Reese Witherspoon (Madeline MacKenzie), Nicole Kidman (Celeste Wright), Shailene Woodley (Jane Chapman), Laura Dern (Renata Klein), Zoë Kravitz (Bonnie Carlson), Meryl Streep (Mary Louise Wright), Adam Scott (Ed Mackenzie), James Tupper (Nathan Carlson), Gordon Klein (Jeffrey Nordling), Kathryn Newton (Abigail Carlson), Iain Armitage (Ziggy Chapman), Robin Weigert (Dr. Amanda Reisman), Merrin Dungey (Detective Adrienne Quinlan), Sarah Sokolovic (Tori Bachman), Becky Ann Baker (Judge Marylin Cipriani), Martin Donovan (Martin Howard), Ivy George (Amabella Klein), Crystal Fox (Elizabeth Howard), Poorna Jagannathan (Katie Richmond), Denis O’Hare (Ira Farber), Douglas Smith (Corey Brockfield), Teddy Blum (Young Perry), Chloe Coleman (Skye Carlson), Adam Cropper (Cashier), Goreti Da Silva (Clerk), Eve Gordon (Dr. Danielle Cortland), Mykal-Michelle Harris (Young Bonnie), Khalilah Joi (Young Elizabeth), Asher McDonell (3-Year-Old Max), Brayden McDonell (3-Year-Old Josh), Chad Mountain (Bailiff), Maverick Thompson (Raymond), James Trevena (Brad Gorcey), Taylor Treadwell (Young Mary Louise)

“This is not some put a ribbon on it, bygones be bygones ending, OK?” Ed may have been talking about the renewal of his and Madeline’s vows, but this finale (and perhaps the last ever Big Little Lies) was a put-a-ribbon-on-it send-off. Bathed in blue light, it was an episode dedicated to tying up what few loose ends there really were, and to its characters realising they would tell no more lies. Not even big little ones. The teaser had set up a disintegration of the group, sneakily taking Celeste’s “the friendship is the lie” line and making it seem as if it would all fall apart for the Monterey Five. Ultimately, though, solidarity prevailed, and as Bonnie made her way to the station to hand herself in, they were right there with her. It was no beach picnic, but it was, in its own way, warm nonetheless. And it was fine, as endings go.

The much anticipated courtroom showdown did not play out with the fireworks I expected, though to watch Kidman and Streep go at it with relative restraint, at least at first, was one of the more elegant turns this season. Celeste was clean, quick and efficient – professional, even – in her questioning of her mother-in-law, until she brought up the death of Raymond, and Perry’s account of the tragedy, which placed the blame squarely on Mary Louise’s temper. Once again, the stress of a cross-examination so horrible and so intrusive made it difficult to watch; topping it off with a clip of Perry beating Celeste, filmed by one of their young sons, did little to alleviate the tension.

The judge said last week that she had made her decision, and when it came to it, it was as expected: there would be conditions, but taking the boys from their mother would only make their lives more difficult. Celeste won. There have been a lot of these narrative cul de sacs this season, and it’s a shame the big custody battle storyline didn’t avoid it either. It left me with the sense that none of this had been particularly necessary (a criticism that could have been levelled at the whole season). I have loved watching actors of this calibre share the screen, and there have been moments of true glory – thank god for Laura Dern, whose Starbucks meltdown and trainset massacre were the only moments to really quicken the pulse. But it has felt more slight than the first outing, a showcase of strong performances in need of a plot to match them. There were no twists, no shocks, no cruelties, just the story wrapping itself up with a ribbon.