Alexander Skarsgard Is in Big Little Lies Season 2 — Here's How Perry Might Return

Warning: Spoilers for season one of Big Little Lies below!

Needless to say, we're stoked to see fresh faces on season two of Big Little Lies (you know we're silently screaming over Meryl Streep). But it's an unexpected return that's truly piqued our curiosity. Sweeping 2018 award season for his role on the series, Alexander Skarsgard, who plays Nicole Kidman's onscreen husband Perry, will appear in the new season. But how is his return possible after such a clear departure in the finale? Let's piece together Skarsgard's past comments and information about his character to see where he could fit in the upcoming storyline.

Basically, Celeste's abusive husband dies at the end of the first season after Bonnie pushes him down a flight of stairs during a school fundraiser. He looks pretty dead, and his fall and funeral more or less confirm his passing. If he's actually alive in season two, it would undo all of the buildup around his death that season one crafted so thoroughly.

It's most likely that Perry will pop up in flashbacks, either Celeste's or his mother's. We might also see him in dream sequences or hallucinations. Even though her husband is dead, Celeste could experience PTSD from their volatile and traumatic relationship. From the cast's TCA panel, we learn from Nicole Kidman, who portrays Celeste, that her character may not have quite healed. She's been through a lot, and it'd be understandable if she's still processing everything.

So what does Skarsgard have to say about his return? "I don't even know if I'm really dead or not," Skarsgård told People at the Golden Globes red carpet in early 2018. While he might have been playing coy then, we're sure that he knows his character's whereabouts now that the season two premiere is fast approaching.

Back in September on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor confirmed rumours that he was on the set of Big Little Lies. "I was on set, yes. But I can't disclose what I did on set," Skarsgård said evasively. "Maybe, I was acting. I might have been just moral support. I might have just made coffee for the ladies. I might have helped Meryl Streep with her acting." Very funny, sir.

Now that we know for sure that he's part of the season two cast, we're emotionally preparing ourselves for what will, inevitably, be a terrifying return on June 9.