Corey Comes Clean to Jane in New ‘Big Little Lies’ Episode

The installment picks up right where we left off in episode five, with Jane (Shailene Woodley) discovering that Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) saw Corey (Douglas Smith) leaving the Monterey Bay Police Station. Without hesitation, Jane drives to Corey’s house and asks the question that has been plaguing us since last week.

“Are you a cop?” she says.

Corey immediately denies any wrongdoing before inviting Jane inside. He reveals that he was “ordered” into the station by Detective Adrienne Quinlan (Merrin Dungey)—the same woman who has been surveying the housewives ever since Perry’s (Alexander Skarsgård) mysterious death.

Although Corey didn’t say anything bad about Jane, he warns her that the police know about her past with Perry. To top it off, the detective is convinced that someone will eventually crack.

“She said with five witnesses, the odds are in her favor,” Corey says. “One of you will finally crack. The first one who does, gets a break. The other four are f***ed.”

Cut to the police station, where Detective Quinlan is reviewing Celeste’s interview tapes from the night of the murder. The camera pans back to reveal the detective sitting next to Mary Louise. Dun dun dun.

Jane calls an emergency meeting with the Monterey Five—herself, Bonnie, Celeste, Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) and Renata (Laura Dern). Right off the bat, Madeline assumes the role of Queen Bee, launching into a speech about how they’re “not going to break.”

However, things take an interesting turn when Bonnie gives her attitude, prompting Madeline to remind Bonnie that she put them in this position.

“F*** off, Bonnie,” Madeline says. “You know, I’m so tired of taking care of you and your f***ing feelings.”  

Later that night, Madeline confides in Ed (Adam Scott) about cursing at Bonnie. Ed asks all the right questions and demands to know why Madeline was with Bonnie in the first place.

Of course, Madeline makes up an elaborate lie about how they’re supporting Celeste during her custody battle. Ed reminds Madeline that she promised to be honest with him.

He says, “Right now, it seems like the window is fogging up—like you’re hiding again.”

When Madeline turns to Renata, Renata reminds her that she can’t come clean to Ed. Not only did they make a pact, but Celeste could also lose her children if the secret gets out.

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Corey confronts Jane, demanding to know why she’s not returning any of his calls or texts messages. (C’mon. Even we know the answer to that question.)

Jane assures Corey that it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s working with the police. Instead, she says she’s not ready for anything serious right now.

The next day, Jane is surfing with her son, Ziggy (Iain Armitage), when—whaddaya know—she randomly spots Corey on the beach.

“So, you gonna freeze me out forever?” he asks.

Jane reminds Corey that it will take her a while to let someone into her life again. He promises her that he won’t give up, and all we have to say is…beware, Jane.

At the hospital, Bonnie is sitting next to her mom, Elizabeth (Crystal Fox), who has been in and out of consciousness since suffering a stroke in episode four.

To pass time, Bonnie is passionately writing something illegible in her journal. A confession? An apology? Or—dare we say—a suicide note for her mother?

Just then, her dad, Martin (Martin Donovan), interrupts her peace and quiet. It’s clear that Martin has one goal: to get Elizabeth home.

In a dream, Bonnie imagines that she’s standing over her mom’s bedside before smothering her with a pillow. When she wakes up, the doctor reveals there’s nothing they can do but “watch and wait.”

When the doctor asks if Bonnie has any questions, she blurts, “Can we kill her?” Bonnie tries to explain herself, saying that her mom wouldn’t want to live like this. The doctor responds with a firm, “No.”

At court, the judge admits that she’s not satisfied with the evidence she’s seen. She doesn’t want to remove the twins from the only home they’ve ever known, though she has concerns about Celeste’s behavior. So, she orders Celeste to take the stand at tomorrow’s session.

The next day, Madeline arrives at the custody hearing and apologizes to Bonnie for exploding on her. “It’s getting to you, isn’t it?” Bonnie asks.

Right on cue, Renata interrupts and ushers them to their seats. After Celeste is sworn in, Mary Louise’s lawyer immediately brings up Celeste’s relationship with Perry, asking if she ever found the abuse “thrilling.”

Celeste—who is as composed as ever—says that while she misses her husband, she doesn’t miss getting beat up. The lawyer reveals that he’s skeptical because Celeste told no one but her therapist.

The lawyer proceeds to display a photo of the man who spent the night in episode four. When Celeste admits that she doesn’t know his name, he pulls up a pic of another unknown man.

“In the interest of time,” the lawyer says before flipping through a series of photos.

After blaming it on the Ambien—which she’s no longer taking—Celeste addresses the court, saying, “I am in the process of healing and, through it all, I’ve always been a good mother. I’ve always put my children’s interests first…even when there was a monster in the house.”

Next, the lawyer pulls up a simulation of Perry’s fall, asking, “Did you push him?” Although she denies any involvement, Detective Quinland is watching Madeline, Jane, Bonnie and Renata in the audience—and Bonnie’s face says it all.

Outside, Celeste is frustrated because her lawyer, Katie Richmond (Poorna Jagannathan), didn’t step in. Nevertheless, Katie tells Celeste that she wants to rehabilitate her before putting her back on the stand.

Elsewhere, Ed sits down with Tori (Sarah Sokolovic), who cuts directly to the chase: She wants Ed to cheat on Madeline to get a sense of payback. While she tries to talk him into an affair, it’s unclear whether or not Ed is interested.

At home, Madeline approaches Ed and reveals that she hopes she can earn back his trust. Ed plainly says that he wants nothing more than to get past this.

Later that night, Ed comes home with Abigail (Kathryn Newton) and Chloe (Darby Camp) only to discover that “Tears for Fears” by Everybody Wants to Rule the World is blasting over the speakers.

Upstairs, Ed finds Madeline, who is dancing in her wedding dress. (Well, it doesn’t zip, but we aren’t talking about that.)

“I was just cleaning out my closet,” she says. When Madeline admits that she wanted to relive their wedding day, Ed reminds her that he can’t “wave a wand” and make it all go away.

“But that was pretty f***ing close,” he says.

Meanwhile, Jane pays a visit to Mary Louise’s new apartment and demands she call off the custody battle. Mary Louise immediately fires back at Jane, saying, “Are you struggling, Jane? With your conscious, perhaps?”

As it turns out, Ziggy told Mary Louise that Jane has a gun, so Mary Louise is convinced that Jane came to Monterey to hunt down Perry. Jane is livid and explodes on Mary Louise for her lack of compassion.

Mary Louise responds by shutting the door and turning up the music, while Jane faintly pounds on the door in the background.  

The next day, Celeste takes the stand…again. But this time, Katie is asking the questions. She begins with a simple introduction, prompting Celeste to explain that she’s still struggling to cope with Perry’s death. However, she’s seeking professional help from a therapist, Dr. Amanda Reisman (Robin Weigert).

The judge chimes in, saying she’s concerned that Celeste is addicted to sex. Celeste assures the judge that she’s not sleeping with anyone (anymore at least). She admits that she wanted to be free of Perry and, in turn, hurt herself. When the judge asks why Celeste stayed with her abuser, she offers a solid response.

“I stayed to survive,” she says. “I stayed for my boys.”

At the hospital, Bonnie is picturing herself saying, “I did it,” when the lawyer questions Celeste about Perry. Her daydream is rattled when Elizabeth wakes up from her slumber.

After asking how she’s doing, Bonnie sits down with her journal and says, “Well, it looks like it’s time. I have to confess something I’m not so proud of.”

Bonnie proceeds to read the journal. But instead of immediately confessing to the murder, she says that she resents her mom for how she was treated as a child. In fact, this mental and physical abuse led her to kill an innocent man.

“When I lunged at him, I was pushing you,” Bonnie says. “And that push was a long time coming.”

Renata and Gordon (Jeffrey Nordling) are at their bankruptcy hearing when the unthinkable happens. When the lawyer calls for evidence, the couple’s nanny, Juliette (Nelly Buchet), appears out of nowhere. She explains that she’s seeking severance for “stress management,” implying that she was sexually involved with Gordon.

In the car, Renata can hardly contain her anger, saying, “The f***ing nanny!?”

At the Wright home, Celeste and the twins are sleeping in the same bed. The problem? Celeste isn’t sleeping at all. Instead, she keeps replaying a moment from court when she said: “I am their mother, and they belong with me.”

The next day, the judge enters the courtroom and reveals that she’s reached a verdict. Just then, Celeste interrupts and asks to call a witness to the stand, so she can prove that her children should live with her.

After the judge schedules the hearing, Celeste explains that she’ll be questioning the witness herself, since she’s an attorney after all. Although the judge advises against it, she hesitantly agrees.

So, who is Celeste’s mystery witness? And will it be enough to sway the judge’s opinion? Be sure to tune in to HBO for the season two finale of Big Little Lies next Sunday, July 21, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.