Stephen is up to his old tricks again in Tell Me Lies Season 3 Episode 5, only this time he’s targeting Diana (for now). His next move is anyone’s guess, but fans think they know what his disturbing plan is with Diana’s photos.
Diana (Alicia Crowder) finally managed to break free from Stephen in Season 2 of the Hulu series by lying about her LSAT results. She aced the test, but she knew that Stephen (Jackson White) would no longer want her if he thought she’d failed.
Her plan worked, paving the way for her to start a new kind of relationship with Pippa (Sonia Mena) – one that’s filled with love and safety. However, Stephen won’t let go of her that easily, and he’s been trying (and failing) to exert power over her in Tell Me Lies Season 3.
We all know he likes to have some kind of collateral as a backup plan, having blackmailed Lucy (Grace Van Patten) into recording a tape admitting to lying about Chris. And Season 3 Episode 5 reveals he has something similar for Diana.
Tell Me Lies Season 3 theory on what Stephen will do with Diana’s photos
We don’t know for sure, but a new theory has emerged that Stephen will send the explicit photos of Diana to all potential law colleges she plans to attend, thereby ruining her chances of applying.
Firstly, let’s look at what happens. In Season 3 Episode 4, Stephen found out that Diana is pregnant with their child. She didn’t want him finding out but he hears it through the grapevine, and she tells him that she has an abortion planned.
This angers Stephen, as he believes she should “consult” with him first, but Diana lets him know that he no longer has any power over her.
In the latest episode, Stephen finds out he’s gotten into Yale Law School. It was always his and Diana’s plan to go together, and so when he spots her in the library, he tries to get a reaction out of her by telling her.
Much to his surprise, she says she got in too, at which point Diana reveals that she only lied about her LSAT results to get away from him.
“Either way, I’ll see you in New Haven, right?” he says, but Diana replies, “I’m not going to Yale… I’ll go somewhere else. Stanford. Harvard… I would never go to the same law school as you.”
Later in the episode, Stephen is seen pacing back and forth in his dorm, clearly plotting. Finally, he opens his laptop and finds a hidden file filled with explicit photos of Diana. He attaches them to an email, ready to send, but we don’t find out who he’s wiring them to.
We already know Stephen would stoop as low as it gets, and it’s left fans of the show feeling worried. “I’m so scared of what Stephen is going to do with Diana’s pictures. He is truly the WORST,” wrote one on Reddit.
Others have theorized what he might do with them, with one suggesting, “I got the feeling he will publicly post them somewhere to ruin her shot at any law school.”
This is where context is important. This is unfolding during the 2009 timeline, long before revenge porn laws came into play, let alone changing attitudes in society.
As one fan pointed out, “Not to mention this was back when Diana would have been punished for revenge porn, not Stephen.”
But some have an altogether different theory, including this person who said, “On the contrary, you’d think Stephen sending Diana’s pics to law schools would pique their interest in her and make them want to help her win a revenge porn case, and how would it look that Stephen is sending them.
“This leads me to believe it’s more realistic that he is probably sending them to her Dad for blackmail or something.”
And then there are those who have confidence Diana will find a way to outsmart Stephen. “I’m gonna keep a bit of faith that she’s got a plan to corner Satan – I mean Stephen,” said one.
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