The corpses of the team are delivered to Doom Manor and a horrified Larry. Dorothy quickly gains the aid of The Dead Boy Detectives to help revive their friends. Meanwhile, their friends get processed in the afterlife and visit with loved ones for a final time.
Tropes for this episode include:
- But Now I Must Go: Dorothy ends up voluntarily joining the Dead Boy Detectives, realizing she needs to see the world beyond the restrictions of her father.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Cliff takes a special delight in ripping into his father in the afterlife.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: While few details are given, Edwin's death in 1916 was clearly quite horrific and reliving it is required in order to reenter the afterlife.
- Dark and Troubled Past: All three of the Dead Boy Detectives have been dealt a heavy hand in their lives.
- Edwin was killed in what appeared to be a rampage in his boarding school, on top of his existing angst over his sexuality.
- Charles was relentlessly bullied by his classmates and forced to stand in the freezing cold water while rocks were thrown at him. He died of hypothermia as a result.
- Crystal Palace was possessed by a demon, using her body to commit various atrocities. When the Dead Boys finally expelled the demon, he took Crystal's memories before her possession with him.
- Gayngst: Larry quickly recognizes that Edwin is struggling with the same issues with sexuality that he had in the 60s and does his best to push the kid in the right direction.
- Healthy in Heaven: Averted. Both Vic and Cliff still maintain their robotic bodies in the afterlife. Later episodes reveal this also applied to Malcolm, who was only wearing a disfigured mask in real life, which became his body in death.
- I'm Standing Right Here: The episode presents a variation when Larry and Dorothy meet the Dead Boy Detectives. Charles and Edwin are visible to both the characters and the audience, but being ghosts they assume they're invisible to Larry and Dorothy, and immediately start insulting them. When Larry bluntly comments that he can hear them, Charles and Edwin are dismayed. Crystal is more surprised that they can see the boys.
- Mummies at the Dinner Table: What Larry initially does with the team's corpses, as he's having trouble processing the situation. Complete with bandages (to preserve them until the ground has thawed enough to bury them).Dorothy: Larry?
Larry: What?
Dorothy: Why did you arrange our dead friends... at the dining-room table?
Larry: Because leaving them jammed in the shipping boxes was weird and morbid? Seriously, Dorothy.
Dorothy: And they don't look weird and morbid now?
Larry: (looks back at the table) ...Actually, seeing this through fresh eyes, I can see your point. [Beat] (breaks down sobbing) - Mythology Gag:
- Charles mentions that Death is actually very nice and that she's "well fit." This is an obvious nod to her portrayal in The Sandman (1989), where she agreed not to return them to the afterlife.
- Dorothy teaming up with the Dead Boy Detectives is likely a nod to the roles they played in The Children's Crusade (Vertigo), which was the first major story Edwin and Charles were involved with after their debut in the 25th issue of The Sandman (1989).
- Poorly Disguised Pilot: Much of the episode works to establish the Dead Boy Detectives, weeks after HBO Max ordered a pilot for a potential show, though the show has since been reworked as a spinoff to The Sandman (2022) (much like how this show became its own thing after it was initially intended as a spinoff of Titans (2018).
- Resigned to the Call: Elinore eventually pushes Vic to consider if he actually wants to be a superhero. He's visibly stunned and confused by the idea that he could do anything else.Vic: Is... that such a bad thing?
- The Reveal: Jane discovers where she and the Underground truly come from: Kay's memories of her grandmother's dolls, the last place she felt safe and happy from her father's wrath.
- You Can See Me?: When Larry comments that he can hear Charles and Edwin insult them, Crystal is surprised that Larry and Dorothy can hear/see them, because they're ghosts who are usually invisible to most people.
