Just when you thought Dead to Me couldn't get any twistier, Season 2 opened with a reveal so shocking it's basically soap opera-level. At the end of the first episode of the newly released season of Netflix's black comedy, Jen Harding and Judy Hale were met with a face they certainly weren't expecting to see... but it's not what it looks like. Viewers will undoubtedly be wondering who Ben is on Dead to Me Season 2, because he's a new character who nobody expected to see.
Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from the first few episodes of Dead to Me Season 2, but will not spoil the finale. After Judy's controlling ex-fiancé Steve Wood died in the Season 1 finale of Dead to Me, it was looking very unlikely James Marsden would be returning for Season 2 — but leave it to this twist-filled show to throw a major curveball. Marsden did make a surprise return at the end of Episode 1, but as Jen and the viewers quickly found out at the beginning of the second episode, he's actually playing Steve's twin brother Ben this time around. As a joke for the audience, both Ben and Judy insist Ben is only a "semi-identical" twin of Steve's, when obviously the two are total lookalikes.
But despite looking exactly the same, Ben could not be more opposite of Steve. Whereas Steve was a cocky, morally corrupt businessman, Ben actually shows himself to be a sweet and dorky chiropractor who has come to town to try to track down his missing brother. Obviously, Ben's search is a huge problem for Jen and Judy, who are still in the process of getting rid of Steve's corpse at the beginning of Season 2, but he surprisingly became less of a nuisance and more of a companion as the season progressed.
After helping fix Jen's back, Ben began growing close to Jen, bonding over their love of dance and the turmoil within their families. Steve was always his mother's favorite child, Ben revealed, and that fact is only emphasized for him now that he's moved in with his mother during the search for Steve. He also revealed why his childhood was so depressing, having had seven surgeries due to a heart defect.
It quickly became clear Jen and Ben's relationship was developing into something more than just friendship, and soon enough they finally did kiss and then sleep together, which only complicated matters more as it seemed Ben and the police may have been getting closer to finding out the truth about Steve's disappearance. And due to that cliffhanger ending, it definitely looks like Ben will be an even bigger part of the story if the show gets renewed for Season 3.
