Tell Me Lies: Season 2 Episode 8 “Don’t Struggle Like That Or I Will Only Love You More” – Recap and Review

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Originally Aired	October 16, 2024
Network	Hulu
Director(s)	Dan Attias
Writer(s)	Meaghan Oppenheimer
Character	ACTOR’S NAME
Bree	Catherine Missal
Marianne	Gabriella Pession
Oliver	Tom Ellis
Lucy	Grace Van Patten
Drew	Benjamin Wadsworth
Wrigley	Spencer House
Pippa	Sonia Mena
Diana	Alicia Crowder
Leo	Thomas Doherty
Evan	Branden Cook
Stephen	Jackson White

Storyline Recap

Is My Heart A Game To You? – Bree, Marianne, Oliver, Lucy

Despite Bree thinking she and Oliver were sneaking around all this time, he reveals not only does he have an open marriage but nearly everything Bree may have said to him, Marianne knows. This makes everything awkward for Bree and when she tells Lucy, she is disgusted. Thankfully though, Marianne and Lucy end things on good enough terms that neither have any malice. But Lucy certainly doesn’t think highly of Marianne anymore.

However, don’t think everyone just walks away with a lesson learned. Bree decides to lead bashing Oliver’s car with a bat, on campus, in day light.

A Short Lived Reunion – Drew, Wrigley, Pippa, Diana

After much work, Diana and Pippa were able to get Drew to come to Baird to see his brother. Pippa wasn’t at the greeting, as originally planned, thanks to a back and forth with Diana over what Lucy did, but that might have been for the best.

But, leaving Drew and Wrigley alone may not have been the best idea either. Granted, the brothers had to catch up and there was long overdue healing needed. The problem is though, Wrigley decided as part of them bonding to not only have them drink, but share his pain killers, and Drew broke them in half. We learn later that Wrigley’s pain killers are time released so by breaking them in half, Drew basically poisioned himself and died overnight.

So, if you wonder why Wrigley still is seen as a mess in the future, it is because he borderline killed his brother.

All Part Of The Plan – Diana, Stephen, Lucy, Leo

Stephen decides to break up with Diana since she is no longer the ticket to a better life he planned for her to be. With that, it seems he planned to quickly transition back to Lucy but with Lucy afraid of being sucked back into Stephen’s life, she reconciles with Leo. This doesn’t last long because Stephen is an ace at pushing buttons and he pushes Leo until he gets pummeled, to the point of not being able to see out of his left eye. But, as Stephen’s smile shows after, this was all part of the plan to get Lucy over Leo and back to caring about him – all within 24 hours.

The funny thing is, however, Stephen wasn’t the only one playing someone. Diana apparently wanted to break up with Stephen but believed it would only work and potentially be permanent if Stephen thought it was his idea. Hence her lying about flopping on the LSAT, her dad cutting her off, and more. Whether it was a test or just to get him out of her life, she made it so all the benefits were taken without her losing anything, and her father finds it all comical as he picks her up for Christmas break.

Since We’re Being Honest – Wrigley, Stephen, Lucy, Evan

With Drew’s death comes Lucy feeling the need to reveal she wrote the letter and she tells Stephen she is going to do this. He decides to fall on the sword for her and likely not for altruistic reasons, but to further snare Lucy in his trap. Thankfully, despite this confession having the chance to lead to violence, Wrigley doesn’t take things there.

It does seem though, with one confession comes another and Evan decides to confess to Stephen that the person he cheated on Bree with was Lucy. From what it seems, Stephen is willing to forgive this but as shown when the show goes from 2008 back to 2015,

2015 – Stephen, Bree, Lucy

While it remains unclear who called Bree and seemingly was ready to cause a fuss, it is known that she learns Lucy is the one who slept with her future husband thanks to a voice message from Stephen. Now, whether or not this was meant to hurt Lucy, who decided to sleep with Stephen once again? It’s hard to say. Both are rather toxic and clearly have no issue with making people collateral damage.

Yet, while Lucy loses her boyfriend and may lose her best friend, it doesn’t seem Lydia is aware of what happened.

Collected Quote(s)

• You don’t get to —- me like I’m an adult and then talk to me like I’m a child. — Bree

Review

Highlights

Diana Revealing It Was All A Test

Now that there was a twist. All this time we thought Diana’s life was on a downward trajectory, partly due to her relationship with Stephen, when in reality, she had to bide her time to get rid of him. Now, is there a need to question what led to her wanting to break up with Stephen? Yes.

For example, did she think she’d end up like Lucy, trapped in a endless cycle of being discarded then seduced just as she becomes free? Was her fear of becoming like her mom, with a man who didn’t value her and degraded her the trigger? While there is a level of shock that Diana was a puppet master, it is hard to not wonder about the missing details of when she stopped loving Stephen, since we know when he stopped loving her.

Either way, I’m excited to see what’s next for her.

How Diabolical Stephen Is

The way Stephen broke up with Diana, got with Lucy, nearly lost her to Leo till he pushed Leo too far, and then to seal the deal fell on the sword for Lucy regarding the Drew thing? I don’t know if psychopath, sociopath, any combination of those words is enough to describe Stephen. But it is the fact he keeps getting away with this and, at best, he may lose a lover for a little bit, but is able to get them back within a few months that leaves me in awe.

Heck, with Diana avoiding Stephen in 2015, it makes me question if they saw each other again while practicing law and she got snared again, hence her avoiding him like the plague. Because, while I may not get the attraction, clearly he knows how to pick a target and keep them in his orbit.

On The Fence

Drew’s Death

With not seeing Drew the entire season, and Wrigley’s storyline being mostly bleh regarding him missing Drew, having Drew died didn’t really feel impactful or necessary. It just seemed like drama for the sake of it or to further explain why Wrigley is such a mess in the future without going into exact details.

The Lingering Questions Of How People Got Together or Back Together

We don’t learn how Evan and Bree got back together or how Pippa and Diana ended up together this episode. As noted above, we learn that all parties are single, but what led them to their future partners remains a mystery.

The Open Marriage Reveal

With the open marriage reveal, the plus of it is that, likely, Oliver isn’t the one who called Bree on her wedding day. But, while that is resolved, I have to admit the need for the open marriage reveal feels rather questionable. I get part of what allows “Tell Me Lies” to thrive is surprises and controversy, but I feel like this could have been handled better.

Yes, this isn’t a overdone reveal, the person you think you are having an affair with in a open marriage, but it would have been more interesting if Bree was approached with the idea of being Oliver’s 2^nd and Bree processing her emotions that way. At least, in my mind, that would have allowed them to maintain Bree’s character while allowing her to go on this journey.

The Chris Situation Went Unresolved

So, when it comes to Chris, is that supposed to be a lesson that characters won’t always get justice? A part of me respects that, but at the same time it was Pippa. At this point, she is the only one who isn’t problematic, and for her to be done dirty like that, I could only hope karma is going to bless her.

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