The TV show “Tell Me Lies” just wrapped up its final season about two weeks ago after four years of episodes filled with betrayal, obsession, and secrecy.
“Tell Me Lies,” inspired by the book written by Carola Lovering, began airing in 2022 and has left its audience on the edge of their seats after every episode. I mean, just take a look at these college students, and afterwards you will probably feel a little bit better about your own life as a college student.
Most of the show follows Lucy Albright and Stephen Demarco’s toxic relationship, which is basically the bane of all of the viewers’ existence. Stephen Demarco is quite literally a psychopath, his only mission being to ruin Lucy’s life and everybody else’s around him, and he definitely wasn’t holding back for the third and final season. From blackmailing Lucy, holding secret grudges against pretty much everyone, and hiding secrets about himself, he is quite literally the epitome of what someone doesn’t want in a man.
Throughout the entirety of the show, it goes back and forth between the characters’ college life in 2008, flashing forward to Bree and Evan’s wedding in 2015, which ends in an odd disaster that leaves both me and most of the audience very satisfied.
The main characters, Lucy, Stephen, Evan, Bree, Wrigley, and Pippa, all have huge secrets that they are hiding from each other, especially since quite literally all of them are or have been in relationships with at least one of them. For me personally, and I’m pretty sure at least half the fans, Bree and Wrigley have been the best developing relationship in the whole show.
Starting in season three, Bree and Wrigley become close, both coming from traumatic pasts or events in college that have changed them. Over time, they realize that they are able to connect with one another in a way that they can’t with anybody else. The one problem – Evan, who is Bree’s ex and fiancé in the future, is also one of Wrigley’s best friends, and Pippa, who is Wrigley’s girlfriend, is very close with Bree. However, Evan and Pippa aren’t telling their partners everything either, keeping secrets about themselves as well.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but if I were in this friend group (which I absolutely wouldn’t), I would be exhausted. I genuinely can’t imagine that there are friend groups like this out there, and if you’re in one of those groups, I just have one question. How are you surviving?
However, in season three, we were met with a character I think none of us had any complaints about, and that would be Alex. Having previously been in foster care with Bree when they were younger, he was introduced to the show this season, being a heartthrob to many fans. Lucy and Alex have a “friends with benefits” kind of relationship throughout season three, with Alex providing an odd sense of comfort, seeming to know the right thing to say and do all the time. However, this relationship doesn’t go the way the audience hopes due to past traumas from both Alex and Lucy.
Another huge plot line of season three was Diana, who is Stephen’s ex, and Pippa’s relationship. Pippa’s sexuality has been explored for some of the show, even hinting at a possible relationship with Diana during the last season. Both having suffered from toxic or confusing relationships, they become close during season three, connecting with one another and finding deeper feelings and the truth themselves along the way.
I could go on all day about the various plots within season three and the rest of the show, but that would cause me to have to write an entire book. There is just simply too much about this show to unpack, leaving me sometimes struggling to comprehend what happened in just one episode.
The show’s ending to me couldn’t have been any better, showing that sometimes there isn’t always an ultimate happy ending. The only time I think I kind of thanked Stephen and his maniacal ways was during the season finale, where he decided to expose and out everyone on their secrets. Let’s just say that some of the people in this friend group will not be seeing each other for a while, if not forever.
The best thing for me that came out of this ending was Lucy’s closure at the very end of the episode, where Stephen tricks her for the last time, giving Lucy the confirmation that he will never change, allowing her to completely move on from him.
While this show has left me having to pause and do laps around my best friend’s house way too many times to count, it does perfectly depict the reality of situations that people may go through in reality. The show explores themes around toxic relationships, emotional manipulation, harms of keeping secrets, and issues with self-identity.
The show depicts toxicity in a relationship on a very real level, creating Lucy as the perfect character, where you can’t understand why she keeps forgiving Stephen unless you have been put in her shoes. The characters are constantly losing touch with themselves, either allowing their past to define them or allowing the lies told by others to make them look at themselves differently.
My best friend and I started this series simply because we needed a new show to watch and thought it looked interesting, not knowing how much we would look forward to Tuesdays when the show was airing. “Tell Me Lies” goes so much further than entertainment, going into lessons about recognizing and letting go of toxic people, self-worth, and facing the truth when healing. Despite my happiness with how the ending turned out, it feels bittersweet to know I’ll never see these characters again.
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