The Secret of<em> Big Little Lies</em>
In its second season, the HBO drama is as entertaining as it is thoughtful about human damage and desire.
Early in the new season of , Celeste (played by Nicole Kidman) goes to see her therapist, Dr. Reisman (Robin Weigert). Celeste has been having vivid, alarming dreams as she processes the death of her abusive husband, Perry (Alexander Skarsgård); the role her friends played; and her own contradictory feelings about losing him. Kidman plays Celeste almost in miniature—her voice is hushed to a whisper and she hardly moves, but her hands are clenched as she toys with her wedding ring. At Dr. Reisman’s request, Celeste replays in her mind one of the times her husband beat her; she silently cries as she does so. Then, reluctantly, she imagines the scene again, only with her friend Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) in Celeste’s place. This time,
