If you’re a girlie who desperately needs therapy and enjoys dark, twisted dramas with psychotic male villains, I’m guessing you’ve seen Tell Me Lies. Perhaps you’ve even binged the first season multiple times like I have. The Hulu show, which is based on Carola Lovering’s 2018 novel of the same name, follows college students Stephen and Lucy as they navigate a toxic relationship over the course of eight years. There’s crime, endless lying, manipulation, cheating, emotional abuse, co-dependency… you name it. If it’s unhealthy, it’s probably in the show.

The Hulu gods made us wait nearly two years for a season 2. I was just an infant in college when I watched season 1, and now, I’m a whole grown-up, working woman. The first installment of season 2 is now available to stream on Hulu! I cannot wait to watch all the new episodes in one sitting. But before we go do that, let’s refresh our memories — here’s a detailed Tell Me Lies season 1 finale recap.

*The finale episode switches between three different time periods: Lucy’s first week of college in 2007, the end of her freshman year in 2008, and the 2015 wedding where she reunites with everyone.

‘Tell Me Lies’ Season 1 Finale Recap

How Was Stephen Involved In Macy’s Death?

Image Credit: Hulu

In the last episode, we finally see all the events that led up to Macy’s death. And yes, Stephen is very responsible. He meets her during the first week of school (by randomly wandering into her room??) and hooks up with her. He gives Macy a bunch of bullshit about how he’s not ready to be in a relationship, and when she agrees to be casual, he says, “Fuck, you’re so much cooler than most girls.” I cannot. Stephen invites her to a frat party, but at the party, she spots Stephen flirting with Lucy and gets upset.

When Macy’s invited to another frat party, she sees it as an opportunity to keep pursuing Stephen. She tries to convince Lucy to come with her. “I have my car,” Macy tells her roomie. “I’ll be the boring designated driver. Don’t make me go alone!” Lucy gets annoyed and rudely accuses Macy of “pressuring” her… a moment she later regrets.

Of course, Macy meets up with Stephen at the party. He asks her to drive him home, but she says, “Wait, I feel like I’m more fucked up than I realized. I’m not sure I should drive.” She suggests they go find someone at the party who’s sober or call the school shuttle. But Stephen’s concerned about being seen with her, so he says he’ll drive even though he’s super drunk.

During the ride, they bicker about Macy wanting to date and Stephen wanting to be casual, and he takes his eyes off the road to look over at her. That’s when they crash into another car and Macy dies. Stephen is somehow totally fine after the accident, but he panics, quickly moves Macy into the driver’s seat, and then walks away from the car. A pretty insane choice.

Why Does Stephen Leave The Hawaiian Party With Diana?

Image Credit: Hulu

There’s growing tension between Lucy and Stephen ahead of the Hawaiian party. Stephen finds out that Lucy made up an alibi for him for the night of Macy’s death, and he is not happy about that. She told people that she and Stephen were together that night. He freaks the fuck out and yells at her: “You keep making impulsive decisions and you’re making everything worse.” Lucy points out that she keeps just trying to help him, but his “ego” gets in the way. (Earlier in the episode, she offers to hook him up with a front desk job at her childhood friend Lydia’s dad’s country club, and he gets offended.)

“I am constantly trying to make you feel bigger,” Lucy says to Stephen, who replies, “It’s not ego, Lucy. It’s fucking ambition. Not that I would expect you to understand. You basically canceled your entire summer so you could sit at home and wait for me to fuck you.” There’s that signature toxicity! Then, she reminds him that he’s lucky she’s keeping his Macy secret for him, and he further manipulates her into keeping quiet.

At the Hawaiian party, Stephen’s ex, Diana, makes him feel bad about his life and offers to fix it. “Did you imagine this is where you’d be senior year?” she asks him. “In a relationship with a teenager whose greatest ambition is hanging out with you 24/7?” Mind you, she’s two years older than Lucy. For some unknown reason, she invites Stephen to work at her dad’s fancy law firm and says she’ll help him because she “loves” him. SMH.

Clearly, that’s enough for Stephen. He leaves the party with her hand in hand, totally ditching Lucy. Lucy sees them together and starts crying. Evan comforts her, they drink together, and they sleep together. Messy, messy, messy.

Did Drew Die?

Image Credit: Hulu

Drew loses his shit throughout the season, because he’s the one who was driving the car that crashed into Stephen and Macy, and Stephen makes him believe that the accident and Macy’s death was entirely his fault. Because Stephen told Lucy a creative version of what happened that night, Lucy thinks Drew is responsible, and she writes an anonymous letter about him to the Dean. Even though the Dean doesn’t end up accusing Drew of any wrongdoing, he is more and more visibly depressed and struggling as time goes on.

At the 2015 wedding, Drew’s brother, Wrigley, is obviously high. When Lucy makes a comment to Evan about it, he replies, “It was his brother’s birthday yesterday, so, maybe take it easy on him.” By the end of the finale, we don’t know what happened for sure, but this made me wonder if Drew took his own life.

Who Is Stephen Engaged To At The End?

We get some truly wild information at the 2015 wedding: Stephen is engaged to Lydia, as in Lucy’s best friend from home. He tells Lucy at the wedding, “She’s really excited to see you.” Uh, yeah, I would hope so. Lucy and Lydia have a very awkward hug… and that’s the end of the season. How the fuck did this happen? I’m guessing season two will be enlightening. It’s possible that Stephen wound up taking that front desk job at Lydia’s dad’s country club, and he and Lydia hit it off. That kindness backfiring would be crazy.

I am sat for season two.