Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Tell Me Lies season 3, episode 7!Tell Me Lies has ushered in a major, game-changing development.
Series creator Meaghan Oppenheimer reveals the cynical reason why Stephen gives Lucy the tape in Tell Me Lies season 3, episode 7. Stephen has been holding onto the blackmail tape for quite some time, with Lucy begging for him to give it back to her. After she becomes powerfully emotional in front of him, he relents, handing it over.
According to Oppenheimer, though, this event in Tell Me Lies season 3 is not a form of love. Speaking with Decider, the showrunner explained how she sees the moment as Stephen no longer having fun tormenting her because of how she reacts. She calls her viewpoint “cynical” but accurate to how the scene was meant to play out:
My answer is very cynical. I think some people might want to think it’s because he loves her or has empathy. I think he’s just so disgusted by seeing her like this and seeing her grovel that it’s no longer fun. There’s no shame anymore. She’s giving up and she’s saying, ‘Just release it,’ and it’s taken the fun away from him. I think that’s where his head is at. That’s how his psyche works.
Series star Jackson White, who plays Stephen, explained his viewpoint on the moment as well. The actor said that, when his character “wins the game,” there’s no longer anything about it that makes it “fun.” His decision to give Lucy the tape wasn’t a sign of defeat, but one last act of decisive victory:
It’s a pattern with him. When he wins the game he doesn’t have any fun anymore. And any time Lucy truly loses the thread, he gets bored. He surrenders. Maybe that’s his humanity, but he’s also over it. So I don’t know how unexpected that is. I think it’s more like, ‘Of course he resigns, because he already won.’
The tape is just one of many dramatic moments for Tell Me Lies‘ characters across season 3, episode 7. Evan and Pippa have decided to break up with their respective partners to pursue a real romantic relationship, just as Bree realizes Lucy slept with Evan during their Hawaiian party. However, the tape is the biggest development of the episode by far.
While Lucy was able to secure the tape, thus protecting herself in the process, she ran into Tegan, warning her not to trust Stephen. It’s quickly revealed Lucy has already said this to her, a twist that confirms her memory has been faulty due to the level of stress she’s been under. This calls into question what her possession of the tape actually means moving forward.
It’s possible her worries about the tape aren’t over. With one episode left in Tell Me Lies season 3, Lucy’s possession of the tape might not make her as safe as she thinks. Stephen could have an alternate plan for if she got hold of it, such as copies or a method of secretly releasing it for the world to see.
For now, it seems like Tell Me Lies will continue to build pressure for Lucy. Although she’s seemingly reached a breaking point, the series appears poised to push her even further in the season’s final episode. Even though she has possession of the tape, there’s a strong chance things will go wrong as its involvement in her life progresses.
Tell Me Lies season 3, episode 8 arrives Tuesday, February 17 on Hulu.
- Release Date
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September 7, 2022
- Network
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Hulu
- Showrunner
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Meaghan Oppenheimer
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Grace Van Patten
Lucy Albright
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Jackson White
Stephen DeMarco
