It can be inferred that Judy died on her own in a boat in the final episode of Dead to Me after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
There are many reasons why people watch Dead to Me, but the excellent cast and direction from the writers and producers of the show are some of the main reasons.
Although Judy’s death is never explicitly shown in the final season of the show, it is clear that she decided to pass away on her own terms, by herself on a boat in the final episode.
Why do people watch Dead to Me?
When Dead to Me first aired in 2019, most people tuned in to see what Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini would do with their new roles.
The show is currently in its third and final season, which was released on Netflix on 17 November 2022 and many fans still keep tuning in for the same reasons that they did in the first season.
Dead to Me is the perfect show to binge-watch with a plot that is complex enough to keep you entertained, but with enough humorous moments to keep it fun and entertaining.
Did Judy die in Dead to Me?
The creator of Dead to Me, Liz Feldman, knew that she would end the show in the next season when they were still filming the second season of the show in 2020.
At this time, she also decided that she wanted to end the show in a way that paid homage to one of her real friends that the character of Judy was based on and that feels like it is in tune with the rest of the show.
This is why Judy, who is played by Linda Cardellini on the show, finds out that she has cancer at the beginning of this final season, after she and Jen were involved in a hit-and-run.
Judy is then later informed that her diagnosis is terminal and that her chemotherapy treatments did not work.
Although Jen, who has been by her side throughout all of these treatments, tries to get Judy involved in a clinical trial, Judy simply refuses and after some back and forth, the two decide to go on vacation together in Mexico.
It is on this vacation that Jen wakes up one morning to find Judy missing and although viewers never actually see her die on-screen, it can be inferred that Judy likely chose to die alone at sea in a boat.
Who is Judy’s character based on?
Although Liz Feldman’s decision to end the show came well before the production and filming of season three, she has been open about the fact that since the story is so personal to her, it is still difficult to let it go.
Dead to Me is personal to Liz on many levels, but especially because the character of Judy is based on a real-life friend of hers that passed way at the age 38 from cancer.
This is why Liz chose this conclusion for Judy and why she wanted the last season to be an honest portrayal of what it is like to grieve the death of a close friend, like Jen had to do with Judy.
Why did Judy refuse to take part in clinical trial treatments?
Part of what makes this final season of Dead to Me so authentic is the fact that Jen is fighting so hard for Judy to enrol in clinical trial treatments because she is afraid of losing her, but Judy is convincing Jen that she simply does not want to spend her last days in treatment.
In the end, it is quite an empowering decision for Judy that she wants to go out on her own terms instead of by undergoing another round of treatment that may or may not work.
This is likely also why she chooses to die on a boat at sea, since she has always been at her happiest surrounded by the ocean.
Why does the show end so vaguely?
The creators of the show were adamant that even though a clear-cut ending would be more satisfying to watch, it would not suit the rest of the show’s tone.
The fact that the show ends just before Jen can tell Ben something important and Judy’s death is never explicitly shown allows viewers, as always, to project their own ideas of how they think the show ended onto these scenes.
This fits in with how Dead to Me has always told its stories as well as with the idea that we never really know what happens to a person when they pass, and the way that life just carries on anyway.