Dead to Me season 1 episode 4 recap: I Can’t Go Back

Episode three of Dead to Me revealed that Jen might not have known as much about her late husband, Ted, as she thought. This episode focuses on Jen and Judy’s complicated relationships with their partners.

Dead to Me opens this episode with Judy in Steve’s bed after the two spent the night together. Steve seems to have had a complete change of heart since the early episodes of the season. He’s now interested in getting back together with Judy. As they talk, Steve decides to not sell the house and have Judy move back in with him.

Now, it’s not clear, but it could be because Steve is still very worried that Judy is going to tell Jen what happened to Ted. So, this could just be a move to gain more control over her actions, even though he claims it’s because he’s worried about her wellbeing.

During this opening scene we also learn that Judy doesn’t drive anymore, not since she hit Ted with her car.

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Later, Judy goes back to Jen’s to tell her that Steve isn’t selling and she’s going to move back in with him, but she finds Jen in an absolute rage. Jen tells Judy about her Bambi discovery and the opportunity to talk about Steve is gone.

Judy, masquerading as Ted online, talks to Bambi, finds out where she works, and says she (well, Ted) will meet her after her shift (Bambi is a waitress). Judy and Jen plan to confront her and get more information about what was going on between them. Then, Jen wants to be the one to tell her that Ted is dead.

At the restaurant, they meet Bambi, who looks to be around college age and is their waitress. Jen is stunned to find out that Ted had been dating Bambi for a year and a half.

Jen’s night is made even worse because Christopher texts her to inform her that Steve has pulled his house off the market, because “he fell in love.” Jen thinks that refers to falling back in love with his house, but Judy corrects her and says Steve means he fell back in love with her.

Jen can’t believe Judy wants to get back together with Steve and tries to talk her out of it, but Judy won’t listen. The two argue about whether or not Steve is a good person (or if he’s still a jerk) and, eventually, Judy slips and says that Steve has never cheated on her.

This is a last straw for Jen who leaves the restaurant.

As Jen leaves, Bambi comes back to the table to see if everything is ok. Then, embracing an idea Jen had, Judy bluntly tells Bambi that Ted is dead (while pretending to be Jen). That’s when Bambi reveals that Ted told her that Jen had died years ago because of breast cancer. After that, Judy leaves to find Jen.

Judy meets up with Jen, who had gone to buy cigarettes, in the parking lot. They apologize to each other and head back to Jen’s car.

As they drive, Judy starts stressing out about Jen’s driving. Jen is all over the road with the combination of being so angry and also unable to light her cigarette. Finally, Jen pulls over and tells Judy to drive. Judy, reluctantly, does. And she proceeds to drive very, insanely slow, being way too cautious.

The women continue talking and Jen laments over choosing a career and place to live based solely on Ted’s dreams and desires rather than her own. Jen wanted to be a dancer, but she prioritized Ted’s success. This conversation leads to Jen asking what Judy really wants in her life. What Steve wants shouldn’t be more important than what she (Judy) wants.

Judy says she wants things to go back to the way they were before they broke up.

A flashback then shows that, the night of the accident, Judy wanted to go back and check on the person she hit, but Steve told her not to.

Judy relents and says that she doesn’t want things to go back, she just wants things to be different. Jen is finally able to convince Judy that she shouldn’t get back with Steve.

Judy knows she can’t tell Steve that to his face, so she asks Jen to help. They drive to Steve’s house and Jen tells him that Judy isn’t moving back in and he should accept the offer that’s on the table for his house.

This episode of Dead to Me ends with Judy telling Jen that Ted had killed her off as part of his secret relationship with Bambi. Jen is devastated. She’s spent months trying to find his killer and now she finds out that he had mentally killed her off so he could have a secret relationship.

Jen says she’s glad Ted is dead and Judy smiles.

So how long until Judy spills the big secret? Let us know your thoughts on Dead to Me in the comments!