Tell Me Lies Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Don’t Struggle Like That, Or I Will Only Love You More

The season officially comes to an end with Tell Me Lies Season 2 Episode 8, “Don’t Struggle Like That, Or I Will Only Love You More.”

The episode leaves viewers with even more questions than they had at the start of the season and lots to talk about.

With Bree and Evan’s wedding day finally here, tension, excitement, and bad decisions fill the air for everyone in the wedding party. But the main source of drama? Lucy and Stephen.

After two seasons and at least six years since they first entered each other’s lives, you’d think Lucy and Stephen would have learned to act like mature adults when they have to spend time in the same room.

But, thankfully, for those who love drama, these two are far from running out of it.

During the previous episode, Tell Me Lies Season 2 Episode 7, “I’m Not Drowning Fast Enough,” Stephen finally apologizes to Lucy for everything he’s put her through, hoping to rekindle their relationship.

Obviously, not because they’re good for each other, but because he’s realized she’s the only person who puts up with his mess.

Despite all her character growth, Lucy caves to his gaslighting again, and they start another trial relationship. That lasts about five seconds before Lucy runs to Leo, seeking validation that she’s a good person and belongs with him instead.

Honestly, I never thought I’d agree with Stephen, but after he opens up to her and shares such an intimate moment, it’s a massive blow for her to sleep with someone else.

But my pity for Stephen and Lucy and their messed-up relationship is extremely short-lived when they publicly humiliate Leo at the Christmas party.

Instead of moving on, Stephen pushes Leo’s buttons, knowing he has a temper, and then plays the victim when Leo beats him to a pulp.

Could Leo have handled it better? 100%. But how many times can this poor man, who’s trying to heal, be dragged into Stephen and Lucy’s toxicity?

On the flip side, one character who manages to surprise us and escape Stephen’s grasp is Diana.

She’s an easy character to dismiss when there’s so much drama happening elsewhere. But this woman is someone Lucy, Bree, and even Pippa should strive to be.

All season, she’s been portrayed as foolish for loving Stephen and staying in a relationship with him despite knowing how he treats women. Honestly, those are valid points that make us dislike her.

However, the jaw-dropping moment of the season occurs when Diana’s school counselor tells her that, given her grades and final LSAT score, she’s highly likely to be selected for early admission at Yale.

Which she failed…right? Wrong. Diana has been playing Stephen at his own game, and it’s truly inspiring.

Knowing she was aware that Stephen only does what benefits him and slowly tricked him into believing she was useless, so he wanted to leave her makes her much more fascinating.

From lying about her LSAT score so he’d think her dad was mad at her to freezing her credit card to make it seem like her dad cut her off, Stephen concludes that he can’t use her to get a job or recommendation from her father.

This is such a power move on her part, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her because this woman is moving mountains.

However, with every step these characters take away from Stephen, a few steps seem to drag them back. After his fight with Leo and getting into a “good” relationship with Lucy, Stephen feels like he’s on top of the world.

That is until Evan decides to clear his conscience and tells Stephen that Lucy was the girl with whom he cheated on Bree. No surprise, Stephen doesn’t like sharing Lucy, so he starts plotting his revenge against her and Evan.

Instead of being irrational and rushing into revenge, he plays the long game and waits until 2015 — on Bree’s wedding day, specifically right before she walks down the aisle — to show her the recording of the confession.

As the screen goes black and the credits roll, viewers and Bree wonder if the wedding will still happen.

Other Thoughts:

• Bree and Oliver finally end their secret affair, only for Bree to discover that it wasn’t much of a secret after all. It’s revealed that Marianne knew everything, as she and Oliver have an open relationship. This obviously crushes Bree because what she thought was real and pure turns out to be a play against her.
• Diana convinces Wrigley’s brother, Drew, to visit him, hoping they’ll rekindle their relationship after all the drama from last year. It works out, and Drew welcomes Wrigley back into his life, and the two celebrate together. But tragically, Drew dies of an overdose after taking too many of Wrigley’s painkiller pills while out drinking.

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All episodes of Tell Me Lies are streaming now on Hulu.

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