Tim Burton incorporated one of the most famous unsolved murders in ‘Merlina’, but the black dahlia has more relevance than you imagine for the character of Jenna Ortega.
The dark comedy came to Netflix with the help of Tim Burton and Jenna Ortega in the new adaptation of the mad addams. With only a month of release Merlin achieved what few series have achieved in the history of the platform and has achieved more than 1 billion hours of playback since it was added to the catalog, surpassing Stranger Things y Dahmer.
We couldn’t expect anything less dark, funny and witty from a work by the director of Beetlejuiceso fans quickly fell in love with the adventures of the eldest daughter of Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Homer Addams (Luis Guzmán) at Nevermore Academy. Once Merlina arrives at her new school she is greeted with a black dahlia, which makes her declare that it is her favorite unsolved murder.. But what does this flower mean?
What is most surprising is that the characteristic flower not only indicates Merlina’s preference for dark colors and her gloomy personality but also becomes a subtle symbol to reveal the main villains of the season. The botany teacher has a culture of them at school, but we also see that Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) carries one inside a glass box to give it to him on the night of the dance.
Throughout the series we see the flower on several more occasions; one of them is in a flashback where Merlina remembers how her pet, a scorpion named Nero, was run over. We can also see her as the icon of the secret society of the schooland once again when Merlina and Tyler are at a picnic and watch a movie at the grave of Joseph Crackstone (William Houston).
Netflix Tyler gave her a black dahlia when they went to the dance.
It is Miss Thornhill, played by Christina Ricci, who gives the black dahlia to the new student. The case to which the protagonist refers occurred in 1947, where Elizabeth Short was murdered in Los Angeles and the true culprit was never found.. From the very first episode this was already a hint of the brutality to come at the dropout school. This murder is also one of MJ’s favorites in Spider-Man: Far From Homeyou remember?
One of the most interesting aspects is that the victim of the case of the black dahlia he was born in Hyde Park, which is located in the city of Boston in Massachusetts; the famous case was also adapted to the big screen in 2007 by Brian de Palma. This place is constantly mentioned in the series due to the location of Nevermore Academy, but has even greater relevance when the monster’s species is revealed to have the same name.
Netflix
The black dahlia first appears in episode 1
Tim Burton does not miss a single detail and although we had clues regarding the flowers from the first episode of Merlinit was necessary to pay extreme attention to be able to solve the mystery of the murders. We are still waiting for Netflix’s announcement about the confirmation of the second seasonbut we are already intrigued to know if there will be more easter eggs of this type in the next installment.