Dead Boy Detectives episode 5 recap: Case involving two dead jocks falls flat

Edwin, Charles, and Crystal are tasked with investigating when two jocks from a local high school turn up as ghosts and claim they were murdered.

The main case at the center of Dead Boy Detectives episode 5 feels weaker than others, with the "victims" getting a twist that results in Crystal and Charles having a somewhat shallow debate about believing victims.

Spoilers ahead for Dead Boy Detectives episode 5

Beyond the murder investigation, this episode focuses heavily on romantic relationships between all of the characters, like Charles/Crystal, Edwin/Monty, and Jenny and her secret admirer. The Jenny subplot, in particular, feels very rushed and escalates rapidly. It felt random. Overall, I found this to be one of the weakest episodes of the bunch.

Jump to one of our other Dead Boy Detectives recaps below:

• Episode 1 recap
• Episode 2 recap
• Episode 3 recap
• Episode 4 recap
• Episode 5 recap
• Episode 6 recap
• Episode 7 recap
• Episode 8 recap

Two murdered jocks show up in search of the Dead Boy Detectives Agency, hoping to find assistance in tracking down their murderer so they can finally move on. Edwin and Charles agree to take their case. The jocks, Hunter and Brad, appear to have been beloved by all. Every other teen they question about them has nothing but nice things to say.

Except one guy, "Twitchy Ritchie." Reluctant to tell Crystal what he knows, Charles and Edwin scare the living daylights out of him with some ghostly tricks until he finally fesses up and tells Crystal that the whole "nice guy" reputation Hunter and Brad have procured is just a facade. Ritchie claims the duo is secretly awful to girls, specifically Brad's ex, Shelby (yes, that is Yellowjackets actress Sarah Desjardins!), who committed suicide.

The trio hikes out to Shelby's grave. Edwin runs point, sending Charles and Crystal away so he can successfully summon Shelby from her afterlife and find out what really happened to her. A former track star, Shelby lost everything when Hunter and Brad drugged her with GHB. Wanting her to "loosen up," they gave her the date-rape drug and Shelby subsequently lost her scholarship and her future when a drug test showed it. She killed herself not long after.

Pivoting back to the main trio, they turn to Brad's latest girlfriend, Maren (another Yellowjackets alum, Mya Lowe). She offers Crystal a glass of gin to discuss what really happened between her and her boyfriend while Edwin and Charles investigate Maren's bedroom.

They find out that Maren has Hunter and Brad's cell phones. Suspicious since the cops never found their phones. Clearly, Maren is guilty and she has a stash of drugs. Quickly, Charles and Edwin deduce she's planning to kill Crystal too and stop her from drinking the gin ("I just remembered I'm underage," made me chuckle). Maren confesses. It turns out her beloved "nice guy" boyfriend had shared nude pictures she'd sent him in private and Maren drugged them in revenge.

When confronted with the evidence, Hunter and Brad confess and they're unapologetic, resulting in giant tentacles from Hell bursting from the ground to escort them to their final resting places. Good riddance.

Meanwhile, Niko successfully tracks down Jenny's secret admirer. It's Maxine (Lindsey Gort), the local librarian. Despite Jenny's opposition to going on a date, Niko sets them up anyway. And at first, it goes amazingly. Jenny and Maxine hit it off and appear to be a match made in heaven. Then things take a very dark turn when Maxine reveals she's been stalking Jenny. Watching her from outside her window and more creepy stuff.

A spooked Jenny tries to call off the date, but Maxine cranks up the crazy and goes after her with a meat cleaver. Before she can kill Jenny, she trips and falls on her own sword (knife), killing herself instantly. So much for that. Niko feels awful about the whole thing since she set it up.

The fifth episode ends with a romance subplot check-in: Edwin has begun realizing he might harbor romantic feelings for his best mate Charles and as such breaks things off with a disappointed Monty. Initially, Monty misinterprets things and kisses Edwin, the first kiss for both of them. So when Edwin then tells him they shouldn't see each other anymore, Monty is humiliated. Doesn't bode well for our ghost boys since he works for Esther!

Odds & Ends

• Even though they ended the previous episode making out, Charles and Crystal agree to keep their relationship purely platonic for the time being. Later, she takes comfort in Charles when David the Demon antagonizes her once again. Crystal is upset that she hasn't yet found a way to keep her out of her head.