Grace Van Patten found 'Tell Me Lies' ending freeing and hilarious

As 'Tell Me Lies' comes to a close, Grace Van Patten reflects on the ending, and working with boyfriend Jackson White

When Grace Van Patten read the script for the final scene of "Tell Me Lies," she says she laughed.

In the dramatic and explosive Season 3 finale − which fans didn't know until hours before it premiered on Hulu that it would also mark the end of the show − we see Van Patten's Lucy Albright at a crossroads, literally and figuratively. Against her better judgment and years after her tumultuous college romance with Stephen DeMarco (portrayed by real-life boyfriend Jackson White), Lucy chooses him one more time.

After their friend's wedding, they giddily drive off into the night and end up at a gas station the morning after. When Lucy walks out of the convenience store with two cups of coffee in hand, she looks around and realizes Stephen has humiliated her once more, leaving her stranded in the middle of nowhere.

First, Lucy feels confusion and shock. Then relief seemingly washes over her, and she laughs.

"I thought it was really important to laugh as Lucy at the end because I didn't want it to be sad for Lucy," Van Patten, 29, tells USA TODAY. "I wanted it for her to have some sort of relief and for the audience to have some sort of relief − and still be shocked."