S01.E08: The Path of Shadows

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Nancy and the Drew Crew discover that the car wreck that left one of their own at death's door was no accident. While simultaneously hoping to solve the crime, the crew investigates the physical evidence of sabotage to the car and take a supernatural detour into the metaphysical world.

Promo:

Original air date: 12/4/19

Edited November 29, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Nancy and the Drew Crew discover that the car wreck that left one of their own at death's door was no accident. While simultaneously hoping to solve the crime, the crew investigates the physical evidence of sabotage to the car and take a supernatural detour into the metaphysical world.

air date: December 4, 2019

Way to spoiler promo blurb. That is the perfect description of this TV series. Nancy Drew, were you expecting logical deductive reasoning? Instead, take a supernatural detour into the metaphysical world.

[Cranberry]

This show is ridiculous. Does everyone believe in ghosts at this point? Carson hasn't seen any ghosts and has no reason to believe that Nancy and her friends aren't just crazy. As I watched that... ritual or whatever it was they were doing, I looked for anything that would show Carson they were right about this spirit world stuff, and there wasn't anything concrete that would have turned me into a believer.

I loved that scene where the crew spilled all their recent activities to McGinnis, though. It was a perfect summary of episode 1-7's insanity.

This week it was Lisbeth's turn to be a suspect, and now we've gotten that out of the way... I guess. She didn't show them any proof she's actually a cop. The double agent stuff where she's sneaking around with Bess (and punching Nancy!) makes her more interesting, though. I was a little surprised she stayed with Bess after Bess flat-out accused her of attempted murder, but I guess they haven't been together long enough for a lack of trust to really hurt her feelings. They won't have to keep secrets now, anyway.

It's funny, I always wanted Riverdale to stop hinting around at supernatural stuff and just go for it, but now that a similarly-toned show is doing it, I kind of wish this was all a big plot involving technology and trickery instead.

[Camera One]

Yeah, this episode was borderline too ridiculous for me.  Hmm... I wonder how Nancy would have solved the Case of the Tampered Car without help from Ace's spirit disconnected from his body whose clue would have been meaningless without Lisbeth's timely revelation that there was a mole at the police station?  

Nancy and her father's argument did not need added drama about whether George would be forever lost in the spirit world.  I thought it was a big no no to break the spirit circle, but then Nancy and her dad just went outside to talk.  Huh?  

I actually did like some of the scenes with Nancy and Carson, but I don't understand his explanation about taking the bloody dress.  The Hudsons told him to look for Lucy, so he took the dress because he was afraid if the Hudson's knew he saw the site of the crime, they would target him and Nancy's mother?  His explanation for stealing the tiara from the lab to protect Nancy didn't make much sense either.  It wasn't like the Hudson's knew Nancy had that evidence, so he could have waited for the results first.  This always-on-edge Nancy should have been angry about that.  So did Lucy's ghost write all over the walls?  

I did like Ned and Bess working together.  We should have seen an episode of Bess investigating Lisbeth's social media before the reveal in this one.  This show would benefit from some setup.  

And it was also nice to see Nancy care about her friends, except for her abrupt accusations towards Lisabeth in the hospital at the beginning.

So Chief McGinnis cared about Ace so much he blackmailed him.  Great father figure.

George's "Of course it's me" when she ended up in the spirit world was amusing.

The Lisabeth slapping Nancy to stay on the Hudson payroll bit was so unnecessary.  If she was a police officer, why would she be risking her position by dating Bess in the open in the first place.  And why would the Hudson's care that she talked with a random waitress at a diner a few times?  

[thuganomics85]

For some reason, I loved that right out Nancy asked him about murdering Lucy, Carson still took the time to not only grab his plate when he left the table, but even Nancy's as well.  Sure, his own daughter just accused him of being a murderer point blank, but that's no excuse to slack off on proper table etiquette!  

So, Ace is not dead, but in a coma and his spirit is just wandering around.  Luckily for them, Chief McGinnis can apparently see spirits too (at this rate, the town folks who believe in supernatural beings might outrank those who don't), so they do a spirit circle to save him.  Or, to be more accurate, George is the lucky person to go into the spirit world and dodge mist and zombies!  She was probably the best choice from an entertainment perspective, but I wonder if being possessed earlier made it easier for her to access the spirit world compared to the other three.

Lisabeth is apparently an undercover state officer embedded with the Hudsons, and is now helping the team.  Or is she?!

Enjoyed the Nick/Bess duo.

Where in the hell did Karen/Carson's girlfriend go off to?

Who took Ted?!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I totally cracked up when McGinnis stormed into the diner to demand what the kids had been doing and they just immediately confessed. My favorite part was when Bess started with dead Lucy and everyone groaned.

But I guess this is the episode where people just start spilling secrets for no apparent reason. I couldn't believe that McGinnis told Nancy that Ace was working for him and why just because she walked into his office. Hell, even before that, I was surprised that he shared so much information about the car crash with her. Where did all this honesty come from?

Is the show shilling for Old Navy now?

So Lucy's bloody dress was just hanging off the cliff? Does that mean someone attacked her enough to make her bleed, killed her, stripped the dress off her, and then threw it off the cliff, knowing that it would be found eventually? That's not a very smart murderer.

My issue with Nancy/Ace figuring out that Rawley was the dirty cop is that I thought the police were like the military - don't they issue you shoes along with your uniform? Or have requirements about which shoes you are allowed to wear? I remember in my dance classes, we were allowed to wear whatever ballet or jazz shoes we wanted (we could choose the brand and the model), but they all look so similar that we always wrote our names on them because otherwise it was nearly impossibly to figure out which shoes belonged to which dancer. I just assumed the police either supplied shoes to their officers or had a list of acceptable shoes you could buy which would mean there were a lot of people with the same shoes in the building.

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

For some reason, I loved that right out Nancy asked him about murdering Lucy, Carson still took the time to not only grab his plate when he left the table, but even Nancy's as well.  Sure, his own daughter just accused him of being a murderer point blank, but that's no excuse to slack off on proper table etiquette!  

That cracked me up too. I read it as "I know Nancy isn't going to help clean up so I might as well multitask and take these dishes into the kitchen while my daughter accuses me of something new."

[bettername2come]

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Where in the hell did Karen/Carson's girlfriend go off to?

Shhh. I don't want to remind them she exists. I didn't miss her presence and am now realizing I don't want her back. 

I'm kind of amused they're just going for the supernatural stuff wholeheartedly at this point and contacting the spirit world through everyone. I'm curious to learn more about Nancy's past as a girl detective. I want to see her actually doing stuff! And if this show gets a future season I want them to have to solve a crime without supernatural elements involved.

Yeah, the shoe thing bugged, although I called the young officer we had actually talked to as the dirty cop. There were really only three choices. Seriously, though, why would his boots be that different?

Teddy! I have to say I really like George's relationship with her sisters so that was a good cliffhanger for me. 

[kirkola]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I totally cracked up when McGinnis stormed into the diner to demand what the kids had been doing and they just immediately confessed. My favorite part was when Bess started with dead Lucy and everyone groaned.

But I guess this is the episode where people just start spilling secrets for no apparent reason. I couldn't believe that McGinnis told Nancy that Ace was working for him and why just because she walked into his office. Hell, even before that, I was surprised that he shared so much information about the car crash with her. Where did all this honesty come from?

Is the show shilling for Old Navy now?

So Lucy's bloody dress was just hanging off the cliff? Does that mean someone attacked her enough to make her bleed, killed her, stripped the dress off her, and then threw it off the cliff, knowing that it would be found eventually? That's not a very smart murderer.

My issue with Nancy/Ace figuring out that Rawley was the dirty cop is that I thought the police were like the military - don't they issue you shoes along with your uniform? Or have requirements about which shoes you are allowed to wear? I remember in my dance classes, we were allowed to wear whatever ballet or jazz shoes we wanted (we could choose the brand and the model), but they all look so similar that we always wrote our names on them because otherwise it was nearly impossibly to figure out which shoes belonged to which dancer. I just assumed the police either supplied shoes to their officers or had a list of acceptable shoes you could buy which would mean there were a lot of people with the same shoes in the building.

That cracked me up too. I read it as "I know Nancy isn't going to help clean up so I might as well multitask and take these dishes into the kitchen while my daughter accuses me of something new."

With regard to McGinnis, last episode, he gave up the tough guy act when he decided he wasn't getting anywhere conventionally.  He is willing to share with Nancy if it catches him a killer.

Even if the cops don't have specific shoes issued with the uniform, they most certainly all wear the same kind.  Because as a rookie, you would learn from the more seasoned officers what is most comfortable/safe to wear.  On the other hand, it was clear it was the young cop.  We've really only met him, McGinnis, and Carson's detective girlfriend.

As for Carson Drew, I imagine it was more of a "Nancy is mad at me, must be Wednesday."  Also, I don't think he has still told her everything. He seemed to give her just as much story as would quiet her down, while still not exactly sounding truthful. 

[jmonique]

I'm really starting to loathe Lucy. If she weren't dead, I'd wanna kill her.

It'd be nice if someone actually did a show about Nancy Drew, Girl Detective. I was giving this show leeway, but Adam Beach's character going full Zelda Rubenstein ("Come into the light!") just locked it down for me. This is just a show that ripped off the character names from my favorite series when I was a kid. 

So did they seriously leave that child alone in an office while the restaurant was staffed by God only knows who, considering Ace is in the hospital, Bess was questioning her girlfriend and Nancy and George were undergoing a seance?

(This post not brought to you by Old Navy Rock Star Jeans. Although I do like them.)

Edited December 5, 2019 by jmonique

[AnimeMania]

12 hours ago, Cranberry said:

This week it was Lisbeth's turn to be a suspect, and now we've gotten that out of the way... I guess. She didn't show them any proof she's actually a cop.

Lisbeth proved she was a police officer by giving them the financial records that the police had on the Hudsons, that they compared to what Tiffany collected.

If the Police are like the Post Office, they get a credit card (Clothing Allowance) that can only be used at certain stores and then only for specific items within that store. Only authorized jackets, shoes, shirts, socks, pants, and belts may be purchased. As long as they are authorized, the shoes can be in lots different styles.

[tennisgurl]

Poor Ace, I hope that he gets out of his coma soon, but at least he made it out of the spirit world and back into his body so that he can wake up eventually thanks to his friends performing a mystery seance and leaning more about how to deal with the other couple of ghosts running around, which is the kind of sentence that this show allows me to type! 

I loved the expression on McGinniss face while he heard the recap of the whole season, and how ridiculous it all sounded, and Beth immediately breaking and telling him the truth about Dead Lucy, while everyone else groaned. And of course McGinnis totally believes in ghosts too, because who doesent around here?! They have more ghosts than actually living people at this point!

Oh George, obviously its going to be her! Where is Ted?! Yeah, this is why you dont use salt to babysit! 

Subtlety is clearly not Nancy's thing, Carson isnt wrong, she does have a real habit of accusing her friends and family of murder and other crimes at the drop of the hat, usually without a whole lot of real evidence. I guess her mom is lucky that she died, or she would be next on the suspect list! Unless her ghost is hanging around, which is always a possibility! I dont know if it was how the actress playing it or something, but Nancy almost seemed happy/excited when she started really laying on Carson, like she was excited to have something on him that would really justify for pissed she always is at him. And Carson isnt even that surprised, like he was thinking "Well that was inevitable. I guess tomorrow I can look forward to Nancy blaming me for the Hindenburg disaster. Better get a head start on the dishes". 

It was nice to see Nancy doing a bit more detecting this time (with some help from the spirit world) and show more care for her friends, other than her yelling at Lizbeth while Beth is clearly still on the verge of tears. But it turns out, Lizbeth is a cop! Not sure how professional it is for her to start dating someone while undercover, but we will see how it goes. 

[Camera One]

Lisabeth's hair is short, so she looks the part of George Fayne.  What if they had her take on the George Fayne identity when the current George dies as per prophesy?  

[ketose]

Did anyone notice Carson took the wolf figure?

Nancy Drew is real badass when she's spoon-fed all the clues. Apparently, she also can (and had to) take a punch.

[peachmangosteen]

Fucking hell, I love this stupid ass show so much! This episode was wall-to-wall ridiculous and I enjoyed the hell outta it.

I too loved Carson taking the dishes with him when he stormed off. 

I finally like McGinnis in this ep and I want him to be part of the team now. 

I didn't expect Lisbeth to be a cop. I still can't warm to her though. I have liked that actress a lot in the other things I've seen her in but she just doesn't work for me in this role. And honestly her and Bess look like sisters to me, which is creeping me out.

On 12/7/2019 at 10:09 PM, ketose said:

Did anyone notice Carson took the wolf figure?

I did not. I don't trust Carson at all.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I did watch this episode last week and I did enjoy it, for the most part. I guess Alex Saxon wasn't available to be part of an episode centered around his spirit...but in a way, that made it a little more spooky to never have seen him. Well, besides the fact that it was very blatantly obvious that he wasn't in the episode.

Carson vs Nancy is great. I agree that Carson has more to his story, but he probably didn't kill anybody. That doesn't mean that he didn't witness Lucy's murder, though. It sounds like he COULD actually know who killed her and is keeping quiet for reasons. Maybe it's his new girlfriend, whose name I can't remember because she hasn't really been important. 

Lisbeth is a cop which honestly doesn't surprise me. Of course, Lisbeth is a lot older and is sleeping with an 18 year old so....great. I don't see Lisbeth/Bess working out at all. Lisbeth is probably going to get distracted with her new relationship.

McGinnis...actually does something useful? Ok, I do love that he's all in on the supernatural stuff and was super helpful with the gang this week. This is the type of help I want for Nancy; not from some spirits, but from actual people who are knowledgeable in the supernatural. 

Nancy DOES need to figure out how to be more subtle in her sleuthing, or else she will continue to get in trouble. I did like how she busted the new cop as the person who almost killed Ace and Laura, though. She didn't even look down at his shoes before she figured it out, but I can see that being the case once George told her what kind of shoes that Ace saw at the accident and Nancy's the type to just notice everything. She pays attention, so she probably noted the shoes on young new cop at an earlier point.

The cliffhanger was great because I genuinely care about George's family.

[akg]

(I'm enjoying a rewatch and going through the threads here I missed originally. I'm trying not to post any spoilers for anyone watching for the first time though)

  

On 12/5/2019 at 1:21 AM, Cranberry said:

Carson hasn't seen any ghosts and has no reason to believe that Nancy and her friends aren't just crazy

I felt like he was just humoring them. And he probably appreciated the subject change, even if the new topic was ridiculous. I can't remember when he eventually gets proof of the supernatural.

On 12/5/2019 at 1:47 AM, Camera One said:

but I don't understand his explanation about taking the bloody dress.

I still don't totally understand why Lucy wasn't wearing the dress when she went over the cliff (even looking back now that the mystery has been solved).

On 12/5/2019 at 7:27 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

My issue with Nancy/Ace figuring out that Rawley was the dirty cop is that I thought the police were like the military - don't they issue you shoes along with your uniform?

My understanding was that they identified Rawley from comparing Lisbeth and Nick's financial records to see who had been paid off and the boots were a bonus. Rawley's boots did stand out to me because of the red laces but George only mentions the brass eyelets which don't seem to be that unusual. Things ended up a bit muddled though so I'm not sure what they knew when.

On 12/5/2019 at 7:59 AM, bettername2come said:

I have to say I really like George's relationship with her sisters

I do too. And I loved how she treated tiny Ace in this episode. You can tell she has a lot of experience looking after kids.

On 12/5/2019 at 1:33 PM, jmonique said:

So did they seriously leave that child alone in an office while the restaurant was staffed by God only knows who

George is the manager so would know (and hopefully trust) all of her employees. It's not great they left Ted alone but I get the impression that happens in that family more than George would like. And the other choice was home alone.

On 12/11/2019 at 12:58 PM, Lady Calypso said:

Lisbeth is a lot older and is sleeping with an 18 year old so....great

Do we actually know how old Bess is? Nancy and George were at school together and just graduated so are probably 18-19 but I don't think we have clear ages for anyone else.