by: Jordan Park
Website Editor

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Tell Me Lies

After three seasons and almost four years of manipulative characters, destructive patterns, and toxic dynamics, Hulu’s Tell Me Lies comes to a controversial end. Disclaimer: The following article centers around the final episode of the entire series. If you have not watched the show, many details surrounding the series will not make sense.

The series finale shifts between the end of sophomore year at Baird College in 2009 and Bree’s (Catherine Missal) and Evan’s (Branden Cook) wedding in 2015. In 2009, Lucy (Grace Van Patten) briefly feels free after Stephen (Jackson White), her toxic ex-boyfriend, returns her blackmail confession tape. Bree’s mother calls her to a campus building by her mother to find Oliver (Tom Ellis), the professor she had an affair with, and his wife, Marianne (Gabriella Pession), who all insist her affair never happened. Later, Lucy admits to close friend Pippa (Sonia Mena) that she helped Evan cheat on Bree, and Pippa pushes another mutual friend, Wrigley (Spencer House), to report Stephen for harassment. In the end, Lucy’s tape is leaked, and she’s expelled, while Stephen’s Yale acceptance is rescinded.

The final scene of the finale is the real kicker. In the closing sequence, Stephen discovers that Bree released the video that led to Lucy’s expulsion. At Bree and Evan’s mostly empty wedding reception, Stephen uses this information to his advantage and spills years of secrets in one speech. He declares Bree’s role in Lucy’s expulsion, Lucy and Evan’s college hookup, his own reconnection with Lucy, and Bree’s affair with Wrigley. Chaos unfolds as Toxic by Britney Spears plays in the background. Evan smashes a cake, relationships start to crumble, and the group’s dynamic finally collapses. Steven then asks Lucy to leave with him, and much to the fans’ dismay, she agrees. After driving through the night, they stop at a gas station. Lucy goes inside for coffee and returns to find her purse and Steven gone with the car. In a moment of clarity, she walks to the road and turns toward the sun, smiling and quietly laughing to herself before the scene fades to black.

Fans’ reactions are sharply divided. Many viewers argue that Lucy’s choice to go with Steven was strategic. She had to make him believe he was in control so he would ultimately abandon her, allowing her to finally be rid of him once and for all. Others remain frustrated that Steven, after seasons of manipulation and emotional abuse, is able to walk away unscathed. In an interview with Time, creator Megan Oppenheimer addressed the debate, explaining that the ending reflects a painful reality. People like Steven often aren’t punished as they deserve.

Ultimately, the series finale and the show as a whole serve as an important warning. The show asks viewers to notice red flags, question romanticized toxic behavior, and understand how easy it is to mistake intensity for love. Relationships built on manipulation rarely end with closure, and growth doesn’t always look satisfying. Sometimes it looks like choosing yourself and walking away.

(Source: Time)