Netflix
It’s rare for me to find a show that pulls me in so firmly that all aspects of my life outside of it are put on hold for the sake of finding out what happens next. I came across such a show around this time last year when a friend of mine recommended the then new Netflix series, Dead to Me. Within the first few minutes of the pilot episode, I had gathered all my snacks, weighed my junk food delivery options, and prepared to hunker down for the long haul. I was all in, stretching out my binge for a full-weekend roller coaster ride of laughs, intrigue, and heartache. I was captured.
Dead to Me examines grief and the mental and emotional health and support it takes to not succumb to it. The story follows Jen, a cold, angry, uptight mother of two, played to incredible feats by Christina Applegate. After losing her husband in a hit and run accident, Jen befriends Judy, played by the equally hilarious and heartbreaking Linda Cardellini, a smiley, airy, whimsical woman with very little to be happy about. Their unconventional friendship continues to grow as they become each other’s lifelines through their respective dark times, with Judy navigating her own demons while harboring a dark secret.
And then came the last five minutes of the Season One finale. A unique story built up to an overused plot point – females who make unlikely friends bound together by the suspicious death they’re trying to cover up. Having seen it in shows like Big Little Lies and Desperate Housewives, I was still ready to watch it unfold.
Last night, I traded in my snacks, junk food delivery, and productivity for a bottle of wine and misdirected integrity spread thinly over hours and hours of viewing. It took only a few minutes to realize that Dead to Me was going to take this used story arc and add the intrigue, humor, and depth needed to create something new.
The first episode picks up immediately after the events of Season One, seamlessly transitioning into the next chapter as Jen and Judy work to cover up and heal from the crimes they’ve committed. As the story grows, a few new characters are thrown into the thickening mix. These additions to the cast are used less to drive the story and more to build upon the characters we already know, further defining who Judy, Jen, and those around them are as they navigate their new normal.
What makes Dead to Me work so well isn’t the twists, turns, and cliffhangers that make their way into nearly every episode, or the dry, brilliantly witty punchlines. It’s the two actresses who bring these characters to life under the guidance of showrunners and writers who are set in their intentions. They understand the journey they’re taking you on, what they want to say, and how they’re going to say it. The show doesn’t tell its strong female narrative by using superhero-sized, ‘taking down the man’ tropes or by showcasing the very real struggle for women finding their voice and trying to be heard. Instead, it drives its strong female narrative through fully displaying one prominent, common characteristic of its two leads – vulnerability.
It’s this vulnerability behind Jen and Judy’s every moment that brought them together in the first place, and it’s the conjoining factor that takes them both further down the rabbit hole – that and the whole ‘murder’ thing. The first season focused on how they each grew as people by opening up and confiding in the new friend they found in each other, and how that friendship changed them. Season Two takes that growth and puts it in an equally high-stakes scenario that flips their roles, strengthening their feelings of empathy while building more deception between them. They continue to be tested and pushed to their limits as they both strive to avoid drowning in what seems to be inevitable self-destruction. All of this while the police continue to watch their every move, waiting for someone to slip.
No matter the amount of layered jokes and precarious situations, the show continues to achieve the paramount feeling of grief that hung like a cloud over the first season. ‘I think that scars show that you went through something hard, and you survived,’ says Jen to a new friend. ‘And that’s your story.’
And it’s the story they tell so effectively.
The culmination of this great storytelling matched with in-depth characterization and incredible performances sets this season in line with the first. And while the plot of Season Two may seem familiar, Dead to Me never ceases to feel as fresh and exciting as ever.
Grab your bottle of wine and enjoy the ride.
What did you think of this season? Sound off in the comments below!
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