Big Little Lies (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - The Bad Mother - full transcript

People file for bankruptcy
all the time.

You really don't get to settle
anything anymore, Mr. Klein;

That all falls on me.

We're not moving in a circle.

We're exploring the space.

You can trust me to love you.

If I fuck up again,
it will not be with infidelity.

I was protecting you...

the best way I could,
by keeping the peace.

K... Kill me.

We need to do what's best
for the boys.



There are so many possibilities

should this go to court,
Celeste.

A lot of them bad.

I'm gonna have to testify,

and that means that
I'm fair game.

No!

I pushed him.

- No, wait! Wait!
- I did it. I did it.

You did not push him.
And you did not push him.

No one did this. Nobody.

Call an ambulance!

What the fuck!

You're a cop?

No, I'm not a cop.



Well, what the fuck
were you doing there?

- I..., I was...
- Bonnie saw you.

Do you want to come in?

I can explain.

Yeah, you better fucking explain.

Okay, um...

I... I was called in
for questioning.

More like ordered.

By who?

- Um... Detective Quinlan.
- What did she say?

She asked me about us and you
and...

she asked whether
you had talked to me

about Perry Wright's death.

- What did you tell her?
- I told her the truth,

that you didn't
tell me anything.

But Jane, she knows your history
with this guy.

She knows he raped you,
she knows he's Ziggy's dad,

and she clearly doesn't think
he slipped.

I know.

She said with five witnesses,

the odds are in her favor...

one of you will finally crack.

The first one who does
gets a break.

The other four are fucked.

He went to, uh...

to kick me again and...

and I think that's when he...
He must have taken a step back

and... and he fell.

I don't really remember
because he stumbled back.

And that must have been
when he fell.

Is there anything else
that you would like to add?

I feel, um...

I just feel like...

I don't have a proper...

memory of everything, so...

that's why
it's a little inconsistent.

But we're not
gonna break. Right?

- No. Right.
- Yeah.

Okay, we're gonna keep our poise
and we're gonna stay calm...

Jesus Christ, a meteor could hit
and you would say, "Stay calm."

- Oh, fuck off, Bonnie.
- You fuck off.

You know what? I'm so tired
of taking care of you

- and your fucking feelings.
- Oh my god...

I know your mom had a stroke,

- but let's not forget, you're the one who pushed him.
- What the fuck you say to me?!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa!
- First off, he slipped. -Oh, my god.

- No one fucking pushed anybody. He slipped.
- All right, all right.

Come on. Bonnie.

- He slipped, right? Right?
- He slipped. Right.

Right. Yeah.

- All right, let's go, baby. Come on.
- It's all right.

Jesus.

And so I started to run at him.

And the closer I got to him...

the more I knew
what I had to do.

You're still here, huh?

Yeah, I, um, left and came back.

Doctor's gonna be here shortly
with an update.

You ready?

'Cause I'm not.

She's too damn young,
for God's sake.

You're gonna fight this.

You hear me, baby?
You're gonna fight this.

What did you say?

Something in the vein
of "Fuck off."

I know it was rude. I feel bad.

I just...

Why were you all out there?

This secret last-minute meeting.

Were you helping Celeste
prepare for her custody battle?

Um, no, we were just being there
for her, you know.

- Solidarity. Yeah.
- And at night?

And during all this solidarity,

is that when "fuck off"
came up, or...

Mm-hmm.

You know, the other day,

when you talked
about hating yourself,

there was honesty. I mean...

It gave me hope.

First time in a long time,
the air felt clear.

But right now, it seems like
the window is fogging up,

like you're hiding again.

- Mom?
- Hey.

It's cold.

Come here.

- You couldn't sleep?
- No.

He knows that
I am lying about something.

We made a pact.

He's my husband.

It's fucking pact, Madeline.

You don't tell anybody that!

I mean, you're the one that says

Ed's all about truth
and honesty.

- He is.
- Oh, great.

So, suppose he leads with that?
Are you kidding me?

Then, we're fucked,
and Celeste is fucked first.

She'll lose her kids.

You cannot tell him that.

Yeah.

Hey, Kristen. Uh, we have
a seafood watch question.

The mom with the penguin kid
with the penguin hat.

You got it. Yeah.

So, you're not gonna return
my phone calls or my texts

'cause I talked to the police?

No, it has nothing to do
with the police.

I just can't do this right now.

Hey, who wants to touch
something, uh, prickly.

- Me!
- Okay.

She... she's just to my left.

I'm just kidding.
No, I'm kidding.

We have slimy kelp here.

I just want you to know
how sorry I am...

that it's come to this.

But at the end of the day,
we are still family, you know?

We're not family, Mary Louise.

All rise.

- Be seated.
- Okay.

I have before me
the psychiatric reports,

together with the finding
of the child psychologist.

I am not satisfied.

As I stated at the outset,

the court takes these matters
seriously.

As both a judge and a mother,

I'm ill-inclined
to remove these children

from the only home
they've ever known.

That said, I do have concerns.

Both parties will be provided
copies of the reports today,

which I would like to enter
into evidence

by joint stipulation.

Given the underlying neutrality
of these recommendations,

I anticipate no objection.

All right. We will proceed

with the evidentiary hearing
tomorrow. Mrs. Wright?

I wish to first hear from you.
You will take the stand

and entertain questions from me

as well as
the petitioner's counsel.

Your Honor, I'd like to conduct
a direct first.

Not necessary.
You can redirect after,

should you feel the need.

Okay?
See you all back here tomorrow.

Hey. No, come on.
We expected this. Come on.

Are the boys
gonna have to be here?

Not for tomorrow, no.

Celeste. There is the risk
she could get full custody.

I'm not settling.

- I am not settling.
- Okay.

And don't try to handle me here.

- All right? Don't do that.
- Handle, no.

Advise, yes.

Farber's goal will be
to make you look erratic.

I can protect you some,

you just can't look like
you need protection.

Do you understand
what I'm telling you?

Yeah, of course. I'm on my own.

- That's what you're saying.
- You are not on your own.

But we need to be careful.

Get some rest.

There's nothing more we can do.

I'm afraid we just have to watch and wait.

Do you have any questions?

- Can we kill her?
- Bonnie.

She doesn't want to exist like this.

We can't kill her.

I know it's done.
Pain management, we give her...

- morphine.
- DR. CORTLAND That isn't...

the kind of pain we manage.

Morphine is not indicated here.

You'd do it for a dog.

- Bonnie.
- What?

Enough.

Oh, it's a total nightmare.

What, the hearing is open to the public?

No, Judge Marilyn Cipriani.

I wish I knew somebody
who knew somebody who knew her.

I, uh, said goodbye to Amabella.

Oh, Juliette...

I kinda told her that
I might be coming back,

you know, to soften the goodbye.

That was such a good idea.
I know, it's...

Um, my... my lawyer said
I need to talk to you

- about the severance again.
- Oh, honey, I know...

We know we owe it.
But now, it's...

It's in bankruptcy trustee's
hands.

So, first things first,
we need to find you a new job.

Right, you... you got our
letter of recommendation?

- Yeah, I did. Thank you.
- Yep, sure. Of course.

So, I guess this is goodbye.

Uh-huh.

Let's not.
No, it's not goodbye here.

Because we will rise up,
and when we do,

we will hire you back.

- Okay. Okay.
- Okay?

Oh, I couldn't have done
this without you, Juliette.

Whoo!

Yeah, baby!

Whoo!

Good job, buddy.

- Good job, high five. Whoo!
- Oh, my god!

That was so cool. I love that.

Hey!

What are you not doing in school?

You're not suspended again,
I hope.

No, it's a parent-teacher conference.

Oh, cool. Well, you... I saw you
catch that wave.

Looks like you got it down.
You don't need my help, huh?

No, I still need your help.
I'm not that good.

She's been teaching me!

Again.

- Both of you guys are so good at this.
- Hey, baby.

Uh, do you wanna just build
a sandcastle for a minute?

- Give us a second to talk?
- Okay.

- Thank you.
- You guys wanna talk private.

Yeah, we do. Will you take
a board, too?

- All right.
- Thank you.

- Make sure you got a moat.
- Hey, over here.

- To keep the people out.
- Your toys are over here.

- Hi.
- Hey.

So, you're gonna
freeze me out forever?

It's gonna take me a long time
to let someone in again.

I'm not walking away.

Mom, check this out.

- Bonnie, I...
- Metal in the pocket.

Look, I... I wanna apologize
for the other day.

I was completely out of line.

It's fine. We're going through
a lot of stuff, you know.

No, everything your mom
is going through,

I had no right to speak to you
like that.

And I want you to know
if I can be helpful,

which I... I don't know
how I could, but I want to be.

Thank you.

You okay?

Yeah, I'm good. Like...

what you said, everyone's
going through stuff, and I...

- I'm no exception.
- It's getting to you, isn't it?

What?

It's getting to you.

Every. Time. Every time.
I know how you feel.

It's like that put us on a list.

Please raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth,

and nothing but truth,
so help you God?

- I do.
- Please be seated.

- Mr. Farber.
- Thank you, Your Honor.

The whole truth...

and nothing but the truth.

Do you have any questions

concerning the oath
you just took, Mrs. Wright?

- None.
- Excellent.

And first off, my sympathies.

Your husband died.

And now this.
That can't be easy.

In fact, it's not been easy
for a long time,

has it, Mrs. Wright? You were in

an abusive relationship
with your husband.

- Yes.
- Physically abusive.

- Yes.
- Emotionally abusive.

- Yes.
- He hit you.

- Many times.
- Did you ever hit him?

I mean, sometimes,
I would fight back.

Did you ever hit him first?

It happened, but...

I mean, more typically,
he attacked me.

That must have been terrifying.

Was it ever thrilling?

Thrilling?

Did the physical violence ever lead to sex?

- Objection.
- Uh, overruled.

Did the physical violence
ever occasion

you and your late husband
to have sex?

- Yes.
- Great sex?

You were aroused
by the violence.

I was not aroused
by the violence.

You never said that?

That the incendiary exchanges
with your husband,

including the physical violence

led to gratifying
and passionate sex,

did you ever say that?

My relationship with my husband
was very complicated.

Complicated. Was it sick?

- It was not healthy.
- Are you over your sickness?

- Objection.
- Sustained.

Did you miss the violence?

No, I do not.

I... I miss my husband...

but I don't miss
getting beat up. So...

So, he beat you up often?

He did.

Did you ever call the police?

- No.
- Never?

Did you ever tell anybody?

- No.
- You never told anybody

that your husband
was hurting you?

I told my therapist.

Are you healed now?

- Objection.
- Sustained.

Do you, uh, recognize this man?

- Yes.
- What's his name?

- I don't know.
- Oh, not even a first name?

Um... Jeff. Uh, Joe. Joe.
It was Joe. I... I think.

Did you have sexual relationships with Joe?

Uh...

Um, I did...
I'd had a bit to drink.

So, approximately how long
after you met Joe

- did the two of you have sex?
- Objection.

Well, not long enough
to get his name.

- Objection.
- Counsel.

Did this also get violent?

It was physical.

And are you really over
your sickness?

- Objection.
- Sustained.

Do you recognize this man?

Michael something.

Did you have sex with Michael something?

My social life is not...
I mean, this is...

Did you have sex with Michael something?
Yes.

And it also got physical?

Um...

If anything,
I was the aggressor.

Oh, so where did
this aggressive sex take place?

In a bathroom.

- A bathroom stall?
- Yes.

- A public bathroom stall?
- Yes.

How long after you met Michael something

did you have aggressive sex
in a public bathroom stall?

- Objection.
- Sustained.

In the interest of time, just...

And...

No, this... Please.

Did you have sexual relations
with all these men?

Listen, this... this has nothing
to do with my capacity

to parent my children. This...

Did you children ever meet
any of these men,

these sexual one-offs,
your boys ever meet 'em?

- They... They met Joe.
- No others?

Um, no.

Did you ever bring any of these men home

when the boys were there?

No. Um...

Well, once. Once, I did,
but, um...

He was gone. He was gone
before they woke up, so...

Oh, so if Josh were to
tell his grandmother,

"The other night, I tried
to get into bed with Mommy,

but there was a stranger there,"
he'd be lying?

If he said, "I tried to wake
Mommy up, but I couldn't",

and the stranger told me
to go back to my room,"

that would just be
his imagination?

Uh... I mean...

sometimes I, um,
have trouble sleeping,

and so I take Ambien,
and that...

Have you ever driven while on Ambien

and run off the side of a road?

Um...

Your Honor, um...

- Your Honor.
- Answer to me, please.

- Answer to me.
- No, I would

- I would like to address the court.
- Go ahead.

Um, I have...

I drove off the road once.
I've struggled.

I've had difficulty in the wake
of my husband's death,

and I've engaged in... in...

In self-destructive behavior,
including, um...

including sexual encounters
and...

Celeste.

Please, let me, I'm...

I'm not gonna look you
in the eye and say

that I'm healed, but I will say this:

I am in the process of healing, and...

And through it all,
I've always been a good mother.

I've always put my
children's interests first,

and I've always, always kept them safe,

even when Perry... even when...

there was a monster in the house.

Have you ever been violent
with your children, Mrs. Wright?

I overreacted on two occasions.

You ever strike your mother-in-law?

I slapped her in the face.

Ever push your husband
down a flight of stairs?

No!

And how dare you?

How dare you?

This is a computer simulation
of your husband's fatal fall.

- Objection. Relevance, not to mention unfair surprise.
- No, Your Honor.

Your Honor can take a de bene.

Okay, this is
off-the-charts prejudicial.

This isn't a jury trial, counsel,

I'll give you time to impeach
if you want.

This is where your
husband would have landed

from a natural fall.

Now, this is where he did land.

Oh! This is...

Hmm.

The physics say...

that for him
to have landed there,

he must have been pushed.

So, I dare to ask...

- did you push him?
- No. I did not.

How did he fall?

He lost his balance and he slipped.

He lost his balance
immediately after you found out

he'd been unfaithful
with another woman

who bore his child?

- Your Honor, this is not relevant.
- Not relevant?

She might commit a homicide,
but hey.

- We can...
- Objection.

All right, the objection
on relevance is sustained.

Thank you, Your Honor.

I have no further questions.
Thank you.

- Okay.
- Shit.

God, Katie, you couldn't have cut
any of that off? Jesus Christ.

Oh my god, she was having me followed.

She was having me followed.

- I know, I think so.
- Unbelievable.

She had PIs on me. God.
This is just...

Okay, that was rougher than we thought.

You think?

Jesus Christ.

I'll need to put you back on the stand.

- No...
- We need to rehabilitate you.

Deconstruct a lot
of what just happened.

I don't think I can get back
in that chair again. I can't.

I'm sorry, but I think you have to.

You can't leave it like that.
You can't.

And you've been
through so much, honey,

but you have to fight
for those boys.

You can't leave it like that.

I dare to ask,

did you ever push your husband
down a flight of stairs?

I did.

You have to fight for them. They need you.

Well, I must say I was surprised
to hear from you.

I have no intention of doing
anything, okay?

Okay.

All right, part of me
does want to do something,

but I've already done it
just by entertaining the idea

even... for a few minutes,
I've done it.

Look, let me tell you
what my shrink told me.

It's not
about inflicting payback

on your cheating spouse.

It's about getting a sense
that you didn't just take it.

You didn't just swallow
your pride

and resign yourself
to being some wimpy ass victim.

But you are looking for payback.

True. I'd like both Joseph
and Madeline to pay.

But I'm also attracted to you.

I keep both a masturbation diary
and a bucket list.

- Lower your...
- You made both.

It's not just about me
getting even.

It's about me getting you.
I want you.

Don't overthink it.

We have sex.
We'll probably love it.

If we don't, we move on.

Of course, if we do love it,

we do it again.

And again.

Jesus.

Ed, I'm at a loss.

I just hope I can convince you
that I'm incapable

of doing something...
that I already did.

I just...

I hope I can earn back
your trust.

Madeleine, there's nothing
I want more than to trust you.

And that said,
I can't just wave a wand.

Neither can you.

What are you doing?
You know she's a good mother.

You need to call this off.

Oh, I know...

I thought about doing
exactly that. I really did.

But then, I...

I considered the boys and I...
She's not well.

Clearly, you can see that.

No, what I see is a woman
who's struggling. Who isn't?

Are you struggling, Jane?

With your conscience, perhaps?

Ziggy told me
you purchased a gun.

Did you plan to use it
on my son?

Did you move to Monterey
to hunt him down?

Actually, I came to Monterey
in search of a good man.

A good man who happened
to have a bad night.

Do you know...

the difficulty that my son
is gonna have to face

being a product of rape
because of your fucking son?

He was not a good man!

Yeah, maybe I would have
fucking shot him.

I didn't get the fucking chance!

- Good night.
- Good night, babies.

Sounds like somebody's
having a party.

Uh, you guys go ahead and put
your mom's food on the counter.

I'll tell her it's here.

Okay.

I was just cleaning out
my closet, you know,

and I found my wedding dress
in the back.

Just kinda reminded me
of a certain time

when I was a different person
and...

I was so sure
that I was gonna be...

a great wife.

Anyway, this is where
it gets stupid,

- so brace yourself for this part.
- Okay.

I put on the veil and then tried
to put on the dress,

but it doesn't fit... but we're
not talking about that...

Uh...

just so I could reconnect
to that person, and then...

I put on this song 'cause...

'cause you picked this song
for our wedding

and it always makes me dance.

So, that's, uh, pretty much it.

Now you're up to speed.

And I'm also out of breath.

Well, like I said before,
you can't just wave a wand.

But that was
pretty fucking close.

Go towards the light, baby.

Mm-mm. None.

Yes.

We got to go.

Did I ever tell you you're
the best daughter in the world?

I love you.

I love you too.

- Bye.
- Bye, sweetie.

I want to go back to yesterday,

when counsel asked you
about the other men.

I have to admit, we were
all a bit thrown by it.

- I was thrown.
- Mm.

I mean, I'm clearly
still struggling.

Are you getting
professional help?

Yes. Yes, I am, and I've stopped
taking the Ambien.

And the other?

Are we dealing with some kind of
sexual addiction here?

No, there's no sexual addiction.

Mrs. Wright, something seems
to be going on here.

These encounters...

- Are you getting help for this?
- I will.

- You will?
- Yes.

Why haven't you?

I think I've been too ashamed.

To tell your therapist, even?

- Especially my therapist.
- Why is that?

Because she's worked so hard
on me, and...

I think I just...

I desperately wanted to see
myself through her eyes

and see progress.

It seems like risky behavior.

How am I trust
that this will stop?

Because it will stop.

It will. It has stopped.

All right,
I have to be honest here.

It gives me pause.

I need you to explain to me,
as best you can,

what you think is going on here.

I wanted to be touched.
I wanted it...

I wanted it to be...
uncomplicated,

and I wanted to be in control,
so...

And as it was said yesterday,
um, the violence with Perry...

would sometimes lead to sex,
which would...

I mean, it's... it's just...

It's confusing, so...

I think that's...
And it sickens me.

And so that's why I was engaging
with the others,

because I... these other men,
because I think I wanted

to... to be free of Perry,
and I want to push him out.

- "Him" being your husband?
- Yes. Yes.

Were you maybe looking
to hurt yourself?

No, I really don't think
I was doing that.

I think I just wanted
to push him out.

Well,
I am all too familiar that...

many women stay
with their abusers.

- Mm-hm.
- Tell me why you stayed.

Um, because...

I loved him, and I thought...
And... but I...

I just always thought
he would get better.

- But he didn't.
- No, he didn't.

And when I was happy,
I stayed because I was happy,

and when I was depressed,

I stayed
because I was depressed.

I mean, either way,
I was afraid if I left him

of what he might do.
I was afraid how he would react.

I was afraid of being alone.
I was...

So I stayed.
I stayed to survive.

I stayed for my boys.

Yeah. I'm good.

Mr. Farber.

Thank you.

I dare to ask...

I'm right here, Mama.

Can you see me?

How you doing?

Well, it looks like it's time.

I have to confess something
that I'm not so proud of.

And as I was writing...

I realized I needed
to confess to you first.

So, here it goes.

I resent you...

for the childhood I had.

I resent you
for your impatience...

for being scared
of doing my homework

without being yelled at...

for all the kitchen
cabinet doors you slammed...

for slapping me,

for all the bruises.

I resent you
for not feeling safe at home.

I resent you
for being ashamed of me.

I resent you for all the sex

I started to have when I was 13

to prove to myself
that I could be loved.

I resent you for my wanting

to beat the shit
out of everyone.

I resent you for making me feel
so fucking worthless

that I settled for a man
that I don't...

But mainly...

I resent you...

for killing a man.

I killed Celeste's husband,
and he didn't slip.

I pushed him.

I snapped, and...

when I lunged at him,
I... I was pushing you.

And that push
was a long time coming.

And I wanna forgive you.

There was an incident where
a little girl was being bullied,

bitten, choked.
The bully was your son.

My sons are good boys.

So, given your struggles,
why not let them stay

with their grandmother
while you heal.

I am their mother.
And they belong with me.

- Robert Johannsson.
- Yeah.

And this was for a model train?

A Lionel Union Pacific Car.

It's, uh, vintage.

Stated value is 2,200 dollars.

It's probably worth
closer to 3,000.

Duly noted.

Marshall Brickman.

No Marshall Brickman?
All right, Juliette Dubois.

I didn't know...

And you're seeking severance
in the amount of 72,000 dollars?

Yes, sir. I worked there for six years.

Okay. And what is this "other" listed?

Hundred and sixty thousand
dollars?

That's for other services
rendered,

for which I was promised
to be taken care of.

Mm-hmm And what other services?

Uh, stress management.

Can you be more specific?

I just like to leave it at that
if I could.

I still love you. You know that, right?

Shut the fuck up

for the rest
of your fucked-up fucking life.

Do you hear me?

I don't wanna hear
one fucking word

from your fucked-up
little fucking twerp mouth

on why you fucked up, no matter
what fucked-up excuse

you come up with.

You fucking... fuck shit!

Fucking!

The fucking nanny?!

All rise.

Be seated.

As I said, I find the psychiatric reports

and the custody evals
a bit of a wash,

but I think I have
a pretty good grasp

of what we're dealing with here.

And I'm prepared to enter
my finding at this time.

In the case...

Mrs. Wright.

I would like to call a witness.

I don't think
a character witness

- would carry much weight...
- This is not a character witness.

You've been asked to decide

where my boys
would be better off.

That puts in question

the petitioner's fitness
as well.

I was examined.
She should be too.

There has been no suggestion

that my client's
parental capacity

- is up for review.
- I'm making that suggestion now.

I was fair game. So is she.

All right. We will schedule

the petitioner's testimony
for Tuesday.

And with the court's permission,

I would like
to question her myself.

I don't think that's wise.

I'm an attorney. I have
a current bar license.

I'm entitled to participate
in my own defense.

That may very well be true,

but I don't think
it's in your best interest.

It's my fight, Your Honor.

I ask that you let me wage it.

Very well.

Tuesday at one o'clock.

Until then, we're adjourned.

The Monterey Five,

whatever we call ourselves,

the lie...

is the friendship.

I can just see the damage that it's done.

It's eroding every
single one of us.

You were a part of this.

Who knows what I haven't seen?

You can't falter here.

Do you hear me?