HBO’s Big Little Lies apparently made a creative decision to tone down a scene of over-the-top melodrama, and the effect is a confusing one. That’s especially the case due to HBO’s Euphoria not pulling back at all on graphic scenes (one of which includes dozens of penises), but there must be a method behind the madness. At least, that’s what I’m trying to tell myself while the realization swirls about losing a certainly glorious moment where Reese Witherspoon hurls an ice cream cone at Meryl Streep. This scene was forecast by a paparazzi photo that got meme’d during last summer’s production, and understandably, it feels as though fans have truly missed out on some delicious, drippy action.
That’s difficult to process after already suspending reality enough to accept that Reese’s Madeline Mackenzie would eat ice cream in the first place, but alas, Sunday night’s episode where she did the deed included no vengeful hurling of the frozen treat. Meryl Streep revealed to ET Online that this scene would be included “in the DVD extras,” but it’s still deflating news. After all the bonkers moments so far this season — the Mary Louise scream, endless husband doofus-edry, and the Renata meltdown — why can’t we see Madeline toss a dairy product at the Monterey Five’s mortal enemy?
Madeline is a whole mood today I'm here for it @ReeseW calling Mary Louise a physcho lol 😂 should have threw that ice cream at her lol #BLL2 #BigLittleLies pic.twitter.com/iBSarndcY7
— DaleTaylorsVersion (@SwiftieDale3) July 8, 2019
Big Little Lies fans simply cannot understand why such an “iconic” scene materialized on film but wasn’t aired. And they’re airing their thoughts.
My face when I realized the #BigLittleLies writers made Reese throw a whole ass ice cream cone at Meryl only for them to cut the shot pic.twitter.com/VkMnPWmknI
— Chelsea (@ciaochelsea) July 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/shenbarp/status/1148046481875714048
https://twitter.com/bay_janecka/status/1148058670674120721
where is the ice cream cone toss @hbo #BigLittleLies pic.twitter.com/RmpRIxP1JA
— Matt Erspamer (@erspamer_matt) July 8, 2019
I have been waiting for over a year to watch Reese Witherspoon throw an ice cream at Meryl Streep and for what #BigLittleLies pic.twitter.com/PxrOaZ6H9w
— h (@Freelance_Clown) July 8, 2019
Me @ the people of HBO who decided to cut the scene of Reese Witherspoon throwing an ice cream cone at Meryl Streep. #BigLittleLies pic.twitter.com/BghMPhUUtC
— Jenny from the block (@jenny10larsen) July 8, 2019
THEY REALLY DELETED THE ICE CREAM SCENE I EXPECT TO SEE IT AS A BONUS SCENE. #BigLittleLies pic.twitter.com/whzLz52qZd
— melanie 🍉 (@aycaptainswan) July 8, 2019
THEY CUT THE ICE CREAM SCENE #BigLittleLies https://t.co/kSU4WzdchC
— jack ❗️ (@judestfranciss) July 8, 2019
There’s a slight chance that this decision was made for the better. Perhaps viewers would have felt empathy for Mary Louise, and what use would that be? Regardless, this is the ice-cream-drama-free world we live in today, and given that lots of folks now possess only dusty DVD players, here’s to hoping that HBO will also drop the full scene online when those extras surface.