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There has never been a single act of deception at the center of Hulu\u2019s <\/span>Tell Me Lies<\/span><\/i><\/a>. The characters in the college-set drama lie to one another\u2014and themselves\u2014regularly and without remorse, creating a toxic stew of untruths and gossip that threatens to boil over at any moment. Season three is no different. Creator Meaghan Oppenheimer continues to ratchet up the tension as the show works toward connecting its late-2000s and 2015 timelines. But in between the emotional warfare and surprise hookups lies a newfound sense of introspection, making this run of <\/span>Tell Me Lies<\/span><\/i> its most interesting yet.<\/span><\/p>\n Season three picks up in the 2015 timeline, in the immediate aftermath of Stephen\u2019s (Jackson White) Machiavellian attempt to derail Bree (Catherine Missal) and Evan\u2019s (Branden Cook) wedding. Stephen\u2019s decision to send the recording\u2014in which Evan admitted to cheating on Bree with her best friend Lucy (Grace Van Patten) in 2008\u2014as Bree prepared to walk down the aisle made for quite the <\/span>finale cliffhanger<\/span><\/a>. But fans looking for a speedy resolution will have to wait. The premiere adds a new wrinkle to this conflict, and the group dynamic only gets messier as the season progresses. However, it\u2019s easy to forgive the lack of answers, as the college timeline is as vibrant as ever. The new round continues many of the storylines from season two, including Pippa (Sonia Mena) and Diana\u2019s (Alicia Crowder) burgeoning relationship, the fallout from Bree\u2019s affair with married professor Oliver (Tom Ellis, Oppenheimer\u2019s husband), and Lucy\u2019s misguided attempt to conceal the truth of Pippa\u2019s assault by claiming she was the one raped by Chris Montgomery (Jacob Rodriguez). (Chris is the younger brother of Lucy\u2019s former best friend Lydia, who\u2019s revealed to be engaged to Stephen in the 2015 timeline. Again, it\u2019s a twisted web).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of course, Lucy and Stephen renew their infuriating mind games. But this time, their friend<\/span>s, acting as a conduit for the audience, loudly voice their displeasure of their on-again\/off-again romance.<\/span> After an early interaction that can best be described as an elaborate humiliation ritual, the show wisely shifts the black hole that is Lucy and Stephen away from its center, instead giving Lucy space to explore who she\u2019s become over the course of their relationship and what kind of person she could be without him. As she grows closer to series newcomer Alex (Costa D\u2019Angelo), a grad student who lived with Bree in foster care, Lucy begins to face the uglier parts of herself head-on, though it remains an open question whether this darkness is innate or learned like some kind of trauma response. The storyline gives Van Patten something meaty to chew on, and she\u2019s particularly good opposite D\u2019Angelo. Like many of the show\u2019s sex scenes, their intimate moments are graphic and raw. And thanks to the impressive emotional work by both actors, they carry lasting resonance.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n