“I’d Like to Hold Her Head Underwater” is no longer just an ominous line from ’90s stoned SoCal slackers Sublime’s “Doin’ Time”; now it’s the title of Tell Me Lies Season 3 Episode 5. The episode begins with Stephen (Jackson White) finding out he got into Yale law school and then fighting an industrial printer, which is the most I’ve ever related to him.
That scene ends with him chatting up a pretty girl seemingly apropos of nothing, because Wrigley (Spencer House) didn’t give him enough attention and the aforementioned printer outrage. It’s been a while since we saw Stephen turn it on for someone new and unsettling as he continues to flirt with poor Tegan (Bianca Nugara) in this episode.
In happier news (for now), Evan (Branden Cook) and Bree (Cat Missal) are back together, agreeing to take it slow and keep it quiet while they get back into things. No sooner has this been agreed upon then Stephen bursts through the door and once again the least trustworthy person in the group has become the de facto secret keeper. When he said “See ya Bree” before leaving and she just groans… yup. Pretty much sums it up.
Stephen tricks the boys into celebrating with him (on the Stephen DeMarco Scale of Manipulation, it’s honestly like a 2.5) by telling Evan that Wrigley wants to, and probably needling Wrigley off-screen. It’s douchey, but one of those moments where Stephen does what he does because he’s 21 and wants to party.
The night leads to a tense argument about where to go next and Wrigley saying he never wants to go back to Stephen’s room. Stephen is genuinely stunned and apparently never thinks about the fact that Drew (Benjamin Wadsworth) died there (on the Stephen DeMarco Scale of Sociopathy, that’s probably an 8. He usually knows exactly what people are thinking or feeling, even if he can’t relate).
Speaking of empathy (or in Stephen’s case, lack thereof), Lucy (Grace Van Patten) is shaken when she goes to hook up with Alex (Costa D’Angelo) and he’s suddenly being kind to her. He’s being careful because he heard that she accused Chris of sexual assault, but I want to spare a moment here to acknowledge how even an ounce of consideration will just fry your whole system in your 20s. Crazy!
This episode juggles various tangled sexual dynamics that have been building since Season 2. Lucy said what she did about Chris (Jacob Rodriguez) because of her empathy for Pippa and Caitie (Taia Sophia), both of whom we’ve also seen relate differently to their experiences with him and how they want to move forward. The rough sex Lucy has been having with Alex was meant to be a break from serious relationships, but ends up highlighting the damage Stephen did to her self worth. When Alex is gentle with her, we can see the discomfort, culminating in the truly twisted final scene of Lucy masturbating to Stephen’s old abusive voicemail.
On that note, Wrigley and Bree lead one of the show’s major departures from Baird, on a road trip to see Bree’s mom, played skillfully by Emily Meade. She’s warm but flighty, caring but not overly motherly — in fact she seems keen to relate to Bree by talking about boys, giving her the energy of a teenage girl. Their entire interaction unfolds at the edge of discomfort, with Wrigley perhaps the most aware of the dynamic he’s witnessing. He and Bree spend most of the episode together and start to realize they might be more than friends after that telltale swim lesson.
A few thoughts on the pool party:
- Again, interesting to see Stephen and Tegan how it looks through her eyes, but something just feels off. At the end of the day he is of course acting because White is acting and we know Stephen is a bad guy so we see through it.
- The way you see cyber crime bloom to life in his eyes.
- Pippa and Diana (Alicia Crowder) you are my oasis in the desert.
Diana overall continues to be a life raft for everyone in the show by being real with Molly and then once again demolishing Stephen. She lied about the LSAT! She’s going to reject Yale! She is, in his words, going to alter the entire trajectory of her life to stay away from him — and know she’s better off for it.
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.