Warning: major Dead to Me Season 3 spoilers follow.
The third and last season of Dead to Me ruined me. Without Christina Applegate’s emotional, multifaceted, and superb portrayal, the melancholy departure and its surprising twist would not have been nearly as impactful.
The Netflix comedy created by Liz Feldman has always been hilarious, engaging, amusingly chaotic, and bingeable. However, in its final ten episodes, Dead to Me explores more serious themes, such as loss, remorse, and unconditional love, in depth. The delicate friendship between Jen (Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) continues to drive the program to its conclusion through humor and sorrow. But Applegate’s variety, emotional sincerity, and dedication to this subject elevate the conclusion of Dead to Me. The fact that she taped these episodes after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis only elevates the significance of her final performance.
Image: Netflix
It would be a gross understatement to suggest that both Applegate and her character had a lot on their plates during Season 3. Jen was still grieving the death of her spouse while recovering from her own hit-and-run accident. She has two children and was pregnant with a third. She was attempting to conceal Steve’s death while suppressing her attraction to his identical twin brother Ben (James Marsden). In addition, she was unravelling her complicated connection with her late mother while caring for her closest friend who had cervical cancer in Stage 4. Feldman revealed in an interview with Variety that although she had known for quite some time how she wanted Jen and Judy’s narrative to conclude, she was prepared to scrap the final season if Applegate wasn’t up to pace. Not only for fans, but also for themselves, the celebrity felt compelled to complete the narrative. So, although her character was experiencing difficulties, Applegate had her own obstacles on set, such as needing a wheelchair and cane and having to alter the filming schedule.
Whether Jen was often dropping F-bombs, locking herself in her car and screeching to death metal, questioning what sadist put together the playground in the radiologist’s office, or giving herself balloon boobs while on mushrooms, she had us laughing with her harsh honesty and genuine irritation. In spite of the profoundly unfunny reality of her and her character’s circumstances, Applegate successfully injected Dead to Me’s worst season with heroic comedy and immediately shifted to elicit tears.
Grief has always been a part of Dead to Me, but for Jen, it all comes to a head in Season 3. In her final days with Judy, she is not only losing her best friend, but she is also reliving her mother’s battle with breast cancer and contemplating the loss of her husband. Though Jen peppers the season with emotional nuances, there are also significant emotional releases, such as when she exclaims, “Jesus Christ, great!” before bursting into tears and fervently praying for Judy’s safety.
Image: Netflix
Applegate’s most impressive performance occurs in the end, in which her character finds comedy amid the darkest hours and bids Judy an emotional farewell. Applegate’s delivery stays honest and soul-stirring as Jen sobs while holding Judy, drives the ’66 Mustang home alone, and gazes up at the rainbow of paper cranes Judy crafted during therapy.
Throughout the series, it is difficult not to examine some moments in light of Applegate’s personal health difficulties. The scene in which Jen dread being diagnosed at the hospital and asks, “Considering the year I’ve had? The statement, “I can’t take any more terrible news,” hurts like a dagger. Because Applegate is a breast cancer survivor, the news that Jen’s mother perished from the disease has more weight. And witnessing Jen serve as Judy’s caregiver while the roles were reversed with Applegate and Cardellini in real life felt at times a bit too much like a terrible twist of destiny. But not all of Season 3’s analogies to reality were negative. Cardellini told Variety that the Applegates’ diagnosis and the difficulties they encountered while filming strengthened their friendship, and that their genuine affection for one another is undeniably evident in these episodes.
Image: Netflix
Season 3 of Dead to Me is diverse in nature. It is the final chapter of an unlikely friendship’s love story. This is a means of achieving closure. Jen has spent the past ten episodes doing her best to protect her loved ones, put on a brave face, and work toward accepting events beyond her control. In a touching triumph, Christina Applegate gave a career-best performance while completing this story for herself, which is an even greater demonstration of strength.
All three seasons of Dead to Me are currently available to watch on Netflix.