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Tell Me Lies season 3 finale episode dropped earlier this week, where fans got to see how all the drama unfolded - but there's one aspect of the ending that is being debated online.
*Spoilers ahead for season 3 finale*
The college drama follows the on-and-off romance between Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White), which began in 2007 at Baird College. Throughout the series, there are time jumps to 2015, where the toxic exes and their college friends reunite for Bree's (Catherine Missal) and Evan's (Branden Cook) wedding.
After the wedding celebrations, Stephen decided to drop the biggest bombshells on the friend group - the first being that Bree knew all along that Evan and Lucy slept together in college.
The second was that Bree leaked Lucy's tape in revenge, which led to Lucy's expulsion from college (in the video, she confessed to lying about being sexually assaulted, covering for the real victim, Pippa). Then Stephen revealed that Bree and Wrigley have been having an affair for months.
Chaos ensues, there's shouting, and wedding cake throwing - all to the needle drop of Britney Spears' 'Toxic'.
In the midst of all this, Stephen asks Lucy to leave with him, and despite her initial hesitancy, she meets him outside, and they drive off together.
But in classic Stephen style, he soon ditches Lucy, leaving her at a gas station by herself as the final shot of the series shows her laughing.
It is these final moments in the series that have sparked a debate among fans. On the one hand, you have some who believe Lucy was genuinely giving Stephen another chance and got duped once again.
"The show ending with Stephen humiliating Lucy one last time," one person wrote.
A second person said, "Lucy never learns."
"Lucy laughing at the end because there's actually nothing more she can do," a third person added.
A fourth person commented, "The look of relief and sadness all in one. Humiliated herself again, but was the final wake-up call she needed to understand stephen is incapable of change and to finally get one step closer to healing. Lucy Albright, you’re finally free."
"Lucy’s ending shattered me. free, yes, but after everything she lost and how much of herself she had to lose to get there, that freedom just feels more tragic than peaceful," a fifth person reacted.
But on the other hand, some fans argue that Lucy knew exactly what she was doing and was taking the advice of Diana (Stephen's ex), who previously told Lucy that to be free from a narcissist like Stephen, you must allow them to believe they have won.
(So basically, she wanted him to ditch her at the gas station.)
Earlier in the series, we saw how Diana did this by getting Stephen to break up with her by depicting herself as a failure. To do this, she lied about failing her LSAT and convinced him that she fell out with her father by making it look like he cut off her credit card.
One person wrote, "When Diana said to Lucy: 'Let him think he won, let him believe he's the one who decides to leave you. That's the only way you'll really get rid of him.' This is her realizing she won. I refuse to believe she didn’t get her happy ending, this IS her happy ending."
"Someone said Lucy took Diana’s advice when she told her you have to let him think he wins so he’ll leave you alone. And since then I’m somehow fine with this ending?" a second person said.
A third person shared, "The fact that people don’t understand the ending of Tell Me Lies is actually p***ing me off. Lucy knew he was going to do that. Diana had told her you have to let him think he wins so he’ll leave you alone. also very realistic take dealing with a narcissist."
Although it was pointed out that Lucy bought two cups of coffee in the gas station, suggesting that she wasn't expecting him to ditch her.
"She came put with two cups of coffee, she wanted him there and she did not learn anything from all the shit her put her through," one person highlighted.
A second person also noted how Lucy had slept with Stephen that morning, and so they don't believe the theory that she took Diana's advice to strategically get him out of her life for good.
Tell Me Lies S1-3 is now available to watch on Disney+.
Elsewhere from Indy100, Tell Me Lies S3 finale: Showrunner reveals if there will be a season 4, and Tell Me Lies S3: Why the addictively toxic TV series has TikTok hooked.
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