Another mystery solved.

Big Little Lies Season 2 Episode 7 revealed the Monterey Five coming to grips with what they've shared and finally putting an end to their torment.

Through their lie, they formed a bond, and thanks to that connection, they found the strength to move forward.

After the horrible ending to the Veronica Mars revival, they could have dropped a bomb in the middle of the custody case, and I probably wouldn't have thought it was all that remarkable.

Thankfully, the team behind Big Little Lies knew that less is more, and instead of going big or insisting on spelling out unnecessary details, we got an ending that remained true to the characters and didn't insult our intelligence.

Why Celeste stayed with Perry and couldn't bear to imagine he wouldn't come to his senses and stop his abusive behavior lies in what he shared with her. 

When an angry Mary Louise lost control of her car killing Perry's brother, all Perry heard was "look what you made me do," Whether Mary Louise ever intentionally beat her boys doesn't matter.

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What Perry took away from the death of his brother was that he was the cause not only of his mother's anger but the death of Raymond, too.

That's a lot to carry. Knowing how he suffered as a boy turned him into the abusive man he became is likely at the root of Celeste's refusal to leave him.

Celeste is an excellent mother, but like any mother, she has faults.

When she looks at her boys, she sees her husband. It can't be hard to imagine that when she looked at her husband, she saw her boys. Even as he was hurting her, Celeste was protective of Perry and the boy who believed himself responsible for his worst tragedy.

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That doesn't excuse the fact that she put her children in harm's way by sticking around, but it helps to understand her motives just a little bit better.

Mary Louise might have seen the alarm bells in Celeste that she had while raising Perry. I don't doubt that Mary Louise loves Celeste because she sees her through Perry's eyes. 

In his absence, Mary Louise did what she thought was right for her son's children -- protecting them from their mother who had unsuccessfully tried to insulate them from her son. 

A tangled web, indeed.

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Cycles of abusive behavior manifest in families. Celeste has a big job ahead of her ensuring Max and Josh don't expand on what they witnessed. As difficult as it is to talk about, Celeste can't shield them from what they've already seen. 

Celeste has time to get it right. Maybe they can all go to counseling together to talk about what it meant in a way that doesn't trash Perry to the kids but offers suggestions about how to be different than him as they grow.

Bonnie struggled with saying goodbye to her mother but came to terms with her abusive past before she had to let her go for good.

It was Elizabeth who first called out Bonnie's relationship with Nathan. Accepting her mother's love and guidance in the wake of her stroke offered Bonnie a new perspective, and she found a strength she had forgotten she possessed. Maybe she never even knew it existed.

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Bonnie was the first of the group to realize that she was done with the lies, and although we didn't see everyone reach the same conclusion, we didn't need to see it.

Their lie was chafing away at their lives forcing them to become people they didn't know or like.

When Madeline and Ed had their talk, and she committed to a new start if not a clean one, it was obvious she would be telling him about that night. 

Like a house of cards, the women started to tumble into line. While falling often denotes negativity, this time they needed to collapse. 

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They were standing tall together against a lie that was fabricated in the heat of the moment. If they'd not been drinking and tensions weren't so taut, they would have never found a reason to lie about how Perry died.

Bonnie was protecting a woman by pushing Perry without even thinking about where he would land. It could have been put to rest that night if they told the truth.

Big Little Lies Season 1 worked because the emotional stakes were very high. 

That same level of intensity was never achieved for Big Little Lies Season 2, but it wasn't a lost cause, either.

Seeing Jane through her trauma as a result of the rape was worth the time, as was Ed discovering Madeline's affair so they could begin again by committing with their eyes wide open.

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Renata and Gordon seemed from the start like a couple doomed by their poor choices, and Bonnie needed to realize her place in the world.

Even Celeste and Perry had as good of an ending as a couple in an abusive relationship could expect.

Alone the women were fascinating characters, and with their spouses even more intriguing. Big Little Lies managed to examine adult relationships in various states of turmoil without sacrificing humanity in the process.

It doesn't have to be a happy ending, but we know that whatever happens they're all in it together.

The characters had arcs that remained true to them as written, and that's a big feat these days. There were no cheap stunts to drag out the drama. 

If all shows could end on such a positive note, we'd all be better for it.

What did you think of Big Little Lies Season 2? 

Are you sad to see it end? 

Hit the comments and share your thoughts.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.