Niko’s Fate In Dead Boy Detectives Season 1 Explained

Summary

• Niko’s courage and selflessness ultimately lead to her death, but hints suggest she may still be alive in Dead Boy Detectives.
• Omens of death surround Niko, from a magical 8-ball predicting her demise to symbols linked to her disappearing after her death.
• Niko’s good deeds and supernatural transformation could play a key role in her potential return in Dead Boy Detectives season 2.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Dead Boy Detectives

The Dead Boy Detectives season 1 finale left many questions open-ended, with one of the biggest being what happened to Niko Sasaki (Yuyu Kitamura). Dead Boy Detectives is an extension of The Sandman universe, and follows Edwin Paine (George Rexstraw) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), teenage ghosts and founders of the Dead Boy Detective Agency, as they solve supernatural crimes to help ghosts move on to the afterlife. Joined by human psychic Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson), they become stuck in the town of Port Townsend while also trying to avoid the looming threat of death themselves.

Although she makes a brief yet colorful appearance in Dead Boy Detectives’ first episode, it’s in episode 2, “The Case of the Dandelion Shrine” where Niko gets a real introduction. Though she is very self-aware, Niko struggles to find her place in the world after her father’s death. A supernatural near-death experience invites her into the Dead Boy Detective Agency, where she begins to open up to the world outside. Yet another brush with death would see Niko meet her premature demise, but Dead Boy Detectives’ series finale suggests that despite her death, this would not be the last of Niko.

Niko Dies Saving Crystal In Dead Boy Detectives Season 1’s Finale

She Finally Got To Be Courageous

Courage is a motif that has continued to follow Niko throughout
Dead Boy Detectives
as it is one of her biggest weaknesses.

In episode 8, “The Case of the Hungry Snake”, Niko and Crystal go on a mission to save Charles and Edwin, who had fallen prey to the immortal witch, Esther (Jenn Lyon). Though initially rejected from the mission by Crystal, Niko insists on helping to save her friends, knowing that they will ultimately do the same for her. However, their plan quickly goes awry, leading to Niko taking the force of a magical spell aimed at Crystal, saving her friend with a final act of courage.

Courage is a motif that has continued to follow Niko throughout the well-reviewed Dead Boy Detectivesas it is one of her biggest weaknesses. Niko knows herself well but struggles to push herself beyond her boundaries. However, meeting Edwin, Charles, and Crystal gave Niko a home away from home and a palace where she found she could belong, thus bringing her out of her shell and allowing her to solidify her place in the world. Thanks to her new friends, Niko was able to find courage, though this would ultimately lead to her death.

Niko’s Death Was Set Up By The Magical 8-Ball

Deathly Omens Converged Around Niko in Dead Boy Detectives’ Finale

In episode 4, “The Case of The Lighthouse Leapers” the Dead Boy Detective Agency was rewarded with a magic 8-ball that can predict someone’s death by the ghost of the lighthouse. It feels like no coincidence that this was entrusted to Niko, who continues to ask the 8-ball about her future throughout Dead Boy Detectives. Yet every time, she is faced with the same result and hints at Niko’s death being an oncoming and seemingly fixed event in Dead Boy Detective’s timeline. However, as Dead Boy Detectives’ season progressed, more signs foreshadowed what would become of Niko.

Omens of death generally follow the Dead Boy Detectives throughout the series, though in episode 8 “The Case of the Hungry Snake” they all seem to converge around Niko. Niko sheds her usual bright color palette for a ghostly gray, and her first appearance in the episode alongside Edwin makes several references to death. Niko then faces another brush with death at the butcher’s shop, where she asks if this was what the magic 8-ball had been teasing all along. However, the magic 8-ball’s real intentions are revealed only a few minutes later.

Dead Boy Detectives Season 1’s Final Shot Teases Niko Is Still Alive

Niko’s Good Deeds Could Have Caught Up To Her

During Niko’s first introduction in Dead Boy Detectivesdandelion sprites (Caitlin Reilly & Max Jenkins) root themselves into Niko’s brain before becoming trapped in a bell jar in her apartment. These sprites seem firmly linked to Niko, as they are missing from the bell jar after her death. However, in the final shot of Dead Boy Detectives, the sprites appear on-screen again, sitting in an igloo with a mysterious hooded figure as they anticipate what happens next. As the sprites had previously expressed what would happen to them if Niko had died, it could suggest that Niko is the girl behind the hood.

Niko later dies with the amulet in her hands, which may have been her saving grace.

Beyond this, more signs point to the hooded figure’s identity belonging to Niko. In episode 8, Niko is gifted a good luck charm – a bear amulet – from Tragic Mick, who thanks her for listening to his stories and tells her that her good actions may follow her when she least expects it. Niko later dies with the amulet in her hands, which may have been her saving grace. Tragic Mick runs a magic store, and it is entirely possible that the bear charm is magical and could have saved Niko. However, it could have saved Niko in an unconventional way.

Another sign that points to the hooded figure’s identity is their clothing. Due to the influence of her father and her desire for courage, Niko is often seen wearing clothing or make-up that is either red or in a similar tone, i.e. pink or orange, and uses it as an outward expression of the trait she desires to have the most. In the final moments of Dead Boy Detectives, the hooded figure is seen wearing a pink coat; an item of clothing that would only match Niko’s color palette and could suggest that death wasn’t the end for Niko.

How Niko Can Still Be Alive For Dead Boy Detectives Season 2

The Dead Boy Detective Agency’s Newest Addition Could Save Her

In Dead Boy Detectives’ seventh episode titled “The Case of The Very Long Stairway”, Niko finally gets to prove her worth as a member of the Dead Boy Detective Agency. Niko uses the knowledge she gained from the Night Nurse’s book to put the rule-loving member of the Lost and Found Department in her place, which saves Edwin and Charles from returning to the afterlife and solves the case. However, this knowledge could also be the key to saving Niko in Dead Boy Detectives’ second season.

Niko’s death may have transformed her into something that is no longer human

One of the key takeaways from Niko’s reading was that in the Dead Boy Detectives’ universe, someone can be brought back to life after they die. However, as the Night Nurse quickly notes, these people may not return in the same way that they once were. Now the Night Nurse has become one of the newest members of the Dead Boy Detective Agency, season two could see Edwin, Charles, and Crystal try to reunite with their long-lost friend. However, Niko’s death may have transformed her into something that is no longer humanbut instead more supernatural.