Dead to Me Season 2 Review: No Sophomore Slump

This review contains spoilers for the second season of Dead to Me. 

Dead to Me defies easy categorization; part murder-thriller, part buddy comedy, part farce, part satire, it does so many things at once that it really shouldn’t work. Miraculously though, its first season is near-perfection: a zippy, dark delight full of surprises. 

In truth, I would have happily seen it end after just one season, ending on a high note, so expectations for a second season were high.

Ultimately, Dead to Me‘s sophomore outing is solid but not quite as flashy as its first. The central plot is not as engrossing or tightly plotted, but the lead performances — and the revelations and questions about grief and trauma — make up for that.

Without question, the show’s biggest strength has been its two leading ladies, Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate. Judy and Jen’s relationship is “codependy” and these ride-or-dies (I mean that literally) could not be more different. 

For the bulk of the season, it’s more of the same from Applegate and Cardellini. Applegate’s Jen still gets the best dialogue, her cutting asides an art of their own.

Cardellini uses her doe eyes to maximum effect, her well-meaning Judy seemingly always a beat away from a breakdown. Cardellini gets several opportunities to show off her chops in this regard, and she’s never been better than she is on Dead to Me Season 2 Episode 7 “If Only You Knew” and Episode 9 “It’s Not You, It’s Me.”

As the season unwinds, we also get to see newer shades of Judy and Jen, and it’s clear they have had some influence on each other. Whether she’s more self aware because of her conversations with Jen or taking a cue from her friend’s low tolerance for BS, Judy finally stands up to her mother (Katey Sagal). 

In addition, Jen’s confession and decision to return to therapy on Dead to Me Season 2 Episode 10 “Where Do We Go From Here” can certainly be traced to Judy. Judy’s desire to do the right thing and her capacity for hope don’t come naturally to Jen, but her admiration for how her friend approaches life is clear.

(As an aside, the therapy group Jen was a part of last year is unfortunately absent for the majority of the season. This provided a good vehicle for contemplation, reflection, and simply much needed pauses in a show often moving at breakneck speed. Here’s hoping that it’s more of a presence next year.)

One thing that’s tremendously interesting is how Dead to Me portrays the slippery slope of the Jen/Judy friendship. In many ways, they’re better off having each other.

Clearly, neither really had a “person” before the other came along and they’ve formed an atypical family, one that it’s become increasingly apparent they both needed. They’re quick to cheer each other on but they’re also responsible for wreaking plenty of havoc on each others’ lives.

After all, at this point, they’ve both killed each others’ respective partners, lied to each other countless times, and at least in Jen’s case, spoken harsh truths, serving as an uncomfortable mirror and critic for their friend.

The idea that the people we love the most are the ones that hurt us the most isn’t particularly novel, but it is part of a larger picture Dead to Me paints of the interplay between various emotions: love and hate, hope and despair, and grief and anger.

The complex dance between grief and anger was covered extensively in the show’s first season, but here, it takes a new shape. On this season, rather than showcasing the underlying anger of why something terrible has happened, the show instead explores what it means to mourn someone who deeply hurt you.

While James Marsden is terrific and dreamy as Ben, Jen’s new love interest and Steve’s twin, it’s still Steve that looms large. As Judy processes and grieves his death — her effort to stay by the freezer where his dead body lay one of the most clever bits of character driven comedy I’ve seen in some time — she’s filled with anger, confusion, and guilt.

Dead to Me seemingly suggests that at least part of the reason Judy loves and mourns Steve is because of the trauma of her childhood, and it seems reasonable to extend some of Jen’s challenges to her own childhood trauma. Both experiences inform how Jen and Judy approach their lives as adults.

Abandoned and rejected by her mother, Judy sought out another relationship where she was taken for granted and used.

As we learn on Dead to Me Season 2 Episode 10 “Where Do We Go From Here,” Jen carries guilt about how she handled her mother’s illness and as a result, she doesn’t think she deserves much in the way of kindness. Is this why she was stuck in a bad marriage and why she seems to actively fight anyone who sees her as a kind and good person (looking at you, Ben and Judy)?

Having been through this recent ordeal, are Jen and Judy now able to turn a corner emotionally?

Dead to Me doesn’t give any easy answers to these questions — or any questions really — but it does allow us to draw our own conclusions and consider the connections to our own lives.

After all, we may not have all buried bodies like Judy and Jen, but chances are good we’ve buried something: pain, a secret, or our true desires. So before we’re all dead in the ground (or you know, in a freezer), what it does it really mean to live well and freely?

Lingering thoughts and questions:

• Have we seen the last of Natalie Morales’ Michelle? I certainly hope not. Morales has the gift of having insane chemistry with every person she shares a scene with and her departure feels too abrupt for me to simply accept it as final.
• It seems fairly certain that the Greek mafia is going to come after Judy and Jen next season, no? After all, the mafia seems to like money, and it’s only a matter of time before they figure out that some of theirs just paid for a nice suburban home and SUV.
• Detective Perez letting Jen off feels like a major stretch. But accepting some major creative liberties is inherent to watching Dead to Me.
• I don’t think it’s a matter of if — but when — will Ben learn the truth about Jen’s role in his brother’s murder? And how will that revelation connect to the reveal that he was at the wheel of the car that hit Jen and Judy?
• How are Jen and Judy going to avoid the consequences now that Steve’s body has been found and what will be the fallout of Charlie reading Judy’s letters? Why did you keep those, Judy?! Two words for you: PAPER. SHREDDER.
• Is there anything more endearing than James Marsden on…well, the entirety of Episode 5 “The Price You Pay”? If there is, I demand proof.

What did you think of this season of Dead to Me? What would you want to see in a third season? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Dead to Me is currently streaming on Netflix.

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