S03.E03: The Testimony of the Executed Man

[Bort]

On the trail of the Frozen Hearts Killer, Nancy and her friends follow a surprising lead from a podcaster at an annual convention for amateur sleuths – where they also find themselves unraveling ghostly clues about a homicide from the 1950s.

Airdate: Friday, 22 Oct 2021

[Cheetara1986]

Another fantastic episode. And i really appreciate how meta they went with the detective con atmosphere.

- I love that we got more background on Ace's family through the possession. Learning about has grandfather and seeing how Ace could identify everything was such a perfect tie in with Joe. I also appreciate that they show how not all ghosts are evil. Also, that ending scene with Joe and the Grandma was so sweet and definitely feels like foreshadowing for Nancy and Ace.

- George being the one to have a fanbase and people think Nancy is the plucking sidekick is perfection. The writers could have easily made fun of the whole convention and fans writing fanfiction, but it felt like a love letter. Also, i love how we have gotten so much George and the fan sisters content.

- Bess and Addie...get it girl. Enemies to Lovers real quick. Though.what was that letter they panned to when Bess and Addie were making out?

- Nancy/Ace with them lingering looks and necessary but unnecessary touching is always great. Plus, now you have George seeing it which is interesting. I always thought Bess would be the one to push Nancy and Ace together, but i totally can see it being George now.

- The frozen Hearts Killings has to be connected to The Road Back? Right?

Edited October 23, 2021 by Cheetara1986

[Just Here]

The ghost plot in this episode seems to be loosely based on the classic folk/country song, "Long Black Veil" (lyrics via Google), which was originated by Lefty Frizzell in 1959 and has been covered by many artists, including Johnny Cash (YouTube). Though, in the song's version, the relationship was extramarital ("For I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife") and the murder occurred in a public place ("someone killed 'neath the town hall light"). 

For more background on the writing of the song, see this American Songwriter article:

Quote

“Long Black Veil” was largely the brainchild of Nashville legend Danny Dill, who was attempting to write a folk song that would last for the ages. He was partially inspired by a newspaper story of a priest in New Jersey who was killed under a streetlight with witnesses watching. For the chorus, Dill drew from the song “God Walks These Hills With Me.”

Perhaps most fascinating of all, Dill borrowed elements of the urban legend surrounding the grave of actor Rudolph Valentino. It seems that each year following the death of the legendary Italian screen star, a woman wearing a long black veil would lay a single red rose on the grave, drawing the attention of the press in the process. (The majority of the evidence points to the Valentino phenomenon having originated as a publicity stunt, which was then carried on in subsequent years by copycats.)

 

 

13 hours ago, Cheetara1986 said:

what was that letter they panned to when Bess and Addie were making out?

Looks like notes of some sorts.  There wasn't a proper close-up, so the writing is hard to read.  Here's a screenshot with enhanced colors and an adjusted perspective. (The original cropped screenshot is on the right.)

 

 

Hope to see "Fan Fans" visiting Horseshoe Bay and Ted's "Fan"-fiction business in future episodes.  The latter could be a fun meta plot vehicle, like "Wormhole X-Treme!" in Stargate: SG-1.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Just Here
added article link and quote

[thuganomics85]

Surprised that the Frozen Heart Killer has already been caught, but judging from his final line, it certainly sounds like he is only just a small part in whatever is in store for Nancy and the Drew Crew this season.  Can't wait to see how this all plays out!

While I kind of suspected how the ghost story was going to turn out in the end, it was still a good "case of the week" with some pretty successful jump scares, fun one-liners (especially George's reaction to almost everything.  She is so over this haunting crap!), and a nice, bittersweet ending.  Plus a lot of good moments for Ace/Alex Saxon when he was kind of getting infected or whatever was going on near the end.

Ted is using her sister's story to make her famous and even sell some merchandise was amusing: especially since it also ended with Nancy being considered the "plucky sidekick" for the internet fanbase!  And judging from George's reaction to the money she is making, it is apparently very profitable.  Ted is going places!

Loved Nick's "Oh, of course that is what would happen!" reaction to finding out that Nancy, Ace, and George were currently trapped in a warehouse with a ghost.  You really can't surprise the Drew Crew anymore.

Looks like Bess's boring coffee date might end up being more than just that going forward!

Nancy's dads were off screen this go around.  I'm guessing it was mainly Carson having to continue to show Ryan how to live in the real world and learn how to do things like filing taxes or folding laundry.  The possibilities are endless!

[quarks]

Despite a comparatively predictable mystery (as soon as Grandma started having additional lines I was, how to put this, Suspicious), and some unusually questionable location/set dressing for this show, which usually does a much better job of hiding the budget issues, and missing Nancy's Two Dads, solid episode.

1. Ace, it's not that I don't get that boxes filled with the possessions of potential serial killers aren't fascinating, but KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD.

2. I love that George starts out pointing out that hey, lingering possession sucks, and continues by pointing out that just maybe opening mysterious boxes, not the best idea, and after Nancy ignores all this is like YAY SOVIET WATCH and then five minutes later is all I KNEW IT. 

3. Even more entertaining was George's whole reaction to Fan Fan. You go, Ted, you go. I also loved that the show treated this affectionately, and that Nancy's reaction to finding out that George was the main detective and Nancy just the sidekick was a big, ok, whatever.

4. Not quite sure why Detective Con wasn't getting held at a standard hotel, other than the production apparently not having the money to shell out to film on location at a hotel. Or maybe they ran into some Covid issues.

5. I know I'm supposed to be focusing on Nancy and Ace, but can I just say I am loving the friendship between Ace and Bess?

6. Also love Nick's ongoing reactions of "Ok, I'm just going to roll with this," to everything.

7. And getting to learn a little bit more about Ace's background. It's impressive, given that we still don't have a last name.  (Possibly January, once the copyright/trademark expires on the Hardy Boys?)

8. And that although this episode certainly stood on its own, we got a lot of hints of future stuff - the serial killer plotline isn't over; something is up with Bess's notes and Coffee Girl, and oh, yes, more Bobbsey stuff is definitely on its way. 

 

 

[Cheetara1986]

 I definitely wish other showrunners could see how to write a male/female friendship without any romantic undertones at all, and how to incorporate their cast where it doesnt feel like one character is left out. Everyone has a distinct voice and they dont overlap one another.

Also I read that the detective con was held around the same time a real fan convention was going on so they decided to film episode 3 first of the season.

[Alice Mudgarden]

On 10/23/2021 at 6:38 AM, Cheetara1986 said:

The Road Back

I knew "The Dark Road" was wrong, but I have *not* been able to think of the real name of that weirdo organization to save my life.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Alice Mudgarden

[Lady Calypso]

And this season continues to impress. Why does it impress? Because they're really mixing up the different pairings and it's wonderful. Nancy/Ace/George getting their own mini side adventure before going to the convention? That's fun. Just like Bess/Nick getting to interact was fantastic. The show hasn't mixed up the interactions as much in the other two seasons (it's usually been the standard Bess/George, Bess/George/Nancy, Nancy/Ace, George/Nick, Ace/Bess), which is why I'm thoroughly enjoying this season. It keeps getting better and better. Having the main five really mix up their interactions is working. It's showing us that these five are a true group if they can interact with each other in various ways. 

I really liked how Ace was connected to the ghost of the week. I loved learning a little more about his family history, and I continue to love the Bess/Ace friendship. 

The Fan sisters get more screentime again! Wonderful! And I love that George's fanclub was because of her sister. It makes perfect sense and I love how that tied it all together. 

Bess and Addy? Kind of predictable with the Haters-to-Lovers trope, BUT I always appreciate an Indigenous actress playing an Indigenous character. And the show has put in a lot of hard work to get me to trust that they know what they're doing with their writing.

I also appreciate that this episode was just about the young adults. It led to all five of them getting great screentime without Temperance, or Nancy's two Dads or any detectives or cops. It really stuck to the Core Five.

Plus, now we have a new set with Nick's new youth centre! And it's so bright and colourful! 

It was a nice, quieter episode, but I enjoyed it.

[AnimeMania]

I didn't like it, it just seemed cheap, catching the serial killer seemed too easy, and the ghost murder mystery pretty much solved itself. I would have preferred if the convention was like every other convention, held in a hotel. It might have been funny if the Drew Crew was in the audience of the True Crime Podcasters presentations and they were solving all the crimes just by listening to the evidence that the Podcasters were presenting. They could have each of the Drew Crew solve a case that has left the Podcasters stumped for a solution, showing just how much better at solving crimes the Drew Crew is compared to average people. 

[tennisgurl]

Another great episode, although I missed Nancy's Two Days. I guess Carson was too busy teaching Ryan how to vacuum or something to get involved in this weeks hijinks. The ghost was a cool case of the week, with a mystery as well as some actually creepy bits, even though I guessed what was actually going on pretty quickly. Poor ghost was just trying to look after his girlfriend from beyond the grave, its nice that they managed to give him some peace and the grandma some closure. 

I really liked the connection Ace had with the ghost and that we got to learn a bit more about his family, one day we might even get to learn his last name! It also led to some of those sweet longing looks and almost touches between him and Nancy, and some nice scenes with him and Bess, who are one of my favorite friendships on the show. 

I continue to really like them changing up the pairings a lot this season, with George/Ace/Nancy getting their own adventure and Bess and Nick, who don't interact a whole lot one on one, getting some time together. Its really a credit to the writing and acting that every character combination works so well, they all have such great chemistry and the characters are so likable and well realized, that any combination is gold. 

Detective Con was awesome, especially George's whole Fan army. Of course it was her sister writing the stories of girl detective George and plucky sidekick Nancy, I love that the Fan sisters are getting more screen time this season.

Nicks response to "Nancy George and Ace are locked in an abandoned factory with a ghost" was hilarious. Like "yeah, that about sounds right." We also a new love interest for Bess, who might be interested in both coffee AND a snack after! I am glad that they skipped quickly from the enemies to lovers trope and had them get to the loving right away, those can get old fast. 

I am surprised that the Frozen Heart Killer has been caught so quickly, but it looks like he is just a cog in the machine for the bigger conspiracy that showed up last season.

[Cheetara1986]

I did notice that all of the victims of the Frozen Hearts Killer have been people that have given the Hudsons/Nancy a hard time. The guy in the maze was stalking the Hudsons, the jock was messing with Nancy at The Claw, and then the jerk towards Nancy this episode.

 

[bettername2come]

This was a good one. I like how each Fan girl is getting focus in these episodes. I loved the Fan fans plot. I had no idea who it was but the reveal made perfect sense, minus the fact that it seems the Nancy Drew fan groups would get into some kind of fan war with her portrayal as a plucky sidekick. I liked how excited Nick was by this whole concept. I love Bess's protectiveness of Ace. I think it's going to go horribly wrong, but I appreciate it. And I'd like ghosts to stop possessing Ace. I know George has had it worse in this regard, but the actor got way better material out of it, so it feels like a better trade. The reveal about Joe Kesler made sense. I feel like the coffee girl is going to turn out to be evil, and I thought it was ridiculous for Bess to just tell her all about the supernatural stuff she did today.

On 10/24/2021 at 1:34 PM, quarks said:

7. And getting to learn a little bit more about Ace's background. It's impressive, given that we still don't have a last name.  (Possibly January, once the copyright/trademark expires on the Hardy Boys?)

This makes me so happy. I thought copyright was 100 years and that this would never be a reveal with the Hulu series going on at the same time, but this makes perfect sense. 

[quarks]

On 12/13/2022 at 11:24 PM, bettername2come said:

This makes me so happy. I thought copyright was 100 years and that this would never be a reveal with the Hulu series going on at the same time, but this makes perfect sense. 

Disney's working on making it 100 years, but as of right now, it's 95 years for works produced/printed prior to 1978:

https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf

The Hardy Boys debuted in 1927, so although most of the Hardy Boys texts are still under copyright and will be for some time, the Hardy Boys themselves will enter the public domain in 2023. Whether or not this show will do anything with that is another question entirely.