Tell Me Lies Recap: Most Unhinged Moments From Season 2 Premiere

The Tell Me Lies explosive second season premiere has everything fans asked for: chaos, toxicity and the continued messiness of Stephen and Lucy.

Hulu dropped the first two episodes of season 2 on Wednesday, September 4, and the show jumped right back into drama. As Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White) prepared for their return to college after a messy split, it became glaringly obvious to viewers that neither were over their relationship. Lucy, pretending she was fine, seemed more bothered than ever by Stephen’s continued f–kboy behavior.

The fictional former couple’s on-campus reunion was awkward, to say the least. How will this play out as the season continues? Only time will tell.

Tell Me Lies season 2 is a continuation of the world written by Carola Lovering in her book of the same name. The Hulu show’s first season ended in November 2022 with a jaw-dropping finale, revealing that Lucy’s childhood best friend Lydia (Natalee Linez) was engaged to Stephen.

The second season picks up in the present day with scenes that hint there are major secrets at play. Lydia even alludes to Lucy being the one at fault for their falling-out. However, most of the story is told through constant flashbacks that give Us secondhand embarrassment thinking about our own college days.

Keep scrolling for a break down of the most unhinged moments from the Tell Me Lies two-episode season 2 premiere:

What Caused Lydia to End Her Friendship With Lucy?

The present-day timeline features a tense scene between Lucy and Lydia where they refuse to discuss the elephant in the room. While Lucy tries to keep it together after seeing Stephen — whom she appears to somehow still have feelings for — Lydia interrupts and things seem to be awkward but courteous.

Lydia, however, changes the energy in the room when she reminds Lucy that she will never forgive her for something. What is that something? Us has some ideas.

Lucy and Stephen’s Passive Aggressive Reunion(s)

There’s nothing worse than seeing your ex whilst in the denial phase of a breakup — especially when those run-ins keep happening. Lucy’s attempt to show how much she’s thriving doesn’t work because Stephen makes sure to dig into her emotional wounds. Lucy gets some revenge by smashing his new iPhone (what a sign of the times), which only motivates Stephen to remain a fixture in her life, but more on that later.

The most ridiculous moment between the two comes when Stephen sits with Lucy and her new crush, Leo (Thomas Doherty), just to point out how much he hurt her. How those two will go from enemies to lovers remains unclear, but Us wouldn’t expect anything less.

Stephen’s Embarrassing Speech

It would be remiss of Us to not break out Stephen’s asinine speech at the aforementioned lunch date between Lucy and Leo. Very obviously ignoring the fact that he’s not wanted, Stephen sits down to admit he’s been thinking about Lucy “a lot lately” and wanted to offer an apology.

“I embarrassed you, like, over and over and over again, and you kept forgiving me no matter what. I’m sure that made you feel terrible about yourself,” he declares. “That probably eroded any sense of dignity you had. That’s my fault and I own that.”

Like, be so for real.

The Illicit Affair

Tell Me Lies is giving Pretty Little Liars couple Ezra and Aria a run for their money with Bree’s (Catherine Missal) hidden romance with a professor named Oliver (Tom Ellis).

Initially, the two meet while sharing a cigarette at a party hosted by Oliver’s wife, Marianne (Gabriella Pession). Sparks start to fly as they continue to run into each other after hours at an off-campus bar. Bree admittedly went looking for Oliver to feel something, and they end up hooking up in his office.

Pippa and Diana’s Surprising Romance

While viewers were distracted by exes Pippa (Sonia Mena) and Wrigley (Spencer House) crossing paths in the present-day timeline, Tell Me Lies laid the groundwork for an epic reveal. Pippa hints that she had someone in her life who wasn’t that serious only to go home and reunite with Diana (Alicia Crowder).

That seems pretty serious to Us!

Lydia’s Brother Chris Being the Absolute Worst

As soon as Lydia introduced her brother, Chris (Jacob Rodriguez), it was obvious that fans needed to keep an eye on him. Chris initially came off as a nice guy who was adjusting to life as a college freshman. However, his constant interaction with Lucy and her friends led to a sticky situation with Pippa.

A very inebriated — and presumably passed-out — Pippa is discovered after it seemed someone locked her in a room. It appears that Chris isn’t as nice as he looks when it’s revealed that she was in his bedroom. It seems quite obvious what Chris planned to do, which makes Us think the story line might be what leads to Lucy and Lydia’s falling-out.

Stephen Makes (Another) Insane Decision

Stephen lingers while leaving one of his lecture halls one day to discover that Lucy is in the class after him. Naturally, a plan starts to form, and Stephen asks the professor to become a teacher’s assistant for that class section. While it’s unclear what will go down next, it can’t be good!

New episodes of Tell Me Lies premiere via Hulu on Wednesdays.