breath the whole time. "don't look down don't look down. "