Tell Me Lies: Season 1/ Episode 9 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Lucy’s letter does far more than intended, and to make matters worse, she is forced to ask her mom, CJ, to come to campus.

Aired (Hulu)	10/19/2022
Episode Title	Sugar, We’re Going Down Swinging
Director(s)	Ed Lilly
Writer(s)	Sinead Daly

This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a purchase is made from those sites, we may earn money or products from the company.

Recap

Wait, Who Was That? – Max, Lucy, Stephen

Stephen and Lucy running into Max, and Lucy’s demeanor shifting, forces Stephen to realize whatever grip he may think he has on Lucy isn’t existent. Or, worse, just as he doesn’t feel comfortable opening up to Lucy about the most personal things going on in his life, she doesn’t him. Which you’d think, by now, he knows and accepts, but sometimes it isn’t clear if Stephen understands the power dynamics of his relationship aren’t in his favor.

But, to try to wrestle control, he leaves Lucy with the female equivalent of blue balls as he makes it sound like it turns him on that she slept with another man. Though in reality, her sleeping with someone else, cuddling with him, telling him intimate secrets Stephen doesn’t know, it disturbs him. Not enough to blow things up, like he did with Diana, but considering Stephen is petty, him leaving Lucy hanging may not be the only thing he does to deal with his ego.

Plagiarism and Exposure – Lucy, Marriane, CJ, Stephen

While it is 2008, there is software to check for plagiarism, and with Marianne running Lucy’s short story from January, this episode takes place in April, she is in trouble. Now, while she will be off the hook if she can prove the story is hers, by accessing her LiveJournal account, due to not having access to the e-mail she used anymore, Lucy gets desperate.

How desperate? She forces her mom to testify the story is true in front of Marianne, and boy is that embarrassing. However, the fight doesn’t begin because of CJ having to tell the truth or Lucy writing about it, more so it comes from CJ admitting she is dating James and then Stephen stepping in. Him being rude to CJ, paired with Lucy in her feelings, makes the situation worse. Add in Lucy has mixed feelings, and doesn’t know how much to blame her mom for feeling lonely and weak or be angry for what she, Lucy, had to go through alone? It makes Stephen’s brand of callousness not helpful.

The Dominoe Effect – Drew, Wrigley, Stephen, Lucy, Bree, Evan, Pippa

As Lucy is reeling from having to expose her mom and unpack what happened, Drew is experiencing a downward spiral. The tag team of Lucy and Stephen has made it so that between an investigation beginning because of the letter and Drew being isolated from his brother, he begins to flip out a bit. He comes after Wrigley for telling Pippa his business, then after Pippa since he believes she sent the letter, and once you add alcohol to the mix? Things get bad.

Luckily, Bree finds a way to stay out of this, despite calling out Stephen about the $300 camera and Drew coming onto her while he is drunk. But, while Bree goes unscathed, despite Evan abandoning her to find Wrigley, the only one who gets hurt is ultimately Wrigley. After getting in a short fight with Drew, in which he knocks him to the ground, Wrigley tries to cool down, falls off the deck, and likely gets the kind of injury that will end his football career.

Seeing all this go down, Lucy finds herself freaking out a bit, and it clicks for Stephen that she did this. Mind you, she denies it whenever she can, but he knows. But the fact Bree doesn’t know, and Pippa doesn’t know creates a new secret between them. But with Pippa thinking this is Stephen’s doing and Bree questioning why, when someone associates Macy and Stephen on the night Macy died, Lucy lies and gives him an alibi, it seems the friend group will only get more fractured.

Though, as a consolation, even with knowing everything, Stephen sticks by her side and even says he loves her.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Why did Evan leave his girlfriend with a clearly drunk Drew, who was already invading her personal space, and he knows has a thing for her?
2. How, exactly, did Bree find out Stephen destroyed the camera? Did Pippa tell her?
3. How does Lucy’s sister feel about her mom’s affair since it seems she is far more exposed to it than her
4. So, we’re just going to miss the chance to meet Wrigley’s parents?

What Could Happen Next

1. What Lucy did not going beyond Stephen
2. Potentially a return to the present since it seems we’re way overdue for that.

Review

Highlights

Stephen Got His Wish

At this point, does Stephen need to do anything else? Wrigley’s sports career is likely over, he broke up with Pippa, and while Drew became collateral damage, he was but an end to a mean. Now, whether or not Bree, who decided to speak up against Stephen, becomes a new target? Well, that’s hard to say. Though she likely would be a much better challenge than Pippa. She seems more scrappy, and considering Evan is cool with Stephen but not as blind as Wrigley, Bree has a far more better boyfriend/ ally.

Stephen’s Jealousy Not Leading To Him Sabotaging His Relationship

Lucy really does have a hold on Stephen, doesn’t she? Based on how they started, you’d think Stephen’s age, assumed maturity, money from doing who knows what, and experience, sexually, would give him the upper hand. Yet, insecurities, and Lucy being able to play the same game he can, potentially better, did him in. Now she has all the power, and he is on the defense, and it seems he likes it that way.

Take note, maybe it is more comfortable for him? Diana is the opposite of his mom, since she is supportive and loving, lacks spite, and allows him to be open. Meanwhile, while Lucy isn’t a narcissist, she does have traits that show her capable of shutting down, being manipulative, and having a certain command over Stephen that makes him feel like he isn’t in control.

And who knows, for men like Stephen, maybe it is sometimes feeling like he isn’t in control that turns him on. Maybe being in emotional distress too?

On The Fence

Lucy and CJ’s Relationship

Can you recognize their relationship is packed with a lot of emotion? Yes. However, being that CJ is a minor character, the inability to unpack all that happened not just during the time when Lucy’s dad was dying but before, makes it hard to get into their storyline and be affected. Add in there is an often absent third in Lucy’s sister, and it just seems like this storyline might be one cut for time.

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