Hi Nay Fan Week Day 1-Mari
Mari Datuin, protagonist and primary narrator of award-winning horror podcast Hi Nay is best girl (despite possibly having done some murder, we'll get to that).
As the series goes on, the cast expands greatly and we get to hear from the rest of the Scooby Gang, the villains, and several delightful side characters (I can't pick a favourite but if I did it would be Danny <3), but Mari remains our home base, the anchor of the story. She's the one whose head we spend the most time in, metaphorically (well- no spoilers). I think it's easy to make protagonists into everyman types because you want the audience to relate to them, but Mari does this while remaining a distinct, interesting character with a rich inner and outer life. I think she does this by being a cozy mystery protagonist (look, if comfort horror is a thing, Hi Nay meets the criteria. As does Night in the Woods and yes there's a connection there, but that's a ramble for another day).
I have a half-baked thesis (halfesis, if you will) about why cozy mysteries such as Father Brown, Murder She Wrote, etc. are so beloved. I think it's because the stars of the shows aren't simply Cops Doing Cop Things and maybe Feeling Morally Ambiguous About Stuff (Yes, Donner and Murphy are technically Cops Doing Cop Things but there's some more complex layers, and their cases aren't exactly standard police procedural fare). Cozy mystery protags are average people who succeed where their police foils fail because they're well-integrated into their communities, kind, and often seeking more meaningful truth and justice. Mari checks all these boxes, she succeeds in dealing with the supernatural threats they encounter not purely because of her strength, cleverness, and supernatural abilities (she has all of these in abundance!), but because of her compassion.
We learn that from a young age, Mari's willingness to listen to spirits- no matter how frightening they appear -and help them if she can is core to who she is. She gives all that she has, and then some. For the murder-happy and/or hateful spirits who threaten living people, she fights back just as hard, and does just as much damage to herself in the process.
And that's where Hi Nay remains squarely in comfort horror rather than cozy mystery (well, that and The Horrors). Mari is haunted, not quite literally, by the consequences of a choice she made amidst truly horrific circumstances. She left home, but it didn't leave her. In this, she still remains keenly relatable. I think we all try to find tools with no blood on them, so to speak, to solve the problems we face and rarely succeed. And I think many of us at times doubt our right to continue in the shadow of death, in the shadow of harms we have done*. The people who show the most compassion outwardly often reserve the least for themselves.
As the series gets more complex and action-packed, we still come back to characters who honour gentleness in their own ways and desire peace and safety for their city, Mari most of all. I'm very grateful to see more stories taking this approach, especially in horror, but it continues to be something we need more of. So hurray for Hi Nay Act 3 and the fundraiser stretch goal being smashed!
*I said in the Hi Nay discord that two of my favourite pieces of media in 2024- Hi Nay and Godzilla Minus One-have the same message, and yes, this is me encouraging you to go and enjoy both and report back because I need more people to talk with about both
