Dead to Me – Season 3 Episode 10 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

We’ve Reached the End

In full Thelma & Louise style, Jen and Judy enjoy being on the lam. They will have a 3 week vacation and the real reason why Eleanor took Judy’s car to Frisco was that they wanted the police to think Judy was actually at the trial. When they stop for a bathroom break, the two suited men confront them. Judy recognizes them and asks Jen to sit in the car.

Judy reveals her cancer diagnosis but the guys want the money Steve stole back. As she feigns having an episode, she goes in and picks up a gun. She punctures the tires of the car and escapes with Jen.

Judy learn show Jen went to Moranis to save Judy. Jen receives a call from Ben and Judy tells her to come clean with Ben about everything. If she does not do it, they can never have a complete life. They reach the house and it is magnificent. They even find a wild cat living there. We see a recreation of Jen and Judy on the beach from the first scene of this season. When Jen mentions deja vu, Judy explains that it is “your brain trying to make you remember”.

The ladies are in full vacation mode, drinking and getting high like there is no tomorrow. Jen wakes up to find Judy is not at home. Judy is fine and had only gone on the boat to see the sunrise. She convinces Jen to come on the water with her but they end up finding the car that hit Ted in the garage.

Although it has gone through cosmetic changes, Judy gives Jen a free pass to smash it up. She decides against it and instead admires the car for bringing Judy into her life. They make the trip in the boat in an innovative fashion: just setting it on the beach and pretending to be on the water.

Judy confesses that she used to feel free and fearless while on the boat with her uncle Paul when she was a kid. Jen mentions the possibility of her staying in the place with Judy and bringing the kids too. But Judy beseeched Jen to separate her real life with this fantasia of a vacation and not leave everything behind.

The two tearfully embrace again as Judy reminds Jen of the baby and that she does not want to put her through seeing Judy get worse as Jen did with her mother. They find out the sex of the baby (it is a she) and that she is perfectly healthy. The doctor asks her to “follow up” timely. Jen and Judy spend a splendid night by the beach, eating good food, dancing, and enjoying each other’s company. Jen attends a phone call from Ben and comes clean about the pregnancy. Jen also tells the exciting truth about Moranis and the Greeks to Judy, finally acquitting the two of any suspicion and wrongdoing. They are free!

Judy’s cancer aftereffects start hitting in as they relax on a bed together. Judy promises to visit Henry’s concert and the house occasionally until she can. She thanks Jen for the time they spent together these past three weeks and with her since she met her. They once again embrace tearfully and watch their favorite reality show together.

When morning comes, Jen once again finds Judy’s side of the bed empty. But this time, she is not coming back. Jen spots Judy’s footsteps in the sand and the boat is gone. Jen takes the Mustang back as a part of Judy’s memory. She even imagines having a conversation with Judy about the car and we see that the cat, “Sammy”, is coming with her too.

Judy has also left her signature bracelet to Jen, which she wears on her left hand. She drives back for Henry’s concert and gets emotional when she sees the paper cranes being arranged aesthetically in the hall. Her entire family is there and Charlie comforts Jen as they learn about the truth. Ben has got out on “good behavior” (*wink wink*) and joins them for the concert.

When he asks about Judy, she looks at the birds and says, “she is here”. Jen introduces her baby, Joey, to the grief circle and defends her name. Ben has moved in, and so has Sammy and they are a complete family. Jen sits outside by the pool and sees Sammy trying to get inside the room where Judy used to live. Seeing this, she says to Ben, “I have something to tell you” and we cut to black.

The Episode Review

The finale sure was a tearjerker. It sort of feels surreal having seen this twisty story finally come to an end with another enticing twist. But this time, we will have to imagine the aftermath in our heads as Dead to Me is not coming back for a season 4.

Liz Feldman and the other executive producers took the right decision to make the finale about Jen and Judy’s most classic intimate moments that did not particularly move the story forward but moved us greatly. There is an instantly humbling affection, warmth, and honesty in their friendship that was the soul of the show, especially season 3 which felt like an homage to their connection. They went through testing challenges in this season but came out on the top – always together.

The choice to send Judy off on the boat was not only logistically convenient but also a metaphorical send-off for her passing to another realm. Going out on top and on your own terms not being defined by your illness is a strong statement and nothing less than what Judy deserved. The cat was perhaps Judy’s manifestation of Judy in Jen’s mind like Henry believed the bird to be Ted’s. It shows how much Jen valued Judy’s newfound sentiments and beliefs.

Well, that is a wrap on the show. It really hit the right notes and entertained but on to other things now. Goodbye, Dead to Me!