Judy teases Jen about Ben and their blossoming affection for each other. Jen tries to play it down. They’re equally relieved to have left everything behind. All the trouble they were in with Steve, Ted, and the Greek mafia in the picture is finally over. But suddenly, Jen starts to see her mother and finally realizes she is on a stretcher being taken to the hospital. She and Judy were accidentally hit by Ben in the finale of season 2. Although Judy looks okay, Jen is quite badly beaten up. As Judy reveals to Jen, they do not know the identity of the person driving the car. Another hit and run with the same personnel of people cannot be a coincidence! Jen is more worried about the fact that it is Charlie’s birthday that day and she is stuck up in the hospital. Charlie gets his hands on the letter Jen wrote to Judy in the finale of season 2, forgiving her for “the thing” with Ted. She also handover the responsibility of her kids to Judy, thinking that officer Perez will be arresting her. Ben shows up to the house all battered up from the hit and run. He is still drunk and collapses on the ground in front of Charlie. He drives him to the hospital in Ben’s car, which is damaged from the accident. While in it, Ben also remembers the reason for his drinking; him discovering Steve’s body in last season’s finale. Judy tells Jen about how she would act while her mother would steal medicines from hospitals to get high. She plans to do something similar for Jen. The doctor orders CT scans for both Judy and Jen to check if they have cracked ribs or other internal injuries. Nick and Perez stand over Steve’s body, which is almost unrecognizable. The latter instantly tries to implicate the Greeks but Nick thinks like a police officer. He notices the arrow on the tree Judy made where the body is buried. Perez is also recognized by the hiker, who saw her with Jen in the last season. But since Angeles is a National Forest, the FBI will have the jurisdiction to investigate. Perez informs Jen of the body and she starts freaking out. Ben takes treatment in the same hospital but they still do not know what actually happened. Charlie and Judy are able to connect briefly but are cut off when she sees Ben. He suddenly realizes he was the one who rammed into Jen and Judy’s car. Ben is not able to say the truth to Judy, though. But he does inform her that they found Steve’s body, which puts Judy in shock. The scans are in and thankfully, nothing is broken. But the doctor delivers some bad news to Jen. She has shadows on the liver which might potentially mean cancer. Another shock awaits us as she is sitting in Judy’s bed and the doctor thinks she is Judy. So, Judy is actually the one who might have cancer. Judy informs Jen about Steve and gives her the pain medicine. Jen tries but is not able to tell her that she might have cancer.
The Episode Review
None of us wanted cancer to end things for Judy! That is a serious development in the story for this season. While we were expecting an emotional send-off, this makes saying goodbye a little bit harder. The usual female camaraderie we all missed is back in full flow, perhaps with even more vigor in this season. This episode feels like the perfect start for not only the investigation into Steve’s murder, but also an emotional reckoning for Judy and Jen. We have been spectators to many surprises of ironies and twists and maybe there is more in store for us. It was maybe a great idea to give Charlie the lesser of evil with respect to his discovering the letter. Judy has been like a second parent to the boys but adolescent tantrums are the worst. I feel like if Judy has Jen, she has nothing to worry about. The two together are always stronger and fight on a united front. Nick will once again prove to be a thorn in their sides. A dynamic change in how Perez is now involved in the lies also impressed and is well-positioned to steer the rest of the story.
