Dead to Me season 3 recap guide: All 10 episodes explained

Dead to Me season 3, episode 2 recap: We Need to Talk

Jen needs to figure out how to tell Judy what the doctor found on her scans. The start of Dead to Me season 3, episode 2 centers on Jen having a meltdown in the bathroom, similar to the one Judy had in season 1, as she tries to drum up the courage to tell Judy the truth.

But before she can say anything, they’re interrupted by Charlie, eager to confront his mother about the contents of her goodbye letters. The language Jen used is vague enough that Charlie doesn’t entirely understand what happened that made Jen need to “forgive” Judy.

He assumes that Judy had an affair with his dad and instead of denying it, Jen goes along with the lie because she thinks it’s better than him hearing the truth. They also tell him that Steve was involved with the Greeks and that’s why they had to torch his car.

Charlie is, understandably, upset. He’s pissed at Judy and Judy implores Jen to tell Charlie the truth. Jen tells her it’s better if he doesn’t know. At least this way, if he thinks she had an affair, he’ll get over it and forgive her at some point. Who knows how he would react to finding out Judy killed his dad?

The day only gets progressively worse from there as Detective Perez and Detective Prager show up at Jen’s house to tell them they found Steve’s body and to follow up on their hit-and-run accident. Jen talks to Perez in the kitchen while Judy answers some of Nick’s questions.

Perez and Nick are not going to be handling the investigation into Steve’s murder. It turns out that the spot where Jen and Judy buried Steve was on national parkland, meaning the case now falls under federal jurisdiction and will be taken over by an FBI agent named Glenn Moranis who Perez warns is basically the MVP of the FBI.

Perez is also pissed about the heart on the tree and wants to know that Jen doesn’t have any other surprises or evidence lying around. She does, that damn wooden bird she used to bludgeon Steve. Judy gave it back to Henry. Jen needs to get it back ASAP and burn it.

While chatting with Nick, Judy learns that the cops are considering a connection to the Greeks. If she and Jen can convince them that’s true, they can escape blame for the whole thing.

Judy is optimistic when she talks to Jen again, telling her they can maybe pin this whole thing on the Greeks. Then Lorna shows up with a car for Charlie’s birthday. Considering Ben wrecked the Kia, it’s a nice surprise even if Jen isn’t thrilled that Lorna was the one to get him a car.

Later, Ben pays Jen a visit with a gift basket, and to check on her. Just like Jen and Judy, Ben has his own little bathroom breakdown as he considers telling them that he was the one who hit them. He’s also tormented by Steve’s death, seeing his twin’s reflection in the mirror. The last time they saw each other they got in a nasty fight and now Ben is feeling guilty.

While at Jen’s house, Ben runs into Henry, who offers him a hug and words of comfort knowing that Steve lost his bother just like Henry lost his dad. Henry gives Ben the bird in a sweet gesture of support.

Sensing Jen is in pain, Judy goes to get her pain pills and finds a few brochures for cancer in her purse. Thinking Jen has cancer, Judy confronts her about it and Jen is forced to tell her the truth. I’m glad they didn’t drag that “secret” out for long as it would have been hard for Jen to come back from that if she didn’t tell Judy in time for a check-up.

The reveal is just as heartbreaking as you’d expect, with both Jen and Judy caring more about the other than themselves. Judy is scared, but she’s also happy that Jen is okay. Jen reassures her that everything is going to be okay.

That night, Charlie finds Judy alone, making cupcakes for his birthday. He asks her for the truth and Judy tells him that she only slept with his dad one time and that if she had known he had a family she would have done everything differently. It’s not much, but Charlie does accept a cupcake. Baby steps.

When we catch up with Ben again, he’s drinking his troubles away at the bar with the wooden bird in tow. Once his Uber arrives, Ben leaves the bird behind and it ends up in Nick’s possession by episode’s end.