And just like that, Big Little Lies season two is drawing to a close.
The second season of the epic HBO series has been nothing short of a masterpiece, especially with the introduction of Mary Louise, payed by the iconic Meryl Streep.
And it’s this character that has kept us on the edge of our seats the entire season – including in the penultimate episode.
Leading into the finale, Aussie superstar Nicole Kidman, spoke to various radio shows and of course, the name on everybody’s lips was “Meryl”.
And while her blood-curdling scream in the season opener was proof enough that she is simply outstanding – it was the infamous “slap” scene that had everybody talking.
After Mary Louise shows up unannounced at a get-together, the women of Monterey are visibly shaken; and when her late son’s wife, Celeste (Nicole Kidman), takes her aside – things get very heated.
Celeste has by now learned that her husband Perry (Alexander Skarsgård) had raped another of the Monterey Five, Jane (Shailene Woodley), producing son, Ziggy (Iain Armitage).
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“What was he looking for? Perhaps? Or seeking refuge from?” Meryl says smugly before the slap.
“What was he looking for? Perhaps? Or seeking refuge from?” Mary Louise says to Celeste.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Celeste responds angrily.
“How many other women did he go to? If there’s one, there are others,” Mary Louise says with a smug look on her face.
And that’s when Celeste slaps her. And hard.
Speaking to WSFM’s Jonesy and Amanda, Nicole revealed how “terrifying” it was having to slap Meryl on the face.
“We did about 30 takes of that as well,” she admitted. “Because when you do a slap like that, you obviously don’t – well sometimes, you make a mistake and slap the person – but there’s no way.
“It was all perfectly orchestrated. It was a stunt slap. If I had hit her face…it’s such a delicate face. She has the most beautiful soft skin – there’s a titbit nobody knows.”
Nicole slaps Meryl’s glasses right off!
(Source: HBO)Nicole also revealed that she practised the the slap on a very unlikely counterpart – her Mum, Janelle.
“We’d do the stunt slap where we would stand there and we’d go, ‘yeah does that look [good]…’ and we’d have another person watching and we’d go ‘does that look real’ and ‘yep, that looks real’. My mum was into it!”
“We had a small gathering at my house and I was like come on mum, stand up! We’ve gotta practise it. Then we were like ‘should it be a push, is the slap too much?’ and they’d be like ‘no the slap’s fantastic!”
WATCH NEXT: Nicole Kidman talks to Jonesy and Amanda about slapping Meryl Streep. Story continues…
In another interview with KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O, Nicole revealed the likelihood of a third season.
“We would love to do a three, we’re all very close,” she told the veteran radio duo.
“The thing is when you have that camaraderie – Reese [Witherspoon] and I are very close friends, and we all went to Zoe [Kravitz’s] wedding recently and watched her get married; and we’re just deeply intertwined. So the idea of having to walk away from it is really upsetting for us.”
She then added: “We need the story. We’d have to see if we can come up with great story lines. There are some strong ideas but we’ve just been trying to get it through to the finish line.”
The second season of Big Little Lies has certainly packed a punch!
(Source: HBO)And while we wait with bated breath for news of a third instalment, Nicole confirmed some pretty big news when chatting to Grant, Ed and Ash on the Hit Network in Sydney.
When asked about the rumours that Liane Moriarty’s book “Nine Perfect Strangers” is being turned into a mini-series, Nicole said “Yes! That is definitely true!”
“The book is fantastic in terms of being able to develop it into a series,” she said.
Nicole then revealed some casting choices, while she would play the “complicated and challenging” Marcia – she and her producing team have “just signed a really big actress for the role of Frances” but unfortunately, she cannot say who it is.
“They’re American. A big comedic actress,” she said hinting, and when Ash London asked if it was Melissa McCarthy, she said: “I’m not answering anything.”
“I love being able to take Australian authors and do something with them; and also Australian writers,” she said before adding, “It’s really nice to have the opportunity and to have some sway.”
