Does [Spoiler] Die in ‘Dead to Me’ Season 3? Fans Have Some Theories
The final season of Dead to Me includes a major character death that left many fans reeling. But did that character really die? There has been a lot of debate about this character dying in the wake of the Netflix show’s final episodes. Here’s what fans are saying about the death in the finale episode of Dead to Me Season 3, plus what the actor has to say about the end of the character’s story.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead regarding Dead to Me Season 3.]
Judy Hale has cervical cancer in the final season of ‘Dead to Me’
Dead to Me centers around the themes of grief and friendship. When Jen Harding’s (Christina Applegate) husband is killed in a hit and run accident, she meets Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini) in a grief group. Soon enough, Jen learns Judy and her ex-husband Steve (James Marsden) are the ones behind the accident. In a twisted web of fate and lies, the two become best friends who are willing to do whatever it takes to protect their friendship.
In the final season of Dead of Me, Judy is diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer, which she refuses to burden Jen with. Jen wants nothing more than to repay Judy for the love and light she brought into her life in the most twisted of ways. After hiding her diagnosis for as long as she could, Judy decides to lean on Jen during her chemotherapy treatments and, when all else fails, the final days of her life when her diagnosis becomes terminal.
Does Judy die at the end of ‘Dead to Me’ Season 3?
In the last episode of Dead to Me, Jen and Judy escape to Mexico. Instead of joining a clinical trial, the duo hides out at Steve’s getaway where Judy drinks, gets high, and reminisces with a pregnant Jen. At the end of the episode, aptly titled “We’ve Reached the End,” Jen finds a note from Judy and her footprints in the sand, which lead Jen’s eyes to an empty rowboat floating in the ocean.
Fans on Reddit have had a lot to say about the ending of Dead to Me Season 3, especially when it comes to Judy’s fate. Is she dead, or was the rowboat more of a symbol for Jen to pack it up and move on?
“I took it as her kind way of saying ‘you should leave now’ to Jen,” one Redditor said. “She gave the closure and space Jen needs to pack up and leave, then she came back home and continued to enjoy her final days.”
Another thinks Judy died of cancer that day. “I think we’re supposed to believe that she knew she was going to die from the cancer that day,” said another Reddit user. “That’s the impression I got at least.” Still, others think Judy took matters into her own hands and rowed herself out to sea to drown herself.
‘Dead to Me’ theory says Judy might not die and Jen might be telling Ben that in the end
Throughout three seasons, Dead to Me took a lot of unexpected twists and turns. Most of the time, if you thought the show was going one way, it almost definitely was going the exact opposite. One theory on Reddit says the finale might have taken the same approach.
“It seemed weird to me that Jen would tell Ben the truth about Steve in the middle of the day with her kids in the pool,” they said in another Reddit thread. The series concludes with Jen saying: “Ben, I need to tell you something.” Then the credits roll.
“This show was always big on confession scenes that go in a different direction than you expect. So what if it turned out Judy wasn’t actually terminal?”
This fan thinks Judy could have found out her cancer was in remission and to avoid arrest, she faked her death. Instead, she’s in Mexico resuming treatment, and that’s what Jen was going to confess to Ben at the end of the show.
The ending of ‘Dead to Me’ is supposed to be ambiguous
In an interview with Vulture, Cardellini addressed how Judy’s story ends. “I hate to say what I think it is because I don’t want people to believe that’s the truth,” she said. “Liz [Feldman] definitely left it ambiguous on purpose, so I wouldn’t want to speak to her creative decisions.”
Cardellini added: “Probably as far as she can remember. So when she goes out on that boat — and that is, as she talked about, her happy place — she’s trying to set Jen free from having to deal with the anguish and grief of what’s happening. But you can’t really get away from anguish and grief if you love people.”
This is the final season of Dead to Me. Netflix has no plans to move forward with a season 4.
