Hulu’s Tell Me Lies, wraps up Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco ‘s (Jackson White) toxic relationship with a scene reflecting the absurdity of this entire series, while leaving the fate of Bree (Cat Missal) and Wrigley’s (Spencer House) up to audience interpretation.
The latter half of Season 3 follows the aftermath of Stephen and Lucy’s third break up. When Stephen finds out that Lucy slept with his friend Evan (Branden Cook), the point of contention leads to Stephen pressing Lucy into confessing a dark secret — she lied about being sexually assaulted by a student at Baird.
In Episode 3 of the Tell Me Lies podcast showrunner Meghan Oppenheimer talks about coming up with the storyline of Lucy’s confession tape. When asked what audiences should take away from it she explains how members of the writers room were very offended by Lucy’s lie and felt her lying was undermining real victims. Oppenheimer defends her choice saying she wants viewers to question to what extent good intentions matter. Oppenheimer attempts, throughout the remainder of the season, to handle themes of sex, power, desire and misogyny with the nuance and complexity they deserve, while keeping the show feeling absurdly insane yet realistic.
Tell Me Lies follows imperfect characters, with a wide array of perspectives in situations relating to sex, power and desire resulting in a lack of clarity in terms of messaging. Is the only goal to show these scenarios play out realistically? Not really since the purpose of any show is always first and foremost to entertain. Oppenheimer fails to strike the balance between realism and entertainment, which is especially evident in the finale.
Speaking of desire, Episode 5 introduces a new potential couple into the series, Bree and Wrigley. Hinted at in the Season 2 finale when Wrigley says to Pippa that he’s pretending she’s the one he’s still in love with. Following this the audience gets a look into the tragic pining of Bree and Wrigley as they make eye contact across the dance floor. Unfortunately, Stephen is seeing the same longing and piecing together an affair leading to a cartoonishly villainous speech later on. It’s impossible to not root for Bree and Wrigley, most straight relationships in the show are focused on sex. The emotional connection and infidelity shown when Bree confides in Wrigley, and not her boyfriend about reconnecting with her mother is extremely refreshing.
Stephen is not the only character who exerts power over women in the show. Evan is not above manipulative and abusive behavior. He sabotages Bree’s photography exhibit so that she feels like she needs him. Again, this is a very realistic dynamic which shows an angle of abuse and manipulation which is less extreme than Stephen’s blackmailing of Lucy. Men who try to be good, who are not fundamentally toxic can still do things that are toxic.
Unfortunately, themes of how abuse is fostered by male culture are underdeveloped and largely unexplored by Oppenheimer. Evan has the potential to illustrate how masculinity can devolve into wielding fear and weaponizing power. While Bree has the potential to illustrate how vulnerable people with a history of abuse can fall into harmful cycles. This both fits the dark tone of Tell Me Lies, and is relatable to the demographic of college aged young women who watch the show.
Misogyny is tackled through the confession tape story line, but it permeates into many of the controlling patterns of behavior shown by male characters. Evan wants to control Bree, he speaks for her and is angry when she makes plans without telling him. Stephen wants to control Diana’s body when he feels like he has the right to be consulted about her decision to get an abortion. Oppenheimer holds back from critiquing the late 2000s brand of sexism, she shows it as it existed but doesn’t provide commentary. There are little to no conversations between female characters about their experiences. Most of the harm comes from individual male characters and there are only small moments where the systemic issues are acknowledged.
One of these moments of acknowledging systemic issues comes in the final episode Bree is confronted with her relationship with Oliver (Tom Ellis) being revealed to administration. She is blamed, and told that she needs to back off. The scene lasts about 30 seconds. More screen time is devoted to Stephen’s ridiculous Shakespearean monologue addressed to the guests at the wedding. Bree is not shown grappling with not being believed by the adults who are supposed to keep her safe. Instead her reaction is to leak the tape which gets Lucy expelled. Yes, a drastic decision makes sense, but at least show Bree spiraling in anger. We get nothing as to create a more dramatic reveal in Stephen’s speech.
The tone at the end of the finale feels disjointed from the rest of the episode as well as the rest of the season. For instance, we get a chase scene between Bree and Lucy with Britney Spears’ “Toxic” playing in the background, yet 15 minutes before this Lucy was expelled and Bree was the subject of victim blaming. Rather than relieve the built-up tension between the two, the show decides for this chase, proving this show cannot be taken seriously. Lucy, like the audience, must laugh in disbelief at everything they’ve just witnessed. To add to the absurdity, Lucy and Stephen drive off into the sunset, falling back into old habits, as they did at the beginning of the season.
Oppenheimer, allegedly states, according to this Youtube short, said that Bree and Lucy might reunite in their 30s, potentially rekindling their friendship. Look, the female friendships in this show are beautiful, and deserve the same level of attention as the romantic relationships. Lucy leaving Baid is enough of a conclusion to the Stephen storyline, Bree and Lucy deserve a real resolution not a throwaway statement in an interview. If there is any moral at all to Tell Me Lies, it’s that your friends will support you in crisis, that conclusion is the most fulfilling for this toxic trilogy.
