Tell Me Lies: Season 3 Episode 3 – Recap and Review

Stephen finds a new low as Diana and Pippa find a new high through each other. Also, Wrigley and Evan show they know how to play Stephen when they want to.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Episode 3 “Repent” Recap and Details

  • Director(s): Ed Lilly
  • Writer(s): Mona Mira
  • Public Release Date (Hulu): January 13, 2026
  • Check out more of our “Tell Me Lies” coverage.

What’s The Best Way For Revenge Or To Move On?: Evan, Stephen, Lucy, Bree, Alex

Stephen is ready to go on a tear. There aren’t many ways to get to Lucy, punish her, so he settles on destroying her relationship with Bree. As you can imagine, Lucy doesn’t want that; who would want Bree to hate them? However, it is the only way he knows how to hurt her, so she brings up the Chris lie as a substitute. This intrigues Stephen, feels like a pinch to the nipple of his twisted psyche, but knowing this isn’t enough, a Facebook post isn’t enough, he wants a video, which he directs and damn near scripts. Thus truly proving, this man doesn’t love Lucy whatsoever and may have never.

But, who he does love is his little sister, Sadie. She is having a hard time in school, to the point that her grades are slipping and she is losing scholarship money. Evan learns of this, and he knows peace with Stephen is as necessary as boundaries – so he doesn’t learn about stuff he can use against you. So, Evan offers to call his dad to pay over $20,000 of Sadie’s tuition so he and Stephen can be cool. Yet as shown, Evan only bought himself time, hence what happens on his wedding day.

Which leads to Bree trying to make a deal of her own. While she just reconnected with Alex, and he is at least eight years older, she decides it would be a good idea to encourage Lucy to have fun with him. Nothing serious, nothing romantic, maybe hook up, and despite Alex being a bit cold, mean in Lucy’s words, she decides to pursue him. At first, this doesn’t go well, since he picks up his phone when they try to hook up the first time. But, after Stephen makes her record that video? They have hot, degrading sex, which Alex is down for, so while Alex might be Mr. Right Now, it seems Bree can count this as a win.

Shouldn’t I Feel Guilty?: Diana, Pippa, Wrigley, Amanda, Bree

While both care about Wrigley, it is clear that Diana and Pippa are more focused on their joy, what they’ve been missing, than him. However, this doesn’t mean Pippa is being asked to pull the trigger and quickly switch over to being Diana’s boo. Lest we forget, Diana isn’t out, Pippa is out to her friends, but not to her family, so being impetuous about this isn’t good for either person. Yet, in public, there are still longing gazes, quick chats, and perhaps testing the waters to see how this could work when not behind closed doors.

Switching to Bree, while she does still lack hard evidence that Amanda and Oliver are seeing one another, with Amanda breaking up with her boyfriend, and mention of meeting the older man at a Christmas party, Bree seems to think she has enough. So, with that in mind, she texts a picture of herself and Amanda to Oliver to stir the pot. No clue till the next episode what his response might be.

Review and Commentary

Highlights

Evan Finding A Way To Make Peace With Stephen – For Now [81/100]

While Evan may not have much, including a personality, he does have access to wealth. So him using that wealth was a bold move when it comes to Stephen, and it being for his sister, it is one of those things which, in the short term, seems like a good idea. However, in the long term, we must not forget that Stephen doesn’t like owing people or being put at a disadvantage.

Also, unlike Lucy trying to use Macy to control Stephen’s actions, there are people outside of him and Evan who can say this happened. There will be a paper trail, and that adds to why this, at face value, seems like a good idea, but likely led to problems beyond one voice mail meant to blow up Evan’s wedding – even if just him being collateral damage.

Wrigley Calling Stephen Out, Cautiously, Regarding Him Liking Wrigley To Be His Punching Bag [84/100]

Not to make the two highlights about Stephen, but I like, and find it sad, how Wrigley and Evan seemingly can learn how to manage, confront, and somewhat control Stephen, while Lucy struggles. Granted, they are men, and Stephen lacks the skills to manipulate the men in his life as opposed to the women, and he knows he can’t fight if the men retaliate. But, there is something about Wrigley making it clear he knows the dynamics between him and Stephen, and presents the idea that he holds the ability to let Stephen use him to feel bigger when he wants, was a notable flex.

Also, take note, Wrigley has been seen and treated as the dumb one, academically and emotionally, by Stephen and other characters. Yet, he has the person who thinks the most highly of himself caught off guard. Sort of like Draco surprised Goyle could read in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Never mind, he technically gave Evan the playbook on how to handle Stephen, which he does with ease.

On The Fence

How Low Stephen Can Go [77/100]

When it comes to Stephen, the problem is that your interest in him is always about what he can do or will do rather than who he is. There is a push in this episode, through Sadie and his relationship with his mom, to show he is a monster, but he still has feelings. The problem is, there isn’t a balance here.

Lucy says, even with being broken up, she still loves Stephen. They tried but failed, and she has even tried to be friends, but that didn’t work. His response is all about her having sex with Evan and him wanting to ruin her. There isn’t much coming back from that. He may have never laid a hand on her, without consent, but this level of abuse doesn’t allow for him to be humanized because he cares about his sister.

Which, in some ways, I appreciate; they made a villain who doesn’t have the ability to be redeemed. Yet, it also works as a crutch for the actor. Stephen is still as dull as Evan, but unlike Evan, he has an interesting storyline and isn’t a remora of a character. But the performance? You hate what Stephen does, but the character himself could be played by anyone. There is nothing special about what Jackson White brings to the role.

But to be clear, it could very well be the same situation we had with Wrigley in the last season. It could be far less about the actor and their abilities and more about the writers not giving the type of material to allow the actor to showcase their talent.

Alex [76/100]

I don’t want Alex to become the new Leo. Yes, Alex has no plans to date Lucy, as of this episode, but as Pippa said, Lucy has an issue with being a serial monogamist who doesn’t seem to like, desire, and may not be capable at this point, of being single for long stretches of time. So, with that in mind, I hope Alex not only firms up his boundaries and makes it clear that he might not evolve beyond a friend with benefits, but also that his pessimism brings some realism to Lucy’s life.

Whether it is how much of college is temporary, how the relationships they have in school shouldn’t be given much stock, I need him to remove these rose colored glasses Lucy has made into contacts she never takes off. Then, on top of that, have us dive into him, as we did with Leo, so it’s not just about the lessons he could teach, which clearly get forgotten by the time Bree gets married, but also gives us a sense of who he is, and Bree, beyond initial impressions.

Overall

Our Overall Rating [79/100]

I always feel so torn when it comes to Tell Me Lies, and watching three episodes, albeit with days between episodes 1 and the other two, makes it so I know I could never binge-watch this. It’s all too frustrating how it ups the ante for the drama it can have, but doesn’t pursue or market much; other ways it can be seen as unique or notable.

For every time Stephen shows you an example of how abuse doesn’t require physical contact, we get a throwaway line about serial monogamy or a push to recognize college is a transitional period that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. While we get sex scenes with hot and degrading dirty talk, we speed past the intimacy of your first same sex partner outside of lustful, made-for-male-gaze content.

Oftentimes, I like to say something is a Trojan Horse, in terms of presenting the familiar in order to get people in, and then giving them something new, but Tell Me Lies is doing an unfortunate spin on that. It brings you the familiar, allows you to peek at what else it could offer, but then rushes past that and leaves you right where you started. With high drama, inconsistent substance, and signs that it could pursue something different, even better, but either those behind the show don’t want that, or assume its audience doesn’t.

What To Check Out Next

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.