Dead To Me bids farewell with an unusually tender season 3
Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are as strong as ever in Dead To Me's overtly sentimental finale
[Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers for Dead To Me seasons one and two.]
Dead To Me runs in circles. Netflix’s tragicomedy hinges on the strength of an unlikely companionship that is constantly tested. Let’s revisit these hurdles: Judy (Linda Cardellini) hits and kills a man while driving. The guilt makes her befriend his widow, Jen (Christina Applegate). In a fit of rage several episodes later, Jen bludgeons Judy’s smarmy ex-fiancé to death. They often lie to each other and then come clean during these events, all while hiding their crimes from the police. Dead To Me has spun a similar mysterious yarn during both seasons. The repetition succeeds because it forges an unshakable bond between two women who couldn’t be more different from each other. It’s their unexpected synergy, not their secrets, that make the show compelling.
So it’s no wonder season three’s victory lies in how it spotlights Jen and Judy’s devotion to one another. Dead To Me maximizes Applegate and Cardellini’s sublime talent and chemistry to deliver a potent goodbye that’s jarringly overdramatic. (At times, the show edges towards we’re-going-to-cry This Is Us territory.) Yet the eps still hit hard because of how committed both actors are to these roles. In less capable hands, Dead To Me’s impact would’ve crashed, but their performances somehow make a predictable script and suspense soar. (For additional waterworks, check out Cardellini’s speech during Applegate’s Walk of Fame induction earlier this month.)
The overarching structure is rehashed in season three as Jen and Judy still keep major life updates from each other. There’s no time to deal with health issues amid multiple external problems: Steve’s (James Marsden) body is discovered in the woods where they buried him. His twin brother Ben (Marsden pulling remarkable double duty) rammed into them while driving drunk in the previous finale. And then there’s Jen’s teenage son, who has potentially discovered Judy killed his dad.