Saturday , April 20 2024

‘Nancy Drew’ Season 1 Episode 15 Recap: It’s Always a Karen

The mystery on Nancy Drew is getting intense. Last week, we found out the identity of Tiffany Hudson’s killer, but he hasn’t been caught yet. Lucy Sable’s brother, Joshua, was the culprit. When Nancy confronted him about it, he tried to kill her and seemingly electrocuted himself. As they found out in a security video this week though, he wasn’t dead. He untangled himself from the wires and fled the scene. So one mystery is solved, but a killer is on the loose and Nancy is no closer to solving Lucy Sable’s murder. That’s a problem, since her dad is going to trial for that murder tomorrow.

Nancy goes to the police station to discuss her dad’s case with Karen. At this point, Ryan Hudson is still her number one suspect in Lucy’s murder. The big question she has to answer right now is whether Ryan’s alibi for the night checks out. Was he really at prep school like he said he was? On Karen’s advice, Nancy tracks down a biotech CEO who was a dorm-mate of Ryan’s. She talks to him along with Owen Marvin, who insists on coming with her because he’s so worried. Call me paranoid, but I still don’t fully trust this guy. He’s been helpful in the past, but I’m keeping an eye on him for the rest of the season. Here though, it’s fun to watch them help each other sleuth. They interview the CEO and find out that Ryan and Lucy had a big fight one night and she dumped him. Sometime after that, he did in fact sneak off campus and may have been gone long enough to get back to Maine.

Leah Lewis as George, Maddison Jaizani as Bess, Miles Gaston Villanueva as Owen and Kennedy McMann as Nancy — Photo: Jeff Weddell/The CW

As interesting and ghost-filled as that mystery is though, Nick pulls Nancy away from it as soon as she gets back to Horseshoe Bay. Normally, that’d be really frustrating, but the other mystery of the episode is really interesting too. Nick and Ace have been researching how Joshua got the rare poison, in hopes that it could lead to his whereabouts. Though it’s the same poison that serial killer Claire used, he never would have had access to it. Their only lead is that the refrigerator in the evidence locker was broken at one point, and the poison had to be temporarily moved. Nancy tracks down the work order for the refrigerator and finds that Karen’s the one who signed it.

Nancy, Ace, and Nick break into the evidence locker to see if the poison’s been tampered with. There, they find a full vial with a suspiciously new label. When Karen catches Nancy in the evidence locker, Nancy lays out all her cards. Karen swapped the poison with water. She can tell because the meniscus curves downward instead of upward. That’s… surprisingly not total bullshit. Well done, show. Karen tries to arrest Nancy before she can say anymore, but Ace drinks the vial, scaring his dad to death in the process. Having proven that the vial is a fake, Nancy questions Karen. It turns out Karen forgot to erase all video from Joshua’s garage. There’s one in particular where they can clearly see her telling Joshua that she gave him the poison for Ryan. She blamed Ryan for Lucy’s death, and was moved to act when she saw him horn in on George. Her heart’s in the right place, but accessory to murder is still a crime.

Alex Saxon as Ace, Tunji Kasim as Nick and Kennedy McMann as Nancy — Photo: Jeff Weddell/The CW

I’m glad that mystery turned out to be so much fun, because the one we started with just kind of fizzled out. We’ve already solved one of the two big mysteries of the season, and there are still six episodes to go. I guess the show had to pump the brakes on Lucy Sable’s murder, because the gang stops all detective work and performs a spirit contacting ritual instead. Because that’s what we tune into Nancy Drew to see. To the show’s credit, it’s a well-done, scary sequence that sets up more horror material for future episodes.

Lucy’s ghost has been showing Nancy images of teeth falling out and bones all episode. Nancy figures out she needs to find Lucy’s bones. Clearly, the only way to do that is to call on an ancient ocean spirit. They follow a ritual they find in an old book at the historical society involving a seaweed wreath and drops of blood in the water. It works. Lucy’s bones appear before them in the bay. Ace and Nick scoop them up into a cooler, but the ritual isn’t over yet. Nancy has to look at the water in a mirror to find out what the toll is. She looks in the mirror and sees Owen with blood dripping down his face. Suddenly, Owen can’t move. He sinks into the ocean and nobody can pull him up. It’s only when Nancy breaks the wreath that he can move freely.

Maddison Jaizani as Bess, Alex Saxon as Ace, Miles Gaston Villanueva as Owen, Kennedy McMann as Nancy, Tunji Kasim as Nick and Leah Lewis as George — Photo: Jeff Weddell/The CW

The problem the show just set up is obvious. An ocean spirit did them a favor and they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. Nancy still has the bones, but it looks like she’ll have to deal with another angry ghost. The rest of the episode plays up the relationship storylines because the show kind of forgot about them until now. George and Nick still have an awkward attraction as she nervously invites him to sleep on her couch. For her part, Nancy heads back to Owen’s place and the two finally have sex. Now, I’m less sure that he’ll turn out to be a murderer, but either way, he might not be long for this world. When Nancy returns home the next morning, she starts choking on something. She pukes up seawater into the sink, and then pulls a seaweed wreath out of her throat. Well, that’s an unsettling image to leave us with.

This week’s Nancy Drew had a little bit of everything, but the ghost stuff definitely wasn’t as good as it has been in the past. Maybe the gimmick is getting a little old at this point, but I prefer the ghosts when they pop out for brief scares or lead to Nancy finding clues herself. Here, the gang finds a convenient old ritual that just gives Nancy exactly what she needs. It feels like a cop out. It’s just a boring way to get the story to the next step. I’m hoping the pissed off ghost makes up for that. Nancy trying to solve Lucy’s murder and free her father while dealing with an angry spirit should hopefully make for a good episode next week.

Nancy Drew airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW

Previously on Nancy Drew:



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