The Case of the Creeping Forest is the sixth episode of the first season of the Netflix original supernatural series, Dead Boy Detectives.
Synopsis[]
A crisis forces Crystal to improvise on the job as Monty recruits the boys to locate his missing friend — but the eerie case isn’t what it seems.
Plot[]
Crystal stops by Niko's room as she's in the middle of getting rid of all her romance oriented decorations in response to the whole psycho date-murder incident with Maxine, which is also the last time Niko has even spoken to Jenny. Crystal wants David out of her head for good, even at the cost of her memories, saying that she has no reason to miss a life she doesn't remember, and her life is perfectly fine as is; she has friends, and she's helping people. Niko instead encourages her to figure out who she is, as it sounds like she's trying to convince herself that she doesn't want her memories back. Crystal isn't interested in her advice and simply needs Niko's help with her new approach.
Tragic Mick tells his story
Crystal and Niko stop by Tragic Mick's shop, where they ask if he has anything that can block a demon from getting into Crystal's head. Demons are tricky, unless Crystal was romantically involved with the demon, which is good news because Mick has the perfect item to help — it's called the "Light of Heart." It protects the owner from the repercussions of toxic entanglements. One time use and cost $100. Crystal can't afford that, but luckily Niko has a card from her mom that she gave her in case of emergencies. While ringing them up, Tragic Mick shares his story. One day, a long time ago, a terrible storm raged over land and sea. A girl and her father were in peril. The man thought if he sacrificed his daughter, he may be saved by the great gods. Seeing such cruelty, the great gods forsook the father and took pity on the girl, turning her into Sedna, the goddess of the sea. And on that day, Mick's brothers and sisters were born. Sedna took care of them, but mick yearned for more. One day, a boat docked on the land. Mick was drawn to the ways of people, but Sedna was all too familiar with the darkness of mankind and warned him that if he left the sea, he would never return, but he wanted to know what it was like to live a different life, so Sedna granted his wish and turned Tragic Mick from a walrus to a man. He never saw his family or Sedna again.
Crystal and Niko return home, where Crystal uses the Light of Heart to keep David out of her head. After making her wish, she places it on the ground, and it splits in half. Crystal instantly notices that something is different, and touches Niko, only to discover that her powers are gone.
Esther is cooking up some revenge and instructs Monty to be prepared to lure the Dead Boys into the forest as planned. And then one wrong step into the right spot, and they'll be gone forever, Esther says as she hands Monty a napkin encased with some kind of green substance. As for Crystal, without the Boys, she'll be snake food in no time. Esther suspects that Monty may be getting too attached to Edwin, but he simply claims they may be too smart to take the case. Esther has already done most of the work, and tells Monty all he has to do is leave a trail of breadcrumbs to bring it home.
Niko joins Crystal on the rooftop, who feels useless without her powers. Edwin and Charles arrive, but she neglects to tell them that she's lost her powers. In fact, she hides it from them just as they're in need of her psychic abilities. Monty joins them on the roof and reveals that he needs their help, as a good friend of his is in danger. Once they're alone, Crystal tells Niko that she's reluctant to reveal that she doesn't have her powers in fear of Edwin's reaction.
Monty claims his ghost friend Gladys is missing. Before she disappeared, she told Monty she was going to the Tall Forest to stargaze, but she never came back. Monty claims she was the first ghost he saw after he woke up from his coma. Charles is reluctant to take the case, as their case board is full, but Edwin makes an exception and agrees to help. Jenny walks past the doorway, Niko waves, but she simply walks past the door without so much as the slightest bit of acknowledgement.
The Night Nurse awakens inside the belly of Angie. There, she meets a man named Kashina, Kashi for short. She demands to know how to get out, but Kashi isn't sure, saying that he's never even tried to escape before. The Night Nurse attempts to use her powers to see his trauma, but Kashi claims not to have any trauma, claiming that his current predicament is only one of life's many adventures. He offers her some counsel, but Night Nurse is only interested in escaping.
Edwin, Charles, and Crystal follow Monty into the Tall Forest. Monty is clearly still upset with Edwin, who wants to clear the air about hurting his feelings, but Monty isn't interested in chatting. Upon their arrival, they find several ghosts carving protection symbols into the forest sign, explaining that suddenly any ghost who go into the forest don't come back.
Edwine examines luminescence spectral
Charles grabs two stones from his bag and hands one to Crystal, explaining that all she has to do is whisper the name of the spirit she's hunting into the stone. It should glow if they get close to anywhere she's been, but the stones aren't glowing. So Edwin asks Crystal to read the tree, unaware she is without powers. She touches the tree and claims the slash marks were simply from a bear, but Edwin and Charles aren't convinced and accuse her of lying. So Crystal confesses that she lost her powers by trying to get David out of her head. As they're arguing about Crystal withholding this information from them, Monty spreads the green substance he got from Esther. Upon investigation, Edwin claims the luminescence is spectral and could be some type of ghost fungus, highly toxic, but only to ghosts. Getting it in their eyes can result in blindness, pain, and mental insanity. They can follow the patches to the larger fungal body, also known as the main hub of the fungus.
Niko insists that she and Jenny talk, as Jenny's been avoiding her. Niko suspects that Jenny is mad at her for pushing her to believe in love, only for it to backfire. Upset, Jenny decides to set some boundaries, reminding Niko that they're not friends and that their business is theirs alone to mind. Brought to tears, Niko flees upstairs.
Charles asks crystal if she wants to talk about her having loss her powers, remarking that she could've confided in both him and Edwin. When there was something wrong with Charles, he recalls how Crystal beat it out of him, and now he can tell that something is wrong with her. She explains how miserable it was having David popping into her head whenever he felt like. Before she can explain further, they are suddenly distracted by the sound of an animal bellowing.
Charles and Crystal join Edwin and Monty and watch from a distance as a dead elk bellows throughout the forest. Sometimes when animals die, they don't know they are dead. They simply roam the woods forever. Before their very eyes, the animal is consumed by the spore colony. It's safe to assume any other ghost met the same fate. Charles mirror hops to their London office in search of the Compendium. Crystal questions how can ghosts be eaten if they're already dead. Edwin explains that ghosts possess energy, and that some things feed on that. While they can't die again, they can be consumed or absorbed. Once Charles retrieves the Compendium, Edwin explains that they're dealing with Forest Elemental. Any ghost it eats is completely obliterated. No afterlife or reincarnation. Just empty darkness. Fortunately, with the proper weapon, it can be easily killed. Edwin quickly creates a concoction that Charles then throws on the Forest Elemental, killing it instantly, or at least they thought until it continues to spread.
In the book of interdimensional creatures and oddities, Charles discovers a different variation of the Forest Elemental, which is bigger and consumes any spiritual energy. It's supposed to live underground in another dimension, so he's confused as to why it's on earth. Crystal suspects someone may have brought it to earth. Nevertheless, by the morning, it will reach Port Townsend as it's growing quickly. They don't have enough purple stuff to destroy it, but if they can find the point of origin, they can fell it. Monty proposes they split up to cover more ground. Edwin agrees, as elementals pose little threat to humans. One living and one dead per duo. Naturally, Charles and Crystal are paired while Edwin and Monty are paired.
Night Nurse struggles to find a way out of Angie, though Kashi couldn't be the slightest bit concerned with escape, in fact, he's rather calm and offers Night Nurse some food. He recalls that she previously mentioned her job involves collecting dead children. He asks if she considers the possibility that they are happy where they are, but Night Nurse replies that the afterlife is far superior to anything they have available on earth. While she hasn't seen it personally, it is unique, meaning that she can't know for fact it's better, Kashi retorts. Nevertheless, she says that everything has a place. Night Nurse refuses to spend eternity in a fish when there's work to be done. Kashi takes her hand to clam her. She then looks down at his hand and notices many different colored rings. He tells her that he's lived many different lives. Some good, some bad. He counsels Night Nurse, telling her that she can't go through life thinking that there's only one way to do one thing. Instead of stabbing the beast, which the Night Nurse has tried repeatedly, Kashi proposes talking to her. He simply asks Angie to let the Night Nurse out, which she does willingly. As a parting gift, Kashi gives her a ring to remember him by.
David has followed Charles and Crystal into the Tall Forest. He shows Crystal herself as a demon and accuses her of being weak. He questions why she is so weak, to which Crystal replies that she gave up her powers to get him out of her head. With Crystal having given up the most special thing about her, David refers to her as just another terrified lump of human flesh. With that said, David contemplates simply leaving Crystal alone, but he's also having so much fun torturing her. Charles takes out his cricket bat and smashes the mirrors that David is appearing to them in, sending him away. Crystal embraces Charles, thanking him.
Edwin apologizes to Monty for hurting him. He explains that Monty is his first kiss and that he matters greatly. Monty confesses that Edwin is also his first kiss. Things are a bit complicated for Edwin at the moment, but he assures Monty that he cares about him. With that, Monty has a change of heart and tries to convince Edwin into leaving the forest. They're joined by the Cat King, who reveals that Monty is luring Edwin into a trap and that he's actually Esther's crow familiar. Edwin accuses Monty of pretending to be his friend, which Monty admits was true at first, but he then began to develop real feelings for Edwin. Not that it matters, as Edwin has admitted that he doesn't love him/ Moreover, those jumbled feelings he has are for Charles, and it's beyond obvious. Cat King believes that he's at least owed a thank you, but Edwin dismisses him. Cat King warns Edwin that if he walks away from him that the bracelet will never come off and that he will stop playing nice, but Edwin isn't concerned and searches for Charles and Crystal.
Monty confronts Esther for failing to tell him that her plane was completely eradicate Edwin and Charles. Not that it matters, as they know the truth due to the Cat King. Esther blames Monty for letting them escape and getting too attached. Monty tells her that he never asked to be human and be burden with feelings. Esther is furious and kills Monty with a blade before tearing apart his human body and releasing the crow within.
Edwin finds Charles and Crystal, warning them that this all has been a trap, as Monty is actually Esther's Crow. The elemental then reveals itself, knocking them off balance. Esther arrives and instructs her elemental, named Teeth Face, to eat them. Crystal tries to intervene, but Esther knocks her on the ground. It's at this point, she recalls the riddle from the Washer Woman: "When the ground moves and the bird cries, stop looking without and look within." So Crystal looks within her mindscape where she stares into the three eyes looking down at her. She is pulled within one of the eyes and is taken to meet Iris and her other ancestors. They're in a special place where most of the women in their family make their way to at one point or another. Technically, they're in Crystal's head. The women in their family are more than psychic. They're rare and unique because they can tap into a shared strength. Crystal needs her power back to help her friends. Iris explains that the past is fixed and sturdy like a tree. If Crystal practice, she can find her true power there, but Crystal doesn't know her past as David took her memories, but iris is referring to her collective past that all the women in their family share. All the healers, priestess, shamans, and artists. Iris discourages Crystal against feeling weak and defeated, something that demons have tried to do with them since the beginning of time. Crystal is neither weak nor alone. They're in a safe place and a strong place for her to bring her troubles. Nothing can take them away, no curse, no spell, and no desperate mistakes. Once Crystal realizes that it's all still in her, she regains consciousness, attacking Esther with great ferocity, though Esther fights back, tackling Crystal to the ground. Crystal then taps into the shared strength of her ancestors and digs her hands into the ground beneath her feet, speaking to the Forest Elemental directly, telling it that Esther does not control it and that it's free to leave and return to its realm. Teeth Face does exactly that, taking Esther with him, trapping her in another elemental realm. After having saved Edwin and Charles, Crystal attempts to explain the inner workings of her powers.
Jenny enters Niko's room and apologizes for snapping at her. The truth is that Jenny is sad that she put herself out there and something tragic happened. Even though there's no way she could've known about Maxine, Jenny is finding it hard to forgive Niko. At least at the moment. Niko is upset with herself, saying that she should stay in her room forever so that she can't mess anything else up. However, Jenny refuses to allow Niko to change herself into some kind of pity-party shut-in. So if Niko loves love and wants to help people, she should do that, just not with Jenny.
The Night Nurse discovers a muck-up
Edwin, Charles, and Crystal return home, where they discuss the name for Crystal's newest learned move. Edwin then apologizes for his strange behavior today. As Crystal goes to check in with Niko, Edwin reveals that Monty unearthed some feelings in him. However, Charles will always support Edwin and says that it doesn't matter to him who he likes. He concludes that this is why Edwin has been acting so cagey about the Cat King, suspecting that he's been trying to get frisky with Edwin. The Night Nurse makes a surprise return and intends to send the Boys into the afterlife, but Charles refuses to allow Edwin to be sent back to Hell, explaining that he was only there on a technicality and muck-up. The Night Nurse initially says the afterlife is incapable of a muck-up, but upon further investigation in her book, she does see some inconsistencies with Edwin's placement. Edwin explains that he was sacrificed by classmates who had no idea what they were doing. The demon who took him away, even apologize for the technicality. Over 2 million hours in her post, miles of paperwork, never once has Night Nurse an error like this. The ring she was gifted by Kashi then begins to glow. Given the especially odd circumstances, she allows them to stay together in the Lost & Found Department temporarily. However, a monster from Hell barges in and takes Edwin away in a matter of seconds before anyone can even react, leaving behind the Cat King's bracelet and Edwin's journal.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne
- Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland
- Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace
- Briana Cuoco as Jenny Green
- Ruth Connell as Night Nurse
- Yuyu Kitamura as Niko Sasaki
- Jenn Lyon as Esther Finch
Guest Starring[]
- David Iacono as David the Demon
- Michael Beach as Tragic Mick
- Joshua Colley as Monty
- Cheech Manohar as Kashina
- Miranda Edwards as Iris
Co-Starring[]
- Darin De Paul as Teeth Face
- Aqqalu Meekis as Bunrt Fireman Ghost
- Charolette Romses as Young School Marm
- Gerry Rousseau as Old Settler Ghost
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
References[]