On the (hopefully first season) finale of Dead Boy Detectives, Edwin and Charles were saying goodbye to the new friends they’d made this season before returning to London, when Esther the witch struck again, kidnapping the boys so she could harness Edwin’s trauma to empower her to god-like levels in perpetuity — though not if Crystal and Niko had anything to say about it.
1. The Secret Origin of Crystal Palace Surname-Von Hoverkraft
After regaining her memories, Crystal confirms her fears that she was the absolute worst before she was possessed, discovering she was a manipulative, spoilt thief who didn’t care about hurting people, which is why David was drawn to her in the first place. Also, her full name is Crystal Palace Surname-Von Hoverkraft, something taken from the source material, but indicative here of just how wealthy her family is, because double-barrelled names in England are generally a sign of a posh background. (Yes, that includes me dear friends, my paternal grandparents lived in Belgravia!) Crystal confirms how out-of-touch her parents are when she calls them, as it transpires Maddy Surname (Sherri Saum) and Seth Von Hoverkraft (John Brotherton) had no idea she was missing — ouch, no wonder she became such a terror.
2. The Sandman Needs More Animation
Crystal and Niko go to the Cat King for advice on how to defeat Esther, recognizing his soft spot for Edwin means he might be willing to help. His Highness decides to regale them with the witch’s backstory, explaining why she needs to feed children to her snake to keep herself young, a sequence rendered in a lovely Disneyesque style that contrasts wonderfully with the macabre events that unfold within it. Coupled with the depiction of Tragic Mick’s origin in the previous episode, one starts to hope season two of The Sandman and beyond will feature more animated segments, and with as varied art styles as these two. Granted, I’m biased, I would watch an entirely animated version of all of “The Sandman” if I could, but I hope it’s a sign of similar creativity in future.
3. Needs a Little Je Ne Sais Quoi
Despite the spectacular sight of Crystal invoking Lilith (Rochelle Okoye), the “goddess” Esther sold her soul to, and tattling on her, the climax of the episode, and the season as a whole, is somewhat lackluster, with Charles only requiring a single back flip/stroke of his sword to kill Esther’s giant snake, thereby robbing her of her youth, and allowing Lilith to drag her to Hell. I think the show’s creators tried to compensate for this lack of budget with Niko’s emotional sacrifice, including the uncharacteristically strong (but not out-of-character) reaction from Edwin, but this was undermined by the blatant set-up with the polar bear carving Tragic Mick gave her — instead of thinking, “It didn’t work!,” I was left pondering “OK, so what really happened?” until the final reveal of her and the sprites in the igloo.
4. Headcount/An American Butcher in London
So if there’s a season two, Crystal will officially be part of the boys’ agency, as will the Night Nurse, assuming she gets over her anger at the Principal (Tamlyn Tomita) being so impressed by their work that she allows them to stay on Earth with her as their go-between. The big questions are a) will the Cat King — whom Edwin was finally bold enough to give a peck on the cheek — come to London, and b) will Jenny relocate there? Admittedly, despite her “hard maybe,” and the damage inflicted on her butchery, I don’t see her uprooting herself so drastically.
I say that in spite of how much I like Briana Cuoco’s performance, and also wanting to know if Jenny will ever find love after her harrowing date, but life often lacks closure too — the thing about series like this, “The Sandman,” or Doctor Who, is that characters must get left behind, otherwise it just becomes another serialized drama, and we have to steel ourselves for it. Now with all that said, perhaps David still being in Crystal’s mind will prevent her from taking the ferry and plane back to London, and we will spend another season in Port Townsend. That’s fair, and it’d be nice to see Tragic Mick’s storyline be resolved as well, but if that’s the case, I hope Niko’s return means we get a flying visit to Japan too.
Continued below5. Justice for Monty
Speaking of all these characters, I was surprised there was no hint of Monty’s future, even though he was responsible for Charles escaping his confinement, and his master’s subsequent defeat. It’s all the more odd given how emphasis there was on redemption in this episode, with Crystal planning to make up for all her past misdeeds, and trying to reach out to Esther before she proved she was too far gone to be reasoned with. (Suffice to say, the real Esther died a long time ago.) Someone please give that kind, sweet bird who’s sometimes a man a lovely new home and owner! (Maybe Jenny, if Mick or Edwin and Charles can’t adopt him?)
Bonus Thoughts:
– So why is Maddy (who is Black)’s surname Surname in this universe? Is it like Malcolm X discarding the name given to his ancestors by their slavemasters? Hopefully it’s something touched on in season two, otherwise Crystal’s heritage is going to only feel like lipservice to diversity than diversity itself.
– Jenny’s disinterest in having her memories erased reminded me of the moral of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which (holy shit!) is somehow 20 years old this year.
– Man, the Cat King can be such a dick: no your highness, Crystal and Niko are teenagers and one’s a psychic, not a witch, so of course they won’t know everything you do.
– Yeah, I was wrong in my review of the first episode to assume Crystal is bi (for now): should’ve said “seemingly” instead of “firmly.”
