Serious Mothering

## Navigation

"**Serious Mothering**" is the second episode of the first season of *Big Little Lies*. It is the second episode of the series overall. It was released on February 26, 2017 on HBO.

## Premise

Jane tries to keep it together as Ziggy queries why they moved to Monterey--a question for which she has no easy answers. Madeline gets news that her community-theater production might get derailed, and is outraged to learn that Renata is throwing a birthday party for Amabella and didn't invite Ziggy. Citing tensions from the night before, Celeste suggests to Perry that they see a counselor after he returns from his latest business trip. Nathan and Ed meet in hopes of smoothing out the tensions between their wives, and themselves.

## Synopsis

It is the first official day of school. Jane tells Ziggy to be brave and go, despite what happened at orientation. Trying to persuade him not to give in to the petition against their show, Madeline spends the morning arguing with Joseph, the head of the local theater. Celeste suggests she and Perry look into visiting a counselor when he gets back from his next trip. She is surprised when he agrees, but the mood goes dark when Perry realizes he missed the boys' "real" first day by not attending orientation.

At yoga, Madeline works on convincing Celeste to come out of retirement and be the theater's lawyer. Celeste returns home to find Perry leaving early for his flight. They fight, and the argument swerves from violence to passion.

Madeline is outraged to discover Renata's daughter Amabella has handed out birthday invitations to everyone in the class but Ziggy. Ed stuns Madeline by turning the conversation to Bonnie and Nathan and asking if her ex is still "the one."

Over drinks, Madeline and Celeste discuss the differences in their relationships, when Renata interrupts. Madeline makes it clear lines have been drawn since Amabella's birthday invites were handed out. Later, she explains to Ed why she relates to Jane -- she too was a single mom after Nathan left.

Abigail drops her purse on the floor, revealing a packet of birth control pills. She tells Madeline she is not having sex, but confesses Bonnie was the one who took her to get them. Madeline is furious.

At the Blue Blues café, Tom chats with Jane about her job and what inspired her to move to Monterey Bay. Madeline comments after that he's cute, but "unfortunately, gay."

Nathan meets up with Ed, looking for help controlling Madeline's aggression towards Bonnie. Ed sticks up for his wife, but Nathan asks if he's really expected to be an absent father to Skye just because he messed up when Abigail was a kid. Ed interprets the talk as a subtle threat, and responds with a few of his own.

While convincing Joseph to talk to the mayor, Madeline gets free tickets for Disney on Ice -- for the same day as Amabella's party.

Jane is pulled into the principal's office when Ziggy kisses Amabella at school. The principal believes Ziggy was -- at Chloe's suggestion -- trying to make amends with Amabella, but Renata is irate.

The day coming to an end, Renata wonders what's best for her daughter. Jane tells a worried Ziggy there is nothing wrong with him. Madeline reaches out to Abigail and makes up with Ed. Perry, away on business, connects with Celeste sexually through a video call on their laptops; neither mentions her bruises.

## Credits

### Cast

* Reese Witherspoon as Madeline Mackenzie
* Nicole Kidman as Celeste Wright
* Shailene Woodley as Jane Chapman
* Alexander Skarsgård as Perry Wright
* Adam Scott as Ed Mackenzie
* Zoë Kravitz as Bonnie Carlson
* James Tupper as Nathan Carlson
* Jeffrey Nordling as Gordon Klein
* and Laura Dern as Renata Klein

**Also Starring**
* Iain Armitage as Ziggy Chapman
* Sarah Baker as Thea Cunningham
* Sarah Burns as Gabrielle
* P.J. Byrne as Principal Nippal
* Santiago Cabrera as Joseph Bachman
* Darby Camp as Chloe Mackenzie
* Hong Chau as Jackie
* Kelen Coleman as Harper
* Joseph Cross as Tom
* Merrin Dungey as Detective Adrienne Quinlan
* Ivy George as Amabella Klein
* Virginia Kull as Emily Barnes
* Kathryn Newton as Abigail Carlson
* Larry Bates as Stu
* Kathreen Khavari as Samantha
* David Monahan as Bernard
* Joel Spence as Matt
* Larry Sullivan as Oren

**Co-Starring**
* Nelly Buchet as Juliette
* Chloe Coleman as Skye Carlson
* Parker Croft as Brent
* Cameron Crovetti and Nicholas Crovetti as Max and Josh Wright
* Kate Rene Gleason as Stacey
* Keisuke Hoashi as Dr. Leo Chang
* Kimmy Shields as Kelly
* Tim True as Detective Walt Gibson

#### Cast Notes

* Kate Rene Gleason (Stacey) makes her only appearance and is billed as Co-Starring.

## Gallery

### Videos

As Objectively As I Possibly Can (Season 1 Clip)Couple of Things (Season 1 Clip)I Love My Grudges (Season 1 Clip)"Serious Mothering" (Season 1 Episode 2 Recap)

## Note

* Warren Nippal, Gabrielle, Stu, Jackie, Samantha, Bernard, Harper Stimson, Thea Cunningham, and Matt deliver testimonies in this episode.

## Episode Guide

 **Season 2** | "What Have They Done?" **·** "Tell-Tale Hearts" **·** "The End of the World""She Knows" **·** "Kill Me" **·** "The Bad Mother" **·** "I Want to Know"

## References

1. ↑ S1 Ep 2: Serious Mothering | HBO
2. ↑ Search Results | HBO
3. ↑ Serious Mothering | HBO