Tell Me Lies Episode 5 Review: Troubled Families Come to Light

Tell Me Lies Episode 5 is out now. Created by Meaghan Oppenheimer, the series is based on the 2018 book of the same name by Carola Lovering.

Tell Me Lies stars Grace Van Patten as Lucy Albright, Jackson White as Stephen DeMarco, Catherine Missal as Bree, Spencer House as Wrigley, Sonia Mena as Pippa, Branden Cook as Evan, Benjamin Wadsworth as Drew and Alicia Crowder as Diana. The fifth episode has a runtime of 50 minutes.

– Hulu’s Tell Me Lies Episode 5 Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers –

Tell Me Lies Episode 5: Merry F*cking Christmas

As the episode’s name suggests, Tell Me Lies Episode 5 takes place around the time of Christmas. The episode opens in 2007 with Lucy at Max’s place. However, a text from Stephen sends her down rolling back to him but, before the two can have their rendezvous Lucy’s mother arrives and Stephen has to leave for home.

The issues of the last episode of Lucy being doubtful of the polyamorous nature of her relationship with Stephen takes a backseat in this episode as she is also clearly engaged with Max as much as Stephen is with Diana if not more. However, what is highlighted in the individuals’ family lives.

Lucy’s mother, CJ, is back in the scene again and we see Lucy navigate through the complicated relationship with her mother. We even get a revelation of why she is with her mother the way that she is. Yet it is Stephen’s family and the issues rounding it that make the heart of this episode. We not only meet Stephen’s neurotic mother for the first time but, also get introduced to his siblings and in a segment, his father too. The episode also holds us witness to Lucy and Stephen’s trauma bonding over the similar yet different family backgrounds they belong to.

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Tell Me Lies Episode 5 focuses more on the family dynamics of Lucy and Stephen which gives us insight into their personal development. For the last few episodes, we sure have understood that the two come from very difficult families but, what lies underneath unfolds in this one. Moreover, it helps us understand the psychology of the relationship Lucy and Stephen share with one another.

Tell Me Lies Episode 5: Final Thoughts

Overall, Tell Me Lies Episode 5 is a good attempt to keep the story going. The adaptation so far is doing a really good job in holding us all together with the damages and desires our protagonists share. In the latest episode, we get expositions that help us understand them better.

However, there are certain subplots that are questionable and that remained unexplored. A little focus on Bree and Evan’s relationship would have been an interesting subplot to follow up with in this episode given how the previous episode engaged us at the beginning of their friendship. Apart from that, Macy’s secret is still up in the air and for viewers who haven’t read the book, there are quite some questions that need to be answered.

The chemistry shared by the lead actors in Tell Me Lies is unbeatable yet again. Even though we don’t see the two share the screen together much in the fifth episode, the hot and heavy and, also, dependent nature of the relationship shines through the long distance. Max’s addition to the story isn’t aiding much and seems rather blunt, especially his response to Lucy’s problems. Plus, the change in Lucy’s attitude from being sick about Stephen’s sexual life to having her own endeavours needed a little more transitional element to guide us through Lucy’s thought process. However, this is one episode where we get to understand Lucy the most.

The ending of Tell Me Lies Episode 5 was surely a cold one compared to how the episodes have been so far but, overall, it was a good one.

You can watch Tell Me Lies Episode 5 now on Hulu. To read our review of the previous episodes of the show, click here.

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