Interview with Abe: James Marsden

It's been a very busy season for James Marsden, who wrapped up “Dead to Me,” started “Jury Duty,” and appeared on “Party Down,” “Westworld,” and in “Disenchanted.” Check out our great conversation for Awards Radar.

Interview with Abe: Linda Cardellini

I loved getting the opportunity to speak with Linda Cardellini about saying goodbye to “Dead to Me” for Awards Radar. Watch my conversation with him below!

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me (Season Finale)

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 10 “We’ve Reached the End”

I’m not sure this show could have offered up a more fitting finale, one that highlighted the friendship that Jen and Judy have built and how, despite its unfortunate origins, neither of them would have traded it for anything. Judy scaring away the Greeks when they were following them at the start was comical, but it was true that they couldn’t do much to her since she had little time left. That time was well-spent, and Judy got to embarrass Jen a few more times and then find a way to leave that didn’t feel too painful. Jen was able to go back without any consequences to her, though that final line of the episode suggests that things may be forever changed by her likely confession to Ben about having killed Steve. But Ben is such a nice guy and reacted so well to the news that he was going to be a father that he’ll likely get over it, even if it does take some time. It is nice, however, to see such a happy family, and to see how they’re constantly reminded of Judy, whether it’s because of the one thousand cranes she literally made or her daughter, who she didn’t name Jduy because she’s still Jen and thought that would have been creepy. Driving back to the United States in the reconstructed car also had its own meaning, and makes things feel quite circular in a good way. I’m sure it would have been nice to get to have season after season of this show, but I’m pretty satisfied, and I hope that these actors get deservedly recognized one last time when the Emmy nominations are announced this summer.

Series finale: B+
Series grade: B+
Season MVP: Linda Cardellini as Judy 

Season grade: B+
Series MVP: Linda Cardellini
Best Season: Season 2
Best Episode: “If Only You Knew”

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me (Penultimate Episode)

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 9 “We’re Almost Out of Time” (B+)

I definitely thought that Jen was going to poison Moranis, and while he nearly choked to death on one of the scones, he did survive and gave Jen the chance to spin another absolute lie, which is that she was sleeping with Steve and didn’t want Judy to know. Moranis didn’t survive the episode despite Perez going to him prepared to share what she knew about Jen’s involvement, and that appears to be a parting gift from Eleanor, who did not seem like she wanted to help out but came through in a big way to neutralize the person who could most easily prevent Jen and Judy from having as happy an ending as possible. Right after she told Jen she was terminal, Judy did spill the beans to Jen’s children about the children, and it was heartwarming to hear Henry’s reaction, especially as he counted the increasing number of family members who would soon be together again. Jen’s phone call with Ben was unexpectedly emotional, though of course it cut off before she could be totally truthful and tell him both that she loved him and that she killed Steve. I’m loving the conversations between Nick and Perez as they contemplate their moral responsibility in protecting Ben and Jen and get pressured not to share what they know. I’m not sure what to expect from the finale but it’s been quite the ride. They won’t be able to ride off the sunset with no consequences, and it doesn’t look like Judy has much time left regardless of whether the law catches up with her.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 8 “We’ll Find a Way” (B+)

I enjoy when these characters process what they’ve been through, like when Jen said she understood why Judy was always all confess-y. They got a little ridiculous with the concern of their “she-men” being found, but Agent Moranis being at Jen’s showing was a major red flag. I was surprised that Garret Dillahunt was only going to be in one episode after Judy stopped by to see him earlier this season, and his return was very worthwhile. I particularly liked his delivery of “I do know where to find you, obvs” and wonder whether he’s going to survive long now that Jen has shown up with potentially lethal scones. Jen and Judy scrambled to erase any evidence that could implicate either of them after Jen freaked out about her not-so-missing coffee mug, and I was pleased to see two familiar faces in the course of that effort, Karen and Jeff. Marc Evan Jackson is always a welcome presence, and seeing Christopher emerge from his trailer after Jen and Judy managed to convince him that they were doing him a favor by being their alibi. Karen was enticed by the Mexican lasagna they brought and didn’t seem to get that they were manipulating her to erase the whole cloud, but that did bring up that unfortunate confirmation that Moranis wasn’t just watching the house but actually going through her trash. He’s a perceptive person, noticing that crack in the frame, and if he isn’t taken out by Jen, then he’s likely to put the pieces together soon.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 7 “Can We Be Honest?” (B+)

Judy’s positivity in this episode was hardly unexpected, but that kind of happy thinking in a time of crisis doesn’t always lead to good results. But Judy did end up focusing on Jen a little too much at a time when she was miserable looking at her stomach and vomiting, and Judy’s carefully thought-out home wine tasting was a humorously terrible gift. I was happy to see Suzy Nakamura back as Karen since the actress has spent this season playing the kind of person who would detest Karen on “Avenue 5” as Iris. When Jen did finally throw off the poncho and come clean with Judy, we saw the most honest reaction we’ve had from the eternal optimist in a while, which was to just jump in the pool and scream underwater. Once she was able to process her feelings, it seemed like she had gone to tell Ben that Jen was pregnant, but instead it was just to explain that Steve killed Ted, something that was made all the worse by the fact that Ben was apparently in the back of the car during that fateful ride. Charlie being arrested would have been a very bad thing, but it didn’t feel much better for Ben to be the one taken away at the end of the episode by a powerless Perez and a more resolute Nick. Charlie throwing an iPad at Henry’s nose felt like the most normal thing that’s happened to this family in a while, and at least Charlie is hopefully not going to find himself in any legal trouble for his association with Ben anytime soon.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 6 “We're Gonna Beat This Thing” (B+)

This episode felt like it covered a lot of time, starting with Judy preparing for her chemo and learning about the cold cap she can wear so she won’t lose her hair and seeing how difficult it was for Jen to be by her side while she kept flashing back to memories of her mother. Judy’s chemo nurse dying of a heart attack as Judy was nearing the completion of her treatment was an unfortunate morale setback, and Jen acted fairly out of character by eating a large handful of gummies in an effort to cheer Jen up. Watching them laugh about telling the secret of having killed Steve and then going on about onomatopoeia since a mom “moms” was entertaining, and then Jen freaked out in a big way when she looked at herself in the mirror. I enjoyed her telling Charlie that he was driving like an octopus and the doctor refusing to believe that Jen wasn’t on drugs, but the biggest reveal of that hospital trip was that Jen is apparently pregnant. That’s not something she was planning on and will forever link her to Steve’s murder, and it’s hard to know how she’s going to deal with that startling information. Perez is still looking out for her but Nick, who has lots of theories and loves asking his unamused colleague to guess, is getting closer to Judy and by association Jen as the culprit. Henry was kind in wishing that Judy would be okay, but her beating cancer doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll escape legal justice for what she’s done.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 5 “We Didn't Think This Through” (B+)

I was glad to see so much truth-telling in this episode, even if much of it comes a bit late in the game. Michelle apologizing because she had in fact heard Judy tell her about her cancer when she pretended to be asleep was an important step for them to move forward, and it was good that Judy got to tell Jen before her Sonoma lie caught up with her. Jen was being pretty horrible to Judy about her leaving, and she completely changed her attitude as soon as she knew the truth and was determined to be there in every way possible for her best friend. After getting caught by Charlie as he was about to draw himself a bath, Ben was also quite eager to spill the beans to Judy after Jen filled her in, though, after helping with the pipes, he found himself in a very low place where he smartly turned to Nick for help. Unfortunately, that interaction also involved Nick finding out that Judy was the one who made the bird, a revelation he seemed pleased to discover since he has his own theories that he’ll likely investigate. Going back to the support group that started out this show was an interesting callback, and it seemed helpful for Judy to process her fate with someone who still had lingering questions about her husband’s suicide. This show knows how to shift sharply from comedy like Charlie making fun of his mother to much more serious issues like impending death and the trauma that comes from seeing and being involved in someone else’s death.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 4 “Where Do We Go Now?” (B+)

It was a wonderful surprise to get to see Michelle again since I’m a big fan of Natalie Morales and I did not expect her to return given the circumstances of the second season that led to her departure. It also didn’t seem like she was going to be happy to see Judy given the context in which they were reintroduced, but Judy has a certain charm about her that just won Michelle over, not to mention the fact that she made Flo smile for the first time in a while. Agreeing to just be together was good for both of them, and Judy obviously felt comfortable enough with her to share what she hadn’t with anyone else, only to discover that Michelle had fallen asleep and not heard her admission. Jen had a different experience after being guilted by Eileen into coming back to the house after the funeral, and getting trapped in the room with all the twin dolls felt like it was going to be enough to kill her. Sharing her heavy metal routine with Ben didn’t click with him, but singing along to country music made him relaxed enough to confess that he was the one who hit her and Judy with his car. He surely didn’t think that was going to be the turn-on that Jen found it to be, but I guess there’s something about secrets and complicity that just makes her need to live in the moment. The line about not being able to pour soup into a suit was definitely the most memorable of the episode, and I enjoyed seeing Valerie Mahaffey back as Lorna, who was devastated that she had lost her commission from the woman who had just lost her son.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 3 “Look at What We Have Here” (B+)

It’s fitting for a show like this to feature a medical waiting room playing a song with music about it being time to die, and Jen was ready to go off on the nurse who proudly expressed ownership over the playlist. The fact that Judy was aware of abnormal results that she should have followed up and didn’t might haunt her, but she’s not always one to look back and regret the past. Jen praying was a big deal since that’s absolutely not something she usually does, and I enjoyed seeing Christopher again for the first time in a while since he’s an enjoyable character who used to be a much bigger part of the show. Judy did get bad news but, as these people tend to do, chose not to share that with Jen and instead lie to her. Haven’t they learned that the truth always catches up with them? I guess that’s not entirely true since Nick was more interested in getting Ben to a meeting and making riddler jokes than asking questions about the car he was suspiciously covering up, and the bird has now been officially burned after Ben gleefully brought it right to Judy so that she would be able to easily destroy the evidence. The fact that Garret Dillahunt’s Agent Moranis is on the case, on the other hand, is cause for concern since that terrific actor typically only plays very determined characters who are often villainous in nature even if they’re supposed to be on the good side of the law.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 3, Episode 2 “We Need to Talk” (B+)

It’s good to know that one of this season’s biggest secrets is already out in the open, which is that Judy may have cancer. It’s telling that Judy’s first and second reaction involved expressing gratitude and relief that Jen was okay, and though she puts on a gruffer front, hopefully Jen would have responded in the same way if the situation were reversed. Judy is taking plenty of abuse from Charlie when Jen confirmed that Judy was having an affair with Ted, though she did a remarkably good job of spinning it as a mistake that wasn’t so terrible since she had no idea he had a family. The sentiment she expressed was true even if the surrounding context was entirely fictionalized. I love the new dynamic that Jen and Perez have, with Perez pretending to like tea and asking if Jen was threatening her, which she replied to by asking if it was working. Lorna giving Charlie a car for his birthday is just the latest tactic she’s using to undermine Jen, and Charlie is armed with a bit too much information, only some of which is true, to be trusted not to screw everything up. Henry is without doubt the nicest person on this entire show, enduring a day of torture from his friend and then coming home to give Ben a hug after expressing his condolences on the loss of his brother. But he did give that incriminating bird to Ben, which would have been bad enough had he not left it at the bar for Nick to find, which is definitely not a great development.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me (Season Premiere)

Dead to Me: Season 1, Episode 3 “We’ve Been Here Before” (B+)

I’m glad to have this show back, even if this is the final season for a series that has managed to stay consistently interesting and find ways to reinvent itself. I didn’t realize that it had been two and a half years since this show finished its second season, and I was impressed with myself that I remembered Ben crashing his car into Jen and Judy and then driving away. That’s more than Ben remembers, and it’s intriguing to see him come by Jen’s home and find Charlie alone, and now Charlie is the only one who knows he was driving drunk and may keep that secret out of spite since he’s aware that Jen and Judy aren’t telling him something. I’m amused by the position Perez is now in, furious at Jen for having put her in an impossible situation where she has to pretend that the witness didn’t see her with a blonde woman since it would directly implicate her in the cover-up of Steve’s actual cause of death. Ben nearly confessed to hitting them when he ran into Judy in the hospital, but now she’s going to be the one tiptoeing around him so that she doesn’t give her guilt away. But the biggest development came after a perpetually but understandably cranky Jen got terrible news in the form of a potential cancer diagnosis, only to learn that it was actually meant for Judy. Honesty is the best policy, but that’s never the way this show works, and it will be very worthwhile and likely stressful to see Jen as the one keeping a secret from Judy for a change.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me (Season Finale)

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 10 “Where Do We Go From Here” (B+)

This show never quite goes where I expect it to, and it continues to be incredibly involving along the way. Jen didn’t even get to confess for a while since Perez was opening up to her about how Michelle left, and she seemed considerably more patient with her than she’s ever been with Judy. It wasn’t so helpful that Jen couldn’t find Steve’s body, but all Perez needed was to see that text from Nick to tell her that they had bigger fish to fry, and Chief Hastings going to prison was enough of a distraction that it wasn’t going to matter all that much who went down for Steve’s death. I was very glad that Charlie did something smart for once and brought Steve’s bag to Judy, and her bringing it straight to Nick was a fantastic choice. Jen even had perfect timing to come home right before Judy told the boys that she was going away for a while, and Charlie seemed so genuinely happy to see her home safe. I was shocked to see Judy rip open all the paintings Perez was kind enough to bring to her and find boatloads of cash, and giving it to Jen to buy her house from Lorna was a great use of the money. Giving her the Wood sale was also a good way of separating Jen from Ben and his entire family, not that she could have known at the time how her connection to them would endure. Seeing Charlie being nosy once again had me worried, but instead Jen and Judy got to experience the delight of seeing the stop sign she fought so hard for before they managed to get into a car accident anyway. I legitimately have no idea what will happen now since I imagine Judy was too frazzled to see a drunk Ben pull away, but I’m absolutely on board for the third season I’m hoping will be commissioned soon.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Linda Cardellini as Judy

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 9 “It's Not You, It's Me” (B+)

I know that Christina Applegate got all of the awards attention for season one, but Linda Cardellini is really the MVP of this season. I couldn’t remember what we knew of her mother, and I think the casting of Katey Sagal, who was such a formidable presence on “Sons of Anarchy,” is great. Her long-term absence from her daughter’s life explains a lot, and now, just as she was ready to take the fall for everything and get sent to jail herself, she’s going to have to think about showing up for someone else who’s clearly guilty of one or possibly many crimes. Judy really does try hard, and giving Perez a gift to help her remember Flo was very kind and unnecessary, which made Perez and Nick questioning her about the irrefutable evidence of Charlie being in the car all the more crushing. I like that she went straight to Jen and expressed her desire to shoulder the blame, though she wasn’t prepared for Jen’s confession that Steve hadn’t attacked her but instead said hateful, unforgivable things about how Ted really felt about her. Judy is much more forgiving than Jen, and perhaps that’s why this episode ended with Jen leaving the emergency binder with Judy and showing up at Perez’s door ready to confess to it all. Things on this show never play out as they seem like they’re going to, and so I’m nervously excited for the final episode. I’m also hopeful that a third season is going to happen, though I don’t want to Google anything for fear of unnecessary spoilers so close to the end.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 8 “It Had To Be You” (B+)

As always, there’s good news and there’s bad news. Charlie wasn’t so dumb and just blatantly asked Jen and Judy why they had Steve’s car, and they seemed to spin a story that he believed. That didn’t stop him from thinking about what might have happened and calling the last number in Steve’s phone, which belonged to Chief Hastings, who we met at the vigil and who was played by Jere Burns from “Justified” and “Angie Tribeca.” Charlie’s past actions, however, ended up being problematic, when Parker found out that he was seeing someone else and decided not only to vandalize Jen’s garage but also to call the tip line to get back at him. Nick didn’t seem to think Judy was capable of doing anything all that bad aside from breaking his heart, but a phone call with damning evidence from Parker might change that. Ben pretended not to remember anything, which Jen seemed to be relieved by, but obviously that’s not the case. Jen serving as the realtor for Ellen probably isn’t the best idea, but she’s in very deep with everything right now. Her interactions with Jeff were particularly entertaining, and he absolutely was not listening to anything she said. Judy won Michelle over when she woke her up in the middle of the night, but the timing couldn’t have been worse when she and Perez were arguing outside her sick mother’s ICU room. Bringing up her dead mother to Perez and then calling her was another reminder that, in addition to a tendency to get confess-y, Judy is also not the most dependable barometer of truth.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 7 “If Only You Knew” (B+)

The last scene of this episode was much more predictable than the previous one, but it was still just as effectively-executed and sets the story in an equally compelling direction. There wasn’t any waiting for Perez to discover that Judy was sleeping with her ex, and their run-in in the kitchen was entirely uncomfortable. It’s really a shame that the relationship had to end there, and it’s going to have a very detrimental effect on Judy, who was already saying to herself that she loved her, a reminder that she falls hard for people and doesn’t necessarily recognize what’s actually happening. I’d argue that this is the Emmy episode actress Linda Cardellini should submit if she does (hopefully) get nominated, since she demonstrated such incredible range on the beach, first when she saw that Steve’s girlfriend was pregnant, then turned to watch Jen not respecting the same smart boundaries she had asked her to, and finally had to endure more taunting from the always unpleasant Perez. This was also a solid half-hour for Christina Applegate, with Jen getting to take a break from always being so angry to show some true emotion as Steve’s mother, played by Frances Conroy from “Six Feet Under,” pointed out that they both have two sons and urged her to hold them tight. That brings us to Charlie, who’s becoming more tolerable by the minute. The maturity he displayed by wanting to show up for Ben may well be indicative of some growth, and let’s hope that his inevitable recognizing of the car leads him to go first to Jen rather than to reveal it to Ben or Perez instead while making his own conclusions.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 6 “You Don’t Have To” (B+)

I didn’t know this show had any more fantastic twists to deliver, but this latest one managed to make everything infinitely more exciting and compelling. I was definitely under the impression that Judy was oblivious to Michelle’s romantic advances, and it was a great surprise to hear her confirm that she was indeed attracted to her and open to a relationship. Michelle’s confession that she still lived with her ex seemed like a throwaway note, one that paled in comparison to all the secrets Judy is keeping, especially considering their tremendously unpleasant run-in with a depressed and angry Nick. Bringing Michelle along to Henry’s performance was a big step, and she even went over big with Jen, who’s navigating her own ill-advised romance. Seeing them passionately hook-up was a red herring for the troubling revelation that came next, which was that the one person who hates Judy more than her two exes is Michelle’s relationship. I give this show tremendous credit for not providing any clues about that and subtly inserting Detective Perez into the episode earlier with the false report about finding Steve. That’s going to bring a world of trouble for her, and Jen is about to cross a line with Ben that she can’t uncross. He really is the opposite of Steve, so sincere and polite, and watching everyone at the arcade having a blast felt like a serene distraction from the very real problems they’re facing, particularly now that Steve’s car has been found and there are way too many loose ends who could link them to it.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 5 “The Price You Pay” (B+)

I’m not sure I would have predicted a romance between Jen and Ben, but it looks like that’s where we’re headed. It’s infinitely trippier since, as Karen pointed out as soon as she waltzed in with her bottle of wine, she asked Ben if he had been there a few nights earlier since she saw Steve on the security camera footage. I like that, after Judy once again said much more than she should have, Ben showed up at Jen’s office to ask her questions and ended up spending a lot of the night with her helping to soothe her very bad back. I can’t imagine Judy is going to take the news of their eventual hookup lightly, though she’s off in her own world being seduced by Michelle, who may have to explicitly elaborate beyond a mention of her ex-girlfriend that she’s not just looking for a new friend. Judy freaking out at herself in the bathroom was a disconcerting moment since it shows that she’s prone to losing control, but at least she has a conscience and a sense of when she’s doing something wrong. I’m baffled by Charlie’s stupidity, thinking that the insanely fancy car he found in a secret garage was a gift for him and deciding that, even if that was the case, the smart thing to do was to start driving it immediately rather than ask her about it or wait for her to officially give it to him. He may not have gotten arrested or crashed it, but he’s just created an entirely new headache for his mother, whose financial security isn’t nearly as stable as she had previously indicated with her actions.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 4 “Between You and Me” (B+)

Watching these episodes back-to-back (once a night) is somewhat disorienting since there are still important moments, like Jen and Judy doing whatever it is that they did with Steve’s body, that are skipped over and the next episode just picks up after that happened. Getting pulled over on the drive was a worrisome development that makes it impossible to deny that they took this little trip, and though their offense wasn’t nearly as bad as they thought, the cop was pretty horrible about it in taunting Jen and then giving her a ticket anyway after laughing at her. Jen was perfectly happy to pay whatever high price she might have needed to in order to secure that presidential suite, and at least money is one of the only things she doesn’t have to worry about in her life right now. Recognizing her next door neighbor seemed terrible at first, but when it became almost instantaneously clear that he didn’t want to be noticed just as much as she didn’t, the threat level decreased considerably. I was excited that Marc Evan Jackson from “The Good Place” and “Parks and Recreation” was the one playing Jeff, which leads me to believe that he’ll probably be back again at some point. Pretending to be guests of the wedding was a good distraction for Jen and Judy, and it was sweet that, after telling her that she shouldn’t mourn Steve, Jen gave Judy the opportunity she needed to eulogize him during a funeral for someone else.

What I’m Watching: Dead to Me

Dead to Me: Season 2, Episode 3 “You Can’t Live Like This” (B)

Though I’m posting my reviews once a week, I’m actually writing them as I go through this series, which I’m doing at a much quicker rate than any other streaming show in the past. I’m averaging an episode a day, and watching that as perhaps all Netflix and similar content is meant to be done shines a light on lackluster episodes. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about this half-hour, but if I watched it and had to wait another week for the next installment, I would be quite disappointed. It’s mainly that nothing was accomplished and that it felt like filler content. The freezer obviously isn’t haunted and Steve is very much dead inside it, and the infestation of rats that came spewing out from under it was rightfully unsettling if nothing more. Jen and Judy are taking a lot of risks by leaving Steve’s body in there, and only Jen’s son’s creepy friend seems to notice that she’s trying to Google how to move a dead body. Jen’s mental state is affecting her work, as her selling abilities are decreased by her impatience and her sharing the fact that her home has rats, and she’s being ripped apart the same way Judy was by holding in the secret that Steve didn’t attack her when she killed him. She definitely should not tell her since Judy won’t react well, though at least she’s managed to make a new friend in Michelle, and I’m glad that, as I had hoped, Natalie Morales wasn’t just showing up for a short guest appearance but instead to become a more regular player.