‘Big Little Lies’: Nicole Kidman Slapped Meryl Streep and I Feel Alive

Finally, Big Little Lies delivered on the moment we’ve been praying for ever since Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) pursed her lips at Madeline’s height. Nicole Kidman’s Celeste slapped the shit out of her, and I for one am pumped. Spoilers ahead for Big Little Lies Season 2, Episode 4.

As a general rule, I believe that violence is never the answer, and I know that Big Little Lies agrees with me on this. This is an entire multi-million dollar show about the horrors and pain of domestic abuse and sexual assault. “Violence is bad” is kind of everyone’s take. But even with all this in mind, it’s hard to not want to slap Mary Louise.

Since Mary Louise Wright first appeared in Monterey, she has insulted Madeline Martha Mackenzie’s (Reese Witherspoon) height repeatedly, been so odd that Renata (Laura Dern) cursed her out, and screamed at the dinner table in front of her grandchildren. And those are just the weird faux pas she’s initiated.

She’s also directly questioned Celeste’s (Nicole Kidman) parenting abilities and has all but declared that Celeste murdered her husband (she kind of did, but that’s not the point). Oh, and then there’s that whole thing where Mary Louise keeps bothering Jane (Shailene Woodley) and insisting that she was never raped by Mary Louise’s son. Doubting a sexual assault survivor’s trauma is horrific in and of itself. It takes some survivors years to find the bravery to openly discuss their pain. But constantly doubting someone’s trauma? And then stalking them to hound them about it more? While being the mother of a victim’s rapist? AND insisting that you have a relationship with that victim’s son, who was conceived from the assault? That’s so many levels of messed up that the subreddit r/AmItheAsshole would explode.

So yeah, tensions are pretty high when Mary Louise unexpectedly pops into a pumpkin carving party hosted by Madeline. After exchanging a plethora of shifty looks, the Monterey Five graciously let this weird woman into their lives. Why? Because they’re not rude monsters. That’s when Mary Louise drops a bomb: she has rented an apartment in the same complex as Jane.

That’s right. The mother of Jane’s rapist is going to be her new neighbor.

Celeste immediately snaps and pulls her mother-in-law away to chastise her for being so transparently insensitive. It feels fitting that as she’s walking away, the screeching theme song from Psycho can be heard. But of course, Mary Louise isn’t to be deterred. Though we all know she’s smarter than this, the nefarious grandmother pretends like there’s nothing odd about moving in with your son’s rape victim before going on another rant about how Jane is probably lying (she’s not). And because Mary Louise is never happy attacking just one woman, she jabs Celeste with this barb.

“How many other women did he go to?” Mary Louise asks, feigning innocence. “If there are one… there are others.”

That’s when Celeste slaps the shit out of her mother-in-law; and god is it a great slap. This slap is the pinnacle of slaps all other slaps should slap for. I mean, aim for. The sickening smack noise is so loud it practically echoes as Mary Louise flings herself to the side. You can even hear the clink of her glasses hitting the floor. Celeste hit her mother-in-law so hard, she slapped the freaking glasses off this lady.

It’s an incredibly satisfying moment that immediately transitions into horror as Celeste realizes what she’s done. But that doesn’t last long. This is Mary Louise we’re talking about, and you better believe she’s locked and loaded with a new insult.

“What should we call that?” Streep’s character asks, straightening her glasses. “Foreplay?”

Bam. In one word Mary Louise erases any sympathy the audience has for her while once again accusing Celeste of lying about her abusive marriage. She goes from monster to victim to monster again all in less than 10 seconds. The emotional whiplash is so intense it’s almost painful. But not as painful as that slap.

So far in season 2 of Big Little Lies we’ve seen Laura Dern curse out Streep. We know that Witherspoon will eventually throw an ice cream cone at her. And now we’ve seen Kidman slap her. This season is becoming one long excuse to bully Meryl Streep; but as long as she’s playing a character as despicable as Mary Louise, it’s hard to hate that direction too much.

New episodes of Big Little Lies premiere on HBO Sundays at 9/8c.

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