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The basic premise of Meaghan Oppenheimer’s series, Tell Me Lies, deals with a bunch of college-goers who lie to themselves as well as to those around them because they are still stuck in their high school phase.
IMDb’s synopsis of Tell Me Lies, which is based on Carola Lovering’s book of the same name, is as brief and to-the-point as any synopsis can get. It reads:
"The story of a young woman’s obsession with a man who is good at being charming."
The young woman referred to here is Grace Van Patten’s Lucy Albright and the charming man is Jackson White’s Stephen DeMarco. The first three episodes of the series premiered on Hulu on Wednesday, September 7.
While the series has some interesting moments to offer, there is little else to look out for in Tell Me Lies, which features Grace Van Patten as Lucy Albright, Jackson White as Stephen DeMarco, Catherine Missal as Bree, Spencer House as Wrigley, Sonia Mena as Pippa, Branden Cook as Evan, Benjamin Wadsworth as Drew, and Alicia Crowder as Diana.
Read on for a detailed review of Tell Me Lies.
A review of the first three episodes of Tell Me Lies: Starts with the typical and graduates into the not-so-typical
Brief overview of the plot so far
The series begins with Lucy Albright waking up dreaming about another man - later found to be Stephen - while in bed with a different man. We see flashbacks of the guy from her dreams, and get the idea that they were together, and that she is clearly not over him.
Stephen's topic surfaces next when Lucy is seen getting ready for the engagement of her friends, Bree and Evan. The conversation and lack of eye contact in the scene hints at an uncomfortable situation that could have gone down between Lucy and Stephen in the past. When Stephen ends up at the engagement party too, Lucy turns to meet his eyes.
The scene then jumps back by eight years, where Lucy is seen breaking up with her boyfriend on the day she leaves for college, prompting her sister to declare that she is not a “feelings girl.”
Lucy eventually lands at Baird College where she befriends Pippa, Bree, and Macy (also her roommate). On her first night, when she meets Stephen, it beomes evident that the two are attracted to each other.
However, it seems that Lucy is not the only one in the scene. While Stephen is not officially together with his ex-girlfriend Diana, the two continue to have their episodes of intimacy.
Issues that underlie the show
There have been numerous instances in the first three episodes that made Tell Me Lies an uncomfortable yet intriguing watch. Flawed characters make up for the best props in successful content, but it remains unclear whether Stephen has been clarified despite his utterly problematic character.
Stephen’s character, like any other male protagonist from a teenage/romantic adult drama, is suspicious, of lesser words, and frighteningly charming. Actor Jackson White is able to pull off Stephen with his one-look-says-it-all expression. At times, however, it feels like Tell Me Lies is all about how dark Stephen's character can get.
The only difference between Stephen and other protagonists from other dramas is that the former is heavily toxic, and performs as per his vested interests. We get to know that he has family issues: his father left him when he was young, with them being evicted from their house, and growing up with no money.
He is also patronizing, and blames everything on his partners (here, Lucy and Diana) and those around him.
For instance, if Diana is reluctant to get back with Stephen because of the legitimate reason that he cheated on her a year ago, rather than being apologetic about it and trying to be better, Stephen blames Diana for clinging on to her past. He is the one who gets to say, “I give up.”
The placement of scenes in Tell Me Lies is a persistent issue since it has given rise to numerous questions: Why does this feel like a validation for everything he is doing? Was it a conscious choice for the makers (as well as the author) to portray Stephen the way they have?
We can only hope that the upcoming episodes of Tell Me Lies will be able to build a sob story strong enough to help viewers empathize with someone like Stephen.
However, those around Stephen are flawed as well. So far, the series does not seem to root for its characters. It’s not bothered if the characters are likable. It just provides a palette of individuals from various backgrounds and how they navigate life.
Lucy, for instance, sticks out like a sore thumb since she lacks (or suppresses) the socially required amount of emotional quotient. This stands true for Stephen as well. What happens when two cold-hearted people cross paths with each other seems to be the direction that Tell Me Lies is heading towards.
Despite its problems, Tell Me Lies comes with its own set of redeeming qualities
Lucy’s characterization in Tell Me Lies, to begin with, is more human than any protagonist from any teenage/adult drama can ever be. Lucy is a polar opposite to Lola Tung and Lana Condor’s characters from the shows The Summer I Turned Pretty and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, respectively.
Lucy is believed to be flawed because of her cold nature. She is quick to shrug-off conversations that are remotely uncomfortable. Her lack of empathy might be pinching viewers, but it is directed towards a past/childhood that has drained her of her emotional faculties.
While this is definitely a cliché, it's not every day that the leading woman of the show/film is depicted as flawed. One of Lucy’s biggest concerns is that people don’t think that she is nice anymore. This is the last thing that Tung or Condor’s characters had on their minds, because they were angels in their stories. But Lucy does not fit that definition.
One might wonder why three episodes in, Diana and Lucy still haven’t figured out that they are being lied to by the same guy despite staying on the same campus and having common friend circles.
But the show has an explanation. In the first three episodes, the story has not just revolved around Lucy, Stephen, and Diana. It’s also branching out to create independent storylines for its supporting characters.
For instance, a great addition was the revelation of Stephen’s friend Wrigley’s learning disability, and his reluctance to share the same with people he calls his friends. Besides that, there is also Bree’s mental health issues and a reference to Pippa changing schools in her senior year. The romantic angle between Bree and Evan, as well as the results of Drew’s actions also remain to be explored.
Even though certain questions are still unanswered, the end of the third episode was interesting enough to hook viewers to the show.
The first three episodes of Tell Me Lies are currently streaming on Hulu.
