Episode eight of season two of Not Dead Yet ended with Nell and TJ breaking up. Nell shared her plans to freeze her eggs, while TJ revealed he had no desire to be a father. Lexi and Sam, on the other hand, were having a good time, as the latter had filed for divorce and wanted her best friend to have the time of her life. Edward found out that Duncan Rhodes was planning to sell the newspaper, and he was in a dilemma about whether he should share the news with Lexi.
Spoilers Ahead
What was the piece of news shared with Lexi and Nell?
Edward woke up Nell and Lexi early in the morning to share the most dreadful news he had come across. Nell had been Edward’s roommate, and Lexi and him had been together for a while. He finally revealed that Duncan was selling the newspaper. Lexi yelled, as she always knew her father would pull a stunt like this, but she never anticipated this move so early. Lexi agreed to speak to her father about it; she froze and could not counter the topic when Duncan said it was never too late to sell the newspaper and that this was the right idea.
Who was Nell’s latest obituary?
The subject of what was possibly going to be Nell’s final obituary for the paper was Donah Hill, an ex-editor of the same newspaper. Donah began to follow Nell around, just like all the ghosts in the past, and began to talk about how she should not wait for Lexi to speak up to her father. Nell should probably try to fight for her job and make Duncan look at the faces of the people whose jobs might be in jeopardy. Donah Hill comes across as a strong female role model who has done a lot of work in the past for the women of SoCal Independent. She could sense Nell was freaking out over the possibility of losing her job, and Donah was the one who was keeping her somehow calm.
Why was Nell afraid to lose the job?
Nell was afraid to lose the job because she had begun to enjoy working with Dennis, Sam, and Lexi, and her obituary writing made her popular amongst the readers. Many saw her writings as a heartfelt goodbye to the person who had passed. Nell was able to do this because she was able to meet the ghost and get the details of their lives, their troubles, and their catharsis as well. Nell also needed the money to help her fund the egg-freezing process, which was why she was hoping Lexi would do this for her and the rest of the staff.
Who did Nell wake up with the next day?
Duncan had introduced the office to Quentin Nelson, whose job it was to assess who would be the most qualified person to stay back when the new company took over the newspaper. Quentin was an uptight person who did not care much about the feelings of others. Nell tried to get in his good books, just like Sam and Dennis, but the man was very straightforward about the job assigned to him. Nell meets him at Cricket’s wine bar, and the man ends up getting drunk. Quentin was on a job, and he wasn’t supposed to be getting intoxicated while trying to interview the staff of SoCal Independent. Nell began to get distracted by TJ, who wanted to help her take her mind off Quentin Nelson, who was not good news. Nell began to get drunk and woke up next to Quentin the morning. Thankfully, they did not sleep with each other, but she could recall some memories from the bar, which included some scandalizing details of Quentin’s personal life.
Why was Duncan in the staff pantry?
The next day, Nell found Duncan in the staff pantry, and she was surprised to find him on this side of the office. Duncan would never leave his office on the floor above the newsroom, and at that moment, he was fascinated by the pantry. Nell remained confused at what she had witnessed when Dennis let everyone know about Duncan collapsing and being taken to the hospital by Lexi. It quickly dawned on her that Duncan may have died, which was why she could see his ghost, and she began conversing with him. Sam was also on the way to the hospital to be with Lexi.
Duncan’s ghost began to follow Nell everywhere, and the spirit began to have something of an existential crisis, as if he had forgotten who he was. The ghost version of Duncan was also full of himself, and it began to bother Nell. How could he be oblivious to the fact that he could put a lot of people out of jobs and out on the streets? Nell hoped that just because Lexi never had the strength to confront her father, Nell should take it upon herself to make the ghost Duncan realize the mistake he had made.
How did Duncan help Nell?
Duncan was a business tycoon who was known for making many successful mergers in the past and getting things done his way. The ghost version of Duncan helped Nell with preparing for the interview with Quentin, who was hiring people from SoCal and relocating them to other client companies of his. Quentin initially dismissed Nell and claimed she wasn’t an ideal candidate. Nell showcased another side of her persona thanks to the ghost Duncan, who was in the room offering her tips to impress Quentin. The man was floored by Nell, and she was considered for the job Quentin was looking for.
Why was Nell keen on getting Duncan to talk to Lexi?
Now that Duncan offered his advice to Nell and they’d been successful in getting her a new job, she requested that he hear Lexi out. Duncan was still in denial about a lot of things around him, including Lexi and her will to take the newspaper to new heights. Duncan was not willing to listen to Nell or hear Lexi out since he was used to being who he was—an emotionally unavailable father who constantly created competitive situations for his daughter but never really believed she could run the organization. Besides, the ghost Duncan also claimed his family was never big on emotions, and Nell could see Lexi had the same gene, but she was trying to break the generational trauma.
Was the entire staff at the hospital for Lexi?
Lexi was melting down in the hospital because this was the only scenario she could not control. All her life, Lexi controlled every aspect of her being, but ever since the health of her father was in doctors’ hand, she found herself clueless on how to handle herself. Lexi took over the reception at the hospital and helped them reorganize their system. Nell wanted Lexi to calm down and talk to her about what she would say to her father now. Nell knew the ghost version of Duncan was standing behind her, and he would hear from his daughter’s mouth about how she wanted to be treated.
Lexi and Nell had become good friends, which made it easy for her to open up about being treated as someone who needed to be taken care of. Lexi revealed she was given the SoCal Independent when her father thought she wouldn’t be able to run the business for more than six months. Here she was after several years and having changed the course of the organization. SoCal Independent was moderately successful, and it was mostly because of Lexi’s hard work. What hurt her the most was that her father made the decision to sell the newspaper without speaking to her. To Lexi’s surprise, all the staff from SoCal showed up at the hospital for Lexi and not for Duncan, who finally began to appreciate Lexi, who had made some positive and significant changes in the organization that benefited many employees.
Did Duncan survive the surgery?
Nell was supposed to witness Duncan disappear after he’d witnessed the conversation between his daughter and Nell. Lexi was informed that Duncan survived the surgery, and everyone was happy for Lexi. They all learned that Duncan had sold the paper, and it could not be undone anytime now. Nell was glad she had made Duncan hear what Lexi said about her father.
How did Lexi convince her father to not sell the newspaper?
Lexi could not convince her father to not sell the newspaper as the deal was already signed. At this point, she had no power over him to make any decisions as her father was the full owner, and she wouldn’t have been able to stop him anyway. Lexi decided to liquidate all of her assets and add all of her savings to purchase the newspaper back. She was now the owner of the newspaper, and her father could help her run the establishment.
Lexi wanted to be a part of SoCal Independent, and this was the only way to retain her staff. Lexi all this while was seeking her father’s acceptance and expecting him to reward her for her triumphs. She took it upon herself to purchase the newspaper without letting anyone’s advice bother her decisions. She wanted to be the owner herself and not have anyone else hovering above her. The decision to become the owner of the newspaper was a big one, and yet she took the risk, and Duncan was happy for his daughter.
Not Dead Yet ended with Duncan having some memories of conversing with Nell in her car, and the woman was shocked about this discovery. Nell also typed in a long letter explaining her job and how it had benefited the newspaper, as her words emotionally connected the readers to the person who had passed. Stating this reason, she had asked for a raise as Nell knew her capability as a writer was top-notch. Lexi was impressed by Nell’s approach and gave her a bigger role, but she could not offer a raise because the newspaper suddenly was not funded by Duncan anymore. Nell had hoped for a positive response when it came to a financial raise that would help her through the egg-freezing process, but sadly, she would have to wait.
On the other hand, Lexi invited Sam and Dennis over to discuss the rebranding of the newspaper, which she changed from SoCal Independent to SoCool Independent. Dennis and Sam were not happy with the new name of the newspaper because they would never be taken seriously. This was Lexi’s first move after taking over, and she realized the first big change was a disaster. Dennis and Sam had journalism experience, and they were able to call out her blunder, and Lexi was quick to make some major changes.
