Does Judy Die in ‘Dead to Me’ Season 3?

Warning: Major Dead to Me Season 3 spoilers ahead.

At long last, Dead to Me is back. But fans might not be ready for what’s in store this season…

The Netflix comedy’s third and final season premiered on November 17, and though stars Christina Applegate, Linda Cardellini, and James Marsden return with their signature charm, the season is an unexpected tearjerker.

Season 3 picks up right where Season 2 left off. After a drunk Ben (Marsden) smashed his car into Jen (Applegate) and Judy (Cardellini) and sped off, the the women headed to the emergency room to get checked out. After a series of tests, the friends were cleared to return home. But Jen, who the doctor thought is Judy, was advised to follow up on a suspicious finding.

If you’ve sped through Dead to Me‘s final season, then you already know Judy’s fate. But if you’re desperate to know if Judy dies in Dead to Me Season 3 earlier in your watch, we’ve got the answer below.

As a reminder, major Dead to Me Season 3 spoilers lie ahead, so this is your last chance to stop reading.

Does Judy Die in Dead to Me Season 3?

In Season 3, Episode 1, “We’ve Been Here Before,” Jen and Judy head to the emergency room after their hit-and-run and undergo a series of tests. Jen, whose mother died of cancer, worries that her results will show something concerning. And for a minute, it seems she was right. However, we soon learn that the doctor gave Jen Judy’s results, because she was lying in Judy’s bed.

Jen finds out that Judy’s scans showed suspicious shadows that resemble masses, and the doctor advises her to schedule a follow-up with a specialist immediately. After Jen learns her tests came back great, she spirals at the thought of telling Judy everything the doctor said. She practices telling her in the mirror, but before she gets around to breaking the news, Judy finds several informative pamphlets about cancer in Jen’s purse.

Judy understandably assumes that Jen is hiding her own diagnosis, but when Judy confronts Jen, she finally comes clean and promises to be with her every step of the way. Jen accompanies Judy to her test, and after Judy gets the results back, she tells Jen she’s fine. In Episode 5, we learn that not only was Judy lying, but that she has Stage 4 cervical cancer. Judy had every intention of lying to Jen so she could undergo treatment alone and not burden her, but when Jen finds out she naturally shoots that plan down and vows to care for Judy the way she was unable to care for her own mom.

In Episode 6, Jen takes Judy to treatment and she begins her chemotherapy cycle. Judy passes the time by making 1,000 paper cranes to hang at Henry’s recital, and after a montage and a time jump, Judy finishes three months of chemo more hopeful than ever. She feels great, dumps her meds, and starts her morning by jumping on the bed. But her doctor reminds her she still has to go back in two weeks, get tested, see if the treatment worked, and potentially get a second round.

After sitting with her thoughts for a while and Googling the odds of surviving her type of cancer, Judy tries to push off her scans, but Jen encourages her to find out the truth. When Judy asks, “What if it’s not good?” Jen replies, “Then we fucking fight,” and Judy finally schedules her CT scan. After she receives the results, she spends the day rollerblading by the beach and enjoying some ice cream. When she gets home, she breaks the news to Jen: “I’m terminal.”

Judy explains the treatment didn’t shrink her tumors and her doctor said that if it didn’t work this time, it won’t work next time either. “It’s OK. Really. I’ve accepted it,” she says. But Jen refuses to accept the finality of Judy’s diagnosis and encourages her to try a clinical trial. Judy hears her out, but ultimately wants to enjoy her final days without treatment. As Jen tries to find a fix for Judy, Judy confesses to Steve’s murder to get Jen off the hook. Jen begs their police officer pal Nick to give them three weeks before arresting Judy so she can partake in a clinical trial in San Fransisco, and he agrees (?!) so long as she wears an ankle bracelet tracker so he can monitor her location.

Judy chooses not to enroll in the trial, and her mom straps her ankle bracelet on and heads to San Fransisco so she and Jen can spend three weeks on vacation together. The ladies road trip to Steve and Judy’s vacation home in Mexico and spend three weeks together relaxing on the beach, having heart to hearts, and cherishing their friendship.

When Jen gets a call that FBI agent Glen died and police think the Greek mafia killed him and Steve, she excitedly tells Judy they can go back home without fear of arrest. Judy says she’s not going back, then falls to the ground in pain. Turns out she’s been in agony for a long time, but didn’t want Jen to worry.

The two spend the night talking and crying in bed together, and Jen decides she’ll leave Judy to go back home to the kids. They exchange emotional “I love yous,” embrace, and watch TV. The next morning, Jen wakes up alone with a note from Judy and her bracelet on her bedside table. Before she opens the note, their vacation home cat meows at the door, and Jen gets out of bed to let him in. As she reaches the door she looks out on the water, sees a boat, and realizes Judy went out to sea alone to find peace.

Earlier in the episode, Judy told Jen how much she loved boating and how she felt her freest on the water. She recalled a man, who she thinks was her dad, taking her out on a boat when she was young, but after he got into a fight with her mom he sailed away and never returned. “Sometimes I like to imagine he’s still out there, sailing free as a bird,” Judy told Jen. And now that’s how Jen can think of Judy.

We see Jen driving back home in Steve’s ’66 Mustang (yes, the one that killed her husband!) and in a twist…Judy’s sitting beside her. For a moment it seems as though everything’s fine, but after Jen says, “Ugh, now I know why you love this car” and Judy replies, “I’m so glad it’s yours now,” Jen tears up and says, “Thank you.” Suddenly, the passenger seat is empty. Judy’s gone, and we realize she was never actually there. Jen was just imagining her.

As Jen drives home sobbing, we see the stray cat that Judy loved in her back seat. The camera cuts to her hands on wheel, and she’s wearing the bracelet Judy left her. She arrives to the church for her son’s Holy Harmonies recital and walks in to see the thousand paper cranes Judy folded during her treatment hanging from the ceiling. Ben shows up because Judy invited him and asks Jen if she’s at the recital. Jen looks up at cranes, cries, and says, “I think so.”

The final shot of the episode shows Jen outside of her house feeding her and Ben’s baby. Ben and two boys are swimming in pool, and she glances at the door to Judy’s old room in the pool house. Ben tells Jen how happy he is, and as Jen sees the cat clawing at Judy’s door, she says, “I have to tell you something.” Though it’s unclear what that something is, we can assume she’s about to come clean about everything, including Steve’s death.

While we don’t technically see Judy dead in Season 3, all the signs are there. So, yes. It’s safe to say Judy died in Dead to Me‘s series finale, and the writers successfully pulled off a thoughtful, touching, emotional slow-burn reveal that both honored and celebrated Judy and her friendship with Jen. We’ll miss you, Judy!

All three seasons of Dead to Me are now streaming on Netflix.