The Case of Crystal Palace – As the opening episode of Dead Boy Detectives begins, Edwin Paine (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) run from someone who has been haunting a museum. Edwin believes they need to destroy the gas mask because it must be cursed. He asks for Minor Arcana Volume 4 which contains the fire spell. Charles admits he left it back at the office even though he has a backpack that holds an infinite number of things. They flee from the man in the gas mask. Edwin jumps through a mirror and transports to another location. Charles joins him seconds later. The World War 1 ghost arrives and the pursuit continues. Yesterday, a nurse visits Edwin and Charles to tell them about the ghost.

In the present, Edwin tries to use a mirror to get them back to the office. The ghost follows them and attacks Charles who removes the mask. Edwin sets the mask on fire and they save the ghost. Edwin tells Charles they need to hide before Death comes to collect him. Otherwise, she’ll take them as well. They watch from outside as Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) comes for Wilfred. She tells him he’s been fighting old battles for too long and he died over a hundred years ago. Wilfred asks what’ll happen to him. Death says now is when he’ll find out. Charles worries Death would force them to go to the afterlife and split up if she caught them. Edwin will make sure that never happens. After the intro, Charles tries to teach Edwin how to fight. Seconds later, they welcome a new client to the Dead Boy Detective Agency.

Emma asks them to find her friend Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) who is a psychic. They learn that Crystal has been acting odd lately. They tell Emma (Alix West Lefler) they’ll consider helping her friend. Charles explains that Edwin is going to play hardball now. Edwin believes she has money. Soon, they begin following Crystal. They come up with a plan and get some disguises. On the subway, Charles grabs Crystal while Edwin rushes to draw the rune. Crystal gets trapped in the rune. A hole opens above Crystal as the demon tries to escape. Crystal comes to her senses. She can’t remember anything. Charles agrees to let her stay with them although that’s usually not part of their services. Back at the office, the boys argue about letting Crystal stay. Charles says it’s good to be seen by someone their own age.

Crystal wakes up and thanks them for getting David out of her. Edwin wants her gone because the living are messy. Charles takes Crystal outside where he explains Edwin spent decades in hell and forgot how to talk to people. Charles says they choose to stay. Crystal argues they’re a pair of dead boy fugitives. She admits her memory hasn’t improved. Charles is happy to be talking to someone his age who is still alive. They return to the office. Edwin says the postman showed up with another case for them. Charles reveals he’s agreed that Crystal can stay with them until her memory comes back. He believes she’ll be beneficial as a psychic. Crystal touches a missing poster for Becky Aspen and sees the child near a large snake. She tells the boys that Becky is alive, but she’s surrounded by black magic and death.

Edwin and Charles talk about helping Becky in private although that means going to the United States. Crystal interrupts to urge them to help. Once they arrive, Crystal decides to check out a room for rent she found on the internet. The woman at the butcher shop, Jenny Green, says everyone is on edge because of the Becky Aspen situation. Crystal learns more about the apartment and Niko Saski (Yuyu Kitamura) who is her only neighbor. Edwin and Charles wonder whether Crystal should take the apartment but she does anyway. Then, they decide to visit Becky’s parents. It gives Crystal the chance to use her powers to gather evidence. Outside, she tells the boys that the police found Becky’s shoes near a creek. If they can get the shoes, Crystal can find out where she last lost them.

Edwin goes into a mirror and returns with the shoes. They tell Crystal they don’t possess people because it sets off too many alarm bells in the afterlife. Crystal takes them to a house and says Becky last wore the shoes on the front porch. They speak to a cat but it refuses to tell them anything about the house or witch inside. At a restaurant, Crystal learns they have to find out more about the witch before they can do anything. She realizes girls are staring at her because it looks like she’s talking to herself. Crystal goes to the bathroom where the electricity becomes erratic. Then, she finds herself in a dark room with David the Demon. He admits he took her memories. She’s special so he wants to get back inside her so badly. Charles brings her back to reality. Edwin realizes she was speaking to a demon before she storms out.

He worries the demon could jeopardize the case. Crystal gets mad and says the demon is theirs now. When they’re alone, Edwin tells Charles he’s been behaving differently since she showed up. Charles argues they need to remember what Crystal has been through. Edwin reminds him he spent more than 70 years in hell. In Edwardian London in 1916, Edwin is shown in a boarding school. A group of students grab him in the middle of the night and offer him a sacrifice to the demon Sa’al. The demon shows up and kills the bullies. Sa’al says Edwin’s a sacrifice so he has to take him to hell. He insists it’s not that bad though. In the present, Edwin runs into the cat from earlier. He traps the cat so he can learn more about the witch.

Crystal tells her landlord, Jenny Green (Briana Cuoco), about her problems. Jenny argues people always think about themselves. She believes Crystal is doing that as well. Charles is there when Jenny leaves. They talk about David who took Crystal’s memories. Charles says they need a mirror. Crystal is enamored with Niko when she sees her. Niko says she likes her jacket before quickly shutting the door. Then, Charles shows Crystal something that she can never tell anyone about. He says he watches his parents once a week for the last 30 years. Charles knows what it’s like not being able to go home. He tells Crystal she needs to let them in if she is going to stick around. Edwin says he found information and it’s only for detectives in good standing. Crystal agrees to tell them the truth even though it’s a story about how she was stupid.

Three months ago in London, Crystal fell for David not realizing he was a demon. By the time she realized, it didn’t matter. Crystal admits she let him in because she thought it was love. Edwin gets upset and storms out. Edwin tells her what happened when he died and how his disappearance was called an act of god. The boarding school covered up what happened to Edwin so their deaths didn’t matter. Edwin yells that they’re solving cases that would never be solved. They have to matter. Charles reminds him they haven’t solved Crystal’s case yet either. Crystal insists she just wants to help. They agree to focus on rescuing Becky right now. Edwin says a witch named Esther Finch is obsessed with youth. Every few years, she kidnaps local girls, locks them in her cupboard, and steals their vitality. They begin planning to save Becky from the witch.

Jenny interrupts because she thought Crystal was a robber. The next day, Edwin and the others watch Esther Finch (Jenn Lyon) leave home. Crystal wants to come inside with them, but Edwin warns her that witches are dangerous. Edwin and Charles go inside and find a lock on the cupboard. Charles picks the lock only to find the cupboard empty. Edwin finds a hidden compartment. He ends up getting pulled into it before crashing to the ground below. Charles realizes it’s the magical void. Edwin feels it weighing him down since nothing is supposed to leave. He finds Becky. Charles drops down a rope, pulley, and the bag of tricks. Crystal approaches the house when she is confronted by Esther who knows what’s going on. Esther says she loves girls so she couldn’t let Becky go. Charles tries to pull Becky and Edwin up.

Esther knocks out Crystal. Edwin and Charles arrive to help her. Crystal grabs the witch and uses her powers to knock her down. Charles jumps into Esther. Edwin reminds him that they don’t possess people because it has bad consequences. Esther frees herself before warning them they’ve opened a bag of worms. Crystal wipes Becky’s bad memories before allowing her to go home. She says David the Demon is still a stalker, but she’s going to get her memories back. Charles believes they can beat him again although Edwin doesn’t think they should be cocky. At the afterlife lost and found department, they learn about Charles possessing Esther. The night nurse (Ruth Connell) believes she has those naughty boys. She has pictures of Edwin and Charles.

 

Dead Boy Detectives Review

The opening episode of Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives quickly set up the story and established the characters. It’s pretty simple considering the show tells viewers everything without doing much showing. Edwin and Charles are dead but they refused to go to the afterlife. Instead, they remained on earth so they could solve supernatural cases.

They helped Crystal Palace who just happens to be a psychic and has proven to be helpful. Then, the trio teamed up to save a missing girl from a witch. In the process, Edwin possessed the witch, Esther, and exposed them to the night nurse. The story originates from The Sandman, yet both shows are drastically different. They’re also similar in certain ways.

For instance, Dead Boy Detectives has a less serious tone to the point that it’s teeny at times. It’s probably not going to be pulling on any heartstrings and may not satisfy fans looking for a sophisticated supernatural series. The series is dumbed down a lot by explaining everything and not letting viewers figure anything out for themselves. Based on the first episode, the cases have no complexity and everything is much too easy for Edwin and Charles.

Some of the performances are weak although the leads do a good job with what they’ve got. This probably isn’t for everyone because it’s geared toward younger viewers. That may not be a bad thing for viewers looking for something they can half-watch without losing the plot. The lack of sophistication and emotional pull may cause the series to be an afterthought when all is said and done.

The opening episode was a bit dull despite being fast-moving. It scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Dead Boy Detectives are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this show and others at the Reel Mockery Forum.