'Dead To Me' Star Sam McCarthy Unpacks That Major Season 2 Finale Cliffhanger
Throughout the second season of Dead to Me, Jen and Judy struggled to cover up the murder of Judy's ex-fiancé Steve, and by the end, it looked like they succeeded. But did someone close to them end up learning the truth? The finale doesn't clarify exactly what Jen's son Charlie discovered when he saw that letter Jen left for Judy, leaving fans to wonder if Charlie knows how Steve died in Dead to Me. There's nobody better to ask than Sam McCarthy, the actor who plays Charlie, to clarify exactly what Season 2's ending means for the future of the hit Netflix show.
Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from the Season 2 finale of Dead to Me. Racked with guilt, Jen ultimately decided to confess to Steve's murder at the end of the new season, but before she went off to Detective Perez's house, she left Judy with an emergency binder and three letters: one for Judy and one for each of Jen's sons. Luckily, Perez let Jen off the hook before Judy could give Charlie or Henry their letters, but at the very end of the season, Charlie discovered Jen's letter to Judy underneath her bed.
"After everything that Charlie’s seen prior to reading the letter, all the evidence, I would say he probably knows what’s going on," McCarthy tells Elite Daily, confirming Charlie was likely able to connect all the dots after reading the letter. As shown earlier in the finale, a portion of the letter stated Jen forgave Judy "for Ted," and it also said it was Jen's turn to pay the price. The note didn't explicitly mention Steve, but McCarthy sounds pretty sure Charlie has figured that part out.
Obviously, this information is a bombshell for Charlie, and McCarthy says the letter is going to completely change Charlie's relationship with Jen, and especially with Judy, in a potential third season. "I think eventually he’ll be able to forgive Jen, but I don’t think he’ll ever forgive Judy," McCarthy says. "He was just barely opening up to Judy this season, so I don’t think he’ll be able to forgive her. I’d love to see it, that’d be cool, but I’d be skeptical."
The new run of episodes featured several warm moments between Charlie and his mom, which were a stark contrast to their constant head-butting at the beginning of the series. But with this new turn of events, fans should expect an even angstier Charlie if Netflix picks up a third season of Dead to Me — more like his moodier Season 1 persona than the sweeter side he was able to show in Season 2. "I’d say this will be really bad," McCarthy says of what his character's future may look like.
After watching Season 2, it's hard to believe one of the most popular fan theories about Charlie from Season 1. Given his temper and the gun he started carrying around at the end of the first season, fans thought Charlie may have been Steve's real killer before it was revealed to be Jen.
"I don’t know how much I thought that one was ever going to happen in Season 2," McCarthy says. "I heard about it, but I feel like there would have been more breadcrumbs if that were to actually happen. It would have been cool if [Charlie had shot Steve] actually; that would have been a really cool direction to go."
Though Charlie was proven innocent of Steve's murder, that doesn't mean his hands will stay clean. Now that he knows all of Jen and Judy's secrets, it's possible he could join in on their cover-up... although McCarthy isn't so sure that'll happen right away. "That’d be a lot of fun, but I think it’s kind of unlikely that Charlie join in unless he’s very much roped into it," he says. "But I’d imagine that he wouldn’t be so eager to do that."
Whatever the future holds for Charlie, it sounds like he could be a bigger part of the show than ever before if Netflix renews it for Season 3, so get ready for more of him. And word to the wise: If your friend gives you a letter that basically reveals all the deep, dark secrets you're trying to hide... maybe don't leave it lying around in your bedroom.
Dead to Me Season 2 is on Netflix now.
