Note: This story contains spoilers from the second season finale of “Tell Me Lies.”

“Tell Me Lies” comes full circle: In the second season finale, Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White) are back together and definitely no better than ever.

After Stephen declares his love for Lucy at the end of Episode 7, the finale picks up after the exes meet, leaving Lucy so devastated that all she can think about is getting back to Leo (Thomas Doherty). to reach out and form a relationship. Ask them to reconcile. Leo takes her back – and at the same time Stephen breaks up with Diana (Alicia Crowder) – but their reconnection ends abruptly when Stephen throws his and Lucy’s affair in Leo’s face a few hours earlier, which triggers Leo’s rage to beat Stephen bloody.

Lucy is left standing and forced back into Stephen’s sphere of influence when, after Drew’s sudden death in the finale, Stephen takes the blame for the letter (which Lucy wrote in Season 1) asking the dean to investigate Drew’s involvement in Macy’s death ). Showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer calls it a “crazy moment for him.”

“When Stephen decides he wants something… he’ll do anything to get it, and I think in that moment he decides that having Lucy is more important to him than having the love and respect of Wrigley.” have,” Oppenheimer told TheWrap. “He takes that risk and it works. Wrigley forgives him, but he knows he can’t get into legal trouble over the letter… At this moment he has Lucy in his sights, so he’ll do anything.”

According to Oppenheimer, Lucy sees Stephen taking the blame as an “incredibly selfless act” that “changes the way she sees him.” “She truly believes that she is not worth anyone, but also that no one else would love her if they knew the real her,” Oppenheimer said, adding that Stephen accepts her worst moments.

Below, Oppenheimer discusses the impact of the season two finale on Diana, Pippa, Bree and Wrigley, shares her hopes for season three and reveals whether Tom Ellis and Thomas Doherty could be involved in future episodes.

TheWrap: In the 2015 storyline, things seem fine between Lucy and Stephen after they sleep together, but then Stephen reveals to Bree right before the wedding that Lucy and Evan slept together. Why would he do that?

Oppenheimer: He always knew he wouldn’t let Evan and Lucy get away with it. He considers it a betrayal, and he doesn’t forgive betrayal… He has come to the conclusion that his relationship with Evan has everything he needs at this point, and is therefore willing to hit him where it hurts the most .

It’s also a betrayal of Lucy. In 2015, does Stephen think Lucy is a viable future partner or is he still playing games?

He will always be fascinated by Lucy and certainly attracted to her, but I don’t think he’s at a point where he’s considering a stable future between them. Even the sex they have in the finale is hate sex. They both acted like they had grown up, and then when they got together and had sex in that moment, they both said, “You’re still exactly the same.” They both think they won in that moment, they both have that Feeling of having revealed the other person. But then of course Stephen actually wins because he’s just hard to beat.

Lucy’s relationship with Leo is on hold, but can we expect to see Leo (Thomas Doherty) again in future seasons?

I really don’t know. I never want to say anything about that because as soon as you walk into the room, sometimes you just realize what you have room for or what you don’t have room for. Originally it was clear that this would be a character for one season, but you never know. I think Thomas was fantastic, so we’ll just have to see.

There was speculation among fans about the matching rose tattoo behind Stephen and Leo’s ears, and many people thought they were brothers or related. What do you think of this theory?

Unfortunately, it’s only the actors who have tattoos. These guys are all just ripped. I didn’t even notice it. I guess now that I think about it, I’m like, “Oh yeah, they actually have the same tattoos.” That’s very funny. No, maybe we will use it, but that was not the intention at this point.

Bree is absolutely disgusted by the agreement between Oliver and Marianne. Knowing what we know now about her feelings towards Oliver, are they likely to continue in each other’s lives? What can you say about who is on the phone with her during her wedding?

I can’t say who she’s on the phone with, but I would say that if Oliver was still in the story, I don’t think Bree would be romantic. I think it needs to be a little more explosive. Realistically, he’s someone who’s definitely done this before, and I think it’s hard to keep those secrets on a small college campus, so I think maybe his life could explode in a more public way .

Have you spoken to Tom about staying on for next season?

It’s always possible. We just see what happens. Now that we have a little baby, our main thing is to be in the same place geographically no matter what we’re working on. So it could definitely happen, but I would have to make sure it’s the best story for the series. Obviously I love working with Tom (and) it certainly only became a possibility for me because so many people were asking – people who watched the whole season were asking about the future of this character and asking final questions. I didn’t expect people to want so much more closure than they have. It’s a possibility. You never know.

Fans enjoyed watching Pippa and Diana’s relationship grow over the course of the season. Why did you want to pursue this storyline that you wanted to pursue and what’s next for it?

I hadn’t planned this in Season 1, but in the break between Season 1 and the beginning of the plot of Season 2. I decided that this was something I wanted to do, especially because I was thinking, “Where is Diana in the year?” 2015?” She’s the only character we haven’t decided yet, so she could be anywhere. I think they both have chemistry with each other, and knowing what I would both be going through individually, it made sense that they were two characters who needed each other and met at their lowest point.

What I liked about the way we did it this season was that they didn’t make it to the finish line. As for Diana, I don’t think she comes from a family that will be very open to their dating women, so I think Pippa is much closer to her own sexuality because she has experimented with girls before. Diana is much further behind in this development – she still has a lot of growing to do. It was important to me that their relationship was truly based on true friendship. So I think we need to see more about their friendship and then, yes, ultimately, see what the romantic beginnings are. But I don’t think they’ll get together romantically in college, at least not seriously.

Wrigley is already so depressed and then his brother dies. How will this tragedy affect his future? What impact could it have on Pippa too?

One of the tragedies of this relationship is that it stunts Pippa’s personal development. She feels so responsible for him and his feelings… When she makes love to him and has the orgasm, she knows she’s connecting physically, but she knows there’s something else there. She knows she likes Diana more, and she has to put those feelings aside to take care of Wrigley, who has become her best friend. I definitely think this will slow their growth a bit, at least temporarily, not forever. As for Wrigley, when we see him in 2015, he’s such a wreck, so I knew we had to put him to the test to justify that.

Diana gets the biggest laugh of all. Why did you want her to come out on top?

It’s very interesting when people have to manipulate their way out of relationships, from a place of fear and just exploration. What would fear look like for Diana? She never really knew how dark Stephen was until that moment. I wanted to show the difference between how she would react to it and how Lucy would react. Lucy knows he was in the car – she doesn’t know he was driving – but she stays with him anyway. And Diana is not like Lucy. Diana is a survivor. Diana will always put herself first even when she is in love with someone, and I believe she is in love with Stephen. Once she realizes he’s a real threat, she says, “I’m out.” She knows he would never let her leave him. She’s tried this before – she left him earlier in their relationship and he got her back. She knows that in order to escape, she has to make herself unpopular in his eyes. I thought someone had to get a win because a lot of people end up getting hurt this season. It was nice to see one person come out on top and they deserved it. She had to deal with so much from him.

This season was about sexual assault on campus. Why did you want to tackle that this season and how does the time period change the way you wrote it?

I was honestly surprised it didn’t show up in Season 1 because it’s incredibly common on college campuses, especially in 2008. Conversations about consent, sex, and sexual assault have evolved since 2008 – when I was in college – changed so dramatically in 2008 – and it was interesting to discuss sex scenes with the actors, who, as you know, are about 10 years younger than me… If you get drunk in 2008 and don’t remember it (having sex), Many people would say “you” weren’t attacked – many people would just say you were drunk and now regret it – so I think it’s realistic that Pippa didn’t even know for sure if she had the right to blame Chris and whether she should blame herself. It certainly had an impact on the way she deals with it, or doesn’t deal with it, and the way Chris just acts like he’s done nothing wrong.

I know there hasn’t been an official green light for Season 3, but what’s the timeline for a possible Season 3? What do you want to focus on next season?

I have no idea when things would happen – it depends on so many things and the schedules of so many different people. I would definitely like to see more of 2015. I know what happens to Lucy and Stephen’s relationship – I know what their final breakup is in college and how that permanently damages her and turns her into the person we meet in 2015 and 2015. I have some ideas about what would happen , but… as soon as we enter the room, the ideas change, morph and grow. I think it would be interesting to see a lot more of 2015 now, especially given what happens at the end of season two.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell Me Lies Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Hulu.