MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! There. You’ve been warned. And I’m giving that warning because I have never been this far ahead on a Netflix show before, so I actually could spoil things for people. The second season of Netflix’s original show, Dead to Me, premiered on Friday, and there were so many well staggered twists that I really couldn’t help myself! That, and there are only ten half hour episodes. But really good writing and acting, too!
No surprise here, the season picks up the morning after Jen killed Judy’s abusive ex, Steve Wood. They stick him in a freezer and then try and figure out what to do. Rather slowly, if I do say so myself. There’s also the fact that Jen is lying to Judy about what went down. Steve attacking Jen is a lot different from the reality of Jen snapping and killing him for saying some pretty harsh stuff.
Anyways, they do manage to get rid of the body in the Los Angeles forest, but there’s a whole lot of other stuff that’s making covering up Steve’s death so much harder than Ted’s. For one, Judy had just turned Steve in for money laundering for the Greek mob. Other things made me so much more nervous, like Jen’s son, Charlie, finding and driving around Steve’s really expensive car. Even worse? Jen ends up torching it! Because that wasn’t going to backfire on them.
One of the biggest twists came at the end of the very first episode, where a seemingly brought from the dead Steve is alive and well at Jen’s front door. Turns out, it’s his “semi-identical” twin brother, Ben. It’s almost so ridiculous that it was actually hilarious. Especially since Ben is Steve’s polar opposite. His dork-dancing was probably my favorite thing ever. It’s also really sweet that him and Jen are falling for each other, but it’s kind of hard to make a relationship last when she killed his twin.
Romance also sparks and flames out for Judy, when she meets chef, Michelle, after her elderly mother moves into the facility that Judy works at. It all seems well and good until we find out that Michelle still lives with her ex…who happens to be Detective Perez. Holy crap! That one got me almost as good as the revel of Ben/Steve. Perez is zoning in on Jen and Judy, and it doesn’t help that Nick gets involved back in the case. Everything comes to a head when pictures of Charlie in Steve’s now burned car surface.
Jen decides that she needs to take responsibility, so she leaves Judy to care for her kids and heads over to take Perez to where they buried the body. That’d be awesome for the cops, except Jen can’t find where they buried him to save her life. Perez decides to stop being a cop on the drive home and tells her to forget any of the last several hours happened. She tells Jen to go be a mom for her kids (they bond over having lost their own mothers at a young age). While all that’s happening, Charlie gives Judy a bag he took out of Steve’s car that just so happens to link Steve and the chief of police to the Greek mob.
Ultimately, it all works out for Jen and Judy in the end. Psych! That wouldn’t be any fun. A dog ends up digging up Steve’s body. They contact Ben, who gets shit-faced and ends up crashing into Jen and Judy who were bringing home a new car to Charlie for his birthday. Then Ben decides to drive away. Good grief! So much was packed into those ten episodes, and so many amazing twists! No wonder people binge watch shows! I very much look forward to what the next season holds. My major praises for the season include involving Jen’s older son, Charlie more, and bringing back James Marsden. He’s just such a likable guy! I imagine Jen and Judy aren’t out of the woods yet (pun intended) with Steve’s death, but Ben isn’t doing himself any favors either. Watch this if you’ve seen the first season!