Dead End: Paranormal Park (TV Series)

Dead End: Paranormal Park is a 2022 Netflix animated show. It is based on the graphic novel series Deadandia by Hamish Steele, who is also the show's creator.

Two teens show up for a job opening at Phoenix Park, a local attraction centered around film star Pauline Phoenix's illustrious career. While Norma (Kody Kavitha) is a Pauline fan that wants to live her dream by working with her idol, Barney (Zach Barack) is seeking a new home after his parents ignore his grandmother's hurtful words during Friday dinners. He hopes that the job will give him the space he needs, that he can share with his dog Pugsley.

Only thing: the job was a lie. Courtney the demon (Emily Osment) created the notice to offer a human vessel to the Demon King Temeluchus (Alex Brightman). He ends up possessing Pugsley, forcing Norma and Barney to team up and save his dog. They succeed, only now Pugsley can talk and has many opinions about how wonderful humans are. Courtney, realizing that she needs the fragment of demon soul that allows Pugsley to talk (also voiced by Alex Brightman), decides to "hire" the humans and use Pugsley to return home to the Demon Realm. As Norma demonstrates her information of the park, Pugsley learns magic under Courtney's tutelage, and Barney works up the nerve to talk to his crush, they hope to uncover the mystery behind an employee's sudden disappearance.

Season 2 has a release date of October 13, 2022, with several preview clips released. Ratings are dependent on | viewer response. The web comic Deadendia is available both online and in graphic novel form.


 * Action Girl: The janitor,, wields a giant axe and isn't afraid to use it.
 * Adaptational Weakling: An in-universe example During "Night of The Living Kids" that works in the hero's favor. The party guests at a Phoenix Park sleepover summon a Night Hag with Courtney's help. When said Night Hag preys on the kids, turning them into sleep-deprived zombies, paid babysitter security guards Barney and Norma and talking dog Pugsley try to keep Barney's little brother Patrick safe. Barney remembers that Norma brought a retinue of Night Hag movies and that she's Genre Savvy; he asks her if the Night Hag in the Pauline Phoenix film had any weaknesses. Norma says no and the Night Hag won in the movies, just as they lose another kid. When it seems all hope is lost, Courtney says that you can either use another wolf bone to banish the Night Hag, or Pugsley can summon a Day Hag to counter her. Pugsley does the latter since Courtney is out of wolf bones, and the Night Hag stands down on seeing her sister Sheryl for the first time in millennia. After an awkward conversation between the Night and Day Hag, and they get affronted when learning humans call them "hags", both depart and the kids are restored to normal.
 * And Then What?: Mrs. Khan asks this in season two when.
 * Big Brother Instinct: While Barney feels guilty about ghosting his little brother Patrick, he doesn't know how to explain the complicated home situation. Then at Patrick's birthday party in Phoenix Park, the Night Hag goes after the kid after assimilating his friends. Barney pulls off his dinosaur disguise and hugs Patrick after seeing he's safe, while committing to protecting him from the Night Hag. In the season one finale,.
 * Both Sides Have a Point: Barney and Pugsley argue when the latter learns that Barney has been {{spoiler|taking wrestling lessons at a demon gym, and regularly going for sparring matches that his coach Az arranges. From Pugsley's point-of-view, {{spoiler|Barney is basically asking to get pummeled on a regular basis, and the demons have extra powers that allow them to win. Barney asserts that being a wrestler is his dream, and the demon realm is one place where he can pursue it without getting judged for being trans.}}
 * Break the Cutie: Norma {{spoiler|cries after she commits to seeing the truth about Pauline and what she did to Barborah, as well as for multiple Pauline impersonators. She says that Pauline lied to her fans to manipulate them, and is a big liar. During the next episode, she's still visibly dealing with the hurt and betrayal}}.
 * Call Back:
 * "Thunder Lizard"has a few to "Christmas in July":
 * Cuddles is one of Barney's sparring partners. Barney gives him a nervous greeting, and Cuddles knocks him into a wall again.
 * The episode shows that Barney is less-than impressed by Hox. Understandable considering that Hox {{spoiler|killed him during the game show episode}}.
 * Casual Danger Dialogue: Norma hurries her mother away from {{spoiler|Pauline in doll form}}, describing it as a "work thing".
 * Didn't Think This Through: "Phantom of the Theme Park" has Barney, Norma, and Pugsley talk with {{spoiler|Barborah about how Pauline is auditioning girls to possess them in her comeback. They all agree that what happened to Barborah and Jennifer Swan cannot happen to anyone else but don't know how to stop a ghost Villain with Good Publicity. Norma thinks, and volunteers that she could be The Bait as one of the auditioning girls if Pugsley disguises her with magic. Pauline possesses her, Barney photographs Pauline the way they photographed Temeluchus, and Pauline is stopped. Barney questions if that is a good idea, but no one else has a better plan. Norma ends up nailing the audition with the disguise and song "My Frankenstein", but realizes that she ended up in over her head as Pauline uses magic to immobilize her and possess her. Courtney stops Barney from photographing Pauline, who confiscates Barney's phone and locks him and Pugsley up. They have to go for plan B after convincing Logs to free them: reason with Courtney that Pauline can't get her home and used her to make the possession permanent.}}
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: It's revealed that Pauline Phoenix's modus operandi is to {{spoiler|stoke admiration of her so that fangirls come to audition as one of her impersonators. She chooses one that looks and acts like her, who is most likely a teenager, and forces them to "succumb" to her. When they've either gotten too old or they're rescued from the limbo where Norma and Barney find Jennifer Swan's soul, Pauline abandons their body after stealing years of their life. She then blackmails them into silence or discredits them. Her possession of Norma is portrayed as akin to assault, literally preying on Norma's admiration of her}}.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: How season one ends; {{spoiler|Courtney convinces Temeluchus he's come to care for humans and no longer wants to be evil; he offers her diplomatic immunity but she declines knowing that she can go home any time she wants with the angel cuffs off and Pugsley with his magic restored but would prefer to be with her human friends. Temeluchus restores the humans to normal and leaves in peace, while giving Pugsley some of his powers. Barney's parents apologize to him, Logs and he share The Big Damn Kiss and Pauline's ghost is left in the dark. She plots revenge but vanishes when an angel appears, reporting that humans stopped a demon invasion}}.
 * Enemy Mine: "Phantom of the Theme Park" had Temeluchus convincing Pugsley {{spoiler|to let him take control of the dog, so as to save Norma and stop Pauline in her tracks. Pugsley points out that Temeluchus tried to kill Norma and Barney; Temeluchus "promises" that he's not that way anymore. When Temeluchus boots Pauline out of Norma's body, he resumes his invasion of the Neutral Plane with his sister Zagan. Pauline then helps evacuate the employees to the Dead End house, and grudgingly agrees to keep the park guests from being shattered. Once Temeluchus pulls a Heel Face Turn, stops Zagan, and returns to the demon realm, Pauline plots revenge and getting a body back}}.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Hox, who we saw was willing to kill contestants on his show, looks genuinely worried when he reports on {{spoiler|Temeluchus and Zagan fighting in the mortal plane}}. Later in season two, {{spoiler|it's revealed he doesn't let humans into the Demon Wrestling League because most demons would snap humans like a twig, and says that it would be bad PR, as well as lawsuit-heavy.}}
 * Forgiveness:
 * Norma believes for an episode that the mysterious {{spoiler|Barborah}} is somehow responsible for Jennifer Swan's disappearance, even when all evidence points to {{spoiler|Pauline Phoenix}} as the true culprit. She also accuses {{spoiler|Barborah right when the latter finds the proof that Pauline stole her body and "the best years" of her life, which inadvertently leads to Pauline stopping Barborah from taking the incriminating television out of the park, and banning Norma as well as Barney and Pugsley from Phoenix Park before they can tell anyone. In the next episode, Barborah finds the kids and dog sneaking back in to stop Pauline and drags them into an alley, asking if they believe her now. Norma sincerely apologizes for accusing Barborah. Barborah forgives her; she says that as Pauline's former friend and stuntwoman, she knows that Pauline is good at charming you into believing she can do not wrong. She does mention, however, that they need to work together to stop Pauline from possessing another innocent person. The trio readily agrees.}}.
 * In the season one finale, Courtney has abandoned her human friends (again) to a magical threat, this time {{spoiler|a revived Temeluchus and his sister Zagan after he boots Pauline out of Norma's body and she turns every human audience member into stone}}. While Barney is shocked and hurt, Norma snarkily says Courtney has a habit of doing this so she can believe it. {{spoiler|Courtney has a crisis of conscience when she realizes she's been away from hell for so long that she has no friends interested in hanging with her, and the news reports that Temeluchus and Zagan are rampaging in the Neutral Plane; a random demon also breaks the mug that her human friends won for her on Hox's Castle, and Barney literally died for that to happen. Courtney eyes it with regret, and realizes she has to go back. She arrives back to the Neutral Plane, only to find Barney and Norma were turned to stone, and Zagan is preparing to execute Pugsley to "save" her brother from the dog's corrupting influence. Courtney quickly turns the tide by convincing Pugsley to unleash Temeluchus's full power, and Temeluchus that being in Pugley's body has made him a good guy who likes humans}}. After everything is restored to normal, Courtney gives a genuine apology to the trio. She says she would understand if they never forgave her for leaving them to die. They respond by giving her a Group Hug as thanks for saving their lives, and coming back.
 * Good All Along: Turns out that, despite Norma's suspicions, {{spoiler|Barborah doesn't want to hurt Pauline. She wants the proof that Pauline died thirty years ago and stole her life in the process. When Pauline's ghost arrives at the Hall of Ex-Husbands, Barborah stalls her as the TV shows the insurance commercial, and screams at Norma to run for it. Later, she and the teens come up with a plan to stop Pauline from taking over another innocent park employee}}.
 * Innocent Bigot: Subverted with Grammy-Gram in Barney's view. While we don't hear what she said to Barney, it was so hurtful that he refuses to talk to her. He's more furious with his parents for making excuses for her behavior, because he says he can't trust that they will have his back as a trans teenager. {{spoiler|His mother eventually admits in the season one finale that Barney is right, and they will stop inviting Grammy-Gram to Friday night dinners until she accepts Barney for who he is.}}
 * It's Personal: Zigzagged when Courtney briefly allies with {{spoiler|Pauline against the main trio. She's still obviously mad at them for saying that they didn't need her, and saying that she couldn't understand human emotions like pain and betrayal.}} Yet when Courtney sings to Barney and Pugsley about her "new friend," she keeps insisting that it's Nothing Personal, that she doesn't belong on Earth with them and is destined to go back to hell where she can go home.
 * Karmic Jackpot: {{spoiler|Barborah}} spent years trying (and failing) to protect park employees from {{spoiler|Pauline Phoenix's ghost}}, working to get the proof about what Pauline is really like. {{spoiler|Season two opens with Pauline leaving all her assets to Barborah, ostensibly because she was planning to possess the lady. Since Paulines' ghost has been AWOL, however, Barborah is the legal owner of the park now, and Wealthy Ever After. She immediately makes plans to make the park safer, and less hazardous for everyone considering the demon invasion}}.
 * The Music Meister: Pugsley has a spell that turns the whole park into a musical number. He was saving it for Barney's birthday, but Norma orders him to use it, without knowing what the spell was, to cause a distraction. It ends up Gone Horribly Right because they are also pulled into the musical number, with even {{spoiler|Temeluchus getting a duet with Pugsley!}} The spell only ends once the episode does, as Barney and Norma sing the finale.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Courtney has this reaction in the first season finale when {{spoiler|returning back to the theme park after she realizes she left her friends behind. She finds out that everyone in the park was turned to stone, including Norma and Badyah as they were fending off demons, and Zagan is using Barney and Patrick's statues as hostages to get Temeluchus to surrender, and allow her to execute Pugsley. Courtney even admits that when she asks Pugsley to trust her and release Temeluchus fully to stop Zagan and the demon invasion, he has no reason to do that when he asks why}}.
 * Noodle Incident: Logs apparently had an Emo phase that he vlogged about, according to season two. Barney watched the vlogs and said he understood, given how long Logs has worked at Phoenix Park.
 * Not So Above It All: While most characters under the singing spell are either oblivious to it or complaining about being forced to sing, {{spoiler|Temeluchus throws himself into it full-heartedly when dancing in Pugsley's subconscious. Granted, it was a demon spell from Courtney's book}}.
 * OOC Is Serious Business: Norma hates doing normal people stuff, like socializing or presenting herself onstage. She's more comfortable using her Phoenix Park knowledge to improve the rules and park quality. In "Phantom of the Theme Park," she suggests that {{spoiler|she serve as The Bait for Pauline's body-stealing scheme}}, shocking Barney. She also delivers one hell of a showstopper in "My Frankenstein" by using {{spoiler|her hurt about how evil Pauline is}}.
 * Parents as People: This is basically the situation with Barney's parents. They supposed his transitioning, using his preferred name and pronouns and getting him a binder as we see in the bathing scene. The problem is that his father holds it over his head as an obligation, and Barney points that out using their restaurant meal as an analogy. His mother pretends that everything is fine, including when her mother makes transphobic remarks towards Barney, and sweeps problems under the rug. You would think that when he ran away to stay in Phoenix Park that they would have called the cops and reported him as a runaway, since Barney is Norma's age and still a minor. Instead, they apparently did nothing, with his mother telling a disguised Barney that her son is just doing an act. Season one ends with them {{spoiler|apologizing to Barney after Courtney persuades Temeluchus to back down, saying that he was right to call them out}}.
 * Pet the Dog: When {{spoiler|Temeluchus convinces Pugsley to let him take over to save Norma from Pauline in "Phantom of the Theme Park," he actually does keep his word and boots Pauline out of Norma's body. He follows this up by saving Patrick from his sister Zagan rather than have either of them chomp on the kid. Temeluchus tries to claim that he had a selfish reason, but is shocked to realize he did it because he cares about the humans}}.
 * Reality Ensues:
 * Pauline was a powerhouse in Hollywood since she was a child starring on Dead End, and later a "rich white lady" in Badyah's words. Two things stymied her career: she was getting older, too old to do her own stunts as Barborah pointed out, and Norma mentions that she got blacklisted from Hollywood. That's why she's {{spoiler|reduced to filming a life insurance commercial, and was so desperate to not fade away that she used the life insurance commercial as an opportunity to steal Barborah's body, and her life}}.
 * After spending two episodes in denial, Norma realizes that she has to face {{spoiler|the truth about what Pauline really is. She, Barney and Courtney switch to the life insurance video, which reveals that Pauline deliberately killed herself and possessed her stuntwoman Barborah who was checking on Pauline. Rather than be relieved that they found the truth, Norma breaks down and cries while curled in a ball as soon as Pugsley gets them out of the television, realizing that Pauline was using fan adoration to find her next round of victims. She's barely able to move, let alone figure out how to stop Pauline from possessing another innocent person. The next episode has her sing about how she's mad at Pauline for being this terrible person, and is still entranced by her, wanting the fantasy over the reality. You can't get over Broken Pedestal in a day, especially when using yourself as bait for your hero}}.
 * Hilarious one in "Evil Twins Are People Too." Barney's Evil Twin keeps switching places with him during a date with Logs, as Barney tries to act natural. When Barney gets frustrated and reveals both of them, Logs says, "Finally!" Of course he realized that the two had different outfits, hair colors and mannerisms. He was just waiting for Barney to be ready about explaining the situation.
 * This is why Barney prefers working out in a demon gym. He says that people get weird about him being a trans boy and asking questions about his binder. The demons don't care about gender or body type.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure:
 * {{spoiler|Barborah}} when she is given ownership of the park proves to be this. She puts Barney, Norma and Pugsley in charge of guarding the Dead End demon door, since they were the most competent about the {{spoiler|the season one finale demon invasion}}. Her goal is to make the park safer, especially after that event. With that said, when Az goes to talk to her about staging a demon wrestling gig, {{spoiler|Barborah thinks it will be a good way to let Barney pursue his dream in a relatively safe environment, revealing that she used to be a wrestler, and gives permission to let a demon audience enter the park for a short while and sell merchandise}}.
 * Az is also pretty reasonable as a wrestling coach. He keeps it quiet that his new student is human in a demons-only gym, signs up Barney for regular sparring matches and corrects his technique. {{spoiler|When he reveals that he scheduled himself as Barney's opponent for official entry into the Demon Wrestling League, he explains to Barney that he may officially be Asmodeus of the demon royal family, but in the ring he can just be Az, and he truly wants to give Barney a fair fight. Courtney, Norma and Pugsley go Oh Crap because since he trained Barney, he knows the kid's weaknesses. With that said, Az's heartfelt explanation motivates Barney to reveal that he is human to the crowd, and Az says that if he wants to keep doing the fight in violation of demon precedent, it's fine with him. While he ends up winning by a hairsbreadth, he praises Barney for a great match and says that he's proud of his student. Indeed, it's implied that the fight was a Batman Gambit to get Hox to change the rules about the Demon Wrestling League and help Barney come out of his shell.}}
 * Red Herring: Given the elevator to the Demon Realm is in Dead End, where Jennifer Swan ran in the show's first scene, one could reasonably assume that Temeluchus had something to do with her disappearance. {{spoiler|Turns out it wasn't him; Pauline's ghost was chasing down Jennifer to possess her, as she did to so many employees}}.
 * The Reveal:
 * Barney ran away from home because his grandmother made transphobic remarks about him at an awkward family dinner, and his parents didn't stand up to her. His mother keeps saying that she doesn't know better, but Barney calls bullshit.
 * Pauline Phoenix {{spoiler|has been dead for 30 years. She was getting too old for Hollywood films, and decided to die while stealing her stuntwoman's body. When Barborah got too old in turn, Pauline started possessing park employees that fit her physical profile}}.
 * The Runaway: While Barney's initial plan is to get the job, save up for a place of his own to live with Pugsley, that changes when Courtney gives him a security guard position off the books. She shows him where he can stay in the Dead End house, welcoming him as her new roommate. As Norma and his little brother Patrick point out, this means he ran away from home.
 * Ship Tease: While Barney crushes on Logs and {{spoiler|eventually gathers the courage to ask him out on a date}}, there are hits that Courtney also nurses infatuation for Barney. She's thrilled about him moving into Dead End; when he tries reconciling with his family, she steals a dummy to make a Barney replica and have tea parties with it. {{spoiler|It also explains why she's very hurt when Barney says they don't need her after she makes Norma cry}}.
 * Taught By Experience: Season 2 shows that when Barney decides to {{spoiler|enter the monster wrestling league, Norma is very worried for him, as is Pugsley. She remembers how their attempts to fight demons in the season 1 finale didn't go well, and brings one of Courtney's demon books to his first match. She means well, but demon weaknesses doesn't help when Barney is trying to fight fairly and has to point out to Norma that he doesn't have a silver sword to take out his opponent.}}
 * Token Evil Teammate: Deconstructed with Courtney. She is Obviously Evil as noted when she made up the job to lure in a new human vessel for Temeluchus. Yet the teens feel sorry for her, even as they discuss that they can't trust her. Courtney is more pathetic than threatening when eating garbage and watching demon TV. {{spoiler|The season one finale even has Norma say she can believe that Courtney betrayed the trio and left them to die, since she's done that before in more than one episode. Courtney, however, realizes that she doesn't want to be this untrustworthy companion, and goes back to save her friends. She also gives her first sincere apology in the show.}}
 * Unreliable Expositor: Courtney keeps longing for home in the demon realm. She says that she applied for Hox's Castle millennia ago. Then she starts singing in "Phantom of the Theme Park" about the places in hell that she's never seen. Zagan then reveals that {{spoiler|angel cuffs were placed on Courtney, something that Courtney didn't know, and removes them}}. It's highly likely that {{spoiler|Courtney may not actually be a demon, or she's more important than she looks if angels deemed that she should never go or return to hell}}. Indeed, Courtney's good twin reveals that {{spoiler|Courtney actually doesn't know what she is or which plane is her place of origin, only that she did something so terrible that the angels intervened}}.
 * The Un-Reveal: The season one finale doesn't explain why {{spoiler|angels put cuffs on Courtney that forbid her from going home, that not even Temeluchus wanted to undo}}. Season two's premiere muddies it up further when {{spoiler|an angelic being named Fingers arrives and, after nearly killing the main cast over a misunderstanding, reveals that he is Courtney's "parole officer" to monitor her stint of good behavior}}.
 * Wants a Prize For Basic Decency: Barney accuses his parents of doing this when they try to clear the air at an awkward dinner. They say that they supported him during his transition and gave him what he wanted. Barney says that parents are supposed to support their children, no matter what, and they're ignoring the bigger issue in the room.
 * Wham! Line:
 * Seems all's well that ends well at the end of the first episode; Courtney hires both Barney and Norma as security guards, and shows Barney a space where he can stay. He and Pugsley tuck into coffins, as Barney sleepily wishes his dog good night. Then Pugsley responds, "Night night, Barney." Barney's eyes shoot open as he realizes that his dog just talked.
 * Zagan drops on a bomb on Courtney in "Phantom of the Theme Park": "{{spoiler|Those aren't demon cuffs. Those were placed by angels}}". This line creates a whole new inquiry of questions about {{spoiler|what Courtney really is, and who put the cuffs on her. And why?}}
 * Whole Plot Reference: The first season finale is a reference to the Weirdmageddon series finale in Gravity Falls: demons invade Earth using a portal and {{spoiler|start turning the locals into stone. The survivors hole up in Dead End, as they did in the Mystery Shack, and the two heroes rally them to stand and fight back on hearing that the demons are holding loved ones hostage}}. With that said, the similarities end with {{spoiler|the fact that the park employees can't stop a demon invasion and they all get turned to stone; Courtney has to rescue them by talking down Temeluchus}}.

{{reflist}}