This post contains spoilers for Big Little Lies season two, episode six.[hhmc]
“The Bad Mother,” the title of this weeks Big Little Lies, seems like a reference to the fierce custody battle Celeste (Nicole Kidman) is waging against her mother-in-law from hell, Mary Louise (Meryl Streep). But its also a nod toward Elizabeth (Crystal Fox), Bonnies abusive mother. “The Bad Mother” offers parallel stories of abuse survivors taking control: Celeste chooses to question Mary Louise herself in the final moments of her courtroom face-off, while Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) tearfully confronts her comatose mother in a closed hospital room, revealing that shes seemingly planning on confessing to murdering Perry and insisting that it was her mothers violent behavior that caused her reaction.
Both Kidman and Kravitz perform these scenes with captivating nuance; their emotions are palpable and raw. But only one of these arcs feels like a real triumph—because while Big Little Lies has always known how to tell Celestes story, Bonnies has always been a bit of a struggle.
Bonnies emotional confrontation with her mother was brilliantly performed, if overdue. “Well, it looks like its time,” the yoga teacher says, hinting at the weeks shes likely spent mulling her decision. “I have to confess something that Im not so proud of,” Bonnie continues. “And as I was writing, I realized I needed to confess to you first. So here it goes.”
“I resent you,” she reveals. “For the childhood that I had. I resent you for your impatience. For being scared of doing my homework without being yelled at. For all the kitchen cabinet doors you slammed. For slapping me. For all the bruises. I resent you for not feeling safe at home. I resent you for being ashamed of me. I resent you for all the sex I started to have when I was 13 to prove to myself that I could be loved. I resent you for my wanting to beat the shit out of everyone. I resent you for making me feel so fucking worthless that I settled for a man that I dont…” She trails off.
“But mainly,” Bonnie concludes, “I resent you for killing a man. I killed Celestes husband. He didnt slip. I pushed him. I snapped—and when I lunged at him, I was pushing you. And that push was a long time coming. And I want to forgive you.” A tear streams down Elizabeths face as her daughter finishes, though it seems unclear whether she was actually awake or lucid for her daughters confession.
Its telling that this typically laconic character chooses to write out and read aloud a message to her mother. One gets the impression that her journal is one of the few places where Bonnie feels genuinely safe to express and work through her feelings—a reality that speaks to how isolated her “friends” have left her, even as they support one another through scandal after scandal without judgment. Big Little Lies has always kept Bonnie at a distance from the rest of the group—though the series has yet to offer a legible reason for the disconnect, beyond any lingering awkwardness between her and Madeline. (Bonnie married MaRead More – Source
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Vanity Fair
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