Hulu’s Messiest Guilty-Pleasure Watch Is Ending After 3 Seasons, and That’s a Good Thing
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Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the series finale of Tell Me Lies.
All good things come to an end, and that is certainly the case for Hulu's Tell Me Lies. After three seasons of pure toxicity, showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer announced shortly before the finale's release that the hit series would not return for Season 4. The news was met with mixed reactions, with fans wondering whether the finale could answer all the burning questions left unresolved by Season 3's penultimate episode.
Although the series finale does offer punishments, relationship fallouts, and a chef's kiss groomsman speech, it doesn't address everything you'd wish it did — and that is why the ending is spot on. Instead of putting Stephen (Jackson White) behind bars for his involvement in Macy's (Lily McInerny) death or preventing Lucy (Grace Van Patten) from accepting Stephen's car ride proposition, Tell Me Lies doesn't offer what audiences hoped for, staying true to the characters' essence until the very end.
'Tell Me Lies' Season 3's Finale Has a Realistic Ending
Tell Me Lies follows a flawed group of friends, with Stephen positioned as the ultimate villain amongst them. Throughout the series, Stephen manipulates both Lucy and Diana (Alicia Crowder), secretly hates his best friends Wrigley (Spencer House) and Evan (Branden Cook), and finds satisfaction in enacting revenge on his inner circle. He isn't one to forgive and forget, which becomes apparent in Season 3 when he forces Lucy to record a confessional tape that he can threaten to use against her at any given moment. He also gets back at Diana for lying about her LSAT score by sending intimate photos of her to her father. Despite his deviousness, Stephen is rarely held accountable for his condemnable actions. When Wrigley reports him to the Yale admissions office, Stephen has a taste of what it means to lose — but is his expulsion from a dream school enough of a punishment?
Other abusive characters, like Oliver (Tom Ellis) and Chris (Jacob Rodriguez), are left unscathed by the end of the series, avoiding real consequences as is so often the case in real life. In an interview with The Wrap, Oppenheimer revealed that allowing Stephen to avoid responsibility for Macy's accident was a holdover from the source material. However, Stephen's losses are much more pointed because his obsession with hurting those around him has left him all alone by the series finale. In the end, Stephen's greatest punishment was actually living with himself.
The 'Tell Me Lies' Series Finale Finally Breaks Up a Toxic Friend Group
Stephen's realistic fate isn't the only aspect that makes the series finale worthwhile. After three seasons of lies, manipulation, and surface-level friendships, Tell Me Lies' core characters sever their ties from each other. Pippa (Sonia Mena) never made an effort to prevent Lucy from being expelled from Baird, Bree (Catherine Missal) is actually responsible for releasing the tape and not telling Lucy about it for years, Wrigley betrayed Evan by having an affair with Bree before the wedding, and Evan was mostly responsible for shattering a potential relationship between Bree and her mother to maintain his own ego. Stephen's mic drop isn't just done for drama; it's the closure this group of people needs to move on from each other for good. Although it's implied that Wrigley and Bree will likely get together after the wedding, there's no reason for anyone else to remain connected now that the truth has finally come to light.
'Tell Me Lies’ Just Proved Stephen Isn’t the Most Dangerous Character After All
Finally, Stephen is getting his just deserts.
Stephen convinces Lucy to leave the reception with him, but after they stop at a gas station, he takes off, leaving her in the middle of nowhere. Although some viewers believe that Lucy knew what she was getting into when she hopped into the passenger seat, Stephen's abandonment offers some semblance of hope. According to Van Patten in her recent conversation with Collider, Lucy's reaction to being left behind is proof that the character might actually be done with Stephen this time. Oppenheimer also expressed a similar sentiment to The Hollywood Reporter, saying Lucy not having the final word allows Stephen to think that he rejected her, and there is no more fun in manipulating her when he thinks he has won.
One could argue there's more story worth exploring in Tell Me Lies, especially after it earned 5 million views in Season 3's premiere week alone, but the finale does offer a poignant closure for its imperfect characters. From giving Stephen a realistic ending to setting this friend group free from their problematic bond, Tell Me Lies finds a way to finish well. In an era where series get renewed despite storylines running thin, Oppenheimer's decision to stay true to her vision is exactly what viewers need to finally break up with Hulu's guilty-pleasure watch.
Tell Me Lies
- Release Date
- 2022 - 2026-00-00
- Network
- Hulu
- Showrunner
- Meaghan Oppenheimer
- Directors
- Isabel Sandoval, Jonathan Levine
Cast
-
Grace Van PattenLucy Albright -
Jackson WhiteStephen DeMarco
Tell Me Lies is a drama television series created by Meaghan Oppenheimer for Hulu. Based on the novel, the series follows the relationship of two people over eight years who develop into a toxic co-dependent relationship that causes lasting effects for them and those closest to them.
- Where To Watch
- Hulu
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