TV Recap: “Tell Me Lies” – Episode 4 – “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” (Hulu)

The fibs and fabrications continue as Lucy and Stephen build on their attraction with a relationship that is a month old.

It’s Halloween season and the students are ready to party. Bree (Catherine Missal) and Pippa (Sonia Mena) are looking for a fun evening. Bree eventually meets up with Tim (Tyriq Williams) and is quite happy to have lost her virginity to him.

Stephen (Jackson White) is getting ready to leave for the city because he is interviewing for a summer internship at a law practice. He tells Lucy (Grace Van Patten) that he is staying at Evan’s (Branden Cook) family’s place, but that is a lie, and Evan goes along with the story. Stephen is really staying at Diana’s (Alicia Crowder) family’s place. (I wonder why Stephen would keep that Lucy.)

Lucy does learn that Diana and Stephen use to date, courtesy of Wrigley (Spencer House). This sets up a conflict within Lucy. She feels that she needs to push herself so that she can compete with Diana for Stephen’s attention.

In Evan’s art class, he is shocked to see that Bree is the nude model. While Evan improves his artistic talents, Wrigley and Pippa are heard arguing in the laundry room. Lucy comes across their heated discussion and wonders what is going on.

Bree continues her relationship with Tim but finds she is very unsatisfied with how it is progressing. In the library, Bree is approached by Drew (Benjamin Wadsworth) who apologizes for ghosting her after welcome week. They seem to make amends.

At a party, Bree tries cocaine thanks to Wrigley. Feeling high on the drug, her relationship ends with Tim. In the city, hoping for a better future, Stephen crashes and burns at the interview. His narcissistic personality impedes him from success. He invites Lucy to the city, and when she arrives at the apartment, Lucy is having doubts about how genuine Stephen is being with her.

Bree’s continued search for someone compatible leads her back to Drew, but that doesn’t last long. In the mailroom the next day, Bree meets Evan, and they seem to have a normal conversation, without any hint of lies. (Finally, some positivity.)

Doubts have plagued Lucy, which leads her to looking up Max (Edmund Donovan). She asks him out, and he agrees. (Is Lucy looking to hurt Stephen? Or is she just looking for a way out because she knows that Stephen is not right for her? I think Max is a better guy).

Lucy does meet up with Stephen later and apologizes for questioning his intentions. They make up, and while in his apartment, Lucy finds evidence that maybe her suspicions are correct. (I wouldn’t trust Stephen for a weather report.)

Bill’s Perspective:

Things are moving along on Tell Me Lies. They are a month into college, Macy is a distant memory, and Lucy and Stephen have a ‘serious’ relationship. I mean they are both seeing other people, but they both tell the same lie of caring for each other.

I really don’t like Stephen. He’s pompous, arrogant, rude, and an obvious liar with a capital L. How Lucy could ever fall for him is puzzling. At the same time, she doesn’t pine over him, and her burgeoning relationship with Max just might be the best thing for her.

Bree and Evan are perfect. They connect, and they are genuine with each other. This is a relationship that could survive college. Hopefully no one else will ruin it for them.    

Bill Gowsell
Bill Gowsell has loved all things Disney since his first family trip to Walt Disney World in 1984. Since he began writing for Laughing Place in 2014, Bill has specialized in covering the Rick Riordan literary universe, a retrospective of the Touchstone Pictures movie library, and a variety of other Disney related topics. When he is not spending time with his family, Bill can be found at the bottom of a lake . . . scuba diving