'Tell Me Lies' Showrunner Explains Why Stephen Decided to Leave Lucy at The Gas Station

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the series finale of Tell Me Lies Season 3, Episode 8 titled, “Are You Happy Now, That I’m on My Knees?”

If you’ve just finished the series finale of Tell Me Lies, you probably sat there just like the rest of us, stunned and maybe even laughing a little in disbelief.

After years of their messy and magnetic push-and-pull relationship, the final scene between Lucy and Stephen felt both shocking and … weirdly inevitable. Some Tell Me Lies fans were left asking the same question: Why did Stephen leave Lucy at the gas station?

Turns out, per showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer, the reason was a combination of cruelty and the need to win.

The short answer to the question is simple: Stephen left Lucy because that’s just who Stephen is. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer admitted that she had been sitting with the vision of Stephen leaving Lucy “by the side of the road” for a long time. During the interview, she also recalled the writers realized they could actually have him leave her by the side of the road — so they did.

Meaghan proceeded to compare Stephen to the scorpion in the "Scorpion and the Frog" fable before noting that he was always going to sting her in the end.

“Of course, he was gonna leave her because he’s Stephen,” she told Entertainment Weekly. For the most part, there was a very strong possibility that Stephen did love Lucy. However, he loved his need to win and hurt her even more.

Now, here’s the part that almost hurt the most: Lucy laughed in response.

“I always say that the tone of the show is at its best when it's as if there's an evil god watching the characters and laughing hysterically at all their places.” Meaghan continued to explain that the reason it worked was that Lucy's laughing made it feel like she was “in on the joke.” It was a brutal ending. But it was also a wake-up call for Lucy.

In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Meaghan revealed something even more telling: If Lucy had rejected Stephen, he would’ve come back. He always needs the final word.

“He will always come back if he’s rejected because he has to have the final word,” she explained. Letting Stephen be the one to walk away was the only thing that would actually break the cycle of their relationship. It’s messy. It’s painful. But it’s final.

Stephen blowing up and then leaving Lucy alone wasn’t random. It was the ultimate power move from someone who’s always needed to win. And Lucy’s laugh at the end of the series ... That might’ve been the first sign she finally got the wake-up call she needed.