‘Not Dead Yet’ Episodes 1 And 2: Recap And Ending, Explained: Will Nell Lose Her Job?

There is no shortage of shows that talk about dead people. “The Good Place,” starring Kristen Bell, was all about the world people go to after death. There is such humor in death too; who knew? “Not Dead Yet” is another spin on death, but here the dead people follow a person for a reason. A journalist who writes obituaries is haunted by people who are dead, especially those for whom she is about to write obituaries. Is she hallucinating, or are they real? The show will tell us more about that. “Not Dead Yet” is based on the novel by Alexandra Potter and is a Hulu original, which released on February 8th, 2023.

Spoilers Ahead


Nell Is Back To Work

Nell Serrano was all about her life and work when she suddenly decided to leave her life and job in America and follow her boyfriend, Philip, to England. She hoped living with him over there would help her find the happy ending she was looking for. Little did she know, Philip would break her heart, and she would have to pack her bags and come back to America, where right now she has nothing to fall back on. There is no specific reason mentioned why she and Philip broke up, but Nell is devastated. Thankfully, her best friend Sam from her old workplace used her connection to give her the job back, but this time not as a full-time journalist who would cover hard news. She would have to write obituaries. Nell is not excited about the new job at her old workplace, but she is taking up whatever she gets and hoping to build up on the same but eventually will change her beat if her boss lets her. Nell’s best friend Sam is now a mother of two and is now friends with Nell and Sam’s old nemesis, Lexi, their boss’s daughter. Though Nell is still hung up on ridiculing Lexi, Sam has formed quite a friendship with her and loves the fact that Sam is honest with her. Nell is slightly jealous of the new friendship Sam has formed with Lexi, but she is trying to be there for Sam because Nell uprooted her whole life to live in England and kind of abandoned Sam in that process.

Nell is trying to rebuild her life with her roommate Edward, who has autism. Nell is trying hard to get more information about Asperger’s syndrome, which is nothing but the autism spectrum. Edward is weird and very territorial when it comes to his space, and he is the alpha in the house, which means he is the one who makes the rules and asks Nell to follow them. Nell never refuses to follow any of his orders at home, which makes one wonder who is in charge of the house. Nell tries to have one-on-one time with Edward, but in many places, he tries to avoid talking about any of his issues with her. As a way to improve her life from here on, she tries to get along with Edward, hoping someday he will feel comfortable sharing his problem and wins with her, and in that process, he will find a friend in her. 

As the work assigned to Nell begins, she is given the job of writing the obituary of Monty, the man responsible for writing and composing a famous bubble gum jingle. Nell claims she always hated the commercial, and she cannot believe she has to write an obituary about the same person. She meets a man named Monty at the bar for her birthday and is distracted by Sam, who also invites Lexi for the birthday. Though Lexi is on good terms with Sam, she is having a hard time getting along with Nell. Nell tries to break the friendship Sam and Lexi share, which puts Sam in a very bad state of mind. Nell is having a hard time being around new people, especially accepting Lexi as Sam’s new friend. Nell is all new to the new management in the office, and her jealousy brings out the worst in her.


Ending Explained – Will Nell Lose Her Job For Overstepping Her Boundaries In Her Workplace?

After reaching home, Nell is slightly drunk when she sees the man she spoke to at the bar at her home trying to have a conversation with her. Nell is terrified, and she starts wondering if she is hallucinating or if this is for real. She believes that if she goes to sleep, maybe whoever she sees will disappear. She wakes up to see the same man, whose name is Monty. He reveals he is the person she is supposed to write the obituary about—the bubble gum jingle man. Nell is still not ready to accept that a ghost is following her around. Nell still believes this is some sort of hallucination that is bothering her, but she still can’t seem to understand why she is able to see the ghosts. What is the game plan here? Or is this some superpower she possesses right now that no one is aware of? Monty also is trying to understand what is the nature of this supernatural phenomenon the rules of which he isn’t aware of. He just knows he needs to get in touch with Nell and probably help her write his obituary. Nell is not keen on knowing much about his life, but Monty asks her to meet him at a romantic restaurant. Feeling awkward about being alone in a restaurant meant for couples, Monty points at a woman who is enjoying being herself. He reveals that the woman, Cricket, is his wife. He loves her, and he cannot stop loving her even after he is gone. Nell is touched by the love that Cricket and Monty shared and decides to become friends with Cricket. Soon it will be established that Nell can see the ghosts of people whose obituaries she is about to write. She is not comfortable with having ghosts around them all the time, but she is slowly adapting to their presence. Monty disappeared right after the obituary was published, but Nell’s friendship with Cricket continues to grow. Even though there is an age difference between the two of them, they enjoy each other’s company.

In the second episode, “Not a Tiger Yet,” Nell, on the other hand, has been given another obituary of a motivational speaker, Jane Marvel. The ghost of the same motivational speaker appears and begins her usual tirade of motivational lines on Nell. Nell is irritated by the sight of this woman, who is constantly happy and chirpy. But Nell realizes she probably will be able to find some tips on how to make her life believable from here on, where she could pitch her news stories to Lexi. Her roommate Edward is a contributing factor in the news story she wants to develop. On the other hand, she is constantly bugged by Jane, who is habitually trying to make her feel motivated. Jane sees Nell being a pushover and points out the fact that she lets people control her, and she never takes the opportunity in hand to make it her own. Motivated by Jane’s words, Nell publishes the article on a bird that is about to go extinct on the online version of the newspaper without informing Lexi. Lexi is furious and threatens to fire Nell. Lexi is forthright about her dislike for Nell, but she finally realizes she needs to be more responsible with the work she is doing. Sam comes to Nell’s rescue and makes Lexi understand that maybe Nell can help Lexi bring back the readership. Lexi reveals she wants to keep Nell on the obituary beat because she has received many calls, emails, and messages praising Nell’s work. Her writing has a way of connecting with people. This is why Lexi intends to keep Nell on the same beat and prosper. Nell also realizes she needs to continue doing what she is good at instead of jumping the steps to reach the final destination. Life never works like that. She would have jumped the gun and moved to England, hoping to seek a perfect life. She refuses to walk through the journey, which is the best part of life. Nell came to terms with the fact that she would take slow and steady steps to make her career prosper. Nell understands the impact she is having on people with the words she is writing for the deceased. Nell realizes the importance of connecting with the dead. It is the connection that is helping her. She will probably not let them get to her from now on and understand what they want to convey to her and, through her, convey it to the people who matter to them.


What To Expect From Episode 3 Of ‘Not Dead Yet’?

Episode three of the show will be about Nell encountering more ghosts about whom she is about to write. It will be interesting to know what else Nell will learn from the deceased and how she will either learn or unlearn from them about her life decisions and choices. It will be interesting to see Nell prosper in her job on his beat, but will Lexi finally get along with Nell?


Final Thoughts

“Not Dead Yet” is turning out to be a good show, where the humor about the dead people is landing. The classic line from “I see dead people” from “The Sixth Sense” works perfectly here, and the writers smartly insert the line at the beginning of the show itself. Directors Dean Holland and writers Casey Johnson and David Windsor add plenty of tasteful humor, which works like a charm. It will be interesting to know how the story goes forward from here. Is there any power that has hit Nell that helps her see the deceased? Hopefully, the writers will explore more of this in this season. The premise of the show seems interesting. It will be exciting to see the nature of the humor remain the same until the end. A good first two episodes, indeed.


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Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.

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