This article contains spoilers.
This article contains topics which readers may find upsetting.
The pilot of Tell Me Lies immediately introduces us to what appears to be simple teenage angst. Lucy (Grace Van Patten), our protagonist, coldly cuts strings with her high school boyfriend before escaping her turbulent relationship with her mother and settling down in her freshman dorm at Baird College. Quickly acquainted with her roommate, Macy (Lily McInerny), and two girls from across the hall, Bree (Catherine Missal) and Pippa (Sonia Mena), Lucy begins to feel like her rocky, grief-stricken life at home can be left in the past. Until drama ensues.
Tell Me Lies is more than what meets the eye. Grief, death and abuse intertwine within the individual plots of its young female protagonists. The sudden death of Macy triggers a landslide of troubling events and revelations which redefines the girls’ freshman experience. Lucy, Bree and Pippa encapsulate dark pillars of adolescence and the approach to adulthood, including toxic relationships, childhood trauma and sexuality.
The first season of the show orbits around the mental downfall of Lucy as she struggles within a toxic, codependent relationship with Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White), who soon arises as an antagonist. The conniving, older law student exposes himself as a cheater and manipulator following his pursuit of the vulnerable Lucy. But is this the extent of his evil schemes? Clinging onto the frail arm of an 18-year-old, Stephen uses Lucy as a shield from the world around him, displaying narcissistic abuse so convincingly that viewers often struggle to believe White’s kind manner in Public Relations interviews.
Stephen truly gets under Lucy’s skin, confiding in her in his morbid secrets and ostracising her from her friends. In an internal battle, we see Lucy torn between the trust she has in her boyfriend and the warnings she is getting from her friends for the vast duration of the first season – a phenomenon we see repeating itself as we watch our female friends settle for their toxic exes again and again. Lucy seeks passion, desire and comfort. Someone to hold her. She is all of us. She is human. But, Tell Me Lies does not sugarcoat abuse. Stephen slowly crushes her in his grasp, aiming to shrink her, control her. As the show progresses, as their relationship ends and rekindles and extinguishes again, Lucy struggles to escape the threads he has sewn into her very skin. Tell Me Lies explores the reality of narcissistic abuse, and its devastating impacts on individuals’ mental health, especially young women – putting a dark twist on the coming-of-age stories we have always known.
Bree finds herself somewhat in the spotlight of the second season. She represents the vulnerability that many young women would hesitantly admit to feeling. Much like Lucy, she suffers the rippling effects of emotional abuse and also the inescapable impact of childhood trauma. She proves to the show’s audience that although a person may seem collected and soft-hearted on the outside, the battles they may have faced in their adolescence could still be lurking beneath. Additionally, what is so mundane and relatable about Bree is her masquerade. She, like many other young women, puts on a variety of masks to try and disguise who she really is, and where she comes from. Seemingly a free-spirited 18-year-old who likes taking photos for fun and simply wants to lose her virginity to the perfect guy, she becomes a symbol of resilience as she inspiringly fights against psychological abuse from a predatory professor (Tom Ellis). Her trajectory also interestingly captures the long-term effects of the corrupt American foster care system, showing how trauma can impact one’s adult romantic life. Tell Me Lies once again engages young women into the story not only through the captivating story but also by invoking immense empathy for the characters portrayed in that story.
The third and final season is still running, with new episodes releasing on Hulu and Disney+ every Tuesday. Pippa and her overlapping plot with Diana (Alicia Crowder) and Wrigley (Spencer House) are of major focus this time, along with topics such as sexual exploration, healing and infidelity. United by Diana’s consolation following her sexual assault, Pippa and Diana develop a heartfelt friendship in season two, which gradually opens a romantic door for them. Pippa is not exactly what she seems; she was bullied in school and wasn’t the notorious popular girl she claims to be. She also struggles with intimacy and pleasure with her stereotypical “jock” boyfriend, Wrigley, which she masks with phony orgasms and exaggerated “TMI” stories to her friends. Pippa sheds light on what it feels like to be the “other” – an alienated feeling experienced by many LGBTQ+ youths as they try to break out of the shackles of high school ecosystems. The show argues that accepting who you are and pursuing the love you desire can help you heal from damaging experiences. It inspires young people to remove the guises they put on as they enter the world of college, and be authentic to themselves.
To engross yourself into the spiraling of Lucy, the uprising of Bree and the transformation of Pippa, tune into Tell Me lies, streaming on Hulu and Disney+ now.
