Warning: SPOILERS for Tell Me Lies Season 1’s Finale – “The Bedrooms of Our Friends”Tell Me Lies on Hulu ends season 1 with Stephen (Jackson White) shocking Lucy (Grace Van Patten) at two different points in time. Based on the novel by Carola Lovering, executive produced by Emma Roberts, and created by Meaghan Oppenheimer, Tell Me Lies season 1 is mostly set in 2007-2008 during Lucy’s freshman year at Baird College in New York when Stephen is a junior. The season is bookended by Lucy and Stephen, who hadn’t seen each other in four years, attending the wedding of their friends, Bree (Catherine Missal) and Evan (Branden Cook) in 2015.
Lucy ends Tell Me Lies season 1 reeling from the fallout of the letter she anonymously wrote and sent to Baird College’s administration asking them to investigate Drew’s (Benjamin Wadsworth) involvement in her roommate Macy’s (Lily McInery) car accident death. Meanwhile, Stephen is distraught that his mother (Katy Sagal) financially cut him off next semester, and he feels he has limited options for a summer job that will position him to work in a law firm. Both Lucy and Stephen are also mired in their toxic relationship and their dueling power dynamics, with Lucy holding the fact that she is “protecting” Stephen because he was in the car when Macy died over his head, while Stephen keeps the real truth to himself. As the group of friends begins to fracture under the strain of all the lies Lucy and Stephen have been telling all semester, let’s unpack what happens in Tell Me Lies‘ season 1 finale.
The Truth About Macy’s Death And What Stephen Did
The first 18 minutes of Tell Me Lies‘ season 1 finale tells the whole truth about Macy and how she died: Stephen and Macy had been hooking up since the summer but pretended not to know each other because Stephen didn’t want his ex-girlfriend Diana (Alicia Crowder) to know he’s been seeing other girls. Macy went to a party alone (after Lucy refused to go) and called Stephen to join her. After getting high together, Stephen decided he was fit enough to drive Macy’s car back to the dorm. They got into an argument where Macy called out Stephen on his lies and accused him of being a bad person. At that moment, Stephen took his eyes off the road, Drew almost collided with them in his car, and Stephen crashed Macy’s car into a tree.
Macy was killed by the impact because the passenger side seatbelt wasn’t working. Stephen was miraculously fine but, in a despicable act of self-preservation, he placed Macy’s body in the driver’s seat and deleted himself from her Blackberry so no one could link them together. Stephen then walked home and left Macy to be found by the police. No one knows that Stephen was actually driving Macy’s car when he died, and Stephen allowed Drew to believe he was responsible instead of coming clean because he refuses to ruin his own life. It’s hard to dispute Macy’s assessment of Stephen before she died: He is a bad person who does the things a bad person would do.
All Of The Fallout From Lucy’s Letter About Drew Explained
Based on what Stephen told her, Lucy believes that Drew is solely responsible for Macy’s death, and she sent an anonymous letter to the Dean in order to “protect” Stephen (and gain some measure of leverage over Stephen in their relationship). Stephen told Drew that his older brother Wrigley (Spencer House) told his girlfriend Pippa (Sonia Mena) about the accident, and Drew believes Pippa wrote the letter. Stephen immediately realized (correctly) that Lucy sent the letter. But both Lucy and Stephen stood by while Pippa was accused, Wrigley fought Drew, and Wrigley fell off a balcony by accident. Because of Lucy’s lie, Wrigley injured his knee and he won’t quarterback the football team in his senior year.
Meanwhile, Wrigley also accused Pippa of writing the letter and refused to heed her belief that Stephen sent it. Wrigley broke up with Pippa, and she is now hated by the football team. Pippa is generally believed to be the one who sent the letter. Lucy then lied to another freshman that she and Stephen hooked up the night Macy died, again to “protect” Stephen from suspicion, but word got to Diana who then told Stephen about Lucy’s lie. Stephen went ballistic because the lie is easily disproven. However, Drew isn’t suspected of wrongdoing by the Dean, so all Lucy’s letter ended up doing was jeopardize Wrigley’s future and wreck his relationship with Pippa.
Why Stephen Really Left Lucy For Diana
Lucy was shocked and heartbroken when Stephen coldly left the end-of-semester Hawaiian party with Diana after he ghosted her. Diana “won” Stephen back because she actually does know him better than anyone. Diana is self-assured and ambitious, the opposite of Lucy, and she touched on all of Stephen’s insecurities as someone who wants to become rich and successful. Diana presented Stephen with the solutions to his problems that he wanted to hear: a summer living in NYC, interning at her father’s law firm, and the promise that he will get a high-paying job once he graduates so that he can extricate himself from his hated mother.
Diana also succinctly summed up Lucy as someone who isn’t “impressive,” isn’t driven to succeed like Stephen, and is clinging to him. Point of proof is Lucy gave up the summer trip to India she had planned so that she could stay home and be near Stephen. Diana and Stephen also say “I love you” to each other in a way that’s different from how Lucy and Stephen say “I love you,” although it’s no less possessive and manipulative. But Stephen really did want to be rid of Lucy and her hold over him, and returning to Diana is comfortable, and reassuring, and will get him the career advancement he craves.
Lucy And Evan Keep Hooked Up Behind Bree’s Back
Evan consoled Lucy after Stephen left her for Diana and the next morning they woke up in bed together even though Evan is dating Bree. Evan spent the semester disgusted with Stephen and their whole circle of friends, which boiled over at Evan’s lake house birthday party in Tell Me Lies episode 7. Evan also told Lucy earlier in Tell Me Lies season 1 that he was into her, which was a torch he held onto in spite of dating Bree. So Evan slept with Lucy on the rebound, which is a stain on his patina of trying to be a good guy in spite of his friends’ sordid lies.
Knowing that Lucy and Evan slept together changes how audiences can see their dynamic at Bree and Evan’s wedding in 2015. It makes sense now why Lucy oddly pulled Bree aside to remind her that “I’m happy for you.” Evan also has odd body language and behavior around Lucy. It’s quite possible Tell Me Lies season 2 could reveal that Lucy and Evan hooking up wasn’t a one-time thing, and it may have even continued into 2015 behind Bree’s back.
Stephen’s Surprise Engagement Explained
Tell Me Lies season 1’s ending had a big final surprise: In 2015, Stephen is engaged to Lydia (Natalee Linez), Lucy’s best friend from home. Lucy didn’t look surprised and was extremely uncomfortable, so it wasn’t a surprise to her as much as it was for the audience. In Tell Me Lies‘ season 1 finale, Lucy tried to convince Stephen to accept a summer job running the front desk at Lydia’s father’s country club, but he flatly refused because it would be “publicly humiliating” for him. But it’s possible he took the job anyway and met Lydia that way. If not, how Stephen met Lydia could be a major storyline for Tell Me Lies season 2, but with seven more years of story to cover, there are plenty of ways Stephen and Lucy’s tumultuous relationship can continue before he gets engaged to Lydia.
Tell Me Lies Season 1 is streaming on Hulu.