I finished watching the Dead Boy Detectives. Quite enjoyed it (if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a Neil Gaiman fan). There were lots of fun bits. I want to know more about Kashina, whom the Night Nurse met in the sea monster. I actually liked the Night Nurse, even though her character was drawn to be unlikable.
But the story line I liked most was about the Dead Boys’ living psychic sidekick, Crystal Palace. Not having read The Dead Boy Detectives comics nor watched the Max Doom Patrol series (in which both the eponymous dead boy detectives and Crystal appear), she was new to me. *** Spoilers below***
As the result of a demon possession, when we meet Crystal she has lost almost all her memories. She only remembers part of her name and nothing of her background. The demon has stolen her memories. What really intrigued me was the end of the amnesia plot line. Towards the end. Crystal, who has become a decent human being under the influence of her new friends, gets her memories back and realizes she wasn’t just slightly unlikeable (which she had a vague memory about) but a truly horrendous human being (give people night terrors or make them walk into traffic bad). She also learns about her dysfunctional family and how that had contributed to her toxic personality.
I really liked how the writing played with the potential of the amnesia in character development. Take a slightly blank slate character seeking for their identity. Build up their personality through their new experiences and social circle. even while desperate to remember their past. In a nod to be careful what you wish for, have them regain their memories (or at least some of them) only to realize their pre-amnesia personality was very different – and one they now despise – and must live with. Kudos to the writers.
Ramblings 
