While watching season 2 of Channel 4’s Big Mood, I was struck by the range of Nicola Coughlan’s acting. 

From the nervy teenager in Derry Girls, to the quietly poised and perceptive Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton – Nicola’s role in Big Mood is again totally different, but she embodies it with incredible ease. 

Written by Camilla Whitehill, Nicola plays Maggie, a young aspiring writer navigating life with bipolar disorder in London.  

At the end of the last season, Maggie suffers from lithium poisoning because of issues with her medication, and has trouble keeping her friendship on track with her best friend, Eddie (Lydia West).  

Maggie’s fight for this relationship while struggling with her own mental challenges would require an actor to take on a lot of emotional baggage, which Nicola carries effortlessly. 

In season two, Maggie assures her mum that she is in her ‘stable girl era’. She is ‘on medication that isn’t trying to kill [her]’ and uses ‘retinol and Hello Fresh’ – sure signs of maturity.

Not only this, but she’s also a ‘bridesmaid at a posh wedding’. The said celebration takes place on a country estate in Surrey and leans hilariously into the absurdity of a hen party’s duties, seeing Maggie removing leeches from the grounds’ fountain.  

As she isn’t trusted by the maid of honour (Marina Bye), Maggie is given a ‘junior’ bridesmaid’s sash and fights to prove that she isn’t the ‘loose cannon’ she has been somewhat unfairly branded. 

Nicola’s ability to switch here from humour to hurt, at incredible speed, is just a small example of the talent she possesses to convey such complex emotions with absolute sincerity, and marks her as a generational talent. 

We soon learn that Maggie’s biggest challenge is trying to repair her relationship with Eddie, who felt abandoned by her best friend at the end of last season. After agreeing to support Eddie through an abortion, Maggie didn’t show up. The pair then proceeded to have no contact as Eddie left for the US and found a new partner-in-crime called Whitney (Hannah Onslow).  

Acting next to someone as talented as Nicola is no mean feat, and Lydia’s characterisation lacks some of the depth that her co-star oozes. 

The scale of Lydia’s emotional range can feel stunted, especially in scenes that are designed to carry huge impact. For me, this came in the final episode, which serves as an emotional and pivotal moment for Maggie and Eddie.  

Like with the first season, every episode could stand strongly on its own, and each one has a uniquely distinctive feel to it.  

Highlights included the individual episodes with acting legends Robert Lindsay and Rupert Everett.

Robert, as Maggie’s dad, gave us more of an insight into Maggie’s backstory and revealed some of the battles she faces partly because of him. 

Set against the backdrop of a fancy restaurant, most of the episode remains in one location, requiring Nicola and Robert to retain the audience’s attention through the delivery of their dialogue and their ability to make conversation engaging – something which comes naturally to them both.  

An honourable mention should also go to Hannah as the insufferable Whitney – Eddie’s supposed saviour from the States.  

Her over-the-top American accent was perfect and her comedic timing spot-on as she tried to convince Maggie of her spiritual ways despite her contradictory lifestyle.  

Tying up all the loose ends from season one into six 30-minute episodes is difficult, granted. But there were some questions left unanswered and storylines that felt slightly neglected. 

I’d have liked to have found out more about how Maggie’s career was going, and I wanted more from Robert Gilbert’s character, Will. Specifically, details about how he now fitted into the lives of Eddie and Maggie.

While these plot points felt underdeveloped, it was clear that the focus of the season was once again the relationship between Eddie and Maggie.  

In this respect, I felt looked after as a viewer. The last episode featured flashbacks, showing exactly how they had met as friends and the ways in which they had leaned on one another throughout the years.  

If the first season was praised for its portrayal of mental health and friendship, then the second season only builds on this further, demonstrating the complexities, but also the rewards of persevering with both.

Big Mood season 2 premieres on April 16 on Channel 4.

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