The Viewer-As-Detective: Big Little Lies and the Productive Liminality of Complex Mystery Television

Abstract This research utilizes aspects of narrative and ideological criticism to analyze complex mystery television and representations of women. Using the first season of Big Little Lies, the authors argue that the disruption of narrative conventions creates a productive liminality in which the viewer takes on the role of detective. This positioning of the viewer-as-detective encourages viewers to attempt to solve the mystery but also to interrogate their perceptions of the main female characters depicted, ultimately helping to question rather than reinforce stereotypical representations of women.