Big Little Lies season two was one of the TV events of the summer. Aſter a critically acclaimed first season that seemed universally adored, it wasn’t surprising that all involved wanted to go back for more. But was it the right decision?

with Conor Behan

Season one of Big Little Lies was a perfect must-see ‘limited series’. Marquee names like Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern teaming up for a TV project joined by newer talents - Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley -it boasted serious star power. The first season was a slow burn that went from a seemingly simple soap-y premise into a thoughtful and moving meditation on difficult topics.

Although season one was billed as a complete story, the acclaim for the show prompted a second season. A chance to see these characters back together was too good for many of us to resist and the addition of Meryl Streep to the cast only heightened expectations.

It’s frustrating then that season two was so desperately uneven. While the cast were uniformly excellent it was hard to shake the sense that the plotting and through-line of this follow up season wasn’t as well conceived as the first. Laura Dern’s performance as Renata had always been darkly funny and meme-worthy but with depth. Season two’s writing turned her into a character always seconds away from a GIF ready meltdown.

Season two would feature a harrowing scene that understood the nuances of sexual violence and how it impacts victims then, in another scene, careen into some barely thought out plot line. Halfway through the run, a report emerged that director Andrea Arnold had her work significantly re-edited in post-production as producer David E Kelley and series one director Jean-Marc Vallée wanted it to reflect the feel of the first season more. The cast and creative team denied the reports but it seemed to confirm for some fans why this season felt so disjointed.

The new season, without spoiling it, ramped up the focus on its biggest selling point: the ongoing showdown between Mary-Louise and Celeste, played by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman respectively. Few would want to deny themselves the pleasure of seeing two performers of such calibre spar but the narrative leaps taken to get them there felt forced.

Writer David E Kelley’s TV career took flight thanks to hits like The Practice and Ally McBeal, shows with mass appeal that existed before HBO led the ‘prestige TV’ revolution -giving a supposed gravitas to the medium. But the courtroom twists of season two felt like Kelley harkening back to the cheesiest impulses of his earlier work.

So while season one of Big Little Lies blended the best of TV and film, season two, in its seeming unwillingness to trust Andrea Arnold, reflected the worst impulse of both mediums: cashing in on previous successes to diminishing returns.

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