A mother's desperation to prove her son's innocence knew no bounds on Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 3. 

Related: Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Tell-Tale Hearts

Mary Louise refuses to believe that Perry isn't the person she always knew him to be, and takes inappropriate measures to comfort her own grieving heart. 

Mary Louise will do anything to keep her image of her son alive, even if it means harassing a rape victim about her trauma. 

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Understandably, Mary Louise wants to find an explanation for Perry's behavior. No one wants to believe that their recently deceased child is a rapist.

But her pain and desperation to find answers doesn't excuse her harsh treatment and lack of sympathy towards Jane. 

Mary Louise: I'm presented with the idea that my son was both an adulterer and a rapist. And I am desperate to squash that idea.
Jane: Well, I can tell you that he's the only man I'd been with.
Mary Louise: That you recall.
Jane: Excuse me?
Mary Louise: Well, things happen these days. Men put drugs in pretty girls drinks and things happen, people don't remember things sometimes.
Jane: I remember. Perfectly. Far more vividly than I care to.
Mary Louise: Just a simple blood test.
Jane: No.

• Permalink: I remember. Perfectly. Far more vividly than I care to.

The questions Mary Louise had for Jane were the same type of things you hear in today's world when it comes to sexual assault.

The question of who initiated it threw Jane as Mary Louise was looking for a way to both pin the rape on Jane and excuse Perry's adultery. 

It was easy to feel frustrated on Jane's behalf as Mary Louise asked if Jane saw any good in her son before he raped her. Not only was it extremely insensitive, but it was just downright cruel. 

Your son raped me. And as he was doing so, I was screaming for him to get off. I don't think that you misread that.

Jane

• Permalink: Your son raped me.

Because of Jane's history she has, understandably, decided to take things slow with her new love interest, Corey. 

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Corey doesn't know the reasoning behind Jane's hesitation, but he didn't once try to push her, and in turn, respected her boundaries. 

Corey may have only been around for a few episodes, but he and Jane are already taking the cake for the cutest couple on the series. But to be fair, there aren't a lot of great options to choose from. 

Corey: I'm not gonna try and kiss you. But I would like to give you a goodnight hug. How does that sound?
Jane: It sounds great.

• Permalink: I would like to give you a goodnight hug.

On a show like Big Little Lies, honesty or lack thereof is always a recurring theme. 

But on Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 3, Madeline's lies and the effect they have on the people she loves gave her a new perspective.

Going off of what viewers witnessed on Big Little Lies Season 1, Ed has always treated Madeline with the uptmost respect. It's Ed's unconditional belief in his wife that made Madeline's affair so painful to witness. 

She has always had my attention. Devotion on my end has not been a problem.

Ed

• Permalink: Devotion on my end has not been a problem.

There are a lot of reasons to dislike Madeline, but there are also a lot of reasons to enjoy her character.

Whether she is the textbook definition of a good person is up to interpretation, but on television, being good isn't what always makes someone interesting. 

Morally grey characters are often in much more high stakes situations, with more complex choices. 

Madeline's speech to the auditorium did raise some interesting points. When is it okay to lie to your children? 

After Jane told Ziggy the truth about Perry, Ziggy told his class that grownups lie to protect the people they love.

It makes her a grownup. Lying to protect someone she loves. That's what grownups do.

Ziggy

• Permalink: That's what grownups do.

But does that make lying okay? The lines are getting blurred, and the kids are beginning to get caught in their parents' web of dishonesty. 

Celeste is still having trouble coping with Perry's death.

Despite everything he had done to her, Celeste argues in her therapy session that there were many positives aspects of their marriage. She wants to focus on the good rather than dwelling on the bad. 

Celeste: But there are so many positives. So many. The way he loved me, the way he loved the boys, the boys loved him. I shouldn't erase all of that simply because you feel that-
Dr. Reisman: He almost killed you.
Celeste: He didn't almost kill me.
Dr. Reisman: He nearly smothered you with a cushion. If one of his kicks had landed on your head you might very well be dead.

• Permalink: He almost killed you.

Celeste's therapist disagrees, and believes that Celeste is still addicted to Perry. She even wondered if the bruises on her wrist were self-inflicted and not from breaking up the fight between her kids like Celeste claimed. 

As exemplified in the final seconds of Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 3, Celeste is still very attracted to Perry and that's not something that will go away overnight. 

Mary Louise's refusal to see her son for who he truly is isn't helping Celeste come to terms with the recent events in her life. 

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Just as she did to Jane, Mary Louise is making it her mission to clear Perry's name, even if it means exploiting Celeste and causing her to relive all of her trauma.

Her invasion of Celeste's privacy was the final straw, and Celeste asking Mary Louise to leave was more than a bit satisfying. 

Stray Thoughts:

• Amabella's anxiety attack brought on by the climate change lessons at school created an interesting discussion. Whether or not it should be taught (and at what age) is something that is cause for debate in many school districts.

• Mary Louise may want to be in Ziggy's life, but so far, she hasn't proven that she deserves to be there. 

• Madeline's relationship with Celeste is one of the strongest dynamics on Big Little Lies. Celeste said herself, that if Madeline how known the details about her relationship with Perry, she would have helped Celeste put a stop to it. 

• Is Madeline and Ed's marriage something we want to see repaired in the upcoming episodes? Or are Madeline's actions unforgiveable?

It's time for your verdict. What did you think of Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 3? Drop a comment down below and let us know! 

And don't forget that if you missed the episode, you can watch Big Little Lies online right here at TV Fanatic!

Big Little Lies airs Sundays on HBO at 9/8c.