Tell Me Lies (2022-2026) finale: was a happy ending even possible?
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
This past Tuesday, Feb. 17, viewers sat down, excited, anxious, and if you’re like me, a little scared to watch the series finale of Tell Me Lies (2022-2026). I think we were all shocked when showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer posted to her Instagram, “After three amazing seasons of Tell Me Lies, tonight’s episode will be the series finale. This was always the ending my writing team and I had in mind, and we are insanely proud of it.”
Ever since this American drama television series first aired in September 2022, viewers have been kept in a chokehold of wonder at what ending could possibly be delivered to such a complicated group of characters. If you have not yet watched the show, I say save your sanity and do not watch it. In recommending this show, I would be subjecting you to a rollercoaster of emotions as you watch a friend group tumultuously unfold with each episode. However, if you have already watched the show, then like me, you may be at a loss for words wondering if you should be crying or celebrating at the end of this show. Everyone online is questioning: did this finale truly deliver the justice these characters deserve?
In assessing the feedback on the show’s finale, I think viewers realized that they cared about the complex characters of this show more than they thought. No matter the seemingly horrible and rash decisions these characters made, you must admit they kept you entertained and invested. While watching the show, you may have wanted to throw your remote at Stephen’s face. You may have cried when Pippa came out to Wrigley. You may have cheered out loud when Lucy got expelled (for the sake of her benefit or even yours). You may have hated every single character. Or maybe you were secretly in love with all of them. So even if you would never genuinely be friends with people like them, they did make you feel something. And if you’re like me, you were secretly praying that some form of a happy ending would come for them.
Many viewers were seriously upset and disappointed with the season's finale. People felt that it failed at giving any of the characters true peace, or that it was too rushed in tying up the severe tangles webbed throughout the show. Personally, I wouldn’t have expected anything less for the ending of one of television's most toxic shows. Speaking with TIME about the finale, Meaghan Oppenheimer stated, “I wanted the ending to be one that when you look back on it, you’re like, oh, of course, that’s what happened.” I think Stephen deserved much worse than was given to him, but I think his ending driving off into the sunset was the moment everyone was released from his power. When Jackson White, the actor who plays Stephen, spoke on this scene to TIME he said, “This group was nothing to him anymore, because he couldn’t get anything else out of them.” So, even if he didn’t end up in jail like most fans wanted, there is clarity in the fact that he has no more cards left to play and nothing left to hang over his friends’ heads.
Lucy’s ending is another one that fans are critiquing. People are having a hard time deciding if they feel bad for her or if they think she made this mess herself. Personally, even if she did not get the last word with Stephen, I think it was in her nature to follow her vulnerable and hopeful heart one last time. As Oppenheimer states, “All the lies came out, all the secrets came out, and she’s still alive. She’s ultimately going to be okay.” Truthfully, after all that Lucy has been through, I think this is all we can ask for her ending to the story.
In digesting the rest of this chaotic finale, my only opinion on Evan is that I feel slightly bad thinking about how mad his parents will be for spending so much money on such a beautiful wedding and cake only for it to all to be ruined by Stephen DeMarco. On a brighter note, can we take a moment of appreciation and applause for Pippa and Diana? I was in shock when the show first revealed these two together in the future, but I am not at all surprised to see that they were the only ones able to make it out happy, unbothered, and in love. Now let’s talk about what I personally find to be the saving grace of the finale and the whole show: Bree and Wrigley. If you ask me, Wrigley carried this show. He quickly became my favorite character as his big heart, kind intentions, and emotional intelligence greatly contrasted the people he surrounded himself with. I believe his relationship with Bree was one of the few real things of this show, and I personally found it both brave and refreshing that they turned their friends in. Honestly, if anything good came from Stephen’s blowup on the friend group, it was the knowing eye contact and smiles between Bree and Wrigley that have fans assuming these two can now run off into the sunset together (right after Evan stops screaming in Wrigley's face).
Overall, I believe this messy and unpredictable finale suited the entirety of this show. Even if you angrily turned off your TV after watching it, you can’t deny that the show and its characters have somehow captured your heart. For that reason, I assert that Oppenheimer did the cleverest thing she could in giving us an ending that was raw, honest, and completely imperfect.