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Dead Boy Detectives * Season One
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Review by Paulette Reynolds * May 15, 2024
I am a Neil Gaiman fan of Good Omens 1 & 2, and so it was easy to enjoy season one of Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives. And there’s a lot to love about it – occult elements, magical creatures, and Generation Z characters battling the forces of evil - and did I mention strong female heroes, mysterious goddesses, and witches? 
I loved it so much that I was able to overlook the misogynistic trope of the Killer Witch – but only for a minute. This stereotype distorts the empowered occult woman into an obsessive psycho who’s obsessed with killing children to enjoy eternal youth. The Christian church, via the Bible and the Malleus Maleficarum, promoted this image to keep witches, healers, and psychics condemned to the realm of The Other. And yet, here I am, watching a progressive paranormal mystery show trot out this rather antiquated view of my sisters and me. 
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It’s a tiny crack in an otherwise superior show, and Jenn Lyon as Esther Finch manages to soar above the soiled depiction with just the right amount of mocking self-deprecation. And why not? The Dead Boys world is inhabited by distinctive characters, who all display their dual natures. 
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COPYRIGHT 2012/2024. Paulette Reynolds.  All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds.  All intellectual and creative rights reserved.