Big Little Lies: Everything We Learned From "Push Comes to Shove"

What an enlightening evening.

By Lauren Piester Mar 13, 2017 2:00 AMTags
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Things really got going on tonight's Big Little Lies, and we learned a lot about the moms, dads, and even the mayor of Monterey as we get closer and closer to the fateful trivia night.

In particular, we started to see a lot of people's true colors. Some of those colors are a little wonky, and others are a lot brighter than we might have previously thought. Everybody's still a mess and we still don't know what goes down on trivia night, but "Push Comes to Shove" was possibly the most revealing episode yet.

Here's what we learned:

1. Ed (Adam Scott) is into cosplay. He doesn't just like dressing up as Elvis for the Elvis/Audrey Hepburn trivia night. He likes costumes all the time, even in the bedroom. Basically, he's Parks and Rec's Ben Wyatt, but Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) is not quite as into it as Leslie Knope was.

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2. Ed is also a bit of a creep. "I love sweat on women" is not the way to greet your wife's ex-husband's new wife, dude.

3. And Madeline's no saint either. Her Avenue Q friend (who has a name, probably) declared his love for her and then kissed her, and she definitely kissed him back at least a little.

4. …And in fact, it wasn't the first time. They carried on a light affair a year ago before Madeline ended things!

5. The Monterey mayor is quite a character. Did you ever think you'd hear a dude yelling about "puppets f—king" so many times during one meeting?

6. Renata (Laura Dern) is scarier than we thought. Forget the yelling and the cursing—her true terror comes out when she's creepily flirting with the mayor just to keep Madeline from putting on a play.

Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/courtesy of HBO

7. Nathan (James Tupper) and Bonnie's (Zoe Kravitz) parenting styles are not exactly in sync. We saw a little bit of their home life this week and saw her tell Nathan to leave it alone when Abigail was clearly trying to sneak something illicit out of the house, and dismissed his concerns about living so close to Madeline and Ed. She's the chillest mom in all of Monterey, but that may not be the best thing.

8. Celeste (Nicole Kidman) is a truly badass lawyer, even when she's just arguing in favor of Avenue Q. Turns out the Celeste we've known so far—and the only one Madeline has ever known—is a subdued, sort of lost version of her former self, and she's feeling lost without her career. Perry (Alexander Skarsgard), however, is not about to let her get her career (and her power) back. Perry continues to be the worst.

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9. Ziggy's most likely not the first grade bully, according to the child psychologist Jane (Shailene Woodley) finally took him to, but the psychiatrist wouldn't be surprised if someone else is bullying Ziggy. We used to think the real bully might be one of Celeste and Perry's twins, but something tells us Amabella definitely has a dark side.

10. Jane's rapist looks somewhat like Perry. Madeline thought she found the guy, based on the name Jane gave her, and the picture was of an attractive blond man who looks pretty similar to Alexander Skarsgard. Jane thought it could be the right guy but she wasn't totally sure.

11. The kids' teacher is actually capable of making rational decisions, despite that show she forced during orientation. She suspected something was up with Ziggy and Amabella, and she quietly went to Jane about it, leaving Renata out for the moment and avoiding another s—tstorm.

Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/courtesy of HBO

12. The other moms and dads noticed something particularly different about Celeste in the days leading up to trivia night, leading us to think she and Perry might be involved in whatever happened. But we also suspect Perry of everything, because again, he is the worst.

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Power rankings:

5. Renata: Her manic display during the meeting with the mayor was just embarrassing. She moves down three points.

4. Bonnie: Bonnie moves up a point, but we don't trust all that chill. Or those abs.

3. Madeline: Madeline's life is starting to unravel, but she is still exactly the friend both Jane and Celeste need.

2. Jane: That therapy trip was much needed, and points to Jane for taking the steps to take care of her son, and maybe even start to take care of herself. Like Celeste, this week showed us a glimpse of what happy, carefree Jane could be like.

1. Celeste: Celeste moves from 4 to 1 for getting in the game and finding herself again. We're so happy to see her happy, especially when her happiness equals Renata's anger.

Big Little Lies airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.