The Case of the Dandelion Shrine – As the second episode of Dead Boy Detectives begins, the group is still in Port Townsend, Washington. The cat stops them to say Edwin (George Rexstrew) used magic on a cat so he has to answer for it. They’re going to take Edwin to the cat king. Charles (Jayden Revri) and Crystal (Kassius Nelson) walk with Edwin past a bunch of cats. They find the cats eating a dead body. The cat king turns into a person before asking which one used magic. He makes it clear that using magic on a cat is a car crash for Edwin. They discuss their options in private. Edwin argues fighting is not a good idea because cat scratches are like poison to a ghost.

Cat King takes Edwin somewhere private and asks if he has a special relationship with Charles. He tells Edwin he’s oddly handsome and he’s fascinated by him. Cat King uses a caging spell to put a bracelet around Edwin’s wrist. It’ll keep Edwin in this town. It comes off as soon as Edwin makes him happy. Since Edwin doesn’t want to do sexual favors, he is told to count all the cats in Port Townsend. Edwin is returned to Charles who says he’s been gone for hours. After the intro, Edwin quickly realizes he can’t remove the bracelet. Crystal thinks they should start counting cats. Edwin complains about Charles setting off alarm bells and possibly going back to hell. Crystal and Edwin end up getting into an argument. Jenny (Briana Cuoco) interrupts to tell them to stop banging.

Crystal eventually leaves. The postman arrives with the mail. They get an advertisement for a magic shop and decide to get the bracelet checked by a professional. Niko Saski (Yuyu Kitamura) runs into Crystal before she passes out. The man at the magic shop tells them the spell can only be undone by the caster. Charles asks if there is anything else that can help them. The man gives them a paperweight that makes ocean sounds. When they leave, Esther (Jenn Lyon) approaches the shopkeeper. Once she finds out that the boys are stuck in town, she buys something for her revenge starter kit. The doctor says Niko is probably dehydrated. Crystal believes it’s more than that. Once they’re alone, Crystal decides to see what’s going on in Niko’s head. It goes wrong and Crystal gets knocked to the floor.

Edwin gives Crystal a list of questions to ask Niko when she wakes up. He believes this is a supernatural mystery that only they can solve. Charles has to help Edwin get their reference books. Niko wakes up. Crystal begins asking her questions, but Niko isn’t interested in answering them. Charles has trouble finding anything helpful in the books. He asks Edwin to tell him what really happened with the cat king. Edwin only says he was taken in when the king spoke in his ear. Eventually, he asks for the Paranormal Parasitics book. Edwin wonders which parasitic found its way into Niko. Charles looks through the book and points out dandelion sprites. Crystal tries to get Niko to talk to her. She feels like she wants her parents to help find her parents. Niko says she felt that way when her dad died.

Her mother sent her back to boarding school the day after the funeral but the sadness followed her. Her mom is still in Japan. Niko hasn’t opened her mom’s letters. Her mom wants to hear she’s not sad anymore, but she doesn’t want to lie to her. Niko admits she can’t leave her room so it’s lonely. Crystal can relate. Niko opens the door and says Crystal’s parents are probably looking for her right now. She throws up colorful goo before passing out. Edwin freaks her out by showing her the book. The dandelion sprites feed on attention which is why they use colorful lights. When they grow strong enough, they exit the body however they can. Niko asks Crystal who she’s talking to. Crystal explains she was talking to her secret friends and they want to help her. Edwin and Charles try to find out where Niko was exposed to the sprites.

Niko tells Crystal about the time she went looking for dandelions. Crystal thinks she did well, but Edwin says they need more information. Niko can only remember some type of shrine in the woods. While Edwin and the others talk, Niko ends up walking downstairs. She grabs the attention of everyone until Crystal stops her. Crystal takes her upstairs. In the afterlife, the night nurse (Ruth Connell) learns more about Edwin and Charles. She is told that Charles never crossed over. As for Edwin, he was assigned to hell in the afterlife. He escaped. The night nurse is adamant that the lost and found department will not be outfoxed. Edwin and Charles try to find the source of the dandelion sprites. Edwin admits he hates that he’s stuck in this town. They end up finding the shrine.

Niko’s nose begins bleeding. She grabs Crystal’s arm before the demons demand what they want. They threaten to kill Niko and find a new next. Niko returns and asks what happened. Charles and Edwin use special lenses to find out what used to be at the shrine. Edwin believes the inscription says, “These small gods require constant sacrifices.” They were abandoned a long time ago and must’ve been starving. It goes on to say, “Only this shrine’s enchanted vessel can contain the sprites.” The corpses around the boys come to life. Charles smashes one with the vase. He grabs a dandelion and something else before fleeing with Edwin. When they get back, they find Jenny scolding Crystal and trying to find out what is going on. Jenny tells her to cut the weird stuff or she’ll evict her. Crystal goes into Niko’s room and tells her the truth about the boys.

Niko is glad she told her. Edwin admits he finds Niko charming. They talk about the sacred vase at the shrine. Edwin says they need the vase to trap the sprites but it’s broken. Charles thinks they can use the enchanted jar Tragic Mick gave them. Edwin puts the offerings into the makeshift vase. Then, they try to find something to lure the sprites out. The situation worsens as Niko begins shaking. Crystal tries to speak to the dandelion sprites because she has an offer. She offers her body. Niko’s body falls back to the bed. The sprites come out of her mouth and jump toward Crystal. Charles traps them in the jar before they can reach her. Later, Edwin supposes he’s feeling like his old self again. Charles talks to Crystal about not having a place. He’s glad the jar worked.

He says they’ll have to go back to the shrine to torch the dandelions before they infect anyone else. Niko enters and she can see Edwin and Charles. Kingham (Max Jenkins) and Litty (Caitlin Reilly) complain about being stuck in the jar. Crystal throws a sweater over the jar so they don’t have to hear them. Niko thought about writing to her mother. The postman arrives again. They learn there’s a line of ghosts waiting for them and their new medium. Esther complains about Edwin and Charles. She does something with Monty and says the snake needs to eat. Monty turns into a person.

 

Dead Boy Detectives Review

The second episode of Dead Boy Detectives was much of the same but a little more tedious. The Cat King decided to punish Edwin for using magic on a cat. Since Edwin wouldn’t have sex with him, the Cat King used a caging spell on Edwin to trap him in town. Edwin can only escape if he counts all the cats in Port Townsend, but he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get away.

Instead, they were more interested in helping Niko who had been possessed by dandelion sprites. This was an okay episode, but there’s too much going on meaning none in particular is given enough time to really develop. This is no longer for children considering how much cursing happened in this episode. Despite being supernatural and full of action, Dead Boy Detectives is surprisingly dull.

It’s fairly swallow making it difficult to genuinely relate to any of the characters, but there is still time for that to change. Some of the performances are less than perfect although most of the important roles are well casted. Personally, I find the show boring beyond belief which is the last thing one would expect from a show like this. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Dead Boy Detectives can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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