Dead To Me season 2: all your lingering questions about the finale, answered

Dead To Me season 2: all your lingering questions about the finale, answered

Credit: Netflix

Under Her Eye


Dead To Me season 2: all your lingering questions about the finale, answered

By Kayleigh Dray

5 years ago

Warning: this article contains spoilers for the second season of Netflix’s Dead To Me.

When the first-ever season of Dead To Me dropped on Netflix last May, this writer gobbled up the entire thing in one weekend. And things were no different when, this month, the streaming platform released the much-anticipated second season: indeed, my entire bank holiday passed in a blur. Ask me what I did, and I couldn’t possibly tell you. Ask me what Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) got up to, though, and I’ll talk for hours on end.

As well as the season premiere’s murder cover-up (RIP Steve), the show had a lot going on. There were identical twins, forbidden love affairs, and LGBTQ+ romances. There were frightening near-misses, battles with alcoholism, and a divisive domestic abuse storyline.

And, on top of all of that, there was yet another hit-and-run… one which set the popular TV show up for a possible third season.

Of course, the season finale tied up a lot of loose ends… but, let’s face it, there’s still a lot we don’t know. With that in mind, Stylist’s digital editor-at-large Kayleigh Dray has done her best to find the answers we’re all searching for.

You’re welcome.

How badly was Jen injured in the car crash?

Dead to Me brought things full circle in the season finale, with a hit-and-run car accident at the very same intersection where Judy first crashed into Ted.

At first glance, it seemed everyone was OK: Judy was largely unscathed, James Marsden’s Ben fled the scene, and Judy… well, she appeared to be injured, but was still able to talk not long after the crash. Surely that means she’s fine?

Netflix’s Dead To Me: how badly was Jen injured in the car crash?

Credit: Netflix

Not necessarily, according to show creator Liz Feldman. Indeed, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she was asked if the fact Judy was still conscious and talking proved fans’ theory that the character was OK.

“I don’t know that it means that,” she said.

Ominous. Especially as Applegate’s character had a lot of blood trickling around her face after the crash.

So, will Jen… die?

Gulp. We hope not, quite frankly: the success of this show is largely hinged on Applegate and Cardellini’s amazing chemistry. And we highly doubt that that Dead To Me writers are going to kill off their lead. Perhaps season three – should Netflix decide to renew the popular series (and, let’s face it, they’re almost definitely going to) – will focus on Jen’s recovery from her injuries, and Judy’s support during this time.

Considering the show’s recurring themes of trauma and grief, the experience could also help drive some other stories forward. Ben, for example, is a good guy with a very strong moral compass: we doubt he will be able to brush this mistake aside. Judy, likewise, could be hit by survivor’s guilt once again. 

And let’s not forget that season one was almost entirely focused on Jen’s struggle to come to terms with Ted’s death. Perhaps this hit-and-run will trigger some feelings of PTSD, too?

Will Detective Perez continue to prove herself an ally?

In the biggest twist of the series, Jen confessed her crimes to Detective Perez (Diana Maria Riva), only for Perez to inform her that she would not be pressing charges.

Why? A multitude of reasons, really: she didn’t have a body, for starters, and recent evidence meant that Perez had been able to to arrest her corrupt police chief, who was a major presence in Steve’s Greek Mafia operation. Then there’s the personal motive: Perez was just a child when her mother was murdered by an abusive partner. She knew that Jen had been scared of Steve. That Judy had been terrified of him. And, based on that, she decided to let Jen go.

“You’re going to go home, and we’re never going to talk about what we didn’t find out here ever again,” Perez told Jen, as she drove her home after a fruitless search for Steve’s body in the woods.

“We were never here. I don’t want to be a cop right now. I want to be a person.”

Netflix’s Dead To Me: will Detective Perez continue to prove herself an ally?

Credit: Netflix

Discussing the twist with THR, Feldman added: “We tried to essentially set her up in this way and unravel her character in such a way that you would believe that for this moment, she doesn’t want to take another mom away from her kids, that she just chooses in this moment to be a human being, exactly what she says – she just doesn’t want to be that person in this moment, she just wants to be a human being.”

Note that phrasing there: Perez made this decision “in the moment”. Because, as we all saw at the end of the episode, a curious dog unearthed Steve’s body in the woods and brought the entire cover-up tumbling around everyone’s ears.

Sure, Perez could potentially defend them and continue to push her mafia motive, although there’s every chance that doing so will damage her career. It’s that or… well, or she teams up with Judy and Jen to hatch a new plan. The kind of plan that involves planting evidence elsewhere.

Only time will tell, we guess.

Will Michelle and Judy get back together?

Judy and Michelle (Natalie Morales) were getting along just fine until the latter learned that her new girlfriend was in a whole world of trouble. Not only is Judy the key suspect in a case being investigated by Michelle’s ex, but she’s also been the subject of a restraining order.

Throw in the fact that Judy’s husband Steve is missing (presumed dead by most, known to be 100% dead by viewers watching at home), and you have a recipe for Michelle needing some serious space.

Then again, the last episode did show Michelle moving out of her ex’s apartment. And Feldman has expressed a wish to bring Morales’ character back.

“I don’t want to make any promises because I haven’t started the writers’ room yet and sometimes things have a way of changing but I mean, if it were up to me, which I guess it is, I’d love to see those two characters [brought together] again,” she said.

Netflix’s Dead To Me: Judy (Linda Cardellini) and Jen (Christina Applegate)

Credit: Netflix

And… Ben and Jen?

Well, they seemed to get on well but it’s highly unlikely they can make this relationship work. Jen killed Ben’s twin, whom he loved. He injured her in a dramatic hit-and-run. And he definitely knows something about the circumstances surrounding Steve’s death, too.

All in all, it’s probably a no. He’ll be back, sure, and their paths may well cross. But we doubt romance will bloom in the same place twice on this occasion.

What will Charlie do after reading Jen’s letter?

Charlie (Sam McCarthy) has been struggling to deal with the loss of his dad ever since we first met him back in season one. And, in the season two finale, the troubled teen stumbled across Jen’s letter to Judy about… well, about killing Steve (Marsden), and turning herself in to the police.

Based on all of Charlie’s behaviour up until this point, it’s unlikely that he’s going to be chill about this information. Especially as the letter heavily hints that Judy was to blame for Ted’s death.

“We’ll have to see what he does with that information,” teases Feldman.

Anyone else predict another revenge plot in the making?

Finally, will there be a Dead To Me season 3?

At the moment, we have no confirmation of another season, but – based on fans’ enthusiastic response to the new episodes (the show is currently at the top of Netflix UK’s trending list) – then we’re willing to bet that a third season could very well be on the cards.

If we’re going to make an educated guess, it’s likely the third season will drop in May 2021 if it gets greenlit. That is, of course, if the coronavirus lockdown doesn’t slow production.

Images: Netflix

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