Review of Season 2 of “Tell Me Lies”

After a long two-year cleaning, we can finally treat yourself to one of the the most toxic shows on television again(And I mean that as a compliment.) Tell me lies In season 2, there’s less studying than ever before, instead choosing sex as a major and intrigue and secrecy as a minor – and the show absolutely nails those subjects. Will the show win an Emmy? Probably not! Will it spark group chats everywhere with its annoyingly relatable depictions of F-boys? Absolutely! And that’s what we need on TV, too.

What is season 2 of Tell Me Lies about?

Tell me lies Season 2 maintains the structure of the first season. two timelines running simultaneously: The events before Bree (St. Catherine’s Missal) and Evans (Brandon Cook) wedding in 2015 and Lucy’s (Grace Van Patten) in the fall semester of sophomore year of 2008, with about 80% set in the first few days. This style certainly has its pros and cons – while there are fun teasers in the flash-forwards, they also occasionally reduce the suspense a little, since we know where people ultimately end up a decade or so later.

Season 1 had an explosive finale with Stephen (Jackson White) to be with Diana again (Alicia Crowder), Lucy and Evan slept together while he was with Bree, and Wrigley (Spencer House) No more Pippa (Sonia Mena) because he thought she had written the letter that ruined his brother Drew’s life (Benjamin Wadsworth) Life. Season 2 is mainly devoted to examining the consequences of that.

But that does not mean that our characters will not continue new, equally terrible decisions. Lucy gets involved with Leo (Thomas Doherty), who studied abroad last semester; Bree gets cozy with a much older man who happens to be a professor (Tom Ellis); and Lucy’s friend from her hometown Lydia (Natalee Linez) Brother Chris (Jacob Rodriguez) arrives on campus and causes serious problems for everyone – especially Pippa. As seniors, Stephen, Diana and Wrigley look to the future – and not everyone feels particularly well prepared for the next phase of their lives.

Season 2 of Tell Me Lies still hits the right setting and time period

What sets Tell me lies What sets it apart is how grounded in reality it feels. Yes, it has a flair for the grand and dramatic, but young adults in their late teens and early twenties Are big and dramatic – their frontal lobes are not yet fully developed! Tell me lies knows exactly what it is, and everyone – from the writers and actors to the costume and production designers – agrees on the tone and style of the show they are making, and that is all the better. Season 2 feels like a time capsule that captures college life in 2008from Facebook stalking and the excitement of having one of the first iPhones to tube tops and low-rise jeans.

The dialogues reflect how people of this age really speak, from the pleasant banter between crushes to uncomfortable confessions in times of crisis to the cold, calculated detonation of emotional bombs in attempts at revenge. There is an undeniable wisdom in the writing this should not be sugarcoated — Showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer and her writing team know exactly what words to say to keep even the wildest decisions within the realm of logic and to make the betrayals hit as hard as possible. The actors also have a special, necessary chemistry with each other that allows them to pull off the romances and friendships alike. In season 2, everyone plays even dirtier, and it’s delicious.

But there’s an inherent downside to accurately depicting college life: It can quickly become boring. Endless student parties and intimate scenes become superfluous and blur together without providing enough new information to justify their inclusion. It also doesn’t help that the episodes suffer from the curse of streaming bloat, with many of them running close to an entire hour long, although one could easily trim a few minutes from each episode to tighten up the story and pick up the pace. Fortunately, the fact that Tell me lies In Season 2, the time markers of the holidays help the audience keep track of things. This opens up the world a bit and brings the characters together, creating interesting dynamics and effective tension. The Thanksgiving episode proves to be one of the strongest and most memorable of the series.

Season 2 of “Tell Me Lies” is a soap opera, but it’s best when it gets serious

Huge, shocking twists were the key to Tell me lies Season 1 and Season 2 are no exception. Some are pretty obvious and come from a long way away. (The moment Tom Ellis appears on screen, you have a pretty good idea how things are going to turn out.) But others are much more surprising, even though they are elaborately hinted at. The show is much more intelligent than many would certainly believe due to the fact that it is wrapped in a soap packaging.

Stephen and Lucy’s relationship is still a major part of season two, which makes sense considering it was the cornerstone of season one and acts in some ways as the storyline that everything else revolves around. But this outing refreshingly puts it in the background for much of the time, allowing other relationships to emerge and develop. Lucy’s relationship with Leo is a nice contrast and has its moments, and the core trio between Lucy, Bree and Pippa continues to be entertaining, but Diana and Pippa prove to be the most convincing characters.

Diana’s character is inherently interesting. The show could easily dismiss her as a one-dimensional antagonist, but never does so, instead giving her more life and constantly letting us see her in a new light. Her perspective is fascinating and understandable, even when it’s at odds with our protagonist. Pippa’s story arc is the most serious and rewardingwhich tackles a topic that is unfortunately all too relevant on college campuses. The show doesn’t handle it perfectly, but it ultimately feels realistic and is an admirable subject to take on, and the way the traumatic event surprisingly connects her character to others is a highlight. Her ex-boyfriend Wrigley also experiences some unexpected moments of vulnerability that hit home, and Professor Marianne (Gabriella Pession) reveals tantalizing sides that initially sound incredibly promising, even if the show doesn’t deliver on what it intends to do with her.

Tell me lies Season 2 will certainly not be to everyone’s taste, but if you liked season 1, you’ll probably find the second part just as exciting. And while it might be tempting to dismiss it as a somewhat trashy guilty pleasure, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to reduce it to that. Tell Me Lies white exactly what it does and is an exceptional contribution to its genre, capturing complex but familiar dynamics in an absolutely perfect, nuanced way, making everything look deceptively simple. The characters and their problems may seem superficial at first glance, but there’s real depth beneath the surface, especially when it comes to themes like gaslighting and manipulation. The exploration of ugly, shameful desires and instincts is presented with steamy smoke and mirrors and artificial gloss, making for an irresistible viewing experience that’s more sophisticatedly crafted than it first appears.

Tell me lies Season 2 premieres September 4 on Hulu.

Watch on Hulu