‘Dead to Me’ Season 3 Ending, Explained: What Does Jen Tell Ben?
The third and final season of Dead to Me has arrived on Netflix. Season 3 continues the story of Jen Harding (Christina Applegate) and Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini), two best friends on a twist-filled journey of forgiveness, hardships … and murder. While most loose ends are tied up in Dead to Me Season 3, the ending leaves fans with one last cliffhanger. Here’s what happens to Judy and Jen this season and how it all comes to a close.
[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers for Dead to Me Season 3.]
What happens to Judy and Jen in ‘Dead to Me’ Season 3?
There are quite a lot of secrets and twists to unpack in season 3. It begins with Jen and Judy’s car accident from season 2 — Ben Wood (James Marsden) is the culprit in this hit-and-run case, but he doesn’t know that he hit Jen and Judy. Throughout season 3, police attempt to find the driver responsible for the accident. Ben eventually confesses to Judy and Jen that he hit them, and they forgive him. Still, Ben is arrested for drunk driving. He gets out of prison on good behavior.
Meanwhile, Judy and Jen continue to hide the fact that Jen killed Steve (also Marsden). Nick (Brandon Scott) and FBI agent Glenn Moranis (Garret Dillahunt) come close to discovering the truth. However, Judy destroys the murder weapon — the wooden bird — and confesses to the crime herself in order to save Jen.
As if hiding their secret isn’t enough stress, Judy and Jen both receive shocking news: Judy has stage 4 cervical cancer and Jen is pregnant with Ben’s baby. Unfortunately, even after chemotherapy, Judy learns she is terminal. The police allow Judy three weeks to undergo a clinical trial, which gives her and Jen enough time to flee to Mexico for one last vacation. While there, Jen learns that she’s having a baby girl. And though viewers don’t see it, Judy dies on her own terms on her boat after one last emotional night with Jen.
Jen heads home alone and has her baby girl, whom she names Joey. She and Ben end up together, and even though Jen is sad to have lost Judy, she gets a happy ending with her family. But there’s still one more confession she has to make to Ben.
What does Jen tell Ben at the end of ‘Dead to Me’?
Dead to Me Season 3 ends on a cliffhanger as Jen turns to Ben and says she has something to tell him. The finale fades to black before her confession, leaving viewers to forever wonder what she has to say. Jen wrestles with telling Ben the truth about killing his brother throughout the season, so it’s implied that she finally decides to come clean. And since forgiveness is a major theme throughout Dead to Me, one can predict that Ben would eventually forgive Jen for the murder. Or would he?
Fans discuss Jen’s confession to Ben in the ‘Dead to Me’ Season 3 ending
Since there won’t be a Dead to Me Season 4, fans can only speculate on how that final conversation goes between Jen and Ben. In a Reddit discussion of the finale, people debated whether Ben would really forgive Jen for killing his brother. Some agreed that forgiveness would make the most sense for the story.
“I think it’s in line with the show’s themes to assume Ben would forgive her. If we’re being realistic though, I feel like he wouldn’t (unless he then shortly thereafter committed a murder that he needed Jen’s help covering up, thus continuing the cycle of killing and lying that keeps that whole gang together),” one fan wrote.
“I think he would forgive her, because of the growth he’s also undertaken,” another person added.
On the other hand, some fans felt it would be too much to forgive because of how long Jen kept the secret and how hurt Ben was over his brother’s death.
“I don’t think he would forgive her. Too much time has passed for something that intense to just be revealed. She only forgave him for the hit-and-run because she felt guilty about Steve,” one person wrote.
What do you think happens between Jen and Ben at the end of Dead to Me Season 3? Let us know in the comments.
All three seasons of Dead to Me are now streaming on Netflix.
