Comedy
Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
Two things you should know about surviving 1705 Tottenham: Don’t mess with Nell, and definitely don’t call her Nelly.
Years have passed since Nell left the English town to marry a soldier, not necessarily leaving her family on the best of terms. When her husband was killed in an explosion, Nell’s father and sisters assumed that she was dead as well — until she rides into town one day, dressed in men’s clothes, her lip split from a fight, and very much still alive.
But Nell has a secret, one she can’t explain and barely understands herself. Whenever she’s attacked — which, due to her rather (ahem) forward disposition, happens more often than you might think — a mysterious force takes over her and makes her practically invulnerable. She can dodge any punch, catch bullets in midair, and take down the toughest of fighters with barely a thought. This mysterious force turns out to be the magical spirit Billy Blind, a magical spirit who’s devoted to protecting Nell at any cost.
Nell isn’t sure what she’s done to warrant such protection or why she’s suddenly being treated as so significant. But then again, Billy’s protection certainly comes in handy. When a magistrate’s corrupt son frames you for murder and you’re forced to go on the run, beggars can’t exactly be choosers.
Renegade Nell suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. At times, it’s a swashbuckling adventure clearly aimed for a younger audience. At other times, characters are suddenly shot point blank in the head.
The series shines when it leans on the former qualities; Nell is an engaging heroine who fights tooth and nail to protect her family, and she isn’t afraid to stand up for those who can’t defend themselves.
Audiences might be a bit startled, however, when Nell is choked, beaten, and nearly drowned in a street puddle. The appearance of excessive blood is rare, and we never see much of the aftermath of these violent encounters, but their threatening atmosphere may prove a bit much for some of Renegade Nell’s target demographic.
Plus, there’s the larger thematic issues at work here. Billy Blind is clearly a supernatural force, though one reminiscent of children’s fairytales; he takes the form of either a flying golden spark, a human man, or a Tinkerbell-esque pixie complete with his own set of wings. While his powers enable Nell to fight and hurt others, he’s very clear that he’ll only help her defend herself, and he will never use his powers to support random acts of violence. There’s also talk of selling souls to a vague “darkness,” which could very well be some sort of demonic presence.
Finally, there’s the issue of Nell and her sisters turning to highway robbery after being forced to leave Tottenham. Sure, their circumstances may not be ideal, and they certainly have few other options to support themselves. But it’s still difficult to justify falling to the level of the very bandits Nell has fought in the past — especially when the series positions her as a heroine.
Renegade Nell can’t seem to work out who it’s for or what kind of story it wants to tell. Is it about defending what you love and protecting innocents from harm? Or is it about the necessary measures one must sink to in order to survive?
There’s enough potential here to hold out hope for a swashbuckling drama for adventure-seeking young adults, but enough drawbacks to recommend caution should you ride out into the streets of fictional 18th-century England. There’s plenty of highway robbers about, after all.
Nell Jackson returns to her hometown of Tottenham to find it suffering under the tyranny of a magistrate’s son, and she uses her newfound spirit friend to help set things right — with disastrous consequences.
The series opens with a highway robbery in which a group of bandits brandish their guns, threaten ladies in a stagecoach and beat their guards. Nell wanders onto the scene and is hit across the face with the butt of a gun, causing her lip to bleed. Billy Blind, a mysterious pixie-like spirit, then possesses her, and she defeats the highwaymen with supernatural strength. Punches and kicks are thrown, and one of the bandits tries to shoot Nell, but no one is killed, and no blood is shown beyond Nell’s split lip.
We see a dead horse on the side of the road in town. Thomas, the son of Tottenham’s magistrate, attacks Nell; he punches and chokes her, then shoves her head into a muddy street puddle and hits her across the cheek with a whip. Billy Blind once again comes to Nell’s aid, however, and she beats up Thomas. He’s later shown with bruises on his face as a result. The most graphic moment of the episode occurs at the very end, when Thomas shoots his father in the head. We see the gunshot wound appear, then see blood pooling on the floor beneath his body.
Nell wears a dress in common 18th-century style that shows her cleavage. She wonders if Billy Blind is always watching her, even when she’s “doing the necessary” (a euphemism for going to the bathroom).
Thomas comes home drunk and immediately pours himself a glass of wine. Men smoke pipes and drink ale in a tavern.
Billy Blind is a fairy-like creature with magical abilities, though it’s unclear whether he uses them in service of some greater power or on his own terms. Thomas seeks out a lord that he’s heard can help him sell his soul to “the darkness.” We don’t learn anything further about this darkness in this episode, but it’s assumed to be a kind of demonic force.
The Lord’s name is taken in vain four times.
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
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.
