The old adage goes “Misery loves company” and that is no different than Christina Applegate and Lisa Cardellini and their blooming friendship in the show Dead to Me. Jen Harding meets Judy Hale at a grief counseling group for those who lost someone close to them. Jen and Judy become very close but there is a secret that Judy is hiding. More below on what that entails. WARNING: Spoilers below!
What would any grief-stricken person do when their significant other passes away from a horrific hit-and-run accident? I know what I would do, drink hardcore and watch so many romantic comedies. Jen (Christina Applegate) decides to go to a group for people who have lost their loved ones. She meets the strange, yet endearing, Judy (Linda Cardellini) who has lost someone as well.
From the first episode, we see that not everything is as it seems. Judy isn’t telling the truth about everything from who she lost and how she got to where she is. As each episode progresses, we get a piece of the puzzle put together on what was really happening with everyone involved in the hit-and-run. Steve (James Marsden) is the ex-boyfriend of Judy and is not the dearly departed that she is mourning like she said he was. She did suffer loss though but I will leave that to the readers to find out.
We find out that it was actually Judy that accidentally killed Jen’s husband. Judy and Steve argue over telling Jen what happened but Steve advises against it. He is the one that made her hide the whole thing to begin with. Judy consistently battles with confessing and trying to atone for what she did. While I appreciate why she wants to help Jen with her loss and coping, it is a messed up way to do it.
Each episode leaves you with more questions than answers and keeps you hooked. Even with how flawed each character is, you want to root for all of them (with the exception of two people). Dead to Me is a series that shows that complications of guilt, secrets and mourning. It was a show that I wasn’t expecting to like but I ended up loving it.
9/10
Dead to Me is on Netflix now
