‘Dead Boy Detectives’ (Season 1) Review: A Delightful Drama with Spooky Witches and Monsters
After the successful season of Netflix’s The Sandman, comes an exciting new spin-off set in the same universe. Dead Boy Detectives follows two teenage ghouls solving paranormal cases helping ghosts return to the afterlife. The series uses the episode-to-episode series format of solving one monster case in each episode while solving the big mysterious assignment. With dark themes and compelling themes of friendship, love, and identity, Dead Boy Detectives brings cheeky humour and adventurous paranormal cases to make audiences feel young again.
Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) are teenage ghosts from different periods. They have one goal: best friends who solve mysterious paranormal cases helping souls trapped on Earth and releasing them to the afterlife. Edwin died in 1916; he is formal and posh and prefers it when things are organised. Charles passes away in the 1980s and dresses in punk rock outfits. He is the muscle of The Dead Boy Detective Agency.
After chasing a masked World War 1 soldier and avoiding Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) in one night, Edwin and Charlies take on another assignment to exorcise Crystal Palace’s (Kassius Nelson) demon boyfriend, David (David Iacono), out of her body. With nowhere to stay and no memory of her life, Crystal, a psychic who can see dead people because of her close encounter with death, helps the teenage ghosts with their cases, which leads them to a small town called Port Townsend.
At Port Townsend, they encounter many ghosts, a witch, Esther (Jenn Lyons); a man who might secretly be a walrus, Mick (Michael Beach); a jealous cat who transforms into a human, Cat King (Lukas Gage); and a Night Nurse (Ruth Connell) who is the middle manager in a strict bureaucratic office that deals with the afterlife hunting the teenage ghosts. Edwin, Charlies and Crystal rent an apartment on the top floor of a butcher shop owned by the pessimistic and moody, Jenny (Briana Cuoco), and the chirpy, Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), the latter who has her trouble with paranormal figures and joins the gang later on their new assignments.
Dead Boy Detectives is certainly a binge-worthy show. They aren’t just friendly teenage ghosts who help the dead leave the plane and ascend to the afterlife. All of the characters deal with their trauma, anger issues, sexuality, and abusive relationships. Edwin deals with his hidden queerness, afraid of revealing his true self to everyone around him. He also spent decades in Hell due to a clerical error. Charles grew up with an abusive father who physically attacked him. Crystal’s previous relationship with David takes a toll on her mental health, which causes her to forget crucial memories about her life.
They deal with these horrible traumas by helping each other out. There’s a motivating message within the agency. Because Edwin and Charles were left behind, and forgotten by everyone else, and their traumas are similar, they want to help others feel less lonely and provide a safe path to the final plane.
Their adventures range from rescuing a young girl from getting eaten by a giant snake living under Esther’s house. She is a dangerous witch who has lived for thousands of years by sacrificing young girls to stay young. When the young detectives arrive in Port Townsend, her sacrificial routine is in ruins and she has to figure out a way to stop them. The Cat King is enamoured by Edwin, who knows his secret and tasks the young ghostly detective with a task that binds him to the town until he completes it.
The presence of Edwin and Charles, along with Crystal and Niko’s smart detective works extremely well with the paranormal setting. The subplots are cleverly written and concluded, with each episode solving the problem with many twists and turns. The characters even use different animation styles to tell the background story in each episode, which is a fun and creative way to incorporate other mediums into the series.
Dead Boy Detectives is a solid series. The story’s centre is the friendship between Edwin and Charles. Even when there are immortal agents and ghosts with unfinished business, their friendship makes the series an entertaining success. As the series progresses, audiences can understand why Edwin and Charles are loyal to each other. Dead Boy Detectives relies heavily on emotional-driven plots, and it’s certainly the one part that keeps the gang solving the mysteries together.
Here are some reading materials to learn about the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine and the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement:
Books about Palestine on Verso Books
Books about Palestine on Haymarket Books
