Big Little Lies - Sky Atlantic

Vey confused by this. We don't know who died...They had better hurry up or I will lose interest.
I have a feeling that Nicole Kidman's characters husband may be violent?
And what was all that rubbish about that little boy who was supposed to hit that little girl (didn't believe it myself)
As you say...very arty farty

Well, sorry it wasn't to everyone's liking. I enjoyed it though, and definitely will watch the next episode.

I wouldn't describe it as arty-farty. It's glossy, with sweeping cinematic views of lovely ocean-side settings, but they're there I think to contrast with some un-loveliness which they all have in their private lives. Maybe the beginning was a bit arty, with the heavy breathing of someone over the opening sequence, and the sound of a lighter being repeatedly flicked open & shut (which we heard again in the closing sequence of footprints in the sand - are they part of the murder investigation?) - but these are possibly clues which aren't intended to mean anything yet. There were quite a lot of "teaser" clues which don't mean anything much yet, but that's part of the appeal for me. For example, when Ziggy was accused of hurting Amabella and said "I didn't do anything", there was a brief flash of him standing dressed in a vest standing by his mother as she was lying down, presumably a flashback of her remembering him saying the same thing.

It was a bit difficult to keep up with, not least because Reese Witherspoon was talking very fast during the first half, when there were a lot of names and relationships to take in. I had to re-watch bits of it. No we didn't find out who died, and I've a suspicion we may not find out for some time, possibly not till the end. I think it's all going to be about events leading up to the death, which is fine by me.

Sounds to me the old trick of nothing much happening so show the climax first then flash back for the rest of the series and hope people watch just to find out.

So many dramas start with an 'exciting' blast and then 'Six months earlier'. I usually switch off.

This series grew on me, and overall I thought it was very good with some fine acting from the leads.

As I suspected, we didn't find out who died - or why or how - until the excellent final episode. Those looking forward to a whodunnit will probably have been disappointed, because that's not what the series was at all. It was about a group of women, who knew each other because they all happened to have young children at a particular school - their treatment of and by each other and the men in their lives, their ongoing problems and ultimately empowerment. Although the outcome was extreme in that someone died, the various issues which eat away at them are all too believable.

There may or may not be a second series. The director has said there shouldn't be - it's based on a particular novel and that's that. Reese Witherspoon though has revealed that she, Nicole Kidman and the author are talking about another series. There should be a sequel of sorts on the big screen - Reese & Nicole have acquired film rights to another book by the same author, "Truly Madly Guilty".

Big Little Lies has been very successful in the Emmys, collecting 5 in the "limited series" categories: best series, lead actress - Nicole Kidman, supporting actress - Laura Dern, supporting actor - Alexander Skarsgard, directing.

Good news for me, because it means a second series is now much more likely to happen. Even the director, who had previously said there shouldn't be a sequel, has changed his mind.

The second season of Big Little Lies will receive its UK premiere on Sky Atlantic on Monday June 10th at 2am, simulcast with HBO’s east-coast feed. The season premiere will also be repeated later that same day in the show’s regular 9pm time-slot.