Dead End Paranormal Park Spoiler Recap: The Job

For a few weeks now, everyone who knows that I love animation has told me to watch Dead End: Paranormal Park. I added it to my list and finally got a chance to watch the first episode, “The Job.” I must say what an awesome opening salvo.

Going into the series, I really didn’t know what to expect. I purposely avoided watching the trailer. The most I did was read some background information on Wikipedia, discovering it is based on a graphic novel by Hamish Steele who is also an executive producer and writer for the series. I looked up the basics of the main characters which stoked my interest even more. I am always looking for more queer content, so I was delighted to see both of the main characters are queer. Barney is a gay transgender boy and Norma is pansexual (like me! Ahhh!). Rounding out the cast, the starlet Pauline Phoenix is voiced by Clinton Leupp, better known as his drag name Miss Coco Peru.

This is huge, especially seeing that Netflix was completely on board with this representation. There seems to be a lot of growth in the company since the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power days. It’s been very well documented that ND Stevenson had to carefully craft his queer characters to be plot points to get executives on board with LGBTQIA+ content. He was afraid they would deny Catra and Adora’s endgame romance. While lately Netflix has (deservedly) been on the receiving end of backlash for slashing up their animation department, I’ll give some credit where it’s due for supporting a project like Dead End.

Norma is also confirmed by Steele to be autistic, another lovely discovery before delving into the show. Off the top of my head, I could count on one hand the amount of well-written autistic characters in animation that don’t fall into a PSA or “A Very Special Episode” format. From watching “The Job,” it’s very clear they wrote Norma with a ton of care and respect with Steele pulling from his own experiences. Before ever watching the first episode, I found myself already falling in love with the show.

Norma is Pakistani-American and I did see on Wikipedia that another character, Badyah, coming later is Iranian-American and Muslim. The layers of representation are truly spectacular. For so many different reasons, this is quickly becoming one of the most important shows that kids need to see. With rising attacks on the trans community and the always-present Islamophobic rhetoric against MENA (Middle East and North Africa) people, it is vital to have shows like this to help. Media is a powerful tool for kids to not only see themselves but also to see others in a positive light to stop harmful biases before they’re formed.

I can’t speak to how well Norma and Badyah are written as MENA representations as I am a white woman. I also haven’t dived too much into reviews or seeking out MENA reviewers for their takes on the series mostly because I’ve only seen the first episode and want to remain unspoiled. But it’s something I’m interested to look into once I get more episodes under my belt.

Outside of this, I went into the first episode pretty blind. I saw there was a thing about a talking pug, a demon named Courtney, and the love interests of the main characters. But that was it.

So, what were my thoughts on “The Job.”

One of the perks of going in blind is how much of the first episode took me by surprise. I am a firm believer that pilot episodes are one of the hardest things to pull off in any show. All pilots have very specific things they have to accomplish: establishing the world and the character, setting up the plot, setting up the antagonist, and laying out the themes for a series. It’s not easy to do. Most of the time, I’ll give a show 2-3 episodes before making a choice whether or not I like it because so often pilots can be clunky.

I didn’t get that with “The Job.” The writers of Dead End did a great job with a relatively well-paced plot. Both Barney and Norma each got their moments to shine. The motivation of both characters was well established, for Barney to a heartbreaking degree. And with Courtney acting as the chaotic third party, her story was explained to understand why she lured the two teenagers to the amusement park in the first place. The banger cliffhanger discovering that Pugsley is still partially possessed by the King of Demons, Temeluchus, was a hilarious surprise in the final seconds.

I guess if I had any gripes about the pilot I wish there was a touch more time spent on building the world. Courtney isn’t the only demon living in Phoenix Parks as a gaggle of beastly characters emerges to ensnare Norma and Barney. While it would have been nice to get a bit more about all of them, I’m not upset. It didn’t take away from my viewing experience. With nine more episodes left in the season, I’m sure those guys will be addressed and the world will get fleshed out more. This is just me nitpicking. 

The presentation of “The Job” truly surprised me. Because I didn’t know what I was getting into, I had prepared myself to view Dead End: Paranormal Park like other animated shows I’d watched. I was expecting the same jokes or tropes I’m used to. I watched the first episode and was left… wanting. The series wasn’t what I expected. And that’s completely on me! I absolutely jaded my first viewing of “The Job,” because I was expecting the show to be something else. On my second viewing, the episode sang for me and really worked once I got my own nonsense expectations out of the way. I was seeing the show for what it was, not for what I wanted it to be.

During my first viewing, “The Job” took me by surprise right away in the opening minutes with a jump scare that scared the crap out of me! Immediately paused the episode to double-check the age range to see if I had misunderstood and if Dead End was actually an animated adult show. To my surprise, it had a TV-Y7 rating.

This is excellent. I am so used to the shenanigans from companies like Disney sanitizing down anything that might be “too intense” for kids that it never once occurred to me that Dead End would do something completely different. It never rises above the scary level of something like the Goosebumps books. Kids deserve all genres of shows, horror included. It’s good to be scared every once and a while, and “The Job” established right away this wasn’t going to be a normal show.

That’s not to say there aren’t jokes in “The Job.” It’s a very funny first episode. They’re not the normal jokes I’m used to in an all-ages series that heavily relies on zinger one-liners and overuse of slapstick. Dead End leans on the narrative and situation to carry its humor. Compared to something like Gravity Falls, it’s not too one-liner heavy which is a delight.

When I watched “The Job” with my roommate (she loves horror and the macabre so I was right that Dead End would be up her alley), we discussed how Dead End functions almost like a drama. Even dramas have jokes woven in. And like a lot of dramas, “The Job” wasn’t rolling out zinger after zinger. Everything was subtle and nuanced, making for a very fresh presentation. I sort of like the idea of a dramedy for kids. There are very few straight dramas for kids. Sure, there is absolutely a paranormal side to Dead End: Paranormal Park. Heck, it’s in the title. But it was Barney and Norma’s motivations that pushed the story. Again, kids deserve to have all genres for their media and a supernatural dramedy is a great format.

To get into the characters, Norma is a delight. Her lovable go-getting attitude to get the job because it’s in the theme park based around her hero is quite endearing. Her mom’s loving support is a good narrative foil to Barney’s story. It does make me wonder where they will take Norma’s character. Her entire drive can’t just be her working in the park because she loves Pauline Phoenix. I think this is where we’ll see more stories centered around her autism come into play. I don’t want this to be Norma’s entire character. In no way should she ever be a caricature as “The One with Autism.” But I do think they could do some powerful writing with some needed representation.

I was talking with the same horror-loving roommate who is also a social worker for adults with developmental disabilities. She’s always telling me how media portrays people with developmental disabilities truly does affect her work and the people she supports. More often than not, shows can be more harmful than good when characters are not written respectfully and with care. I asked her opinion on Norma’s writing since it’s her field. My roommate said that while Norma’s writing is a bit on the nose, that’s very much the point in a show written for children. It’s an all-ages show, so it does need to be a bit more heavy-handed.

It got me thinking about another Netflix show, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Entrapta was also purposely written to be autistic with her characteristics crafted by one of the crew members who was also autistic. To me, the difference between Norma and Entrapta is that Entrapta’s writing is more subtle than Norma whose traits are more apparent. I think the writing of Norma is important. Sometimes being a bit heavy-handed is the most effective way. Audiences that aren’t neurodivergent aren’t used to seeing someone like her that’s well written in media. They don’t always know how to recognize a character like her. By making her writing obvious, it’s not only important for young viewers who have autism to see themselves but it’s also important to build empathy towards people like them as well. And unlike Entrapta, I hope they actually confirm Norma’s autism on-screen so there’s no question left open for debate.

To be clear, this is not slander on Entrapta in any way. I love that character and she helped me realize that I was neurodivergent as well, so she means the absolute world to me. I’m more pointing out the presentation of the two characters.

I connected so much with Barney. While I’m not trans, I do think queer characters have some relatable stories across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. That is not to say he represents all queer stories and not all queer stories are interchangeable. No one character or person is a representation of an entire group. It’s more that Barney’s story fits a lot of queer narratives, so it makes him engaging to a wider audience.

I recently publicly came out, and it was terrifying. The fear of my family members who I love so very much rejecting me was crippling. As Barney spoke with his mom about his grandmother, who from context, doesn’t seem to support Barney’s transition, I really felt that in my own way. It makes Barney’s love for Pugsley all the more important and really sets up a found family story for Dead End. Found family, while in a lot of media, is especially important to queer people who are often not welcomed in spaces once they’ve come out. It’s lovely to see how Barney might find camaraderie from Norma and Courtney over the course of the season.

As well as Pugsley! Since I had done some research prior to watching and noticed mentions of a talking pug, I could see where the first episode was going with Pugsley. I was not expecting him to be taken over by the King of Demons and that part of Temeluchus’ soul is still in him. I’m very intrigued about what they will do with Pugsley now. Is he going to be a lovable dog? Will he be fighting off an internal demon trying to take over him? After watching the first episode, I went and watched the season one trailer. So I am aware that Pugsley also now has powers now which is a really cool twist! He’s going to be such a great character to watch.

Courtney is the one person I want to know more about. We got the basics about her, but I’m excited to see the next nine episodes really flesh her out more. It’s a great start to set up her motivations and why she got Barney and Norma to Phoenix Park. But there are so many lingering questions. How did she come to work for Temeluchus? Why was she banished? At what lengths will she go to get home? Those last two are the big ones for me. Finding out why she was banished could make her incredibly sympathetic or push her into more of an antagonist role. I feel like they’ll go the sympathetic route, but they might just make her a jerk the whole way through. Or both! Though from the trailer, it seems like she’s going to befriend Norma and Barney.

The more interesting story path for Courtney is the last question: What will she do to get home? She might go to extremes since she’s a demon. But what would happen if she ends up befriending Norma and Barney? If she starts to like them and see them as found family, it sets up an interesting scenario where she might have to make a choice. I could see a situation where Courtney has a chance to go home at the cost of Norma and Barney’s lives. That would be an excellent moment for her to face. It all really depends on how they write her going forward.

Then there’s Temeluchus. I don’t think we’re done with him yet. Pulling out the King of Demons right in the opening episode just to sideline him means he’s being purposely stuck on the backburner. Since there is a piece of Temeluchus in Pugsley, I’m curious how much of the demon king will poke through. Can he control Pugsley from afar? Is that piece aware and can watch events unfold? Will Temeluchus see this possible found family come together and start his own change into a good guy? Temeluchus is very much the wild card of the show. His lingering presence means there is always a big bad waiting in the wings to bust out of there at the right moment.

Pauline Phoenix is an interesting character too. From the opening minutes, I’m wondering if her spirit is haunting the park. Her image saturates almost every scene of “The Job.” This has to be setting the stage for her to show up in some form. The question is will Pauline be friend or foe?

Last but certainly not least, RIP SLENDER MAN DAD! You were my initial favorite character and now you’re gone! I hope there’s a way you can magically come back.

“The Job” is a solid opening for Dead End: Paranormal Park. Now that I’ve watched the trailer, I’m really excited to see where the series is going to go from here!