9 plot holes and a wedding: Why the 'Tell Me Lies' finale failed us

I am tired of doing detective work to understand all my favourite TV series. 

Fair warning: this will contain spoilers and a fair bit of ranting.

So… my best friend and I just stood in the middle of the office and screamed at the finale of 'Tell Me Lies'. (Sorry to the people who had to witness and hear that.)

There was a time, a simpler time, when a television show ended and you felt… satisfied (cue 'Breaking Bad', 'Sopranos', and 'The Good Place'). The mystery was solved, accountability was a thing, the villain was caught, and the lovers either ran into each other’s arms or dramatically chose themselves.

Roll credits. Go to bed.

Now? Now I need a whiteboard, three Reddit threads, and a minor in interpretive dance just to understand what the f*** I just watched.

We are living in the era of interpretation, and I hate it here. I’m not watching these TV series because I want to use my imagination; this is meant to be my escape from reality, not cause me even more stress.

Take the series finale of 'Tell Me Lies' (more like tell me what actually happened?). I tuned in for messy romance (tick), bad decisions (tick), and emotional chaos (tick), and I definitely signed up to have all major questions answered at the end…

What I did not sign up for was finishing the series and staring at my screen like I’d just been handed an abstract painting and told to “feel what it means.” I feel like I’ve literally been Stephen DeMarco’d.

Are we missing the fact that the major storyline of Macy was just completely ignored? What happened to Chris? Why was Lucy going crazy? 'Cosmopolitan' even wrote a full article with 9 of the biggest plot holes that weren’t answered.

Who did what? Who knew what? Who is lying about lying about lying? By the finale, I’m not even asking for happiness; I’m asking for clarity. A flow chart. A PowerPoint. A legally binding confession. ANYTHING!

The last 8 minutes left me absolutely kerfuffled, wondering how we’re going to bring the last 3 seasons and 9 plot holes together. Instead, we had to watch the woman suffer, and the men took no accountability, and all the storylines mean absolutely nothing.

Literally the only good thing about last night's episode was the wedding crash-out while 'Toxic' by Britney Spears plays in the background. Pure cinema.

These TV shows are leaving their fans with lingering stares, symbolic silences and long pauses that scream, “This means something… probably.” The camera zooms in, the music builds, and I’m left screaming, “MEANS WHAT, THOUGH!?”

Let’s talk 'Stranger Things' as another example…

I adore the show. I would protect those kids with my life. But at this point, every season finale felt like the writers got in a room and said, “What if… we answer nothing? And leave everything up for interpretation.”

Excuse me?

We spend hours in these TV shows, invest so much into the characters that are written for us, and ask for nothing but questions to be answered and for a great series to be wrapped up correctly. But no, they want you to ponder. To discuss. To theorise. To f**kin’ write opinion pieces online about the symbolic placement of a flickering lightbulb in episode seven, or the burn on the leg that they showed us 4 times.

I didn’t major in symbolism studies. I just want to know what happened, bro. At this point, interpretation is just a fancy word for “we’re not committing.” Let's be SO for real. I miss commitment.

Instead, we’re getting ambiguity as a personality trait. Cool, man.

Don’t get me wrong, guys, I don’t want every story spoon-fed to me; I love complexity, but I would like answers to the questions you’ve been feeding us for years. Because here’s the thing: when shows refuse to land the plane, they don’t feel profound. They feel unfinished. And I am tired of doing homework after binge-watching eight emotionally devastating episodes per season.

So please, writers of the world. We beg you. Give us closure. Give us a villain speech. Give us a clear “this is what that meant.” I promise I’ll still respect the artistry. I’ll even rewatch it and pretend I caught the symbolism the first time.

But if the next finale of a series ends with someone staring at the horizon while ominous music plays and no one explains anything? I’m starting a support group.

Interpretations Anonymous. First meeting agenda: Um, so.. what the f**k was that?!