Tell Me Lies (2022) is a romance drama series based on the novel by Carola Lovering. It tells the story of a coming-of-age toxic love between Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White) during their college days.
Streaming on Hulu
Tell Me Lies - Episode 1 Summary & Recap
The beginning
The series begins with Lucy dreaming about making out with her ex, Stephen. But when she wakes up, she realizes he’s not there. There is another man instead. Lucy then heads to her friend, Bree’s engagement party. Before the party begins, Lucy, Bree and their other friend Pippa gather in Bree’s room. Bree mentions that Stephen will be there. Once the party starts, Wrigley, their friend who appeared high, knocks into a waiter. Then, Lucy catches sight of Stephen.
8 years before, Lucy was heading to college. On the day she left, she broke up with her boyfriend Parker who was disturbed by Lucy’s lack of emotion. Lucy’s mom, CJ then drove Lucy to college. During the drive, CJ noted that Lucy had changed and that her father would have been disappointed to see Lucy that way. This annoyed Lucy.
In college dorm, Lucy met her roommate Macy and her friends, Pippa and Bree. The four girls got along very quickly. Pippa was dating Wrigley who was in the college football team and when Pippa introduced Wrigley to the girls, Lucy noticed Stephen among Wrigley’s friends.
Party
That night, the four girls went to Wrigley’s party where Wrigley introduced them to his freshman brother, Drew. Drew and Bree quickly got close while Lucy bumped into a girl, Diana who was at the party just to spy on her ex. Diana warned Lucy to be careful of Wrigley. After that, Stephen approached Lucy when Lucy was on the way back to her friends. He complimented and flirted with her, but Lucy soon had to leave. That night, Lucy also found out that Stephen and Macy were from the same middle school.
The next morning, Macy wanted to tell Lucy something, but she did not get the opportunity when Lucy’s phone rang. Stephen got Lucy’s number from Pippa and Wrigley and called Lucy to ask her on a dinner date. Lucy asked to play things by ear. Meanwhile, Drew and Bree’s relationship has progressed as they shared a kiss on campus. While the rest of the girls cheer the new couple on, Lucy’s mum CJ left her a voice note and guilt her by mentioning Lucy’s dad again. Angry, Lucy headed back to her room. When Macy asked Lucy to accompany her to a party that night, Lucy refused.
To Lucy’s horror, Macy got into a car accident that night and passed away. Macy was apparently drunk and crashed.
Attraction
After the college’s tribute to Macy for her passing, Bree and Pippa consoled Lucy, and Lucy tried to act tough. They attended another party where Lucy ended up puking in the yard. Stephen saw Lucy in the condition and brought her back home. He accompanied Lucy that night. In the morning, Lucy opened up to Stephen that her mother did something she could not forgive. Stephen too shared about his childhood to make Lucy feel better. Both Lucy and Stephen were attracted to each other and they eventually started making out. However, Lucy stopped Stephen from going any further. Stephen was respectful and asked Lucy to rest well.
When Stephen headed back, Diana was waiting for him. Turns out Diana and Stephen were ex-lovers who were together for two years. Diana broke things up when Stephen cheated on her during a drunken night. Stephen told Diana that he wanted to work things out and that he did not feel the same way about anyone else. The two of them made out and was bout to have sex. But similarly to Lucy, Diana stopped Stephen. It was unclear where Stephen stands with his ex and with Lucy. Nevertheless, he went on that dinner date with Lucy few days later.
It was also revealed that Drew was somehow related to Macy’s death. Drew told Stephen and Wrigley about it. Although the details were not disclosed, Stephen seemed concerned about it after.
Additional Observations From Episode 1
- Before going to the party, Lucy admitted to Macy, Bree and Pippa that she dated Parker only because all her friends had boyfriends.
- Lucy plans to go to India in the summer.
- Lucy said she calls her mom by her name CJ because CJ was a horrible mother.
- Stephen’s father left him when he was six.