The Atlantic

How <em>Big Little Lies</em> Captures Children's Quiet Stress

In the fifth episode of its new season, the HBO series homes in on the burdens kids bear in times of familial distress.
Source: Jennifer Clasen / HBO

This article contains spoilers through Season 2, Episode 5 of Big Little Lies.

Of the children on , Chloe (Darby Camp) has always been one of the more perceptive ones. In Season 1, she tried to mend fences between Ziggy (Iain Armitage) and Amabella (Ivy George). In an earlier episode this season, she braved her mother Madeline’s (Reese Witherspoon) wrath by calling her “,” a harsh burn from a second grader. And last night’s episode sees her wordlessly hugging her

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