This article, “what actually happened on the night Erika died” contains spoilers regarding Netflix’s Boo, Bitch season 1.
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Warning there are major spoilers ahead.
The main twist in Boo, Bitch is the revelation that Gia is the dead body under the moose, not Erika. This reveal comes at the end of episode six, but many viewers figured it out long before that. Some people even mentioned it in the YouTube comments for the trailer, which came out way before its initial release. It is after all a very obvious and predictable twist, but one that the writers believe is so integral to the series that they are willing to bend everything to fit around this specific storyline. In this article I will be discussing the plot twist in detail and the many plot holes that come with this major event.
Boo, Bitch season 1 – what actually happened on the night Erika died?
Let’s start by talking through the death itself. Gia and Erika are walking home after an unforgettable night out. A moose steps onto the road and is hit by a truck. The moose flies into the air and hits the girls. Gia is squished to death under the moose and Erika is knocked to one side. Gia becomes a ghost from this moment onwards, deciding in that split second to swap shoes with her best friend – placing Erika’s sneakers on the corpse, so that it would look like Erika is the dead corpse, not Gia.
Gia’s reasoning for this deceit is quite vague but acceptable considering the other plot holes. She is worried that Erika would never enjoy life ever again, knowing that the one time she did let her hair down and have fun, was the same night that her best friend was brutally killed. She wanted Erika to be fearless. This is quite a sweet notion and it makes sense that Gia would be confused and panicked by the scenario, prompting the knee-jerk reaction. We’ll let that one slide.
As a ghost Gia has the ability to control electricity and summon ice. Over time, she begins to glitch, fading in and out of view. Erika and Gia research ghosts and find help from a club called the After Lifers. They are told that for a ghost to pass on and to properly ascend to the afterlife, it first must fulfil any unfinished business. It is assumed that Gia’s unfinished business is to attend prom, become prom queen and then to actually be noticed by the other students. After all, no one even knew she was missing, never mind dead. Gia was practically invisible to the students before she died.
Gia’s ghostly powers are randomly introduced and unclearly explained throughout the series. Giving the feeling that the writers were making it up as they went along. The ice power is especially odd, only appearing in one scene. They use ice to freeze the moose, but then decide to just buy bags of ice instead of using this new-fangled ability. These powers only work intermittently, and can’t always be relied upon, which is convenient. Gia apparently can text, make lights flicker, make music play and manipulate electricity in many other ways. This is an accepted ghostly power (as seen in Stranger Things), but the ice one is new to me.
These inconsistencies are frustrating, but there are far worse plot holes to uncover. Firstly, let’s discuss Erika’s involvement in all of this. When she sees the dead body for the first time she instantly believes that she is dead. She doesn’t think to check under the dead moose and just blindly accepts that those shoes are hers, so that dead body must be hers. Erika can do everything a living human can do. She is seen, heard and touched by others. She functions exactly like a human, because she is a human. Why would she believe otherwise? It just doesn’t make sense. She is a rational and intelligent individual, someone who would question this and properly investigate all options before assuming the worst. And how can the audience be fooled either? Does anyone buy the idea that Erika is the ghost? I just couldn’t get past this monumental flaw, the idea that we were to believe that Erika was a ghost when she had absolutely no characteristics of a ghost.
When it is revealed to Erika that Gia is the ghost, she thinks back to all the times she spoke with Gia in person. There’s a quick montage showing Erika talking to herself like an insane person in different locations. Why did no one ever question her or mention this? Jake C saw her in the corridor arguing with herself and didn’t think to raise this concern. It is totally unbelievable. It’s also interesting that Erika didn’t even think about this embarrassing situation until her father mentioned The Sixth Sense plot twist, which prompted the flashback. Erika starts the show as a clever, kind teen, but by the end of Boo, Bitch she is making some truly senseless decisions and has become pure evil. Erika doesn’t even care about Gia’s death initially and is more hurt by the betrayal. This lazy transformation is not given any careful consideration and is unashamedly used to further the story in a quick, careless way instead.
So, Erika loses brain cells once she thinks she’s dead and poor Gia loses her life. Talking of Gia, why does nobody care that she has been missing for an entire month? There is a tiny snippet of dialogue that mentions her mother being away, which helps explain why Gia is home alone, but why has no one bothered to follow this up? Family members and the school would most definitely notice if Gia went missing and would more than likely contact the police if they were concerned. If Gia can control technology then I guess she could manipulate phones and school records, but this isn’t given any screen time. Someone would be distressed by her absence, someone would want to see her face or hear her voice. Again the writers are happy to ignore all logic and reasoning in the pursuit of this elaborate plot twist.
Finally, we are to believe that Erika and Gavin (when drunk) can see Gia, but it is never explained why those two are chosen, whilst no one else is able to see her. Erika may be intrinsically linked to Gia due to their friendship or their close proximity during the accident. Whereas Gavin’s paranormal inklings allow him to see Gia, but only when he’s intoxicated. And we’re just to accept this as fact? There are many leaps of faith, like this, in Boo, Bitch, that I just couldn’t let slide.
To conclude, the plot twist itself is predictable and problematic, resulting in countless plot holes and some absurd character motivations. This grave misstep completely ruined the show for me. What are your thoughts on this plot twist? How quickly did you figure it out? Please comment below.
