The final episode of “Tell Me Lies” ends with a promising reveal. The series had begun with Lucy joining Baird college and falling in love with Stephen. Even though Stephen manipulated Lucy, she trusted him and believed that their bond was special. Macy’s death in Episode 1 was a turning point in the series. Drew blamed himself for Macy’s death and that completely changed him as a person. After Lucy wrote a letter to the Dean, in Episode 8, asking her to question Drew about the accident, Wrigley left Pippa. Wrigley believed it was Pippa who wrote the letter, and he broke up with her. Stephen had manipulated Wrigley to doubt Pippa which resulted in their breakup. Lucy knew Stephen’s version of the accident; she believed in Stephen’s innocence and blamed Drew for Macy’s death.
The first half of “Tell Me Lies” finale episode took us back to the night Macy died, and we finally got to know what had happened that night. We return to 2008, the time when Stephen and Lucy were together, and it has been a year since Macy’s death. The last few minutes of the episode were set at Bree and Evan’s wedding in 2015, where Stephen and Lucy finally met after a long time.
Spoilers Ahead
Stephen And Macy: How Was Stephen Responsible For Macy’s Death?
Stephen and Macy were from the same hometown. They had hooked up during the summer, and now Macy had joined Baird College as well. On her first day in college, Stephen entered her room and welcomed her. The two made out with each other. Macy was clearly into Stephen, and she enjoyed the way he made her feel when they were together. Stephen wanted to keep their friendship a secret because he had recently broken up with Diana, and he did not wish for her to see him with someone else immediately. Macy was a shy freshman; she was happy to have a familiar face in college, and she felt special when Stephen showered her with affection. She agreed to keep it casual with him, but Macy hoped for their relationship to be more than that.
Macy noticed Stephen flirting with Lucy at a party. She was jealous, but she could not explain it to anyone because her relationship with Stephen was supposed to be a secret. Macy texted Stephen, asking him not to make it awkward for her by flirting with her roommate. Stephen apologized, saying that he did not know that they were roommates. Macy wanted to attend a party one night, but Bree and Pipa were out with their partners, and she had no one to accompany her. She requested Lucy to come along, but Lucy had recently argued with her mother and wanted to spend some time alone. Macy felt lonely at the party, so she called Stephen and asked him to come over. The two smoked up and made out in Macy’s car. Stephen stated that he was too drunk to drive back home and asked Macy to drop him off at his dorm. Macy had initially agreed, but she felt wobbly and decided against it. She suggested that since they were both drunk, they must ask someone to drop them off, or they should book a cab. Stephen did not wish for anyone to see him with Macy and report it to Diana. He was desperate to keep the relationship a secret, so he decided to drive the car even though he was drunk. Macy was hesitant about it, but Stephen was confident that he could drive. Macy ultimately gave in to his request. Macy’s seatbelt was faulty, so she was seated without a seatbelt on.
After a few minutes, Macy decided to tell Stephen how insecure she made her feel. They had been hooking up for quite some time now, but he had never asked her out on a date, yet he asked Lucy for dinner immediately after meeting her. She wondered how Stephen actually felt about her because clearly, she was not an important person in his life. Macy was embarrassed about hooking up with him even after knowing what a terrible person Stephen was. He cheated on Diana; he was hooking up with her and pretended to not know her at parties. Stephen was the definition of a bad person, according to Macy. Stephen’s concentration had shifted from the road to the conversation, and as he looked at Macy, their car was about to hit another car. Stephen tried to tackle it by driving the car off the road, but ultimately the car hit a tree. The accident had left Stephen unconscious, and when he woke up, he realized that Macy was not responding. He knew that his entire life would be destroyed if someone found out that it was a case of drunk driving and that he was behind the wheel. Stephen got out of the car and quickly moved Macy’s body to the driver’s seat. He deleted his number from Macy’s phone along with their text messages. Stephen finally left Macy’s body in the car and walked back to his dorm.
We now know that Stephen did not share with Lucy the entire truth. Even though he confessed to being in a causal relationship with Macy, realizing that he could not keep it a secret any longer, he refrained from sharing the actual details of the accident. He made it sound like he was a victim and that it was Drew who was completely responsible for what had unfolded that night. He was responsible for Macy’s death, yet he was shameless enough to sleep with Lucy in the same room after her death. He lied about not knowing enough about Macy. Even after the accident, he was busy impressing Lucy and showed no remorse over Macy’s death. We can conclude that Stephen was mentally disturbed, considering how he lacked empathy and enjoyed manipulating everyone around him.
Stephen And Diana: Why Did Stephen Get Back With Diana?
Lucy’s world revolved around Stephen after they got into a relationship. She canceled the India trip to stay closer to Stephen. She even found a summer job for Stephen that was closer to her hometown. For Stephen, it was not the same. He dreamt of becoming a lawyer and wanted to work at a reputed firm. He could not imagine working at the front desk of a golf club. Stephen was academically brilliant, whereas Lucy was unsure of even scoring the pass mark. They were poles apart when it came to ambition, and Stephen would often find it hard to deal with. Diana was ambitious, and that was one thing she had in common with Stephen. When she discussed summer plans with Stephen and Lucy, she realized that Stephen was not doing all the things he had once dreamt of. Diana used it as leverage; she knew that she could provide Stephen with a promising opportunity that Lucy could never do. She instigated Stephen to rethink his relationship with Lucy. Stephen learned from Diana that Lucy had told her dormmates that she was with Stephen the night Macy died to be his alibi. Even though she had his best interest at heart, it was a foolish decision. Stephen had slept in his room that night, and Evan had seen him there. His friends could confirm that he was not with Lucy that night. Therefore, if someone gave it a thought, they would wonder what Lucy was hiding to protect Stephen. We can never really be sure if Stephen ever had feelings for Lucy, but he may have been initially attracted to her. But, later on, it seemed like he maintained the relationship only because Lucy knew that Stephen was with Macy on the night of the accident. As Stephen and Lucy argued about her lying to her friends, Lucy brought up Stephen’s actions on the night of the accident. Stephen knew that Lucy could use it against him, but he no longer feared her because he, too, knew a secret of hers that could destroy her. He brought up how Lucy had sent a letter to the Dean. Lucy no longer had the upper hand in their relationship, and she realized it immediately. She calmed him down and made love to him.
At the Hawaiian theme party, Diana spoke to Stephen again. She offered to find him a job at her father’s firm. Diana confessed to being in love with Stephen, and after seeing him with someone like Lucy, she pitied him. She had always expected Stephen to find someone ambitious in life but seeing him with a teenager whose world revolved around him was disappointing. Stephen, too, felt the same. He was sexually attracted to Lucy, but she was not someone with whom he could discuss his life goals. With Diana, he could become a lawyer and live the life he had always dreamt of. His relationship with Lucy was not as important as his career, which is why he chose to get back with Diana. The two walked out of the party holding hands. Lucy saw the two leave right in front of her eyes. She was shattered. The person for whom she went against the world left her in a minute.
Evan consoled Lucy, and they decided to drink all night to get over the breakup. In the morning, Lucy woke up to find Evan lying beside her without his clothes on. Evan had feelings for Lucy from the very beginning, and Lucy knew about it. Bree had gone home that night, not knowing that her boyfriend and her best friend would hookup. While for Lucy, it can be a drunken mistake, it might not be the same for Evan, knowing how much he loved her at one point. We know that Bree and Evan got married in 2015, but we do not know if Bree knows the truth or if Lucy and Evan chose to bury it.
‘Tell Me Lies’ Season 1: Ending Explained – Who Is Stephen’s Fiancée? Will There Be A Season 2?
In 2015, Lucy met Stephen at Evan and Bree’s wedding. He casually walked up to her and hugged her. They seem to have ended it on a good term, or maybe they healed over time. Nonetheless, Stephen complimented Lucy’s outfit and received a call from his fiancée. He recently got engaged, and the woman was Lydia. She was Lucy’s best friend from her hometown. For those who might not remember, Lydia was Lucy’s best friend, whom she met during the summer break. Lucy punched Lydia’s ex-boyfriend’s face and helped her cope with the breakup. She had asked Lydia to find Stephen a summer job. She called Lydia when she felt lonely after she argued with Stephen, only to learn that she went out on a trip with her girlfriends. This major revelation indicates that there might be another season to explain Stephen’s relationship with Lydia. How did Lydia end up with Stephen? Did Stephen take the summer job after all? It seems improbable that the Hawaiian party breakup was the end of Stephen and Lucy’s relationship.
We can definitely expect “Tell me lies” season 2 to answer all the questions. We do not know what happened to Drew. We are yet to find out how Evan and Lucy dealt with the drunken hookup and also what created a distance between Pippa and Lucy. Did Pippa find out about the letter and choose to end her friendship with Lucy? Also, what happened to Diana? Clearly, her relationship with Stephen was not successful. Hopefully, all our questions will be answered in the next season. Season 1 of “Tell Me Lies” was disappointing and repetitive. We hope that the next season is more impactful and less cringy.
See More: ‘Tell Me Lies’ Episode 9: Recap And Ending, Explained: Why Did Lucy Lie About Her Relationship?
