This article contains spoilers for Dead to Me season 3
As a black comedy, Dead to Me doesn't shy away from showing very human characters who are incredibly flawed in many ways. Some characters are too caught up in their own world to act intelligently, while other characters' lives are constantly on the line and, as such, they act smarter than they ever have in any other situation.
More than half of the series' main cast commits one crime or another across Dead to Me's three-season run, but some of them are also much better criminals than others. Whether they get away with murder or not, characters like Jen, Judy, Ben, Steve, and more all display their intelligence (or lack thereof) in alternately hilarious and heartbreaking ways.
10 Lorna Harding
Although she might be a brutal real estate agent, Lorna Harding (Valerie Mahaffey) is perhaps one of the most clueless and detached from reality characters in the entire series. Lorna seems to exist in her own world, focused on her sales and her clientele, taking every failed listing as a personal affront, regardless of the circumstances that were out of her control.
She does seem to love her grandchildren, or at least loves to spoil them and enrage Jen in the process, and she laments the loss of her son Ted. But her character is completely materialistic and unaware of the ways in which she comes off at any given moment.
9 Ben Wood
Ben might be one of the most lovable characters in the Dead to Me universe, thanks in large part to James Marsden's winning performance as the troubled himbo. But as sweet and puppy-like as poor Ben might be, there is no denying the fact that when it comes down to it, he just isn't that smart.
Ben is extremely gullible, believing basically everything that any character tells him at face value. Even though he might ultimately be one of the most honest characters, owning up to all of his mistakes and doing time for his crimes, Ben is never portrayed as a believably intelligent adult, no matter how lovable or likable he is.
8 Charlie Harding
As a typical teenage boy, Charlie (Sam McCarthy) is often shown to be pretty clueless about what is going on in the world around him, too interested in his own teenage issues to try and pay attention. This changes ever so slightly in season 3 when Charlie thinks he has figured out something about his father's passing, and Jen and Judy's relation to it.
But as it turns out, Charlie is completely wrong, and once again shows not just his cluelessness, but also his gullibility, as Jen and Judy quickly and convincingly misdirect him from the truth. The truth would be too hard for Charlie to handle anyway, so perhaps his dim-witted behavior is a good thing.
7 Henry Harding
Henry (Luke Roessler) might be the younger Harding brother, but the adorable and plucky young boy has a wealth of knowledge well beyond his years. Even though he spends half his screen time in the series taking part in his Holy Harmonies chorus and dance group, Henry also becomes a source of incredible wisdom for characters who are much older than him.
In particular, Henry is a great mentor to his own mother Jen, his quasi-stepmother Judy, and the always-struggling Ben. Even though he has no idea what these adults are going through, he is sometimes smarter than they are in the middle of all the conflict.
6 Pastor Wayne
As the leader of the grief support group that plays such a major role in all three seasons of Dead to Me, Pastor Wayne (Keong Sim) provides an incredible amount of emotional support and words of wisdom to almost all main characters in the series.
He doesn't receive as much focus in the series as other characters such as Jen, Judy, or Ben, but he still comes through for characters when they are feeling their lowest. Even though he is prone to making the occasional awkward verbal slip, Wayne serves as an incredible mentor that the series' characters would have struggled without.
5 Steve Wood
Out of all the characters in Dead to Me who manage to get away with murder (both figuratively and literally), Steve (also played by James Marsden) perhaps comes the closest to being a truly evil villain. He is incredibly cold and calculating, making monstrous split second decisions that benefit no one other than himself and hurt everyone around him, even those he claims to love, like Judy.
In the end, Steve's downfall is due to his arrogance and inability to stop himself from hurting others, with his careless and reckless nature undermining his intelligence.
4 Ana Perez
There's no denying that Detective Ana Perez (Diana-Maria Riva) is incredibly good at her job. She comes very close to solving each key criminal case at the center of Dead to Me's many mysteries, ranging from Steve Wood's murder to Jen and Judy's hit-and-run accident.
All the while, she also manages to keep a double life going while working with Jen to keep her dark secrets hidden. Perhaps her only flaw is her intense emotional attachment to these cases, which prevents her from having the level of critical distance needed to put these cases to bed once and for all.
3 Nick Prager
As smart as Detective Perez is, her subordinate detective Nick Prager (Brandon Scott) might actually be even smarter. Despite all the misdirections and subterfuge going on behind the scenes, Nick is able to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated pieces of evidence incredibly fast and with great accuracy.
If Jen hadn't confessed to Detective Perez that Ben was responsible for the hit-and-run accident, Nick likely would have solved that case within a few more days, and he comes close to unearthing the truth about Steve Wood's murder in the end, too.
2 Jen Harding
Jen Harding (Christina Applegate) has led many different lives, and in each one of them, she's more or less a genius. As a realtor, she is incredibly successful and great at her job. Likewise, she is an incredibly protective and fierce mother, even if she constantly keeps them in the dark about what is going on in their lives.
But above all, as a secret killer alongside Judy, Jen is just about as good a partner in crime as anyone could have. She goes above and beyond to ensure their secrets are kept, even if it means blackmailing detectives and maybe poisoning agents. Her only mistake is potentially coming clean about her crimes in the series' shocking cliffhanger ending (which left Dead To Me fans with many questions afterward).
1 Judy Hale
While Jen might potentially change her life forever with her shocking last-minute confession, Judy (Linda Cardellini) concludes the series on her own terms with her incredible record of secret-keeping and mystery intact. Although her life sadly comes to an end in season 3, Judy spends all three seasons keeping one harrowing secret after another close to her chest, even as it tears her up inside.
She is constantly one step ahead of everyone else, whether in planning for Jen's future, finding financial security through Steve's shady dealings, living out her last days on her own terms, and putting an end to Steve's murder investigation. Judy might seem sweet and innocent to everyone she meets, but her kindness and compassion conceal an incredibly gifted grifter mind.
Source:gamerant.com