The third season of Tell Me Lies has arrived, and it wastes no time plunging viewers back into the intense and messy world of Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco. The story picks up with the consequences of last season’s explosive finale, where Stephen sent a damaging recording to Bree just before her wedding. This season escalates the psychological warfare between its central couple, culminating in one of the show’s most difficult scenes to watch: Stephen forcing Lucy to confess her darkest secret on video.
In the third episode, titled “Repent,” Stephen’s manipulation reaches a new peak. After discovering Lucy slept with his friend Evan years ago, he uses the information as leverage. He threatens to tell Lucy’s best friend, Bree, who was dating Evan at the time. To prevent this, Stephen blackmails Lucy into creating a piece of evidence he can hold over her forever: a video confession.
Inside the Making of the Infamous Videotape Scene
For the actors, filming this pivotal moment was a demanding experience. Grace Van Patten, who plays Lucy, described the shoot as “a really intense scene” that took a full day to complete. The sequence was a lengthy, 10-page scene involving complex movement within a small space, requiring multiple takes to perfect.
Jackson White, who portrays the manipulative Stephen, has spoken openly about the challenges of playing such a toxic character. He revealed that he has had to walk off set at times due to the sheer discomfort of saying Stephen’s lines and performing his actions. “I want to take him off like a skin suit,” White said about disconnecting from the role after filming.
“You were fucking awful,” Van Patten told her co-star and real-life partner Jackson White during an interview about the scene. White’s response was, “Yeah, thank you. I know. I hate him.”
The scene shows Stephen directing Lucy’s confession with cold precision, making her start over repeatedly until he gets the delivery he wants. This relentless filming process was a key part of the narrative, designed to show Lucy breaking down under pressure and becoming a “caged animal” with no immediate escape.
The Storyline That Divided Fans and Writers
The videotape confession is the continuation of a storyline that began in Season 2, one that creator Meaghan Oppenheimer once thought might “get her canceled”. In the earlier season, Lucy’s friend Pippa was sexually assaulted. When Pippa refused to come forward, Lucy made a false public claim that she was also a victim, hoping to ensure the perpetrator faced consequences.
This plot point sparked debate among the show’s writers and viewers. Oppenheimer noted that any storyline causing arguments in the writers’ room is one she tends to pursue. She also observed that audiences are often harder on female characters like Lucy, feeling she needed to be punished for her lie.
“Audiences are just harder on female characters. That has become very obvious to me while writing the show,” Oppenheimer told Vanity Fair. She addressed viewer reactions to Lucy’s punishment this season, stating, “It was about getting her to a place where she was a caged animal.”
Oppenheimer emphasized that the writers were careful to ensure Lucy’s original lie was portrayed as a misguided attempt to protect her friend, not an attention-seeking move. The intention was to present it as a “unique and specific situation” rather than a general statement about false allegations.
How the Confession Tape Defines Lucy’s Downward Spiral
The impact of the videotaped confession immediately shapes Lucy’s behavior and self-perception. After fleeing from Stephen, she seeks out a sexual encounter with a new character, a drug dealer named Alex. In a stark and revealing moment, she asks him to call her “fucking pathetic” during sex.
This intercutting between the sex scene and the video confession was a late creative decision. One of the show’s writers, Mona Mira, suggested merging the two sequences. Oppenheimer called this idea “fucking brilliant,” explaining that it visually connects Lucy’s internal shame with her actions.
Oppenheimer explained Lucy’s state of mind: “She’s in such a shame spiral that she believes this is what she deserves.” She added that Lucy has learned to “conflate chemistry with toxicity” through her relationship with Stephen, creating a damaging pattern.
The creator described Season 3 as a “hostage situation,” contrasting it with the “twisted love story” of Season 1 and the “war story” of Season 2. This season, Lucy lacks the ability to walk away because Stephen holds concrete leverage over her.
New Alliances and Surprises in Season 3
While Lucy and Stephen’s toxic dynamic takes center stage, other characters are navigating their own complex paths. The season explores a budding connection between Bree and Wrigley, two characters Oppenheimer describes as “the purest people on the show”. After enduring traumatic experiences, they find a source of joy and understanding in each other.
The 2015 wedding timeline also moves forward in unexpected ways. Despite the voicemail scandal, Bree and Evan proceed with their marriage. However, Oppenheimer teases that the real drama at the wedding isn’t about the vows themselves, promising surprises about why these two characters ultimately choose each other.
Diana, Stephen’s ex-girlfriend, faces a shocking new challenge with a positive pregnancy test. This development is designed to pull the character, who has tried to move on from Stephen, back into his destructive orbit through a situation she cannot control.
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Where to Watch and What Comes Next
The first three episodes of Tell Me Lies Season 3 are available to stream now on Hulu. New episodes are released weekly. For viewers in Canada, the series is available on Disney+.
For fans concerned that the entire season will maintain the dark intensity of the premiere, Oppenheimer offers some reassurance. “Not all of the season is this dark,” she said. “Definitely buckle up, but there is a lot of laughter and romance and a lot of joy along with more of this carnage”.
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