Season 2 of Tell Me Lies ended with a bang! The one-hour-long finale episode has all the drama we’ve been waiting for. From breakup to deceit to death, too many things happened simultaneously. Episode 8 began with Bree’s wedding. Lucy had texted Stephen, inviting him to watch her while she got intimate with Max. Even though they were not together, they enjoyed teasing each other. Stephen was delighted by the show, and he dropped Lucy a text. But, unfortunately, Max read the text, and he discovered that Lucy had invited Stephen to the pool. He was shocked; all this while he had assumed that Lucy was a victim of an abusive relationship, but the text thread proved that Lucy enjoyed every bit of Stephen’s personality. He had always been bad for her, but she wanted him nonetheless.
Spoiler Alert
What led to Bree and Oliver’s breakup?
In the previous episode, Bree had noticed Marianne wearing her earrings. As was expected, she freaked out and contacted Oliver. He agreed to meet her at his apartment, and he could sense how their affair had impacted Bree. She wanted to be with him forever, a commitment he was not ready to make. She begged him to divorce Marianne, but Oliver had no such intentions. He made it very clear that they were not meant to be together since Bree was getting hurt because of their relationship. Oliver decided to break up with her, and he took back the key to the apartment from her. After realizing that it was all over, Bree made up her mind to get back to their previous arrangement. She could not imagine staying apart, and she was ready to lower her expectations.
Oliver agreed to meet her at his house. He explained that Marianne had classes all morning, and they did not have to fear getting caught. Bree expressed that she was willing to compromise because she was happy to be with him. Oliver quite diplomatically stated that he did not wish to be the reason for her to get hurt, and of course, Bree told him that would never be the case. After making love, Oliver went for a quick shower, while Bree decided to spend some time lazying in the room. All of a sudden, she heard the entrance door open, and she realized that Marianne was home. While Bree was all over the place trying to find the right excuse to explain herself to Marianne, Marianne was surprisingly calm. She went to the washroom and had a word with Oliver. She asked Oliver to explain himself to Bree, and she stepped out to allow the couple some time alone.
Bree had already realized that there was more to the story than Oliver led her to believe. Oliver explained that he and Marianne were in an open marriage, and the arrangement had worked out for them as a couple. Bree was shocked to learn that Marianne knew about her and Oliver’s affair. What she thought was a secret was actually a topic of discussion between the couple, and that gave her the ick. She thought she was special and Oliver’s attraction towards her was something out of his control, but after learning about their arrangement, she realized that it was all well planned. Oliver explained that he had assumed it was Bree’s fantasy to date a married man, and he felt that the scope of secrecy or illegitimacy made her feel good, and he did not wish to break it. Bree was completely broken, and she felt Oliver had used her. Oliver calmly stated that he had never made the first move. He had repeatedly warned Bree that it was a bad choice, knowing well that she was head over heels to even understand what was going on. While she thought Oliver cheating on his wife to be with her was bad, after finding out the truth, she figured his wife knowing about their affair and them having a discussion regarding it was worse.
On her way out of the house, Marianne stopped Bree. Bree was furious, and she accused Marianne of being a vile woman, but none of it was new to Marianne. She knew that Bree wanted to enrage her and make her feel bad about herself, but she had been through it all and nothing could hurt her anymore. Marianne wiped off her tears after Bree left, hinting that she was dying a little every day in her marriage. When Marianne met Lucy after the incident, she told Lucy that she wanted her to discontinue the transcription work and asked her not to enroll in her classes. Lucy agreed.
Before she left, Marianne sympathetically told her that she was glad that Oliver did not meet Lucy before Bree because, going by her history, this would have left her completely broken. Marianne, a professor who seemed to have her life sorted, was actually a mess. The fact that she could not stop her husband from hitting on nineteen-year-olds goes to show that she had little say in their relationship. She was so addicted to the idea of being with him that she chose to put up with his problematic side. Marianne validated Oliver’s whims and desires, and while there is nothing wrong with being in an open marriage, it is absolutely unfair not to tell the third person about their dynamics. Also, judge me all you want, but a forty-year-old man dating a nineteen-year-old woman is just problematic and borderline pedophilic! I said what I said.
How did Stephen win over Lucy?
As was expected, in episode 8, Lucy and Stephen had sex for the first time after their breakup. Stephen had the sudden epiphany that Lucy was the girl he was meant to be with, especially after Diana failed to provide him with the academic leverage he thought he would benefit from her. Lucy was ashamed of herself after sleeping with Stephen. She was trying to make better choices after their breakup, but this was the worst decision she had made, and she realized that instantly. A part of Lucy loved Stephen unconditionally, and there was perhaps this other side of her that told her that she would be ruining her life if she decided to be with him. Stephen was the reason behind all the problems in her life, and she hated herself for being so weak not to resist him. So what did Lucy do immediately after making a terrible decision? She made another bad choice! Lucy went back to Leo. She apologized to him for being a mess, and she promised that she would try to be better for him. Leo loved her, and seeing how emotional she was, he assumed she felt the same way about him. Lucy was visibly uncomfortable when Leo got physically intimate. She was not in the mood for it, especially after the guilt and self-hatred she was feeling at the moment. But instead of stopping Leo, Lucy told him that it was alright. Probably Lucy assumed that Leo was the only one who could cure her of her obsession with Stephen, and she was ready to do anything for him to stay.
Stephen ran into Lucy and Leo at the Christmas party. He was furious to see them together because he was quite confident that Lucy would get back with him again. Evan managed to stop him when he attempted to verbally attack the couple, and Lucy begged Stephen to leave. Stephen left for a brief second and returned to trigger Leo and Lucy again. As the couple were on their way out of the party, Stephen stopped Leo and whispered in his ears that he had slept with Lucy that morning. Leo did not believe him, but Stephen went ahead and described her lingerie, and it triggered Leo. As someone with severe anger management issues, Leo had no control over his rage, and he repeatedly punched Stephen in the face. Stephen had intentionally provoked Leo, knowing that his response would be physical. He wanted Lucy to see Leo’s worst side, and he was successful. Lucy jumped in to help Stephen because at that moment he was the helpless victim and Leo the hot-headed attacker. Leo apologized for his behavior, but it was already too late. Stephen, in that moment, knew that Lucy would get back with him, and he could not have been more correct.
Did Diana plot her and Stephen’s breakup?
So, did Diana score low on her LSAT? Well, we learn in episode 8 that Diana had a good score, and it was all an elaborate lie that she had weaved to convince Stephen that she was up to no good. After finding out about Stephen’s involvement in Macy’s accident, she had perhaps made up her mind to break up with him. But given how manipulative Stephen was, she was well aware that he would make it a living hell for her if she broke up with him. So she had to find a way to make him leave. Diana pretended that she was turning into a mess and that the once academically brilliant student was about to become just another college-goer with an average future. The fact that her father too had stopped supporting her and had refused to help Stephen with his applications further enraged Stephen. His entire reason for being with her was over, and he once again craved to get back with Lucy. Stephen broke up with Diana and pretended to be heartbroken, but Diana could see through his act. When she repeatedly told him that she could see that he did not have any feelings, he stopped pretending and casually walked out of the room. Diana was relieved. With her perfect CV and score, she was ready to apply for an early bird application at Yale. While Diana seemed to be this woman stuck in a rotten relationship, at the end of the day, she proved she was smarter than Stephen. Diana knew what she wanted, and she got it done her way. You go, Diana!
Why did Evan tell Stephen the truth?
After Wrigley had a breakdown, Diana contacted Drew and convinced him to visit his brother. Wrigley finally got the chance to apologize to his brother, and Drew realized that Wrigley cared more about him than he ever thought he did. Wrigley proposed they hit the bar, and Drew agreed to it. Wrigley was happy after a long, long time, and he ended up having one too many. Not only that, he was taking his painkillers to intoxicate himself, and he had offered some to Drew. Instead of taking the medicine whole, Drew broke it into halves, hoping it would lower the impact. But his decision backfired. The next morning, when Wrigley tried to wake his brother, he realized Drew was not breathing. He had choked on his puke and had passed away. Later, Wrigley suspected that Drew had overdosed on the painkillers. They were time-release pills, and by splitting them, Drew had messed up the dosage, and he had too much drug in his system all at once. Drew should have never visited Wrigley because he had always been a careless brother, and it was almost as if he attracted misfortune. While it was fate at the end of the day, Wrigley blamed himself for Drew’s death.
Seeing Wrigley’s condition, Lucy decided to confess about the letter because she felt guilty for being mean to Drew the entire freshman year. Stephen tried to stop her, knowing it would destroy her relationship with all her friends, particularly Pippa. So, to prove how deeply he loved her, he decided to take the blame on himself. Stephen told Wrigley that he had written the letter to the principal, and it was not Pippa. Stephen was a brilliant actor, and his performance was convincing enough to make Wrigley forgive him. After seeing how bravely Stephen told his truth at the cost of risking his friendship, Evan decided to do the same. He had been feeling guilty about hiding the fact that the woman he had cheated on Bree with was Lucy, and he made up his mind to tell Stephen about it. That was perhaps the silliest decision Evan made! He was well aware of how manipulative Stephen was, and yet he thought it was a good idea to tell his deepest, darkest secret to him. He felt guilty for betraying Stephen by sleeping with his ex to the point that he thought he must tell Stephen the truth, but surprisingly, he did not feel the need to tell the girl he had cheated on about it. Maybe Evan was still a little jealous about Stephen and Lucy getting back together, and he tried his luck by dropping a truth bomb. Stephen, as was expected, did not take it well. He did not for the time being, but not in the long run.
Stephen despised Lucy after Evan told him his secret and after Lydia mentioned the vile comments Lucy had passed about him. Even though he did the same thing— got back with his ex while being in a relationship with her and told everyone how terrible Lucy was— he thought Lucy did him dirty. But instead of expressing how he truly felt, he passionately kissed Lucy in front of Evan. Evan assumed Stephen had forgiven him, but he had no idea who he was dealing with.
In the ending of Tell Me Lies season 2, Bree, who was in her bridal attire, ready to get married to Evan, received a voice recording from Stephen. Stephen had recorded his conversation with Evan the day he had confessed to cheating on Bree, and he held on to the recording, waiting for the right moment to strike. And what day could be better than one’s wedding day? The ending confirms that season 3 is on its way, and once again we will be hating on Stephen and be appalled by all the questionable decisions Lucy will make, but Tell Me Lies is addictive enough to keep us hooked. Some shows are meant for guilty pleasure, and this surely makes the list.
