SadieT

Such an unceremonious end. Months of radio silence and then they just yank the plug. The show was ridiculous but it's not like anything at Freeform is high quality. It was fun watching Ali and Mona again and I was starting to enjoy Ava. The other two might have grown on me with time. More than anything it's kind of sad that the PLL universe is officially put to rest. Looking forward to Emison getting back together in a tweet, because you just know Marlene is going to do it.

While Judy seems friendly and outgoing and is probably the type who could make friends easily, she was in an emotionally abusive relationship and Steve likely kept her isolated and dependent on him so she’d be easier to control. Steve seemed to reel Judy back in whenever he felt she was branching out a bit too much for his liking. Like when Steve finds out that Judy is living with Jen he initially appears thrown by the news. He then files the restraining order, likely trying to sabotage Judy’s friendship with Jen by making Judy seem dangerous and unstable. When that doesn’t work he revokes the order and goes back to playing nice and then onto convincing Judy to move back in with him. Jen, on the other hand, just doesn’t seem like a people person. She's friends with Christopher but they work together. She didn't seem to have the patience for that poor neighbor lady who made her the Mexican lasagna.

I don't think there was anything suspicious about Abe's death. I think Abe served as a sort of family figure for Judy and someone who eventually did know her deepest secret but didn't think less of her for it. I think Abe's death was more about getting Judy to her lowest point. She loses not only Jen and the boys once the truth unravels, but then finds out she's lost Abe as well and as we see becomes truly despondent and ready to end her life.

Me too. I figured it’d be a lock for renewal considering how much attention it received but you never really know how well it did because Netflix doesn’t release numbers. I’m happy though, I’ve been hungry for season 2 since the credits rolled on the season 1 finale.

Netflix's Dead to Me renewed for season 2 with Linda Cardellini, Christina Applegate returning

I mean that’s just my best guess because the show doesn’t actually explain it, but Steve trying to cover his ass seems likely. He could have also been afraid of what Judy might reveal about him if she were to be questioned by the cops. Or it could simply be another thing for him to lord over Judy’s head and use to control her. Whatever the reason, it seems Steve’s intent was entirely self-serving and not actually about protecting Judy.

My assumption is because the car Judy was driving was registered to Steve's shell company and he didn't want the authorities poking around in his business for fear they might uncover his financial crimes.

There was a brief flashback to Judy lurking in the background at Ted's funeral in episode 3, so it seems likely that Judy was keeping tabs on Jen after the accident and followed her to the grief group meeting. I think she even tells Steve in that same episode that she purposely befriended Jen in hopes of helping her.

What are the odds this charming small town Ava’s parents are hiding out in is Rosewood?

Both of those pronunciations sounded off to me.

So no announcement from Freeform following today's upfronts. Is that good or bad in terms of renewal chances? Would they bother having the cast at upfronts if they weren't planning on bringing the show back? Janel's tweet gave me pause, seems like she's not thrilled... either with waiting for with the verdict if she knows it.

I read or watched an interview with creator/showrunner Liz Feldman and where she said that the ending wasn’t actually her idea but was brought to her by another writer on the series. I would link to it but I read a lot of interviews about the show and can’t recall which this particular point was mentioned in. So it sounds like her original concept was maybe a little more grounded and more about Jen and Judy’s relationship. I think a lot of shows, especially series made for streaming platforms, go the twisty-turning route because it draws people in and gets them talking. The more people talking about that crazy thing that happened in episode so and so on social media, the more attention the series gets. I don’t think two solid performances about grief is enough of a draw anymore, sadly. That said I do think the writing and the acting balanced out some of the more outlandish twists, with lesser talents things could have easily veered off into the ridiculous, and while the ending is a little far fetched, the emotions and pathos still feel very real. ETA: Found the article if anyone's interested: https://ew.com/tv/2019/05/09/dead-to-me-creator-burning-questions/?fbclid=IwAR0Ie_Mcd5TBBeWwPLDCGeRH6MfE3aWOyTB9hgQw5rkrrKnQ11QfeVgCbQs

Maybe to make him look less guilty and so not to tie all his money up in business accounts? I doubt that was all his money, he was going to spend 8 million or whatever on the houses Jen showed him. Criminals can’t exactly put all their ill-gotten money into the bank in their own name so “hiding” it in various accounts and shell companies becomes necessary. But when the cops or whoever started looking into him for money laundering they likely froze his business accounts and seized whatever else they could get their hands on, but might have overlooked, or not been able to touch, the account he shared with Judy so he was probably looking to empty it out and flee the country. I also think the reason why he forced Judy to leave the scene of the accident (aside from being a controlling manipulative douchebag) was because the car was registered to his shell company and he didn’t want anyone looking too hard at his finances.

I don't know how similar these are to Dead to Me, but I also loved Big Little Lies and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and would recommend them to anyone who hasn't already seen them.

Steve’s rage with Jen wasn’t the first we’ve seen it. He got pretty angry with Judy during one of their talks in the assisted living facility and we saw him seething in the bank and melting down in his car when his financial scheme started to unravel. He was also pretty ragey when he was screaming at Judy to drive in the flashbacks of the accident. Also I think Judy is more impulsive than predatory. For example in the grief retreat episode, when Jen returns to the room the following morning and starts crying about Ted, Judy tries to comfort her and says she wishes she could make Jen not feel so badly (or something to that affect) and then very impulsively (and foolishly) blurts out that Nick is a cop. She saw Jen was upset and did the first thing that popped in her head that she thought would help Jen feel better, which was pointing Jen to a detective who could potentially help her find out who hit her husband. Obviously connecting Jen to Nick wasn’t in Judy’s best interest but she almost couldn’t help herself and actually seemed happy to be doing it in the moment because it gave Jen some hope. I think she was doing something similar with Bambi by pretending to be Ted’s wife. Jen was upset and stormed out so Judy took it upon herself to gather the information Jen was originally out to get. I don’t think Judy is doing things to deliberately hurt anyone but she doesn’t seem to think things through and in her quest to make sure everyone’s okay she often ends up making things worse.

I love this show. Watched it in two nights. It was such an easy watch and Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are amazing throughout. They deserve every bit of praise they’re getting for their performances. Like a lot of people, I saw the first reveal at the end of the pilot coming but I think a part of me was hoping it would later be unrevealed. Considering how manipulative Steve is and how vulnerable Judy can be I was thinking perhaps he was gaslighting her the whole time and that we would come to find out that Steve was actually driving the car but somehow convinced Judy she was. I didn’t want this terrible secret tearing Jen and Judy’s friendship apart because it seems like such an impossible thing to overcome, but I think the show did a good job of setting the friendship to potentially get back on track in the last minutes of the finale with Jen coming to the realization that she knows who Judy truly is as a person and the Judy she knows and loves would have stopped. If there’s a season 2 (there better be) I’m assuming we’ll find out more about just how awful Steve was but there were definitely clues to how manipulative and borderline abusive he could be throughout the series. Pushing Judy away and then pulling her back in at will, trying to convince Judy that she needed him to take care of her, him constantly crossing the line and immediately apologizing with Judy instantly forgiving him only for him to repeat the exact same behavior seconds later… it was all there. I also thought it was interesting that Jen instantly pegs Steve for who he is—an asshole—and doesn’t fall for any of his games, whereas Judy, who is more soft-hearted, was more susceptible to his charm and manipulation. It shows how different Jen and Judy are as people.

Taylor did not stay dead for long. I like that the show isn't dragging every little thing out. 10 episode seasons might be a good thing. Beacon Heighs PD appears to be just as useful as Rosewood PD. How long till Ava and Zach start dating? The ominous floating balloon and sewer shenanigans gave me IT feels. That whole scene with the pig mask person popping up behind Dylan and Ava was actually pretty creepy so props for that. Can we discuss promos or is that considered spoilers? Because it looks like our villain is connected to Mona. Running people over with cars, tampering with fashion show projectors, threats via cupcakes? All moves straight out of the Mona as A handbook. I love how Mona and Alison keep insisting to people that the other is trustworthy when everything they've been through involving each other suggests that that's not at all true. Mona defended Alison last week and now Alison is vouching for Mona. It's almost as if all the bullying, tormenting, attempting to murder, framing for murder, killing of sister/cousins never happened. At this rate, they're going to run out of string covers of popular Lady Gaga songs before the season's end.

Claire said Taylor “left” not died (and this is the second time I can recall her using language that suggests Taylor’s alive) so I’m guessing she knows her daughter is alive and that maybe the reason she had BHU recruit Alison is because she figured Alison, having experience faking her death and running away, will be able to flush Taylor out of hiding....and Alison seems to be doing just that. I could not be less interested in Mona’s weird relationship with Bad Bishop. I’m sure the reveal will be disappointing anyway. Something about Ava’s vapid self-involvement is amusing to me. Dramatically sketching your own baby photo? Amazing. She gives Aria a run for her money. Considering the over the top response Andrew had to the medical papers he found in Dylan’s room I was expecting the papers to actually contain something interesting...like that Dylan had an STD or something as a result of him sleeping with Nolan but instead it was just a pinched nerve which was boring. Sasha was liking and responding to tweets last night that suggest Emison isn’t actually done and some secret reveal in the finale will turn it all around...the whole situation and the handling of it is very odd.

No pie sighting but there was mention...Caitlin and British Dude whose name I don’t know discuss going out for coffee and pie when they run into each other at Claire Hotchkiss’s.

Kim's new guy is cute. Now let's wait for the inevitable drama his job is going to cause for her at work.

Even if the series does have a long run I wouldn't put it past Marlene to smack Emison back together at the very end, either on or off screen depending on Shay's willingness and availability. Whatever love interests Alison might have throughout the series will probably be temporary but it'll be interesting to see how the fans react to these potential love interests. Emison being on a break makes sense from a practical standpoint, but Marlene botched the handling of the situation when she came out of the gate making promises and reassurances she had to know she couldn't honor. Now since Alison is our protagonist and Emily exists entirely off-screen in Rosewood, I hope they use the break to explore Alison's character and growth. Emily not being able to get past who Alison was at 15 is kind of lame honestly and it would have been nice if she came to that realization before she pressured Alison into having those babies, so I'd like to see Alison exploring all that she's been through now that she's on her own, including the trauma of the pregnancy.

I'm assuming that depends on what direction Shay's career veers off into. But I wouldn't put it past Marlene to string along Emison fans for the entire length of the series and then slap them back together at the last minute off-screen with Alison returning home to Emily and the twins in the series finale.

I thought it was entertaining enough to warrant a watch of the next episode. I don’t hate the new characters but I’m definitely more interested in Alison and Mona and their dynamic. Nolan sure was a busy boy. Was there anyone on that campus he wasn’t sleeping with? Other than blackmail and his parents’ money I’m curious as to what exactly about this guy drew Ava, Dylan and Caitlyn to him. I know it’s only been one episode but he appears to have no redeeming qualities. At least when Alison was the dead bully on the first couple of seasons of PLL, the show did a good job of showing why the other liars cared about her, she had a way of making them each feel special. Nolan just seems like a run of the mill tool. When Mona first looked directly into the mirror and spoke I was like oh hey she’s crazy again, but good to know she’s just talking to super fancy high tech campus big brother who’s watching their every move. Also I chuckled when she said her reasons for being in Paris “escaped” her. Guess we’ll see where that goes. Alison freaking out because the not dead girl looks vaguely like her...that’s a specific type of “oh shit is this person might be related to me” panic that only people from Rosewood are familiar with. Also Ali getting all upset because Nolan knew who she was....like the story of a pretty white teenage girl in suburbia going missing, then being found dead, then showing up alive, then being arrested for murder, then being freed from jail cause the murder never happened wouldn’t be national news. Anyone with a phone or computer would probably recognize Alison’s name.

My niece and nephew were both born around 27 weeks (not twins, born 2 years apart) so I totally felt the family’s terrified panic while waiting for news about Kate and the baby. My nephew was unfortunately stillborn but my niece is now a bright beautiful 7 year old, who suffered no complications as a result of her premature birth. I echo everyone’s sympathy for Madison, who is honestly becoming one of my favorites on this show. I wish someone had gone and dragged her back into the waiting room, which is where she belonged because Kate wanted her there. I understand the bickering in times of high stress and emotion but I was glad when Rebecca finally told everyone to shut the hell up. Just wish we didn’t have to endure her sad waiting room speech because try as it might, it didn’t make me feel anything. I’m actually kind of over Jack’s death, which might sound insensitive but the show has been grieving him for 3 years now and I’m tired. Randall was not his best self this episode. Seriously, dude was annoying. Kevin too, but I guess he at least had the "excuse" of being drunk. Randall was a sober jerk. Hasn’t Miguel had a similar "outsider" conversation with Toby? Miguel is like the official Pearson family ambassador who has to perform community outreach and comfort all the people the Pearson cult hurt with their “no outsiders” mentality. They’re not that great of a family, in fact as a whole they’re pretty self-involved and insensitive, so not sure why anyone even wants a seat at that table.

Especially since the unattended kids in the playpen and the hole in the floor were actually Debbie’s doing, and yet Lip made it all about Fiona not scheming to keep the caseworker out of the house.