My Love Letter to the Dead Boy Detectives
October 31, 2024
I don’t even remember how I came across the show… I didn’t even consider myself someone who like supernatural stories. Yet somehow, I came across the Dead Boy Detectives. At its surface, the show is a story about the afterlife, but I think its really a story about life. This show is simultaneously thought-provoking, funny, and has the ability to convey many emotions through to viewers.
I fell in love with Edwin and Charles as characters. I think they get along so well because they are two sides of the same coin. I relate to them because I think I have a little bit of both Edwin and Charles in me. Even in the middle of Charles’ death scene, the show made me laugh. During the scene, when Charles decides he wants to stay with Edwin instead of moving on to the afterlife, Edwin tell him “That is not how you make decisions, based on whatever you feel in the moment.” I found myself laughing because I had the same response in my head. I, like Edwin, like to be methodical, but it occasionally makes me rigid. I see myself in Edwin because I too am a book-loving nerd who keeps notes of everything and is in some ways a hopeless romantic.
I also see myself in Charles. During the case of the Devlin house, and shortly after the squad’s beach encounter with the Night Nurse, we see and learn about Charles’ past and how it has affected him. We learn that because of all he has been through, he knows what it is like to not be happy. As a result, he always tries to keep spirits up for himself and for those around him, almost as if he doesn’t want anyone else to feel the negativity that he did. Even though I’m not as laid back as Charles, I do often find myself doing the same thing for the same reasons. I too try to smile, even if I don’t feel like smiling.
I see myself in Edwin, Charles, and perhaps a bit in Crystal too. All three of these characters have “lost their lives to boys who went too far” according to themselves, some in the literal way, some in the metaphorical way. While I’m not dead, I do owe a lot of negativity in my life to some boys who went too far.
In short, I love this show, I will miss this show. It’s been a while since I saw characters so well-conceived and complex but still relatable. I think this show, the cast, and the crew deserve so much more. I don’t know if the show will ever get that justice, but no matter what, I want the world to know what this show means to me. Consider this my love letter to the Dead Boy Detectives.
#PAYNELANDFOREVER