“Dead to Me” season 3 brings back all the mishaps done by Judy and Jen, how they come to cover each other’s tracks once again and decide to support one another no matter whatever history they shared. Judy was responsible for Ted’s (Jen’s husband) death in season 1. In season 2, Jen ended up killing Steve by hitting and drowning him. Judy and Jen have been each other’s strength since then. The third and final season of “Dead to Me” is again an extension of season 2, where we explore their friendship.
Spoilers Ahead
Story Of Judy And Jen After The Car Crash
“Dead to Me” Season 3 begins with Jen having a dream of her and Judy relaxing by the beach, which changes to Judy on a boat in the middle of the sea, and Jen imagining talking to her mother, only to be awakened by Judy, who was with her when a car crashed into their vehicle at a cross-section. Judy and Jen were about to give Jen’s son Charlie a car as a birthday gift, which is now ruined thanks to Ben, who was drinking and driving. Ben arrives at Jen’s home looking for her, bleeding and drunk. Charlie takes him to the emergency room to get him checked up. Ben soon runs into Judy and informs her of Steve’s body being found in a forest, and since the forest comes under federal jurisdiction, the FBI will now take over the case. Jen was badly hurt in the accident, but Judy had minor injuries. Judy and Jen are restless and feel helpless at the hospital. Meanwhile, Detective Perez is in shock after Steve’s body is discovered. Ben starts getting memories of the hit and run, and after meeting with Judy, he realizes his car crashed into Jen’s vehicle while she was driving. Jen fears getting an MRI done because she is worried that the doctors might detect cancer. Jen has no life-threatening injuries. Judy’s tests, though, reveal that her cervical areas show collection masses, which might be an indication of cancer. Doctors inform Jen thinking she is Judy. Jen has a DeJa’Vu of sorts, for she remembered how much she struggled when her mother was fighting cancer, and she eventually died. Jen was afraid to break the news to her, and telling her the news meant it would be real, and she didn’t want to lose any other person in the family after the year she had had.
Meanwhile, Ben is wracked with guilt from the accident and tries every possible way to avoid Jen, Judy, and the police. He hides the car he was driving and bolts every question asked by Nick, who has now re-joined the force and suspects Ben. A tiny bird centerpiece made by Judy as a gift for Jen’s son Henry was the murder weapon that killed Steve. The piece broke as a result, and it went from Henry to Ben, and finally, it was returned to Ben by Nick. Nick starts to suspect that Judy and Jen were involved in Steve’s murder, but he does not have any concrete proof to back his claims. Ben feels guilty for his brother’s death, for Steve was never supportive of Ben’s alcoholism. That’s why he decides to come clean to Jen about the hit-and-run. Jen is not shocked, but she realizes she loves him and forgives him. Jen also informs detective Perez that she knows Ben was the driver who hit their car, but she does not want to file any charges. Ben loves Jen and vice versa, and that is why they try to be honest with one another. Jen, though she carries a big secret on her shoulder, realizes that apart from that, she will be honest with Ben and never keep him in the dark.
Meanwhile, Judy’s test results are worse than she anticipated. She is diagnosed with stage IV cervical cancer that has spread to her liver. Judy is upset over the fact that even if she recovers from cancer, her chances of conceiving will decline after the chemotherapy. Judy is overwhelmed by all this information and decides not to tell Jen about it. Jen has practically been her family and her only friend, and making her upset over this news does not seem like the right idea. Though her doctor suggests she reveal the information to a close friend because she cannot handle stage IV chemotherapy on her own, Judy cooks up a lie about heading to another town with Michelle to help her set up a new restaurant. But one day, at a party, realizing how much Jen cares for Judy, she reveals her ailment. Jen decides to support her through the entire chemotherapy process until she is cancer free.
‘Dead To Me’ Ending Explained – Is Judy gone?
Ben meanwhile goes into grief mode, in which he spirals and joins the grief support group to talk about Steve. On the day of his brother’s funeral, he tries his level best to control his emotions but is unable to do so. Ben is a sensitive person and not a narcissistic, selfish person like Steve, who practically abandoned Judy. Ben wants to make things right with Jen and would like to date her. But his drinking problem brings out the worst in him, and he requests that Nick take him to rehab.
Judy’s treatment begins, and to keep her mind off the pain, Judy helps Jen make 1000 origami cranes for a church project. As Judy finishes her first round of chemotherapy, awaiting results, both women celebrate by doing mushrooms. Unfortunately, Jen is hospitalized due to overconsumption, where her pregnancy is revealed. Jen is four months pregnant, and it is Ben’s child. Jen is overjoyed but is reluctant to share the news with Ben. She feels it won’t be right to share heavy news such as this since he is a recovering alcoholic and distraught over his brother’s death. Judy is happy too, but she is aware she won’t be around because of her sickness, so she decides to bring them together. Ben reveals that Steve and Judy were taking him home the night Ted died because Ben was drunk. Along with Steve and Judy, Ben has been drowning in guilt as well. At that moment, the police arrest Ben for the hit-and-run case involving crashing into Jen’s car. Jen is close to revealing her pregnancy with his child, but his arrest puts her on a backfoot, and she decides to dedicate all her time to helping Judy through the rest of her journey dealing with cancer. Charlie, Jen’s older kid, is not very thrilled to know about the child’s father, for he has witnessed Ben in drunken situations.
Meanwhile, the FBI investigation into Steve’s murder comes to a point when Judy and Jen realize that it will trace back to them. They destroy the murder weapon but forget about the fact that Jen’s DNA is all over Steve’s body. To avoid conviction, Jen pleads to FBI Officer Glenn Moranis that she was having an affair with Steve, and there is no way he won’t find her DNA all over Steve’s body. But Judy would be devastated if that information were to leak. The FBI officer believes Jen and does not go ahead with the DNA sampling. Judy, though, receives the results of her treatment, and it is not good news. Her stage IV has become terminal, and no treatment would work on her. Realizing she has not had much time left to give to Jen and her kids, she decides to live on her terms going forward. Judy has accepted the ailment as part of her body, and she won’t live long enough to see Jen’s unborn child as well. She plans a vacation to Mexico and stays at Steve’s home in that country. Jen is hellbent on getting her to join a clinical trial, which Judy is not keen on joining because she knows her body will not respond. Judy has not given up on life yet, but she is embracing it as it is.
Judy, unaware of the story concocted by Jen for the FBI officer, decides to confess the fact that she was the one who killed Steve, kept his dead body in Jen’s refrigerator, and moved him to the forest in the middle of the night. Jen realizes Judy is doing this to avoid being a part of the clinical trial. Jen begs the detectives to put Judy on house arrest while she can continue to be part of the clinical trial, which will either treat her or won’t. The detectives agree to do so. Judy is not happy, but for the sake of Jen, she agrees to be a part of the clinical trial because she realizes Jen does not want to lose another friend this soon. As a surprise, Judy’s mother offers to wear the ankle monitor and head to San Francisco, pretending to be Judy. Meanwhile, Judy and Jen cross the border and head to Steve’s home in Mexico. In Mexico, a pregnant Jen and an ailing Judy have the time of their lives. Jen, on Judy’s insistence, informs Ben of her pregnancy. Ben is overjoyed. Judy finally reveals she intends to live in this house till her last breath. Judy asks Jen to head back to Laguna and be with Ben and her kids. Jen is heartbroken to let go of Judy from her life, for she came at a time when no one was there to help her get over the grief of losing Ted. Jen tries her best to bring Judy back to the USA, but since she ran away from the authorities, Judy is technically a fugitive. Judy is content with spending her last days in Mexico, as she has plenty of fond memories of spending time with Steve. Judy leaves one morning, and Jen tearfully heads back to her life in Laguna. She eventually gets together with Ben, delivers their daughter, and lives happily with them when suddenly, she decides to reveal the truth about her involvement in Steve’s death. Jen keeps thinking of what Judy always told her: not to base her relationship on a lie. This thought keeps coming back to her repeatedly till she understands what Judy meant by it. Ben is a nice person, and Jen decides he deserves to know the truth about Steve’s death. Jen’s admission of the crime will either make their relationship or break it, a risk she is willing to take.
Final Thoughts On Series Finale ‘Dead To Me’
The “Dead to Me” series finale is an ode to female friendships. Women who would do anything for their best friends. The final season of “Dead to Me” did not come close to how good the debut season was, for there are some impossible plotlines that have been included, which were avoided in the first two seasons. Suspension of disbelief has been exploited to an extent, and a lot of plot points seem ridiculous. The romance angle between Judy and Michelle did not serve any purpose this season. Jen and Judy’s love for one another is evident, but the writers took quite the liberty by adding unbelievable character traits which make them seem like angels on the planet USA. The season finale of “Dead to Me” is average, and the humor lacked the punch that seasons 1 and 2 were known for. The show is an easy breezy watch. If you have seen the first two seasons and are eager to know what happens further down the road to Jen, Judy, and Ben, give it a watch.
“Dead to Me” is a Netflix Original and is now streaming with subtitles.
