Now that Netflix's Dead to Me has concluded its acclaimed three-season run, fans are left to contend with all the storylines the series leaves unresolved. Some characters, such as Judy, get a very final end. Other characters' stories, including those of Jen and Ben, are more open-ended than ever.
It's a risk for a series to leave so many questions unanswered, and it could affect the way viewers feel about it in retrospect. But even with all of these mysteries, Dead to Me goes out on a high note, ending its story on its own terms while leaving viewers wanting more.
Does Michelle Open Her Restaurant?
Compared to everything else in the intense final season, this is a relatively low stakes question to wonder about, but it's still worth asking. Midway through the third season, Judy's ex-girlfriend Michelle announces her plans to open a restaurant of her own in Sonoma after the previous restaurant she worked at closed down.
Judy even thinks about going with Michelle. At least, she tells Jen that she plans to, while concealing her planned treatment for cervical cancer. But after Michelle's brief appearance in the final season, there is no time for closure for her story, or for her plans to open a restaurant.
Does Perez Get In Trouble?
Detective Ana Perez has a surprising arc over the course of Dead to Me's three seasons, moving from adversary to unlikely ally, no matter the potential personal costs to herself or her career. The third season is the closest Perez comes to getting in trouble, with Nick becoming aware of the fact that she is holding onto evidence he entrusted her to turn over to agents investigating Steve's murder.
After all that occurs in the third season, what will happen to Perez? With Steve's murder seemingly wrapped up, and with Ben serving time for the hit-and-run that she was investigating as well, will the truth come out about her evidence-tampering, or will she get away with it all?
Does Nick Get In Trouble?
Nick spends most of the final season doggedly investigating the hit-and-run that landed both Jen and Judy in the hospital. Even when he is sent on a wild goose chase, sifting through hundreds of hours of surveillance video in pursuit of a lead that may never come, Nick is determined to do his job right.
However, when Judy comes in to confess to killing Steve in an attempt to get Jen off the hook, Nick compromises his role as an investigator by letting Judy get away for a few weeks in the belief she'll be undergoing experimental cancer treatment. Except Judy never returns from that getaway, so will Nick face any consequences for letting a suspect loose after their confession?
What Happens To The Greeks?
It's one of the more ridiculous storylines across Dead to Me whenever the series incorporates Steve's shady financial dealings with members of the Greek mafia. They appear only briefly in the final season. It's a heated confrontation in Mexico with both Jen and Judy that leaves the Greeks stranded, their tires shot out.
Investigators suspect the Greeks are responsible for Agent Glenn Moranis's murder, even though that may have been Jen's doing as well, via some poisoned scones. But will they ultimately go down for Steve's murder too, given the dramatic way in which the series ends?
How Does Judy Die?
The final season reveals that Judy has been diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer. Despite Jen's efforts to get Judy enrolled in some experimental clinical trials, Judy refuses, wanting to end her life on her own terms now that she knows this is it.
After the two travel to Mexico, Judy's health continues to decline, and she appears to be in significant pain. When Jen wakes up one morning, Judy is gone, with all that remains behind her a letter, footprints in the sand on the beach, and a lone sailboat on the horizon. But how does Judy actually die? Does she succumb to her illness at sea? Does she sail away somewhere else to spare Jen the pain of watching her die? Does she die by suicide? The series never provides a definitive answer, but Jen accepts the loss all the same.
What Is In Judy's Letter?
Letters have played a major role in Jen and Judy's relationship, with many major revelations shared between the two via handwritten letters that sometimes wind up in the wrong hands. In the series finale, Judy leaves one final letter for Jen on the bedside table the morning that she disappears.
But unlike all other letters in the series, viewers are not allowed to know what this one says. Presumably, the message has to do with Judy further reflecting on her decision to remain in Mexico to die, and further expressing her love for her most unlikely best friend. But fans will only be left to speculate further about the specific details of this final, most important letter.
What Does Jen Tell Ben?
Dead to Me has never been a typical, low-stakes comedy, so it's only fitting the series go out with a cliffhanger ending. In the flash-forward conclusion, Jen and Ben have settled into a happy life with their newborn daughter Joey as well as Jen's sons, Henry and Charlie. But Jen finally cracks under the pressure of keeping secrets from the man she loves. The series ends with her letting Ben know she has to tell him something.
It's obvious that Jen is about to confess that she was actually the one who murdered Ben's twin brother, Steve. What remains unclear is whether she will tell him the exact circumstances. Will she tell the truth or claim it was self-defense? Viewers are left to wonder.
Can Ben Forgive Jen?
Similarly, the audience will also never know just how Ben will react to Jen's earth-shattering revelation. Ben has a fascinating journey in the final season that finds him making amends for the hit-and-run he was responsible for, confessing his guilt to Jen and Judy, taking on a journey of sobriety, and even going to jail for a period of time to pay for his crimes.
He is extremely grateful when Jen and Judy are so quick to forgive him, but will he be able to show the same graciousness in the face of Jen's revelation? Even though Ben had a toxic relationship with his abusive twin brother, it's hard to imagine a world in which he can completely accept Jen after her confession.
Does Jen Go To Jail?
Just as Ben serves time in the final season for his hit-and-run, it's entirely possible that Jen could be looking at a jail sentence following confessing to Steve's murder. Even though the Greeks were likely sentenced to prison for their suspected involvement, Jen's confession could completely change everything.
All of this, of course, assumes that Jen or Ben, or even the both of them, would go to the authorities about this new development. If they were to do so, Jen would certainly be looking at many years behind bars.
Could The Show Come Back?
Given how much the series leaves unresolved in its final season, it's not hard to imagine a revival of some sort being made in the future. But were the series to come back, it would never feel the same without Linda Cardellini's Judy, one of Dead to Me's most important main characters.
It's always possible that the writers could find a way to incorporate her character, whether through flashbacks or a continuation of the motif that found Jen having visions of Judy in the finale. But Dead to Me works as much as it does because of Jen and Judy's relationship. Any version of the show without them together wouldn't feel right.
Source:gamerant.com