Summary
Episode 1, “Pilot”, gives Netflix series Dead to Me quick twists and introduces likable characters that immediately prosper from on-screen chemistry.
This recap of Dead to Me Episode 1, “Pilot” contains spoilers. You can read the review of season 1 by clicking these words.
The pilot of Dead to Me introduces a character that is beyond caring for the niceties. People who offer words of kindness are met with sarcasm. In Episode 1, Jen (Christina Applegate) is grieving over the death of her husband, who was the victim of a hit and run incident. Her anger is focused on finding out who left her husband in the state where he died.
Jen attends a support group, which you’d feel is the last place she’d be suitable for. It’s called Friends of Heaven, which made me vom a little inside when I heard that name. At this support group she meets Judy (Linda Cardellini), who is bubbly and full of smiles; the last person you’d expect Jen to make friends with, but somehow, at the overly awkward support group, the dark comedy puts these two together. We learn that Judy’s husband had a random heart attack, so the connection is there.
Episode 1 sees a friendship growing rather quickly; late night phone calls, nights in drinking, and the occasional pull on a spliff. Jen has met someone she can be comfortable around, and the character opens up about her children and her spiraling grief.
The pilot takes a quick turn in Dead to Me; Jen decides to surprise visit Judy at her house; something that would uniquely annoy the hell out of me – I hate lack of notice. She knocks on the door and a man called Steve answers, the same Steve Judy described – he’s alive, and they broke up two months prior.
It’s safe to say that Jen is fuming at Judy’s lies, turning up at the support group and immediately calling her out. Judy argues that Steve is dead to her, and that was the justification for attending the group, but Jen is having none of it. The support group focuses in on Jen’s anger to calm her down.
The pilot episode of Dead to Me ends with Jen approaching Judy about her lie, and tries to see it from her perspective. The two make up, and after Jen learns that her new friend lives above an assisted living facility, she offers her guest house. As Judy starts gathering some of her belongings from a storage garage, the camera points to a dent in her car. Did Judy kill Jen’s husband? There are more twists to come.
You can read the recap of the second episode by clicking these words.
