We Can’t Help It If We Are a Problem

Okay, fess up: Have you ever placed a bet on your friends’ relationship?

Not that anyone in Tell Me Lies is guilty of that particular crime — but there’s little to no surprise going around when Stephen (Jackson White) and Lucy (Grace Van Patten) break up in TML Season 3 Episode 2 “We Can’t Help It If We Are a Problem” (they really can’t, except by staying the hell away from each other).

But let’s back up. Lucy at least thinks that this time with Stephen will be different, that they’ve cut through a layer of difficulty to emerge on the other side for the better. She speaks of wanting to be good to each other and accepting each other’s worst parts, and part of him may even agree — it’s just not the part that wins out. Ever since Stephen found out that Evan (Branden Cook) and Lucy slept together, he’s been tortured by the image of one of his closest friends having sex with the woman he loves claimed. He still hasn’t let it go at the start of Season 3, and now it’s curdled into a jealousy over Lucy and Bree’s (Cat Missal) friendship, which is stronger than ever since Bree broke up with Oliver (Tom Ellis).

So Stephen sulks at karaoke, abandoning a visibly uncomfortable Lucy when it’s their turn to sing, and effectively teeing up Bree to save her and continue demonstrating that she’s a great friend. The ensuing relationship tension triggers a panic attack in Lucy, which Bree and Pippa (Sonia Mena) handle while Stephen has stepped away.

Let’s wrap up the episode’s Stephen/Lucy drama so we can move on to other topics, shall we? (I was going to say “lighter” but that’s sadly not true.) Lucy recognizes the old patterns of Stephen withdrawing from her, growing moody, and increasing her overall anxiety and dread, and she addresses those concerns directly to him. As always, Tell Me Lies is careful not to diminish Lucy’s own intelligence and agency just to push her toward or away from Stephen as the plot necessitates. There are real emotions and lessons taking root beneath the surface, and Van Patten nails all of them in her performance across the premiere episodes. Stephen issues an ultimatum for Lucy to tell Bree what happened, and Lucy refuses. If the choice is between Stephen and Bree, she chooses Bree. Good-bye. Bad-bye, even.

The panic attack opens the door for a new character: Alex (Costa D’Angelo), formerly known as the drug dealer, now known as someone from Bree’s past who has turned up at Baird. Is a familiar face exactly what she needs after everything with Oliver? This season so far also sees her connecting with Wrigley (Spencer House), who doesn’t want his friends coddling him but also appreciates their consideration. The connection to Bree is particularly sweet because they’re both going through tough things their friends can’t relate to — and even though they can’t directly relate to each other, they find some comfort in shared complex misery. 

While Bree has moved on from her affair with Oliver, she’s not quite ready to ignore the man completely, especially knowing what she does about his marriage and how he handles that on campus. She strikes up a friendship with Amanda (Iris Apatow), Oliver’s newest paramour, who it turns out he has been pursuing since before he and Bree even split. Tell Me Lies doesn’t spend much time on this distinction, but it’s worth noting that Oliver’s open marriage isn’t the root issue here; it’s that he never disclosed the arrangement to Bree and likely not to Amanda or other partners, which is a betrayal of the trust they placed in him (and probably stressing these women out immensely).

Oliver’s overall public image on the show continues to sour when he gaslights Evan, who has correctly guessed the identity of Bree’s elderly lover. Lot of people give Evan grief this episode! He’s the person Stephen turns to after Lucy calls it quits, knowing that Evan is kind and empathetic and can be guilt-tripped about his night with Lucy. For what it’s worth, Stephen is a manipulative asshole but he’s also a troubled individual. He speaks to Evan calmly when asked to, and in his own way he misses Lucy, because he cares for her. He’s just terrible at it. And now that they’re broken up with so much of the season left… what fresh hell will he unleash upon everyone?

As a chaser from the horrors, let’s conclude with something nice: Diana (Alicia Crowder) and Pippa! They’re exploring their relationship and Diana tentatively suggests that they kiss. Just look at her face when Pippa says it’s not a dumb idea:

Tell Me Lies Truths from Season 3 Episode 2 (“We Can’t Help It If We Are A Problem”)

Most jarring memory of the 2000s: “We Will Become Silhouettes” by The Postal Service.

Moment that made me yell out loud: Evan telling Stephen he won’t talk to him when he’s acting like a lunatic. A lunatic!

Proma Khosla is a New York-based writer with over 15 years of editorial experience. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Mashable, and most recently at IndieWire, where she was a Senior TV reporter for almost four years. She is the co-director of Lion Party Films and creator of Drunk Bollywood Live, where she highlights South Asian art and performers. She is one half of the podcast PromRad with fellow Decider contributor Radhika Menon.