Tell Me Lies Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Do Your Dirty Words Come Out To Play?

Tension, truths, and heartbreak are central themes on Tell Me Lies Season 2 Episode 6, “Do Your Dirty Words Come Out To Play.”

The episode begins in 2015 when Pippa finally takes a leap of faith and brings Diana as her date to Bree and Evan’s engagement dinner. Understandably, this shocks everyone, given no one has heard from Diana in years.

Despite the initial surprise, Lucy and Bree manage to set aside their complicated history with Diana and support the couple. This is unexpected given the usual drama between these characters, particularly Lucy and Diana’s relationship due to their shared and very messy past with Stephen.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a proper episode if Stephen didn’t make absolutely everything about himself. Seeing Diana and Lucy get along bruises his ego, so he takes digs at them during his best man speech.

He claims he never thought he’d find someone who made him want to be the best version of himself, but Bree and Evan prove that finding the right person takes time and effort.

Frankly, it’s hard to believe there’s a “better” version of Stephen. I don’t buy it, so one has to assume Lucy and Diana are thinking, “We’ll believe it when we see it.”

If you need more proof that Stephen hasn’t changed, the episode offers plenty.

Flashback to November 2008, when most students were heading home for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, but also fortunately for some, the snowstorm prevented most from going home.

The perfect couple, Lucy and Leo, are happy to spend their holidays without their family because they both have repressed anger toward their parents.

It’s known that Lucy resents her mom’s boyfriend, who was with her mother when her dad died. Leo, on the other hand, doesn’t open up about why he doesn’t like his family, although, with the way he acts, one could assume it has something to do with a history of abuse. But only time will tell.

Originally planning to eat junk food in their dorm with Pippa and Bree, they accept an invite to Wrigley and Evan’s Friendsgiving.

Wrigley promises that Stephen won’t be there, but if we’re being honest, what would the show be if Stephen didn’t crash every party Lucy goes to? It is obvious that he and Diana are going to show up.

Their arrival kills the festive mood, which isn’t surprising considering Stephen has ruined lives, gotten back with his ex, and continues to harass Lucy. Yet another way Stephen proves he’s a bad person.

But if that wasn’t bad enough, let’s add interrogations about past relationships into the mix, too. Why wouldn’t Stephen make himself feel better by bringing up Leo’s ex-girlfriend to Lucy just to get in her head?

In hopes of lifting everyone’s spirit, the group decides to play a game of slap shots, which Wrigley beautifully describes as “taking a shot then get slapped by the person who gave you the shot.”

Eventually, Leo joins in, and predictably, Stephen slaps him not once but twice. Finally, after the second time, we are ready for Leo to turn around and beat this man to the ground.

Still, Leo continues to be a fan-favorite character, proving that real men can be civil by patting Stephen’s cheek and letting him know he’s adorable.

That said, it is particularly significant to finally see Leo snap and say what everyone is thinking and what I constantly yell at the TV screen: “Can you stop being the most annoying person in the room for once?”

Done with his games, Lucy asks why he keeps bringing it up if it has nothing to do with him. But of course, everything has to do with Stephen, as it’s revealed Leo’s ex-girlfriend cheated on him with Stephen.

While this isn’t entirely shocking, I’m surprised that Lucy is still letting him get to her after months of playing this cat-and-mouse game with Stephen.

Lucy somehow makes things worse by blaming Leo for not telling her the whole truth. And bless this man as he decides to throw his heart out on the line and fully open up about his family’s past.

He explains that his dad used to beat him and his mom constantly when he was a kid, and as he grew up, he found out that if he hit his dad back, he would leave him alone.

Despite his rough upbringing, Leo has worked hard to unlearn that violence and hatred, refusing to let it define him. But to fully heal, he knows he can’t stay in a toxic relationship.

As upset as I am seeing my favorite couple break up, Leo clearly deserves someone better than Lucy.

Fast-forward to after Thanksgiving, when Stephen and Lucy run into each other in the school halls. He has the audacity to ask how the rest of her night went, and shockingly, Lucy finally waves a white flag.

Her telling Stephen, with so much heartbreak in her eyes, “You win. I never wanted to be at war with you. I loved you even though I knew who you were. So can all this fighting please be over?” is certainly an unexpected turn of events.

Even more surprising, Stephen seems genuinely hurt as she walks away. Whether that’s real or just another deception, only time will tell.

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New episodes of Tell Me Lies stream Wednesdays on Hulu.

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