Tell Me Lies has done it again.
When the end credits roll on Season 2 of Meaghan Oppenheimer’s tumultuous college drama, fans will be hooting, hollering, dropping their jaws in near-disbelief, and jamming out to “Mr. Brightside”once again — just like they were after Season 1’s twisted finale.
After a season of major blowouts, breakups, makeups, an affair, elaborate scenes, betrayal, another heartbreaking death, and more, Season 2, Episode 8, finally saw Lucy (Grace Van Patten) choose between Stephen (Jackson White) and Leo (Thomas Doherty) in 2008 before jumping to Bree (Cat Missal) and Evan’s (Branden Cook) wedding day in 2015. Before we finally reached “I do” day, however, Tell Me Lies unleashed entirely new levels of chaos upon characters and viewers alike.
If you think Tell Me Lies‘ Season 2 finale, “Don’t Struggle Like That, Or I Will Only Love You More,” sounds incredibly messed up, that’s because it is! Before the series wraps another intense installment, it leans into the mayhem and leaves viewers craving — nay, demanding! — more.
The penultimate episode of Tell Me Lies wrapped with Lucy lying about being sexually assaulted by her best friend’s brother. She hoped the fake testimony would help defend Katie (who had gone public with her own assault experience) and Pippa (who was staying silent). Instead, her lie understandably upset Pippa (Sonia Mena), Diana (Alicia Crowder), and, of course, Lydia (Natalee Linez). After word of Lucy’s claims got back to Lydia, she left a voicemail ending her friendship with Lucy and ordering her to stay out of her life.
Shortly after the incident, Pippa got into a fight with Wrigley (Spencer House), who later showed up at her door to apologize, broke down crying, and revealed he’s been depressed since his fallout with his brother Drew (Benjamin Wadsworth). Meanwhile, Stephen ditched Diana because he felt she wouldn’t love him if she knew how bad he truly was. He headed to Lucy’s room and told her they were meant to be together because they know each other’s worst secrets and are still in love. Oh, and before the episode ended, Marianne (Gabriella Pession) came into class wearing the pair of earrings Bree (Cat Missal) purposefully planted in Oliver’s (Tom Ellis) pants. In other words: Game. On.
So what happened in Tell Me Lies‘ Season 2 finale? Our Tell Me Lies Season 2 ending explained is a detailed Season 2, Episode 8 recap. Read on for a play-by-play of the chaotic Tell Me Lies conclusion, but be warned, MASSIVE Season 2 finale spoilers lie ahead.
Tell Me Lies‘ Season 2 finale kicks off in 2015 with the continuation of that unbelievably scandalous Hot Tub Scene. Stephen is still watching; taking it all in. But by the time Lucy and Max finish, he’s gone. That said, Stephen ensures Lucy isn’t off the hook. He texts her, “Thanks for the show” while Max is near her phone. After reading their back-and-forth, he tells a frazzled Lucy he’s disgusted, and before he storms off, he adds, “I bet you still think you’re the victim, don’t you?” Ouch.
Next thing we know, it’s Breevan’s wedding day and Lucy is brooding and drinking in the bridal suite as Bree declines a mysterious call from a private number — presumably the same person she told to leave her alone ahead of her wedding earlier in the season. Hmm… Before we can think too hard about that, Lucy gets an “I need to see you” text from Stephen and she’s off! She lets him in her hotel room, and just like that they’re horizontal! “You haven’t changed at all,” Lucy says in between smooches. “Neither have you,” Stephen replies. And with that, the finale’s title card drops and we buckle our seatbelts.
When the episode resumes, we’re back in December 2008 where Lucy and Stephen are lying in bed together after the events of Episode 7. Lucy is on the verge of tears, disappointed in herself for backsliding into this toxic man’s arms. She tells Stephen she has an exam so he’ll leave, and she breaks down in tears before calling Pippa and Bree for support and getting their voicemails. Pippa is still processing the night before, and Bree is too busy fleeing Marianne’s class after spotting the Evan Earrings. She frantically calls Oliver who tells her to meet at the condo in an hour. By then, Lucy’s knocking on Leo’s door and pouring her heart out to him — though she omits several key details, like the fact that she just slept with Stephen!
Lucy takes accountability for her “fucked up” behavior while she and Leo were dating and tells him she wants to try again. When he asks if Stephen’s going to be an issue this time around, she assures him she has all the clarity she needs to move forward. The two make up, have incredibly sad sex (on Lucy’s end), and plan to go to a Christmas party before holiday break. Everything seems fine! But this is Tell Me Lies and Stephen’s already blowing up Lucy’s phone, so consider this your warning to brace for impact.
In wake of Episode 7’s drama, Pippa and Diana meet up to check in. Diana asks how Pippa could forgive Lucy’s lie, and she calls her out for excusing all of Stephen’s toxic behavior. The two end on a strained note, but Diana does Pippa a serious solid by reaching out to Drew and convincing him to visit Wrigley in his time of need. He reluctantly returns to campus and makes long-overdue amends with his brother. After Wrigley gets vulnerable, apologizes, and tells Drew he loves him, the two spend the day together at the bar, drinking and reconnecting.
Also reconnecting? Oliver and Bree at their secret meeting place. After realizing Bree wanted his wife to find the earrings, Oliver called off the affair much to Bree’s dismay. He got her key to the apartment, headed to class, and told her to leave when she was ready. But wait! That’s not the only finale breakup you expected, was it?
Next on the chopping block? Diana and Stephen. Still flying high over his reunion with Lucy, Stephen tells Diana he doesn’t feel the same way about her and can’t keep faking it. Rather than shed tears, Diana looks him in eyes and says, “You dont feel anything right now, do you? Stop fucking pretending. There’s literally nothing, is there? You were so desperate to keep me when I was impressive. but as soon as I show even a little weakness you’re out?” Stephen gives her a big old YEP and heads for the door. (Don’t worry, girl! Best thing to ever happen to you!)
Rather than head to the holiday party, Wrigley keeps hanging with Drew, and to recover from the big night ahead, he offers him one of his painkillers. Drew only takes half, and the two drink, laugh, and even call Pippa to leave a charming apology voicemail. Meanwhile, one of the year’s most dramatic parties is raging on. Shortly after Stephen and Evan walk into the holiday bash, Stephen spots Leo and Lucy in Full Couple Mode and says, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” When he confronts them, Lucy begs him to leave and assures him she chose to be there with Leo, not him. After Evan talks him down, Stephen walks away — but the second he’s alone again, he heads back for Round 2. This time, Lucy and Leo walk off, but not before Stephen spills the beans: “Leo just so you know, I fucked Lucy this morning. Red underwear, lacy white train. It was kind of seasonal. Can I ask you something? How did my cum taste?” To borrow a Gilmore Girls episode title: “Merry Fisticuffs!”
Leo worked so hard to suppress his rage and resist Stephen’s attempts to bait him this season, but in front of a party of people and a lit Christmas tree, he lets loose and beats Stephen’s smug face bloody as Lucy begs him to stop. When the one-sided fist fight finally ends, a horrified Lucy screams, “What the fuck is wrong with you? He wasn’t even fighting back.” As she turns away from Stephen to put Leo in his place, the OG Tell Me Lies villain flashes a smile in a secret show of victory. He got what he wanted. Lucy and Leo are done.
The next morning, Bree calls Oliver and asks to meet. He invites her to his house while Marianne is teaching class and the two boldly sleep together in his and Marianne’s bed. Shortly after Oliver hops in the shower, Bree hears the front door and scrambles to get dressed, but she’s too late. Marianne walks in and catches her in the act. In an unexpected twist, the professor isn’t least bit rattled by her presence. Instead, she tells Bree to calm down and goes to speak to Oliver before excusing herself to let them talk. So WTF is going on? A regular affair is bad, so naturally, Tell Me Lies finds a way to make it even worse!
Turns out Oliver wasn’t entirely honest with Bree about his marriage. “We have an open marriage… We’re together and share a life together, but are allowed to be with other people,” Professor Puswa explains, admitting Marianne knew about him and Bree all along. After Oliver tries to shift blame back onto Bree for pursuing him, Bree says, “I think this is the meanest thing anyone’s ever done to me.” Oliver snaps, “I highly fucking doubt that given your history,” and Bree races downstairs where Marianne awaits. Bree said she must hate her messed up marriage arrangement with reveals Oliver said he loved her. Before Bree leaves, Marianne returns Bree’s cursed birthday earrings and wipes a tear from her eye. Perhaps she’s not as happy about her open marriage as she seems…
Bree heads to the dorms to cry it out with Lucy and Pippa, but their vent session is cut short by panicked phone calls. After Wrigley and Drew’s big night out, Wrigley wakes up to discover Drew asphyxiated on his own vomit and died. When the friend group gathers to support Wrigley, he reveals the painkillers he gave Drew may have been to blame. “He was splitting in half, but they were time-release and he can’t do that with a time-release pill. That can kill you,” Wrigley explains. After hearing the news, Lucy excuses herself and breaks down in the kitchen over the guilt of writing that Season 1 letter about Drew. She tells Stephen she needs to take accountability and start fresh, but before she can unburden herself, Stephen lies to everyone, says he wrote the letter, and apologizes to Wrigley. He’s quickly forgiven, and while it’s unclear what Stephen’s true intentions in coopting Lucy’s moment were, Lucy takes it as a sign that he loves her.
Tell Me Lies jumps forward one week to show the group saying goodbye before Christmas break. Marianne politely un-invites Lucy to take her classes in the future and admitts she was “relieved” her husband hadn’t met her before Bree. In the wise words of Lucy: “Pervert freak!” Diana meets with a counselor who tells her she has a perfect shot at Yale early admission thanks to her high LSAT scores. (That’s right! She lied to Stephen — and not just about the test!) Diana calls the bank and asks them to lift the hold she placed on her own credit card to make Stephen think her dad cut her off. And when her father arrives to pick her up, she tells him she had to make Stephen think the breakup was his idea. (She’s a mastermind. We’re obsessed.)
Before heading home, Lucy, Pippa, and Bree take baseball bats to Oliver’s car. And after seeing Stephen take accountability with Wrigley, Evan decides to tell him he cheated on Bree with Lucy the night of the Hawaiian party. Stephen steps outside to process the news and runs into Diana who’s moving her brother out. She talks major smack about Lucy and apologizes for being an asshole to him based on what she’d heard. With mere minutes left in the episode, Tell Me Lies had to work fast to outdo its Season 1 finale cliffhanger. And rest assured, it did.
Before Stephen goes back inside he grabs his cell phone for reasons unknown. When he meets back up with Evan, Stephen says, “I’m just trying to understand. When you cheated on Bree last summer, that was with Lucy? You and Lucy had sex?” Evan replies, “Yeah. I’m really sorry.” And in an eerie twist, Stephen says the two of them are good and had a clean slate. “You’re not gonna tell Bree and try and ruin my life?” Evan asks. “Not today,” Stephen says. And with that, the two hug and we hop forward to Evan and Bree’s wedding.
If you can guess where Tell Me Lies is going, it doesn’t make the big reveal any less juicy. After Stephen and Lucy get dressed post-wedding day hookup (Side note: Where the heck is Lydia?!) it’s time for the ceremony. Pippa and Diana are thriving, Wrigley is trying to let go of his decade-old crush on his ex, and Stephen is missing in action. As Lucy walks by Diana searching for him, her old foe clocks her anxiety and empathizes, saying, “It’s kind of scary when you don’t know here he is.”
Fighting fears that something was in the process of going horribly wrong, Lucy goes to check on Bree, who says, “I just want everything to be perfect.” Lucy assures her it will be, but THIS IS TELL ME LIES! and chaos reigns supreme. As Bree takes one last look in the mirror, she gets a text from Stephen: an audio file — yep, you guessed it — from 2008. As Bree hears Evan confess to cheating on her with Lucy all those years ago, a haunting cover of “Mr. Brightside,” sung by absolute icon Cat Missal, starts to swell in the background.
Before the end credits roll, Lucy comes up behind Bree, looks at her in the mirror, and asks, “You ready?” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like we said, Tell Me Lies did it again, so when is Season 3?! Read on for everything we know about the future of the series.
Tell Me Lies Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu.