I’ll admit that Nancy Drew Season 4 had my heart in its hands from the very beginning.
It could have crushed it, and it came close more than once.
And even though there were things I’d hoped to see that didn’t happen, Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 13 was a dramatic, intriguing, uplifting goodbye that left me smiling as Nancy turned off the lights.
Heck, the seven minutes before the intro had so many high-stakes moments and surprises that I had to catch my breath.
One of the best things about this finale was that everybody got a moment to shine.
We’ll start with the most shocking revelation.
Nancy’s past life wasn’t as Nashua’s wife, Lucia; it was as August Pritchard, a founder of Horseshoe Bay, who helped create the sin eaters.
She wasn’t Tristan’s soulmate. She was the person who cursed his soul.
Nancy: I wasn’t Nashua’s wife. I was August Pritchard. Our souls didn’t entangle because of love but because of vengeance.
Tristan: Your past life was the source of the evil that’s been destroying me.
By solving mysteries, Nancy has always tried to help people. To rescue those who were in danger and bring answers and closure to those who needed it. Her life’s mission has been to find justice.
So the irony of her soul being the one that tried to pervert justice was horrifying, especially to Nancy.
All I have ever done is try to protect this town, and now I was the one responsible for the darkness that haunts it.
Nancy
Can souls be evil? People are certainly capable of doing evil things, and August stealing children to create the sin eaters ranks right up there on the list.
But are those things unforgivable? Is there no way to come back from that, even in another life?
My past life, my soul, was evil.
Nancy
Perhaps that’s what’s driven Nancy her entire life. How many 12-year-olds go out and solve kidnapping cases? Nancy Drew is special.
But the impetus of her desire to solve mysteries may have stemmed from a place we never could have foreseen.
Kudos to the writers for keeping us guessing. The misdirection that Nancy’s soul once belonged to Lucia, Nashua’s wife, was plausible. It also gave Tristan hope that Nancy was truly his soulmate while crushing any hope Ace may have had for reconciliation.
And despite what Ace had said previously, his conversation with Nick showed he still held out some sliver of hope that he and Nancy could end up together in the future.
Ace: If they’re soulmates, that means Nancy and I were never going to work. Aside from the death curse and an unforgivable choice where she had my sin erased without asking me.
Nick: Unforgivable? That’s harsh. People make wrong choices in moments of duress, and yet, if they hold themself accountable, they can find a pathway forward.
Ace: You really believe that?
Nick: I have no choice. I’ve lived it.
As Nick pointed out, humans have the capability to learn and evolve. If one does believe in reincarnation, isn’t that the point? To hopefully learn from one’s mistakes and live in a higher state of consciousness and love?
August Pritchard’s sins were extreme, but it’s safe to say that his soul has most definitely evolved if it has become Nancy Drew.
All the little details in this story were enthralling, especially August having been buried at Dead Man’s Bluff, the same location where Lucy gave birth to Nancy, thus tying the storyline all the way back to Nancy Drew Season 1 Episode 16.
Thankfully, all of this angst brought Nancy and Ace back together.
Due to the two being linked by a death curse, Ace was the one person who could find Nancy in the mystical realm. I won’t go so far as to thank Temperance for that, but I suppose there is always a small upside, even to a death curse.
That way, Ace was able to witness Nancy’s shock and misery firsthand.
Nancy: What if August’s inhumanity is still in me somewhere because I called to the sin eater that he created?
Ace: Your decision to call the sin eater on my behalf was an act of love.
Nancy: You said it was unforgivable.
Ace: Yeah, but now I know it’s not because I forgive you. Nancy, with everything I have, I forgive you.
Knowing that he and Nancy only had this life made Ace brave. He traveled to Alice’s memorial to try to heal from letting her die in order to save his father. He decided to apply to pre-med programs to become a medical examiner.
And he decided to take the leap and see if the death curse had been eradicated if Nancy was willing to take that leap with him. Because even Temperance likely couldn’t have predicted that Nancy would have to extract her soul from a sin eater.
Ace: Will you solve this part of the mystery with me?
Nancy: Yes. Always. Forever.
When Ace found Nancy, she was packing up Nancy Drew Investigations and heading off to find all of the places where August had spread the sin eaters and put an end to it. I’m not sure I believe in destiny, but that sounds pretty close to it, especially for Nancy Drew.
Despite possibly heading off in different directions, Nancy was eager to figure out if the death curse was gone.
Nancy: Are you scared?
Ace: Are you?
Nancy: Yeah, but I never let that stop me from finding the truth, so kiss me.
Elsewhere, George didn’t let supernatural catastrophes ruin her chances to follow her dream of being a lawyer.
The best part was watching George stand up for herself.
There was a time when George wouldn’t have felt worthy to get into a law college. She didn’t even begin to realize that she was worth more than being someone’s dirty little secret until Nancy Drew Season 1 Episode 18.
But George has grown up, and she’ll never let anyone make her feel that way again.
Maryn: I’m looking for a Dean’s list or…
George: Okay, Maryn, stop looking. You got me. I don’t have a 4.2 GPA. I don’t row crew, and no, I did not intern at the Supreme Court. Why? Because I work 12-hour shifts here every day, followed by four-hour pre-law lectures and two-hour study sessions…
Maryn: Miss Fan, I didn’t mean…
George: All while being mentored by the county’s best lawyer and managing town-wide emergencies. If that’s not enough for your school, then your school is not enough for me.
Bess was impressive in so many ways in this final installment.
Way back during Nancy Drew Season 2 Episode 8, Bess was desolate when Aunt Diana disowned her as a Martin.
But Bess hasn’t needed a rich family to make her feel deserving in a long time. Being the Keeper of the Historical Society has given her purpose and confidence. She’s found love with Addy, someone who believes in and stands by Bess.
And Bess would literally lay down her life for her friends. We saw that as she remained inside the burning building, unwilling to leave Nancy and Ace until they had emerged from the mystical realm.
Nick has had such a journey in Horseshoe Bay. He’s gone from being Nancy’s boy toy to one of her best friends.
Back during Nancy Drew Season 1 Episode 3, we found out how one horrible event almost ruined Nick’s life.
But Nick found friends and a new life in Horseshoe Bay. He’s found forgiveness and learned how to forgive himself. And he’s paid back the town and the people in it over and over again.
The intense connection Nick felt toward Horseshoe Bay was on full display as he tried to run back into the Historical Society as it burned to the ground.
Thankfully, his friends were there to make sure he knew he didn’t have to give his life to be worthy of what he found there with the following Nancy Drew quote.
Bess: You don’t owe this town anymore.
Nick: I let us all down.
Ace: You didn’t.
George: What you did mattered.
Nick: What we did mattered.
Elsewhere, Nancy’s two dads were figuring out what comes next in their lives.
Carson and Jean are having a baby, even if Carson is naturally anxious about it, and Nancy gives him her blessing.
Carson: I’ll try not to mess things up the second time around.
Nancy: You won’t, and you didn’t. Your love has been the one constant in my life. Thank you.
It was difficult to tell where Ryan and Red were headed. He wants to keep Horseshoe Bay as a home base, while she needs the adventure that comes with travel.
Can they work that out together, or will it lead to them going their separate ways? I can’t say there’s a clear answer to that as the series ends.
Nick: Enough already. Your anxieties are dictating what you steal. Carson, you’re worried about having a baby.
Carson: I don’t see it. (While holding a baby car seat.)
Ryan: Red, you say you want to settle down here, but obviously you don’t.
Red: Based on what?
Jade: Six stolen suitcases, a passport holder, and nine neck pillows.
There were things I’d hoped to see as Nancy Drew ended that didn’t occur.
I still think Nick and George could have made a great long-term couple, but I’ve grown to accept that they are headed in different directions.
Nick and Jade seem solid, so I’m okay with them headed off together to start a new life in Atlanta, but I feel no connection at all to George and Cameron. I’m just thrilled that George is following her dream.
And I so wish we could have had a scene with Ace’s parents learning he was going pre-med to become a medical examiner. I can just imagine how proud they would have been. Unfortunately, now I’ll have to.
But watching the Drew Crew come together at The Claw one last time was the perfect way to end the series. Nancy’s words about what real soulmates are left me smiling.
My Dad once told me it’s possible to live a good life even without a soulmate. He was half right. It is. But now I know that we choose soulmates ourselves. Fate leaves that up to us. And like he also said, maybe you get more than one. I know that I have. I got four.
Nancy
And with Nancy shutting the lights off at The Claw one last time, it’s done.
What did you think, TV Fanatics?
Are you sad because it’s over but happy with the way it ended?
Was there more you wanted to see?
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C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.