Big Little Lies: Season 1, Episode 3 "Living the Dream"

 Big Little Lies: Season 1, Episode 3 "Living the Dream"

March 05, 2017

“Living the Dream” is an excellent episode. You start to see some of the strings being pulled as we march towards the end of our murder mystery conclusion. This episode is not about the murder mystery at all. It tackles serious themes of motherhood. Plus, we go deeper into the lives of some of the characters. Renata, for example, is truly not the villain. She is just a mother who is willing to humiliate herself to make sure her daughter gets what is best. The viewers also see that her rather deadbeat husband may be the best husband in the show…and that is saying something. Rape is also a central theme with Jane and Celeste both at the forefront. It can be a hard watch, but it is a necessary one. This is a powerful, emotional, and well-acted episode, Witherspoon, Kidman, Woodley, and Dern all deserve Emmy recognition. Let’s throw Skarsgard in there while we are at it.

Renata’s daughter, Amabella is having her birthday party. Renata is disappointed that Madeleine’s daughter and friends do not attend as they decide to see “Frozen on Ice” instead. Speaking of Madeleine, her bulldog personality is pushed to the front again as she fights the town for the right to put on her play, Avenue Q. Her tenacity in her personal life forces her oldest daughter, Abigail (played by the lovely Kathryn Newton) to move in with her father and Bonnie. Celeste and Perry go to therapy together. Celeste is very unwilling to mention her physical abuse, but surprisingly Perry admits everything happened because of his insecurities. Finally, Jane is able to open up to Madeleine about her past and how Ziggy is the product of rape. Not a normal rape sequence, as politeness existed and no dark alley was used, but still rape is rape.

Overall, this is an excellent episode that features some amazing acting from all the ladies. Laura Dern and Nicole Kidman are co-MVP’s here. If you want some sexy dance moves, Zoe Kravitz has you covered…despite being at a children’s birthday party. There is many moving parts, but you can see the dots starting to connect within the domestic lives of everyone. Unlike the book, there is no black and white. There is no clear villain. This episode proves that Renata does deserves sympathy. As for Perry, you do understand his reasonings, but sympathy still ceases to exist in my case because there should be no excuse for domestic violence. Amazing episode!

My Grade: A


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