Tell Me Lies: Season 2 Episode 4 – Review & Recap

Storyline Recap

Are We Cool? – Pippa, Raul, Wrigley

With Wrigley finding out Pippa hasn’t told her dad, Raul, that they aren’t together anymore, he doesn’t see this as an in to get into her parents, but at least revisit old conversations and their friendship. But, one thing that still gets to Wrigley is that letter that blew up his life, and he still thinks Pippa wrote it. She makes it clear though, that Wrigley may want to redirect his attention to Stephen.

Justifying New Behaviors – Bree, Evan, Molly (Katherine Hughes), Oliver, Marianne, Lucy

Bree is enjoying her time with Oliver, but damn, is it hard to be a mistress when the wife is so nice. There were hopes that, between how Lucy felt about her class and due to Oliver agreeing to an affair, Marianne was a wicked woman. Yet, when given a B in Marianne’s class and seeing her during office hours, Marianne showed herself to be lovely.

So, with this guilt in her heart, Bree told Lucy about the affair in hopes of just letting the fact be known, maybe some form of vindication, but by no means was she looking for judgement. Which, considering Lucy is what triggered Bree’s relationship ending, she wasn’t in a place to do that anyway.

As for how Evan is doing? He hooks up with one of Diana’s friends or associates, Molly, and they have a good time. It even seems this rebound could become a relationship.

Is She Really As Crazy As They Say? – Leo, Lucy, Diana, Stephen

The LSAT has consumed Stephen’s mind, for it is what will determine his future, and as supportive as Diana is, and how she extends Stephen’s network to include her dad, he needs to have more than her to fall back on. But, even after the test is over he is stressed out, and it gets so bad he has a panic attack.

This panic attack reveals a fractured rib, which triggers Diana to realize that Lucy may not have been lying about the Macy thing and that Lucy isn’t as crazy as she is painted to be. Granted, with Leo, she seemingly stirs up a fight to have angry sex, which he finds toxic, but they find their groove, and it seems she is still on that long road to recover from what Stephen did to her.

Though, in Lucy’s defense, people can easily lose their minds if someone knows what they are doing before, during, and after what goes down in the bedroom.

Collected Quote(s)

• You shouldn’t let your misfortunes compromise your compassion. — Marianne

Review

Highlights

Leo Holding Lucy Accountable For Her Actions

What we don’t see enough of when it comes to shows featuring young adults is people being held accountable way before something grandeur happens. So Leo not putting up with Lucy’s toxicity, no matter how attractive she is or that she, after however many days or weeks is willing to have sex, was a sight to see. Instead, he held himself to a higher standard, knowing her actions could trigger him based on his traumatic upbringing, and held her accountable for bringing behavior that didn’t work in her last relationship to this one, just because it was familiar to her.

Truly, I don’t know what happened to lead to these two breaking up, though I bet Stephen is involved, but I’m here for the growth and healing Lucy is likely to get from this relationship.

Oliver and Marinne’s Influence On Bree

Part of growing up is being selective about when to be messy, make mistakes, and learn from those time periods. One could submit, when it comes to Bree, she was overdue to have an era when she did something wrong and allowed herself to enjoy it.

Now, don’t get it twisted, we don’t condone cheating, and if you’re married and cheat, you’ll get what you deserve. But this is fiction, and Bree isn’t just a young thing to stroke Oliver’s ego. There are lessons that are coming from him, and I believe when he talks about Lucy and Pippa as Bree’s friends, it isn’t in an effort to isolate her; rather, it is to get her into the mindset of understanding what she deserves.

I’d even say, when it comes to Marianne, who knows Bree as her student, not a lover, she too is pushing Bree to move past her feelings of being lesser than, having to compensate for something, or look down on others and see them as ungrateful just because she has experienced suffering. All of this wasn’t expected when Bree started to mess around with Oliver, for the thought was that they just wanted this character to have the same kind of drama as the rest. But, with Bree getting more than just a rebound out of Oliver, we’re appreciating this journey, even if she is being a mistress.

Recognizing Evan’s Ability To Build Chemistry With Multiple Women

Part of what made Bree and Evan so cute was that Bree was rather new to everything and Evan a serial monogamist. But, being that Lucy is the star, and Bree her best friend, I’d submit that the show has always leaned more on what Bree brought to the relationship and pushed Evan to be a lucky guy. Now, seeing other women want Evan and how he responds, you can see how he attracts women beyond being generically Hollywood handsome.

I’d even say that when it comes to Branden Cook, I could imagine that between Lifetime and Hallmark, he could play the romantic lead of many movies because he gives that safe kind of sexy. He isn’t Tom Ellis, dance with the devil (no pun intended), but the kind who gives good guy vibes. The dude who, if your friend started dating him, you don’t feel the need to ask a million and one question to see if he is trash or not.

Which, for a show like this, feels needed since, it helps even the balance of the guys we see on this show.

*I should note though, the actress who plays Molly appears to be his real-life girlfriend. But, considering the lack of chemistry we saw in “The Good Doctor” when Dr. Glassman’s actor had his real-life with as a love interest, I think Cook still deserves praise.

The Direction Diana and Stephen’s Relationship Is Going

I would like to believe Diana is aware that Stephen has a representative that he puts out there, and she is one of the few who gets to see behind the curtain. But how aware is she when of when she has the real Stephen and when it is the representative? I don’t think she has really taken note of this until this episode.

In my mind, she saw her father, a man who had to perform for the outside world, and maybe she felt like Stephen had to do this to be right for her, and a part of her accepted this. But with learning part of that performance was hiding things from her, not just trying to embody who he wants to be, that’s a problem.

This is another situation or relationship where knowing it doesn’t last creates intrigue for the question of what is going to be the final straw? Lucy and Stephen don’t end up together, and she still hates him in the future, so while they could always end up hooking up and Diana finding out, a part of me thinks that won’t be it. But what’s the alternative? Is learning the Macy thing is true, after those provocative pictures going to be enough? Maybe the mind games he played and is still playing on Lucy? Where is the line, what is the last straw, what is that unforgivable thing for Diana?

On The Fence

Addressing Wrigley Doesn’t Have Much Going On In His Life

It’s great that “Tell Me Lies” acknowledges that Wrigley is just a floater with nothing going on. But now they have to do something about that. Will he pursue law? Maybe, since he is a people person, and what his brother went through, get into some sort of social service, psychology, or other field that requires a lot of human interaction? We don’t really know, and neither does Wrigley, but I’m the type who feels that, if you are on screen for an extended period, and aren’t an extra, there should be some forward momentum, story, or something.

With Wrigley, him just being a wingman for a hot minute, a pseudo-friend to Pippa, and an annoyance to Stephen, that isn’t enough.

The Gist

The TLDR Recap/ Review

1. With Bree on a rebound with Oliver, Evan, with Stephen, Diana, and Wrigley’s encouragement gets out there, and he ends up sleeping with a girl named Molly. It isn’t clear whether this is long-term, but she’s there for now.
2. Meanwhile, Stephen is freaking out over the LSAT to the point that, almost as soon as it is over, he has a panic attack. Which he plays down, but with Diana there every step of the way, he is able to weather the storm.
3. However, with her learning about Stephen’s rib fracture, she realizes Lucy wasn’t lying nor is as crazy as she thought. Though, if you ask Leo, Lucy is probably a bit off. She picks a fight for the sake of angry sex, which is a turn-off for him.
4. But, at the very least, they are doing better than Pippa. Her father thinks she and Wrigley are still dating, and considering Wrigley has no idea what he is doing with his life, he is more someone to feel sorry for than attach to.
5. I so appreciate Leo’s role in Lucy’s life. Yes, he has anger issues, but he is processing them, knows his triggers, and mind you, it isn’t 2024 but 2008 and he is ahead of the curve.
6. Then, add in he is holding Lucy accountable for some of her toxic behaviors? Like a lot of what we see in the past, I’m left wondering how we ended up with what we see in the present day.
7. Bree and Evan, for example, while we know Oliver and Bree could never last, Evan and Molly seem like they could be long term. She is his type, in a multitude of ways.
8. But, overall, I feel like the show isn’t just looking for messy drama but really pushing the need to be curious, and that helps with some of the elements that make it feel like the show is repeating itself.

General Information

Episode Title	Just Stable Children
Release Date (Hulu)	September 18, 2024
Director(s)	Eva Vives
Writer(s)	Bill Kennedy