'Dead to Me' Season 2's Ending, Explained

Dead to Me Season 2 ended with some shocking moments that are sure to have long-term implications on the show, and we're here to explain it all. In the last 10 minutes of the Season 2 finale, a handful of cliffhanger situations take place, leaving fans in a state of jaw-dropping shock. Please Note: Dead to Me Season 2 Spoilers Below.

Earlier in the episode, Christina Applegate's Jen confesses to Detective Perez (Diana-Maria Riva) that she killed Steve (James Marsden) and buried his body in the woods. They drive to the location and wander around for a while, but have no luck finding the burial site. While they are there, a hiker with her dog passes by and greets them. Later, after Jen pours her heart out about her life and what led to her killing Steve, Perez decides that there is enough evidence against the slain attorney regarding his ties to the Greek mafia that this isn't as important. She lets Jen off, pretending none of their trip to the woods, nor the confession, ever happened.

The first set-up we see, is that the hiker and her dog happen upon the spot where Steve is buried, and the dog is beginning to dig. Since the hiker saw Jen and Detective Perez's faces, it is safe to assume that if Steve's body is found, she could feasibly identify the pair as having been present there. Later, Perez shows up at Jen's house to give something to Judy (Linda Cardellini): all the paintings that she'd been wanting to get back after her gallery was seized. It turns out that she'd been hiding cash inside the paintings.

The next big moment comes when we see Steve's twin brother Ben, who's begun a relationship with Jen, get a distressing call, which is presumed to be the one he — and Jen — have been dreading. Noticeably shaken, he tells his mother that he's going for ice cream, setting up the episode's shocking ending. First though, another big moment comes in the form of Jen's son Charlie discovering the letter that she wrote to Judy when she was planning to turn herself in for Steve's murder. This will almost certainly come back to haunt the family in Season 3, presuming that Netflix makes it official.

Finally, as Jen and Judy are driving down the street, discussing their future plans for the money in the brand new car that Judy bought for Charlie, they come to a stop sign. It is the stop sign that Jen had been fighting for earlier in the season, after she and Charlie were almost hit by a car at that particular intersection. They both sigh with joy that this new measure will likely "save somebody's life."

Jen proceeds through the intersection, when all of the sudden, a vehicle comes speeding up and smashes into them on Jen's side. The screen goes black, and then the image returns, revealing the two crashed cars. We first see that Judy is alive, and then, as the smoke between the two cars swirls, it is revealed that Ben is the one who crashed into them. An empty bottle of whiskey is seen beside him in the passenger seat. With a shocked look in his eyes, Ben starts his car and then drives off. The camera never pans back to show us Judy and Jen, but we do hear Jen speak, confirming that she is ok, before the credits roll. There is little doubt that this will make for some tense and explosive conflict in the future. Seasons 1 and 2 of Dead to Me are streaming now on Netflix.