Comedy
Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
Imagine for a moment that you’re a popular high school student. And I mean popular.
You’re 16. It seems like everybody is excited to see you. They literally cheer when you walk into the room. Multiple people are desperately trying to convince themselves that you’d even consider dating them. You’ve got a great relationship with your adoptive parents. You’re in great standing on the debate team, and to top it all off, you run the third most popular Superman fan site in the entire world–and you’re primed to surpass the other two, especially with the recent footage you’ve gathered of a Superman fight in your Oregonian town.
Sounds pretty nice, right?
Naomi thought so too. But ever since that fight, she’s been fainting. And not everything is how it once seemed. Like, why does she even have to wear glasses when it seems like they make her vision worse? Why does the local tattoo artist know the day she was adopted when no one else does? And why does the used car salesman keep looking at her like that?
“We all look at the world through our own lens, but looking isn’t the same thing as seeing,” Naomi explains.
If only she knew just how much she’s about to see.
Naomi McDuffie has a refreshingly good relationship with her adoptive parents, Greg and Jennifer McDuffie. When Naomi jokes with them, they joke right back. When Naomi needs help, they’re right there to give it. Though they seem to know a bit more about Naomi’s past than they let on, Greg and Jennifer seem to be genuinely supportive and caring parents who want the best for their daughter (It’s also nice to see a father figure who doesn’t fall into all-too-common archetypes of alcoholic, abusive, dopey or absent).
Naomi’s an easy character to support. She strives to succeed and be the best at whatever she sets her mind to. She does well in school, represents the debate team at a military delegation and has her eyes on running the most prominent Superman fan page of all time.
But Naomi is right in that we all view the world through a lens, so let’s take a moment to take off our rose-colored glasses.
Naomi is not a perfect person, and Port Oswego, Oregon, is not a perfect town. In a single episode, we see her interact with three separate people (including a female) who have clear romantic feelings toward her, and she likes the attention more than she seems to like any one of them. And while this show may be the story of how she ultimately becomes a hero, we can’t but feel a little slimy watching her lead a few different people on at the same time.
It’s not the only instance where Naomi feels less-than-heroic. For example, she and her friends are willing to break into a man’s store to find an important item. Sure, he stole it from Naomi first, but I would always recommend exploring the more rational options first, such as talking with your parents and telling the police that a man assaulted and robbed you in the woods. Though we suppose that may take the fun and suspense out of it.
Perhaps a perk of her wild popularity, Naomi skateboards through the halls at one point. I feel like I should mention that I could never get away with skateboarding through the halls of our high schools like Naomi can. To be fair, I never tried, but I also wasn’t allowed to bring a backpack into class, so I’m pretty confident the skateboard thing would be out of the question too. Maybe things are just different in Oregon.
When a fight between an alleged Superman and a villain occurs in the middle of town, Naomi begins to realize that not everything is what it seems. Soon, her whole world begins collapsing around her.
Naomi’s great relationship with her parents is established.
Naomi goes to a raving house party. Though it is implied most people there are high schoolers, there is alcohol at the party, and Annabelle drinks some (though she mistook it for ginger ale). A commenter on a social media video admits to spiking the punch bowl.
Naomi flirts with two boys and a girl, all of whom have romantic feelings for her. She skateboards through the halls of her school. Naomi asks her friends to help her break into a locked building, and they succeed. She faints twice. There is general destruction from a fight between a couple of superpowered combatants, though no one is hurt. Lightbulbs explode, and a man grows “Nth metal” wings.
A man robs Naomi in the woods. Naomi discovers that she has some sort of magical powers, though we aren’t yet sure what the extent of them are, as the first episode is purposefully vague, and it appears that she has the ability to make leaves casually fly in a general area and use some sort of ability like the Force from Star Wars.
We hear three instances of “d–n,” three instances of “what the h—” and a use of “crap.” God’s name is misused twice.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
