Recap:
It’s back to the future in 2015 as Stephen (Jackson White) watches from a distance as Lucy (Grace Van Patten) has sex with Max (Edmund Donovan) in the pool. Max is blissfully unaware of what happened until he sees a text from Stephen to Lucy thanking her for the show. Max is less than happy to discover that Lucy is carrying on with Stephen via text. (Max, are you really shocked? You’ve been there for much of this drama, it shouldn’t be a surprise.) Lucy tries to tell Max that it was a joke and nothing serious, and Max wants to know what is wrong with Lucy. (Max, there is a lot wrong with Lucy, psychologists could write textbooks about Lucy.)
Now, it’s the morning of the wedding, and while Bree (Catherine Missal) is ignoring a call from an unknown number, (Gee, I wonder who that is? Hahahaha, It MUST be Oliver). Lucy is pacing the room trying to get her head in the game. When Bree offers to throw the bouquet at Pippa (Sonia Mena), Bree changes her mind and says she will throw it to Diana (Alicia Crowder). Pippa laughs and states that as long as Lucy isn’t throwing the bouquet at Diana, she is fine with whatever Bree does. Lucy is on edge after getting a text from Stephen to meet. In her room, Lucy waits and when Stephen knocks on the door, they immediately have sex.
Traveling back to 2008, Lucy is awake in bed with Stephen by her side. He tells her that he missed her, and Lucy is wondering why. Saying she has an exam in an hour, the two dress and get ready to go their separate ways. With Stephen gone, Lucy starts to reflect on what happened and starts to panic. Frantically calling Pippa with no answer, and the same result with Bree, Lucy is left to wonder what to do next.
Bree leaves class, and phones Oliver (Tom Ellis) immediately. She tells him that his wife, Marianne (Gabriella Pession) was wearing her earrings, and Oliver tells Bree to meet him at the condo in an hour. They need to talk.
Lucy arrives on Leo’s (Thomas Doherty) doorstep and when her former boyfriend answers the door, he is forced to listen to her apologize for not calling because she was worried he wouldn’t answer. Invited in, Leo listens as Lucy opens her soul and burdens this poor guy with her problems. (I’m pretty sure if Leo jumped out the window to avoid Lucy he would only suffer minor injury. Leo, you should jump.)
Crying, Lucy is attempting to get Leo back by telling him he is the best thing to happen to her, and that she is sorry about messing up their relationship. She admits that she is better with Leo. Leo is doubting whether Lucy would trust him, and while he admits that he misses her too, Leo wants to know what is up with Stephen. Is Lucy over Stephen. Lucy assures him that Stephen is not something hovering over her anymore. (Lucy you do remember what happened in your bedroom?) Lucy pulls out the clincher, and tells Leo that she loves him, and Leo says the same. (Run Leo, this is a major disaster about to descend on you.) Lucy and Leo have sex.
In Wrigley’s (Spencer House) room, Pippa tells him she is going out, and Pippa leaves to meet Diana. Diana asks Pippa if they are going to acknowledge what Lucy said about being raped by Chris. Pippa tries to defend her friend, but Diana wants to know how she could be okay with what Lucy did. Pippa wonders how Diana could be dating a psychopath like Stephen. The two friends bicker and argue and leave on bad terms.
Diana meets Drew (Benjamin Wadsworth) and thanks him for coming. In Wrigley’s room, Drew arrives, and the two brothers have an awkward reunion. Wrigley starts by apologizing for what happened, and while Drew is receptive, he still blames Wrigley for the awful year he experienced last year.
Wrigley gets emotional and explains why he told Pippa about what happened with Drew and Macy. According to Wrigley, he told Pippa because he was drowning on the inside about what to do to help his little brother. He didn’t tell Pippa because he wanted to make Drew’s life terrible, he did it looking for help. (Again, Spencer House brings some much need raw human emotion to this scene and makes Wrigley a multi-dimensional character.)
Drew says he didn’t think Wrigley cared. The older brother responds that he left tons of voicemails and Drew states they were always filled with stupid jokes. Wrigley tells his brother that he loves him. The tension melts and Wrigley invites his brother out for a drink. (I really hope this does not turn tragic. But I get the feeling that Drew is not meant to have a happy life, and that is going to ruin Wrigley.)
At the condo, Oliver explains that Marianne found the earrings in his pockets and asks Bree why she wanted Marianne to find the earrings. Bree explains that seeing him go back to his wife after they had sex at the Christmas party bothered her, and thought that if she found the earrings, Marianne could make the decision to leave him. Then Oliver and Bree could be together. Bree wants more from the relationship. (Bree this is not a normal relationship. You can’t have a regular normal healthy relationship with this man.)
Oliver apologizes to Bree, and she says he could leave his wife and make it better. Insisting that he is not going to leave the marriage, Oliver explains that he can’t do this relationship anymore because it’s not good for Bree. Heartbroken, Bree tries to appeal to Oliver, but he knows it’s for the best. (It was for the best to not have the relationship at all Oliver.) He even takes her key to the apartment. (Ouch, that must hurt.)
In the continued world of messed up relationships, Lucy is at Leo’s room, when her phone rings. It’s from Stephen, but she ignores the call. Stephen calls again, and Lucy tells Leo that she is leaving for her room.
Diana walks into Stephen packing his bags, and he tells her that they need to talk. He tells Diana that he wants to break up, and while Stephen is going through the motions of his story, Diana is anything but upset. She calls him out for his actions, and questions whether he feels anything at all. Diana tells him to stop pretending, and states that there is no emotion to him at all.
Wrigley and Drew are catching up through alcohol at the bar and having a great time. Drew wants to know how everyone is, and when Wrigley intimates that Stephen has been annoying him, Drew tells his brother how much Stephen was there for him last year. (Wrigley that is another clue as to how much you should not trust Stephen.)
Leo and Lucy are cruising through the bar, when Evan (Branden Cook) and Stephen enter. Stephen is shocked to see that Lucy and Leo are back together. Approaching the two, Stephen asks Lucy to talk to him alone for a second, and Lucy wants none of it. Evan intercedes and tries to get Stephen to leave without causing any trouble, which is a success. Stephen returns to Leo and Lucy and tells Leo that he had sex with Lucy this morning, and taunts Leo. You can guess what will happen next.
Leo slugs Stephen, (Finally someone hits this scumbag. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet.) Perched on top of the laid-out Stephen, Leo proceeds to pound on the slimy Stephen like Rocky Balboa did to the hanging meat carcasses. For every punch on Stephen’s face, Wrigley and Drew get drunker and start mixing pain meds with the alcohol. It takes two people to pull Leo off the unconscious Stephen.
Bree has yet to leave the apartment, and calls Oliver. She needs to talk to him in person and goes to his house. (Good god Oliver, you should not be meeting Bree at your house.) Bree tells him that she is fine and admits that he was right and desperately wants to keep their relationship going in some form. Oliver doesn’t want to keep hurting her, but Bree insists she is fine and the two then have sex in the bedroom. (Oh god, Oliver you are ruining your life and Bree’s.)
While Oliver is in the shower, Bree hears the house door open, and Marianne has no doubt returned. Bree gets dressed in a panic, and then Marianne walks in. Telling her professor that she is sorry, Marianne tells her not to worry and wonders where Oliver is. The two emerge from the bathroom, and Bree has no idea what is happening. Marianne tells them that she will let the two of them talk and leaves.
Oliver tells Bree that he and Marianne have an open marriage. This means that they allow each other to be with other people outside of their marriage. Bree is in shock and wonders if Marianne knew about their relationship. Oliver tells Bree that Marianne knew about their relationship from the beginning. Bree does not respond well to learning the truth about their relationship. Bree walks out and then is stopped by Marianne at the front door.
She tells Bree that she will get over this and will be fine. Bree wonders if Marianne enjoys this arrangement and doubts that she does. Marianne says that she knows more about Bree’s relationship than the young coed knows about their marriage. Before leaving, Marianne gives Bree back her earrings.
Lucy and Pippa are talking about what happened to Stephen, and while Pippa is excited to see that Stephen got beat up, she still feels bad. Bree walks in crying and tells her friends about what happened with Oliver.
Wrigley wakes up hungover and tries to wake Drew, but something is wrong. Panicking, Wrigley calls for help, while a busted-up Stephen is walking home.
Lucy is shocked to learn the truth about Oliver and Marianne. Pippa states that Bree smells like a middle-aged man, and Bree tells her that that is Oliver’s cologne. When Pippa’s phone rings she sees its Wrigley and takes the call outside. Lucy ignores a call from Stephen and tries to comfort Bree.
At Wrigley’s apartment, the whole group has gathered and learns what happened the previous night. Drew is dead. The painkillers that Wrigley gave him were time released and when Drew split them in half, they killed him. Wrigley is heartbroken, and while Lucy escapes into the kitchen Stephen joins her to comfort her guilty conscience. Lucy is feeling guilty over the letter she wrote last year, and while Lucy spirals into the vortex of self-pity, Stephen tries to assure her that it’s not her fault. (Actually Stephen, it most DEFINITELY is mostly Lucy’s fault.)
Lucy doesn’t want Wrigley to think it was his fault. She wants to tell Wrigley the truth, but Stephen tells her that she shouldn’t throw her life away. Before Lucy could own up to the truth, Stephen takes the blame and says he wrote the letter. Stephen explains in a convoluted self-centered way how he wrote the letter in hopes of trying to help Drew and explains that he never meant to hurt him and is so sorry for how it has caused so much damage.
Wrigley thanks Stephen for telling him, and the two friends embrace. Lucy comes to Stephen after, and he tells her that he loves her.
One week later, Diana is met by Pippa. She wants to know how Wrigley has been doing, and Pippa states that she doesn’t know how someone comes back from what happened. Diana wishes her friend a good Christmas, and Pippa reciprocates the same feeling. Laying on her bed, Pippa is listening to the message Wrigley left on her answering machine (Remember those) the night he and Drew were at the bar. (Wrigley sounds like he has such hope in his voice, and now he will never live down the death of Drew.)
Lucy arrives at Marianne’s office door to return her book and is greeted by her professor. Marianne says thank you and tells Lucy that moving forward it would be best if she wasn’t in any of her classes anymore. Leaving the office, Lucy meets Evan, and he wants to talk to her. Evan is wondering who the older guy that Bree has been seeing. Lucy says she’s not going to tell him who it was, but that the relationship is over. Lucy then tells Evan that the relationship really messed up Bree, and that everything is their fault. (Oh yeah, Lucy slept with Evan. My goodness, Lucy really is a hurricane of destruction to her friends.)
Diana is pleased to learn that she has a great shot at getting an early admission to Yale. On the phone, Diana is inquiring about her credit card when her father arrives to pick her up. The father and daughter certainly are on great terms and when her dad asks how Stephen took the breakup, she tells her dad that he will be alright, and that she had to make him think it was his idea. (OH MY GOD! Diana, you are quite possibly the best character on the show. I did not see this coming, and I am floored at how well Alicia Crowder played this role and suckered me into this story. Holy cow! Brilliance is on display in this scene. She lied about failing the LSAT. Of course she didn’t fail. It was all planned to get rid of Stephen. Wow! Diana is the queen.)
Evan gets an essay back from his professor, Oliver, and is complimented on his work. In the parking lot, Bree, Lucy, and Pippa smash Oliver’s car with bats to get revenge for his awful behavior.
As Stephen packs to leave, Evan wonders how serious his relationship with Lucy is. He says it was always serious, they just got interrupted. Evan is feeling guilty and inspired by how Stephen came ‘clean’ with Wrigley (Ha! Clean. Yeah right. Stephen is as dirty as a barroom bathroom floor.) and tells him that when he cheated on Bree it was with Lucy. Stephen is shocked by the confession and gets some air.
Outside he meets up with Lydia (Natalie Linez). She’s there to help her brother pack up, and then apologizes for ever hating Stephen. Lydia states that she could never trust Lucy and wishes Stephen a happy holiday. Back in the apartment, Evan wants to know if Stephen is going to forgive him. Stephen tells his friend that everything is good and says let’s keep it between them. When Evan asks if he is going to tell Bree and try to ruin his life, Stephen tells him jokingly, not today. (Oh Evan, Stephen is totally going to try and ruin your life.)
Back in 2015, Stephen and Lucy are getting dressed from their horizontal rendezvous and it’s time for the wedding of Bree and Evan.
With the ceremony about to begin, Lucy takes her seat as Evan stands with his groomsmen. Max smiles at Lucy from across the room, and Wrigley talks to Lucy and tells her while watching Pippa and Diana being together that it’s time for him to get over Pippa. Lucy wonders where Stephen is, and he nor Evan can find him.
In the back Lucy sees Bree in her wedding dress and tells her how beautiful she looks. Bree goes to look in the mirror when a text from Stephen pops up on her phone. The text has an audio file and Bree plays the recording. Moments before her wedding, Bree hears Evan admitting to cheating on her with Lucy during their first summer of college. (Stephen DeMarco is a HORRIBLE person.)
Lucy returns to Bree’s side and asks if she is ready for the wedding.
Review:
Bombshells were exploding throughout the episode. Diana’s work at ridding herself of a pathetic horrible person like Stephen is months long in effort and pays off beautifully. Alicia Crowder was spectacular, and I am in awe of how well they played this scheme and never let the audience know what was happening until the very end.
Spencer House’s Wrigley is doomed to the worst life possible. His jock character is a good guy with some bad character traits who is easily manipulated by his supposed friends. House has brought a great arc to life in the show for Wrigley and I really like where they are bringing Wrigley in the story line.
Lucy and Stephen are horrible people who cannot be trusted and should be cast out of their friendship pools. They are so self-absorbed that they will hurt their best friends if they need to, without even thinking about the harm it will cause. For this to work on screen, you need talented actors, and Grace Van Patten and Jackson White continue to bring heat and fire to their roles. They aren’t heroic in any way, but they are fun to watch as they destroy their lives and everyone else.
Season 3 is a guarantee. I wonder how long it will take until Tell Me Lies is renewed. Only a matter of weeks is my guess.