Bad Boy: My YouTube Obsession

This blog is mostly focused on politics & film, but as we do a bit of spring-cleaning in terms of ideas I've had for the year, I occasionally remind myself (and you) that this is a personal blog, and sometimes I will write about things that I am obsessed with, even if they don't fall neatly into the category of the two things I am most obsessed with (don't worry-we'll have more film and politics next month, and if you haven't seen, we did just have the 1972 Oscar Viewing Project here if you want to catch up in advance of the 1972 My Ballot which will come in the next two weeks).  Today, we're going to therefore cover something that I watched repeatedly over the past three years, and is finishing its second season in the coming days: the YouTube comedy series Bad Boy.

You may be asking yourself: what is Bad Boy, and that's a fair question.  The show has gotten hundreds of thousands of views, but in today's internet (and the fact that it's been on for years), it's possible you aren't familiar.  Bad Boy is a comedy series on YouTube from the mind of Artie O'Daly, an actor you might recognize from guest spots on Gilmore Girls, Pushing Daisies, and Modern Family (all favorites of mine).  He plays Scott, frequently referred to on the show as "Daddy Scott" an exasperated LA screenwriter who is overrun by members of the Jomas family, all relatives of an offscreen (and dead) crime boss dad whose family is looking for a stable figure to share their problems with (and live off of his largesse).

The show started initially as a two-man comedy featuring O'Daly and Tony Harth (who played Mack Jomas), but has since expanded to essentially be a comic soap opera, with two seasons and (to date) 39 episodes focusing on a series of murders that at least one or more of the characters committed.  We learn in Season 1 who the killer of Paul Jomas, the head of the Jomas crime family is, and we are one episode away from learning who the killers are in the second season (to keep spoilers at a minimum, we'll wait until the end of this article before I discuss my theories).

The show is insanely watchable, and honestly rewatcable (I've seen every episode at least 4-5 times).  The slapstick humor, usually sexually-charged, is lightning fast, and you're aided by a really strong cast.  O'Daly is so much fun as Scott, the frequently tired but also horny but also confused straight man (a term not meant to be literal...like most of the characters, Scott is very much on the Kinsey Scale), but he honestly has scenes stolen from him repeatedly by a cast of almost ludicrously (seriously-everyone on this show is so hot) talented cast members.  There's Drew Canon as Jim, the himbo ex-adult film star who is infatuated with Scott.  There's Alex Dyon's James, the gorgeous ethereal beauty that might be a vampire who sardonically reminds Scott of his own mortality throughout.  There's Alina Bock's Calista Flockhart (no, not the Ally McBeal star, but instead the character's name), an FBI investigator who is obsessed with trying to figure out if Scott is involved in the many murders in the series.  Even O'Daly's former Gilmore Girls costar Vanessa Marano stars as herself, and yes, they address the controversial place that Marano's April plays in the Stars Hollow fandom.

Why am I bringing this up?  In part, because I want people to talk to about it (for a show that has a clear fandom, there's not enough places online to discuss theories), but also because you should watch it.  I'd start at the beginning, but give it a few episodes before you get into the series truly as it catches its groove a bit after the first few episodes (which are largely a will-they-or-won't-they vibe between Mack & Scott that shifts over to Jim & Scott as the series progresses).  My Top 5 favorite episodes would be:

1. "Bad Boy Murder Mystery" (1.26-27...it's a two-parter so I'm counting it together)

2. "Bad Boy's Bad Mom" (1.15)

3. "Bad Boy's Big Break" (1.17)

4. "Bad Boy's Daddy Experiment" (2.02)

5. "Bad Boy Pajama Party" (2.11)

This is a bit like picking a favorite Christmas ornament (they're all so pretty and shiny), but I tend to love the ones that lean into the mystery aspect of the show, as well as payoffs for longtime viewers (i.e. those who have watched the clear character arcs that O'Daly has snuck in for the main players), and a lot of sexy, fun comedies (I'm saying it because the show says it so often, but again-the guys on this show are SO hot, watch it at least in part for that).  Please seek it out, watch it at least until you get to some of the episodes I just listed (so you know you're rating it at its best as it's more fun once you're familiar with the 15 or so recurring characters), and report back.

And now, let's get to some of my theories headed into the finale (obligatory spoiler alert if you have not watched through Episode #2.11 Bad Boy Pajama Party.

Theories

Okay, so the main questions I have right now headed into the finale are:

1. Who killed Brian?

2. Who killed Whitney's fiancee?

3. Who is the "Jim" that is not who they seem to be?

4. Who is the mysterious person in Paris that is trying to get Scott (and Jim) to come to France?

5. Is Scott finally willing to admit he's fallen for Jim?

In the last episode, Calvin admitted that he and his girlfriend killed Whitney's fiancee at the very end, confessing to Calista after she spent the whole episode trying to trick him into confessing.  Part of me thinks this is too easy (I wonder if Calvin thinks he killed him, but didn't actually), but Calvin has kind of been set up to be the shiftiest of the Jomas cousins, and so this would make sense.  I expect the next episode, if (as O'Daly has hinted in the comments on YouTube) is the season finale, and a finale that he has implied "changes the show" that we'll have two storylines, one actually in Paris (his Instagram has indicated they actually filmed in Paris, and you can see Kelly pictured with him so you know at least she's part of the shots in Paris) and then one in Los Angeles with Calista and the rest of the crew.  So it's possible Calista solves the murder of the fiancee, while in Paris it's revealed who Brian's killer is.

Which, I'm going to be honest, I wonder if it might be no one.  Brian's death is off-screen, and similar to how Mack "died" in the first season until he hadn't, I wonder if he might still be alive, and could be behind all of this.  It's been implied that Vanessa got off for her two murders in the first season despite her being arrested, and one wonders if they faked his death as part of a deal for them both to run her film production/poison company.  It's also worth noting that Brian is both the name of Doug Rogers' character (i.e. Scott's on-again/off-again boyfriend) and also the name of Whitney's son, who has never been revealed on the series, only named.  At some point they're going to have to reveal him, and it would make sense that Brian might actually have been a Jomas the whole time.

Which brings us to the third point.  This is the big mystery right now, and indicates that at least one of the characters isn't "who they seem to be" which Suzanne realized from her widdling.  She has said the person is named "Jim" but that doesn't necessarily mean our believed Jim Jomas is the one who is "not who they seem to be."  For starters, there's fake Jim (aka Ted aka the Hooded Figure aka Target's Sexy Santa) who had an epiphany last week that he needed to be himself, and given there's a hooded figure in Paris at the end of Pajama Party (which he was wearing the first episode he's seen), it could be hinted it's him.  There's also James (i.e. a spin on the name Jim), who has been hiding Jim all season (could that be for nefarious purposes?), though James is such a fan favorite I really hope it's not him.  There's BJ, who was suspiciously missing in the last episode (and has worn a hoodie in multiple episodes), and could have the middle initial Jim (we don't know what the J stands for).  And then there's "the Third One" (played by Blase Maffia) whose name hasn't been revealed yet, and who came out of nowhere, and could be more than he seems.  The biggest clues we've had other than "Jim" is Suzanne saying in the last episode that Jim was "somewhere in this house" (which at the time we know both James & the Third One were physically in the house, as was a cardboard cutout of Jim...again, Ted & BJ were both suspiciously missing) and then Mary Kate saying in "Bad Boy Comes Clean" to Calista that "people are going to keep dropping dead around him if he doesn't cut the head off the snake...all roads lead to Paris" and that "he's sleeping with the enemy."  Again, this is pretty vague, and could indicate any of these guys (Jim, BJ, James, the Third One, Calvin, and Ted are all in some way living in Scott's house, and Mary Kate could think that Brian was literally sleeping with Scott since they were dating), but these are the clues we have to run off of.

I do think one other clue is worth mentioning before we wrap up-in the episode Bad Bachelor Boy, Whitney's fiancee (shortly before his death) said that the "Third One's" name was "Troy," because it "sounded French," which given the implications of Paris, might be an overall clue to his identity...though I do feel like Ted or BJ make more sense because they weren't in the last episode.

So my final theories?

1. I think that BJ is probably the figure in Paris, not Ted (who is a ruse), but I do wonder if we're looking at two killers, where BJ killed either Brian and/or his dad, or if Calvin/Troy killed one but BJ killed the other.  I definitely think that BJ is one of the killers, though.

2. If it's not that, I think it's Brian who faked his death and the person who "isn't who they seem to be" is the Third One being another FBI agent.  I'm convinced that the Brian name thing, the Third One's lack of a name, and the French hooded figure's obsession with finding Jim (i.e. not Scott) all lead to BJ (he's the only character really connected to all three in that way), but how that makes a "Jim" not who they seem to be continues to be tricky.

3. The other theory I'm pondering is if Ted is actually Whitney's son Brian (and that Doug Rogers' character's name is just a coincidence), which would also kind of make sense, and imply Ted is a killer.

4. To answer question #5, since Artie has indicated the premise of the show will change in the final episode of the season, I have to assume that Scott & Jim are finally going to hook up or get together...we've waited years for it, and Scott finally admitted in the last episode that he missed Jim, so I think the close of the season is them saying they love each other.

5. I love all the characters so much, but if the killer is James, Jim, or Calista I'm going to be heartbroken because I love those characters the most.

6. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Artie saved his most famous guest star (Vanessa Marano) for the finale given she's been hinted at all season, and likely is making at least one appearance given she's still a big part of the plot.

If you've watched the show, you will make my dad by sharing your own theories in the comments!