S03.E13: The Ransom of the Forsaken Soul

[AnimeMania]

SEASON FINALE

In the season finale, the fate of Horseshoe Bay rests in the hands of the Drew Crew (Kennedy McMann, Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, Tunji Kasim, Alex Saxon), who must find a way to defeat their most powerful nemesis yet. Lives and hearts are in supernatural jeopardy – and a star-crossed choice will change everything, forever.

Original Airdate 1/28/2022   (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET)    The CW

[SonofaBiscuit]

Wow, my CW was super flakey tonight, so thanks for that! Missed a good chunk of the Ace/Nancy stuff towards the end.

Oh yay, half an episode wasted showing us stuff that didn’t actually happen. And now a curse to keep Nancy and Ace apart. Fuck you, show.

Oh, and the tarot card prophecies thing was stupid, considering the show had to do that little recap at the end explaining which one fit which character.

Edited January 29, 2022 by SonofaBiscuit

[Lady Calypso]

I'm not gonna lie, this finale was...not really good at all. Not only did we have to suffer through 40 minutes of a fake-out (which was predictable from the moment they stopped Temperance from completing her plan 10 minutes in...either that, or when they had Ryan literally die off screen and time jumped a month ahead), but we have to watch tired tropes play out. 

We've seen the whole "main couple can't get together for reasons, and they ALSO suddenly lost the ability to communicate this to each other!" trope play out in various ways before. It's just exhausting to see someone utterly incapable of just saying what the hell is going on. Nancy clearly told Carson, so the curse doesn't have a "you can't tell anyone ever" clause to it, so why could she NOT go to Bess immediately after it happened and say "hey, Temperance put a curse on Ace. Here's the logistics. Please figure out how to stop it, thanks." Or go tell Ace "hey, you have a curse put on you where you'll die under specific circumstances. I can't tell you what circumstances yet, in case the curse accidentally comes true, but that's why I'm avoiding you. Ok, bye." 

It's just so frustrating because we know they'll break the curse, but now we have to jump through obstacles and trudge our way through secrets and lies all throughout season 4 before we get to that point. Bess has broken curses before. This one is no different.

And, again, they literally glossed through Ryan's death in Nancy's hallucination. That made it obvious it wasn't real, because even though I know they could kill Ryan in a heartbeat, no way would they do it so early in an episode and have nobody really talk about it afterward. And then Temperance made the whole hallucination about Ace instead of also about how Ryan also freaking died. I know Nancy still saved him when she got out of the hallucination, but still (that being said, the fake death was actually kind of a nice scene, where Nancy called Ryan "Dad"). 

And, of course, the episode had to also throw in the prophecy part because they forgot to go back to it earlier. And we needed visuals to accompany each prophecy being read out in voiceover. 

Overall, a pretty meh finale, not up to Nancy Drew's usual standards; all of ND's finales (including the not supposed to be finale-finale, and the season 2 episode that was actually supposed to be the finale) were great, and this one was just...meh. 

The only thing that interested me was Ryan's deal with that couple. Not even the walking dead twist (or someone stole the corpses, whatever) interested me enough to be excited for season 4. I mean, I'm hoping season 4 is better than this season has been (assuming the show gets renewed) but they really need to step it up and go back to the show that didn't rely on very, very tired tropes and predictable twists. This show used to surprise me. 

[jewel21]

I honestly hated every moment of the finale. Super happy Ryan lived though. Other than that, meh. 

[thuganomics85]

Yeah.... I don't know what happened there.  Scratch that: I still think a lot of this is because some stuff behind the scenes went down (probably thanks to COVID/not getting the backorder for more episodes), because a lot of the problems I had here were similar to the ones that I had for a lot of the back half of this season.  Stuff feeling rushed and underdeveloped, characters suddenly not acting inline with how they normally act and making decisions out of character, and just the general sense that almost everyone was flying by the seat of their pants here (at least behind the camera: the actors did a lot of heavy lifting here and thankfully mainly delivered.)  I guess it could have been worse, but it was still a general mess.

This was highlighted by how they wrap up the Temperance arc for sure.  First, we don't even get to see Ace reveal to everyone that he was the final potential victim, which really cut back on what could have been a good dramatic reveal for everyone (especially pertaining to Nancy/Ace), and we just dive right into the Drew Crew in the mist of a plan to use Nancy's blood to immobilize Temperance, use the soul splitter to get the last part of Charity's soul out of Ace, and actually put it in Temperance herself so that the Copperhead would kill her instead.  But of course it all backfired because Temperance is one of those villains that always seems to be a step ahead of them and they basically just gave her everything she needed to complete her curse.

Thankfully, Ryan was randomly working on a "Plan B" this entire time where he heard of some kind of shady couple (one of them played by Sharon Taylor which is cool!) had a magical hatchet that could kill Temperance and was able to get it in time for Nancy to save the day.  But wait!  Turns out that she didn't at first because Temperance somehow put a hallucination trap in her that froze time (?) and made Nancy experience a month of what it would be like if she killed Temperance.  Which includes watching both Ryan and Ace die, which is definitely a bit of a bummer.  This makes Nancy snap back to the real world and almost not go through it, but she changes her mind at the very last minute.  She is able to save Ryan at least, but in last ditch attempt at pettiness, Temperance puts a curse on Nancy and Ace where if they ever act on their feelings, Ace will die.

So, this leads to not only a) another convoluted reason to keep a couple apart but b) makes Nancy decide to keep this from Ace and everyone else and just cause more drama than needed.  It just feels like Nancy has given up, and I don't buy it in the slightest.  She is someone who would be going all out with figuring out how to break this (especially since it's already been established that Bess knows a thing or two about breaking supposed impossible to break curses.)  If anything, it would be more realistic if she was too focused on this going forward that she ignores other threats and mysteries instead.  And, again, I don't see why she wouldn't be upfront with Ace about this, because I'm sure he would totally understand that any romance might need to be put on pause until they make sure a kiss won't suddenly make him drop dead or get attacked by moths or whatever the hell Temperance cooked up.   It just all feels so... convoluted.

As for everyone else: George and Nick are still broken up for reasons, but at least Nick put a pause on leaving since his parents have showed up to Horseshoe Bay.  Bess is going to take over as the Curator now and Ace will no longer be doing the dishes, because he's got a new job as a coroner now.  As for Nancy's two dad, Carson is still slowly moving on with Jean when he isn't busy giving Nancy good supportive pep talks, and Ryan.... just got taken by that shady couple.  Uh oh!

Again, I thought the cast brought their A-game at least.  In particular, Riley Smith really sold Ryan's confusion and fear when he was "dying", and Kennedy McMann managed to almost save a lot of the melodrama by giving an emotional performance here.

All in all, definitely a mixed bag this go around.  I actually thought this season started out pretty strong with an interesting mystery and foreshadowing with the prophecy/tarot card angle, some good character interactions and dramatic beats (Ace's relationship with his dad, Ryan learning to be a dad, Nick and George dealing with their relationship in a realistically refreshing way), and great humor (Nancy's two dads on youth serum for the win!)  But, coincidence or not, once the Temperance recast happened, it just felt like there wasn't a solid foundation anymore, and the show relied too much on atypical tropes like love triangles, keeping secrets to the sake of drama, questionable decision-making, and drama for drama's sake.  And even the overall mystery ended up not delivering on what was promised.  I still hope it gets picked back up for a fourth season (I know CW stuff is kind of up in the air due to a possible buyout) because I still generally it flaws and all, but I hope they plan things better out next time.  But at least the cast didn't disappoint.  Still probably one of the strongest ensembles out there (although if I had to pick a MVP for this season, I'd probably pick Maddison Jaizani this go around.)

Edited January 29, 2022 by thuganomics85

[Cheetara1986]

Let me say this. I actually loved the finale. Yes the pacing was off, but given the circumstances these writers had to go through: shortened episode order because of covid, cant get some actors back because of existing projects, paused production etc, I think they handled everything as good as they could. If this was any other showrunners on the CW especially, I would have expected a damn dumpster fire.

I also understand the whole frustration about keeping Nancy and Ace apart again. But, I kind of like this supernstural element to it. Now these are real life or death stakes toeards it and not "oh Ace is with someone or Im afraid he/she doesnt like me like that". This is Temperance wanting to destroy everything Nancy loves emotionally and mentally and of course Nancy choses her town over her own feelings and happiness, even though she did have to think about it. Also, you can see that Ace didnt belueve her after their last scene. He can tell something is up.

Now if the writers go into S5 and continue this push-pull thing, then I totally will join the boat. But, I trust these writers to not fuck up Nancy and Ace...shit, at least we actually know they love each other and are soulmates.

Maybe on here I have the unpopular opinion, but I really enjoy the finale and will rewatch it to get a second loom at everything I miss.

 

[Shorty186]

I really wish the showrunners would have explained why the Temperance recast happened because that has honestly never stopped bothering me. I liked the first actress better so I wonder if I would have cared more if she has stayed on. 

I also think the "triangle" wouldn't have bothered me as much with Tamura since he wasn't brought in *just* to be a thorn in Nace's side, but obviously the show had no control of that.

However, if they try to introduce other love interests in S4 (fingers crossed), I will be so pissed off. Because we don't need more of the same with Nace. Them being in an actual relationship would have been something new and exciting but ...

.

[Jenniferbug]

That wasn't a great finale. I think the season started off strong and got weaker as it went on, and the finale wasn't an exception to that. 

As soon as they killed Temperance within 10 minutes, I didn't buy that anything that came after was really happening so the twist wasn't a surprise. It kind of cheapened Ace and Nancy, because it wasn't real and I knew that as I was watching. 

Nancy not telling Ace or Bess what is going on with the curse is annoying. The curse itself is an obnoxious stall tactic that should be undone as soon as possible. It's not even terribly original. I expected better from this show. 

The cast and acting was about the only thing saving this episode. And I'm glad that everyone is still around and alive. 

I'm still really hoping for a next season! 

[Cheetara1986]

9 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

That wasn't a great finale. I think the season started off strong and got weaker as it went on, and the finale wasn't an exception to that. 

As soon as they killed Temperance within 10 minutes, I didn't buy that anything that came after was really happening so the twist wasn't a surprise. It kind of cheapened Ace and Nancy, because it wasn't real and I knew that as I was watching. 

Nancy not telling Ace or Bess what is going on with the curse is annoying. The curse itself is an obnoxious stall tactic that should be undone as soon as possible. It's not even terribly original. I expected better from this show. 

The cast and acting was about the only thing saving this episode. And I'm glad that everyone is still around and alive. 

I'm still really hoping for a next season! 

The writers did explain why Nancy couldnt say anything about the curse: they basically said, Nancy has no clue what will set the curse off, since Temperance has a lot of shit up her sleeve. So it can be a look, an extra sentence, telling anyone about the curse. Plus, she knows that if Ace found out, he would move heaven and earth for her. But that would put him in more danger. Thats why she went OTT and pushed him away.

The thing with the dream is, Temperance seem to be playing off Nancy's true emotions. So while Bess/George/Nick seemed a tinge off, Ace was kept the way he was cause Nancy finds him perfect and doesnt need to change. I get some people being frustrated, but for a villian like Temp, I see why she did. Play with Nancy's emotions to a T and cause as much emotional and mental damage as she can so she gets her way. Also the fact that Nancy gave up on her fate for Ace after she knew what it felt like to be loved by him so much and then how it would hurt to lose him because she actually lived that in her head, is pretty heartbreaking.

Knowing how CW is with their shows, and how ND does amazing with DVR numbers and streaming apparently, we shall definitely see a Season 4. And I am really curious to see how they have Ace/Nancy navigate through the curse and finally come back togethee and see the Drew crew a lil bit wiser and older with new aspirations.

Edited January 30, 2022 by Cheetara1986

[Lady Calypso]

5 hours ago, Cheetara1986 said:

The writers did explain why Nancy couldnt say anything about the curse: they basically said, Nancy has no clue what will set the curse off, since Temperance has a lot of shit up her sleeve. So it can be a look, an extra sentence, telling anyone about the curse. Plus, she knows that if Ace found out, he would move heaven and earth for her. But that would put him in more danger. Thats why she went OTT and pushed him away.

Except she basically told Carson right at the end of the episode and nothing happened. So why couldn't she let Bess figure it out for herself by saying exactly what she said to Carson?

If the end scene didn't happen, I would potentially agree. But it's also unlike Nancy to just...give up and not do anything and lie about this. It's just contrived tropes that we see from other TV shows. The one thing about Nancy is that she's always honest. 

[Cheetara1986]

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Except she basically told Carson right at the end of the episode and nothing happened. So why couldn't she let Bess figure it out for herself by saying exactly what she said to Carson?

If the end scene didn't happen, I would potentially agree. But it's also unlike Nancy to just...give up and not do anything and lie about this. It's just contrived tropes that we see from other TV shows. The one thing about Nancy is that she's always honest. 

Thw writers never said Nancy would give up. They said that a curse waant going to stop her and it wont stop Ace. It goes back to her trope of always putting the town before her happiness and leeping the leople she loves far away from her cause they get hurt or die. Temperance played that with Nancy.

 

And she never told Carson about the curse itself or that it was temperance, just that she lied to the man she loves to protect them. Then after Carson told her to take command of her destiny, she ripped up the tarot cards to show she wasnt going to wallow.

The writers are pushing forward with Nancy-Ace as star crossed lovers with the curse as one of the big emotional plots for Season 4. I was frustrated with some parts. It wasnt perfect. But I went back, watched and read the showrunners perspective and their idea/story for Season 4 and I saw what they wanted to do, and I am excited. 

But, like I said, I was the only one here that didnt have any big issues with the finale, and thats fine. It did what a finale should do, take you on an emotional ride and aet up the next season .

[quarks]

So I liked this more than most of you seemed to, but that won't stop me from making comments:

Good things:

1. Finally, snow in Maine! I WAS WAITING.

2. Trapping Temperance with donuts - ok, it didn't work, but, hey, donuts!

3. The meta joke of saying that your main couple is so hot and steamy, they broke the barometer. Twice!

4. The zombie cat is still with us, yay!  (But who is feeding it?)

5. Bess is running the Historical Society/becoming the main witch, yay!

6. George is heading to law school! MAJOR YAY!

7. One of the background cooks finally spoke! TRIPLE YAY!

8. No one died yet, YAY!

9. Someone finally pointed out that Nick is an unusually lenient boss! Only in a hallucination, sure, but still! (I'm kinda wondering just how much control Temperance had over this hallucination and if this was meant to be a pointed comment from her, but I laughed.)

10. Refusing to do laundry before the apocalypse is definitely an idea I can get behind.

11. The impact of killing Temperance on Nancy. Both times.

12. Great acting, all around.

Questionable/bad things:

1. In one of the post season interviews the showrunners admitted that they did not go into this season/finale with as much planned out as they had in seasons 1 and 2 - which I think was evident here - most notably with the overall pacing of the episode and the apparent dropping of various minor season plot points, but also with the fairly awkward intro of two potential villains for season 4 and with the genuine letdown of the tarot card reveals. 

2. Speaking of those tarot card reveals - uh, did George actually betray her true love? She broke up with Nick, sure, but that doesn't feel like a betrayal. In terms of Bess and the truth serum - as I noted at the time, the background extras seemed remarkably calm and not at all undergoing havoc. Are we supposed to assume that their cards haven't come true yet? And even with the rest - yes, ok, Ace has lost his heart to Nancy, and I guess Nick forsook what was dearest to him, and clearly Nancy's destiny is to be a Private Investigator (yay!), but how exactly is this demise thing working with Ryan, or is this something else that hasn't happened yet?  Which is to say, I'm not feeling that Temperance is really as good at predicting the future as she and the show apparently want us to be - leading to a problem I'll get to.

3. But speaking of Temperance - nothing against any of the actresses, and her little mind trick with Nancy and her later reveal was great, but, otherwise, literally nothing here made any sense.

It's in huge contrast to the first season, where the final reveal of the murderer did make complete sense, and the second season, where Odette/Everett Hudson/the Bobbseys all made sense. Here, I've watched the entire season, and I have to yet to figure out why Temperance wanted her daughter back, how this entire hearts thing was supposed to work, and why any of this required a tsunami. 

The answer, apparently, is "to cause angst between Nancy and Ace," and, ok, sure, but this actually causes problems with that angst.

4. Now, let's chat pacing. Because I think this episode could have worked brilliantly as a two part episode - with the first episode ending with the car crash/Temperance walking forward.

That would have allowed the Drew Crew to spend the first 45 minutes trying to stop Temperance - instead of spending what, five minutes, the first of many giveaways that hey, this was all some sort of hallucination. I was reminded of the strong contrast to the second season episode where Celia was murdered - an episode that contained multiple clues, but, and this is key, subtle clues. Here, we had 1) the season's big bad gets taken down in five minutes; 2) the camera angles/filters are all way off; 3) Ryan's death scene was far too short....I could go on. So I knew it was all a hallucination/dream, which meant that the reveal - well acted though it was - lacked shock.

That in turn would have allowed the second episode to spend more time not just on the tsunami, but on the tsunami damage, and on other aspects. Including --

5. Park. Wow, did he turn out to be nothing but a Nancy/Ace obstacle, or what? I was hoping that at least some of the hints dropped earlier in the season - his shaking hands and so on - would turn out to have some meaning, but I guess not? Oh well. Having said that, I actually kinda like that Nancy has now had two decent romances with guys who didn't turn up dead or turn out to be abusive, so that's a plus. And the door's left open for a potential return, though if he does return I hope he's a touch more interesting.

6. a) Why were so many extras a) standing outside in late December/January on a cold night and yet b) failing for several minutes, apparently, to run away from a visible approaching tsunami?

7. Speaking of that tsunami, it....really didn't seem to cause as much structural damage as I would have expected from a tsunami of that height, did it?

8. And still speaking of that tsunami - I completely understood why the cops and the mayor weren't willing to sound the alarm earlier, but once the tsunami was spotted, it should not have been difficult for anyone (hi, Nick) to snap a picture of the tsunami, send it into the police station, and get the siren going. Sure, that would have robbed George of her Dramatic Moment, but still.

9. Though, all that said - it's night. It's dark. How was anyone seeing the tsunami?

10. I ended up spending a lot of thoughts on the tsunami.

11. The Icarus Hall set is a great set, so I see why they want to keep it. What I don't see is why Nancy is signing paperwork agreeing to inherit Icarus Hall now that Temperance is dead without a single "Uh, wait. The woman who tried to destroy the town and just cursed the man I'm in love with is leaving me a rather creepy house in her will. Should I find this suspicious at all?"

12. And look, I am all for star-crossed lovers and all that. Awesome stuff. The issue here - and I am not the only person pointing this out - is that the plot, as given, is requiring not one but two and arguably four or five or even six characters to act out of character and/or do stuff that just does not make sense.

Let's start with the big glaring question: why isn't Nancy talking to Bess about this curse? We know Bess can lift curses. Not always successfully, and there's often some sort of unexpected consequences/payments, but, still. Bess has grown extremely powerful in the last couple of seasons (one of the many issues with the overall timeline, since this is basically "Bess has grown extremely powerful in the last couple of months," but moving on). We know others in the town think that Bess is now capable of taking over the Historical Society, which indicates either an upcoming IT'S A TRAP plotline or, more likely, trust in Bess's abilities. We know that Nancy and Bess are friends. I can understand why season 1 Nancy might not have talked to Bess. It makes no character sense for season 3 Nancy not to talk to Bess.

Making matters worse Nancy has experienced a loss of control of her emotions more than once within recent months - with the cursed dress in season two, the creepy ghost affecting her decisions also in season two, and the truth serum this season. Which means she knows that something outside of her control might force her to reveal her true feelings to Ace, putting him in danger.  Not telling Ace is one thing. Not immediately heading to Bess, knowing full well that at any moment she could be under a curse that would lead to a consummation of sorts of that relationship? This is increasing the danger to Ace, something the show has already established - and continued to establish in this episode - that Nancy is unwilling to do.  Which means that the same episode that tried to argue that Nancy was willing to let people die/the entire town drown just to save Ace was also trying to argue that Nancy wouldn't immediately try to lift this curse by any means possible in order to save Ace.

A longer, two part episode could have mitigated/removed this problem, simply by giving Temperance the time to note, "And if you tell anyone, or try to have the curse removed, Ace dies immediately." But that wasn't what Temperance said. She said that if Nancy and Ace consummate the relationship, Ace dies. It's not entirely clear what Temperance meant by "consummate" - the barometer seems to think "consummate" means "making out or getting ready to make out," but that also seems to be one cheap, easy to break barometer, so I'm not sure if we should be going with the barometer's thoughts here. I am sure that Temperance never mentioned - or never had the time to mention - that if Nancy just tells someone else about this, Ace dies. 

Which brings me to the next question: why isn't Nancy explaining things to Ace? Especially given that she knows that Ace has already guessed most of the truth - he just doesn't know the specifics. And I'm fairly sure that, given said specifics, Ace would be, ""Ok, yes, we can wait on the sex. Or saying certain specific words. The morgue doesn't pay me enough to let me keep replacing barometers." 

And while I'm at it, why aren't Bess and Ryan asking questions? They both know about Ace's feelings; they both were there when Nancy initially refused to kill Temperance. We can assume that Bess and Ace have had a few questions, and that Bess knows that Nancy is now avoiding Ace. And Bess was there for Nancy's slightly odd reaction to the Historical Society news. 

As noted above, the showrunners did have a partial answer for me - Nancy is afraid that just talking about the curse or her feelings might set it off. But first, this is the sort of thing that should be answered in the show, not in post-show interviews. Second, this doesn't fit with what we saw in the episode. Not just because the barometer didn't break because she was talking about the curse, or because Nancy - along with the audience - has reasons to be skeptical about Temperance's abilities, given that the tarot card stuff ended up being less than entirely accurate AND that Temperance failed to predict that Nancy would return and hit her with an axe, but also - the biggie - Nancy did talk to Carson!  

So if - as the showrunners are saying - she thinks that just talking about the curse, or letting Ace find out about the curse, will doom Ace, why talk to Carson? And since she has talked to Carson, why not talk to Bess? 

Beautifully acted. Very emotional. Heartbreaking. Beautifully shot, too - I loved the lighting. But.

I know we established in previous episodes that Carson, for whatever reason, decided he could just step back and let Nancy do her thing. But this is Nancy crying because she thinks she's lost the love of her life, and Carson a) doesn't ask who this is (I mean, sure, he probably doesn't need to, but), b) just accepts her story without asking questions, which is critical because c) he's an attorney, and thus able to argue/discuss the precise wording of Temperance's curse - notably the word "consummated." I mean, maybe if Nancy and Ace are able to stick with just kissing, all they will do is break barometers, not Ace.  And they can buy more barometers!

But leaving that bit aside, we're talking about a character who has asked questions in the past, or at least promised to ask questions later. Here he's all, ok then, and while I can understand that the last few months have left him a bit jaded about supernatural things, hi, your daughter is in obvious emotional pain here. Let's extend the conversation instead of, well. Taking off. 

And while I did appreciate the point that people can have more than one soulmate, and losing a relationship doesn't necessarily mean staying single forever, there is a rather glaring difference between Carson/Kate and Nancy/Ace - Ace is alive. A widower starting to date again is an entirely different thing. There's also the rather large factor that Ace is now working at the morgue, and since Nancy is now an investigator, it's not out of the question that they will be interacting. Frequently. 

So Carson's response felt totally off.

All this said, I tend to think that the main issues with this episode mostly stemmed from issues outside the episode - starting with the apparent decision to not plan this season out as much from the beginning (in contrast to the first two seasons), to whatever happened BTS around the middle of the season that forced the show to replace Temperance with another actress, a choice that not just added a convoluted back story but also seemed to rob the season of its momentum; to the choice to continue to cram enough plot for 18 or 19 episodes into what turned into a 13 episode season. And of course the various COVID filming issues/protocols, which could not have helped.

But assuming this show gets renewed, I'll be back. 

[Cheetara1986]

2 hours ago, quarks said:

So I liked this more than most of you seemed to, but that won't stop me from making comments:

Good things:

1. Finally, snow in Maine! I WAS WAITING.

2. Trapping Temperance with donuts - ok, it didn't work, but, hey, donuts!

3. The meta joke of saying that your main couple is so hot and steamy, they broke the barometer. Twice!

4. The zombie cat is still with us, yay!  (But who is feeding it?)

5. Bess is running the Historical Society/becoming the main witch, yay!

6. George is heading to law school! MAJOR YAY!

7. One of the background cooks finally spoke! TRIPLE YAY!

8. No one died yet, YAY!

9. Someone finally pointed out that Nick is an unusually lenient boss! Only in a hallucination, sure, but still! (I'm kinda wondering just how much control Temperance had over this hallucination and if this was meant to be a pointed comment from her, but I laughed.)

10. Refusing to do laundry before the apocalypse is definitely an idea I can get behind.

11. The impact of killing Temperance on Nancy. Both times.

12. Great acting, all around.

Questionable/bad things:

1. In one of the post season interviews the showrunners admitted that they did not go into this season/finale with as much planned out as they had in seasons 1 and 2 - which I think was evident here - most notably with the overall pacing of the episode and the apparent dropping of various minor season plot points, but also with the fairly awkward intro of two potential villains for season 4 and with the genuine letdown of the tarot card reveals. 

2. Speaking of those tarot card reveals - uh, did George actually betray her true love? She broke up with Nick, sure, but that doesn't feel like a betrayal. In terms of Bess and the truth serum - as I noted at the time, the background extras seemed remarkably calm and not at all undergoing havoc. Are we supposed to assume that their cards haven't come true yet? And even with the rest - yes, ok, Ace has lost his heart to Nancy, and I guess Nick forsook what was dearest to him, and clearly Nancy's destiny is to be a Private Investigator (yay!), but how exactly is this demise thing working with Ryan, or is this something else that hasn't happened yet?  Which is to say, I'm not feeling that Temperance is really as good at predicting the future as she and the show apparently want us to be - leading to a problem I'll get to.

3. But speaking of Temperance - nothing against any of the actresses, and her little mind trick with Nancy and her later reveal was great, but, otherwise, literally nothing here made any sense.

It's in huge contrast to the first season, where the final reveal of the murderer did make complete sense, and the second season, where Odette/Everett Hudson/the Bobbseys all made sense. Here, I've watched the entire season, and I have to yet to figure out why Temperance wanted her daughter back, how this entire hearts thing was supposed to work, and why any of this required a tsunami. 

The answer, apparently, is "to cause angst between Nancy and Ace," and, ok, sure, but this actually causes problems with that angst.

4. Now, let's chat pacing. Because I think this episode could have worked brilliantly as a two part episode - with the first episode ending with the car crash/Temperance walking forward.

That would have allowed the Drew Crew to spend the first 45 minutes trying to stop Temperance - instead of spending what, five minutes, the first of many giveaways that hey, this was all some sort of hallucination. I was reminded of the strong contrast to the second season episode where Celia was murdered - an episode that contained multiple clues, but, and this is key, subtle clues. Here, we had 1) the season's big bad gets taken down in five minutes; 2) the camera angles/filters are all way off; 3) Ryan's death scene was far too short....I could go on. So I knew it was all a hallucination/dream, which meant that the reveal - well acted though it was - lacked shock.

That in turn would have allowed the second episode to spend more time not just on the tsunami, but on the tsunami damage, and on other aspects. Including --

5. Park. Wow, did he turn out to be nothing but a Nancy/Ace obstacle, or what? I was hoping that at least some of the hints dropped earlier in the season - his shaking hands and so on - would turn out to have some meaning, but I guess not? Oh well. Having said that, I actually kinda like that Nancy has now had two decent romances with guys who didn't turn up dead or turn out to be abusive, so that's a plus. And the door's left open for a potential return, though if he does return I hope he's a touch more interesting.

6. a) Why were so many extras a) standing outside in late December/January on a cold night and yet b) failing for several minutes, apparently, to run away from a visible approaching tsunami?

7. Speaking of that tsunami, it....really didn't seem to cause as much structural damage as I would have expected from a tsunami of that height, did it?

8. And still speaking of that tsunami - I completely understood why the cops and the mayor weren't willing to sound the alarm earlier, but once the tsunami was spotted, it should not have been difficult for anyone (hi, Nick) to snap a picture of the tsunami, send it into the police station, and get the siren going. Sure, that would have robbed George of her Dramatic Moment, but still.

9. Though, all that said - it's night. It's dark. How was anyone seeing the tsunami?

10. I ended up spending a lot of thoughts on the tsunami.

11. The Icarus Hall set is a great set, so I see why they want to keep it. What I don't see is why Nancy is signing paperwork agreeing to inherit Icarus Hall now that Temperance is dead without a single "Uh, wait. The woman who tried to destroy the town and just cursed the man I'm in love with is leaving me a rather creepy house in her will. Should I find this suspicious at all?"

12. And look, I am all for star-crossed lovers and all that. Awesome stuff. The issue here - and I am not the only person pointing this out - is that the plot, as given, is requiring not one but two and arguably four or five or even six characters to act out of character and/or do stuff that just does not make sense.

Let's start with the big glaring question: why isn't Nancy talking to Bess about this curse? We know Bess can lift curses. Not always successfully, and there's often some sort of unexpected consequences/payments, but, still. Bess has grown extremely powerful in the last couple of seasons (one of the many issues with the overall timeline, since this is basically "Bess has grown extremely powerful in the last couple of months," but moving on). We know others in the town think that Bess is now capable of taking over the Historical Society, which indicates either an upcoming IT'S A TRAP plotline or, more likely, trust in Bess's abilities. We know that Nancy and Bess are friends. I can understand why season 1 Nancy might not have talked to Bess. It makes no character sense for season 3 Nancy not to talk to Bess.

Making matters worse Nancy has experienced a loss of control of her emotions more than once within recent months - with the cursed dress in season two, the creepy ghost affecting her decisions also in season two, and the truth serum this season. Which means she knows that something outside of her control might force her to reveal her true feelings to Ace, putting him in danger.  Not telling Ace is one thing. Not immediately heading to Bess, knowing full well that at any moment she could be under a curse that would lead to a consummation of sorts of that relationship? This is increasing the danger to Ace, something the show has already established - and continued to establish in this episode - that Nancy is unwilling to do.  Which means that the same episode that tried to argue that Nancy was willing to let people die/the entire town drown just to save Ace was also trying to argue that Nancy wouldn't immediately try to lift this curse by any means possible in order to save Ace.

A longer, two part episode could have mitigated/removed this problem, simply by giving Temperance the time to note, "And if you tell anyone, or try to have the curse removed, Ace dies immediately." But that wasn't what Temperance said. She said that if Nancy and Ace consummate the relationship, Ace dies. It's not entirely clear what Temperance meant by "consummate" - the barometer seems to think "consummate" means "making out or getting ready to make out," but that also seems to be one cheap, easy to break barometer, so I'm not sure if we should be going with the barometer's thoughts here. I am sure that Temperance never mentioned - or never had the time to mention - that if Nancy just tells someone else about this, Ace dies. 

Which brings me to the next question: why isn't Nancy explaining things to Ace? Especially given that she knows that Ace has already guessed most of the truth - he just doesn't know the specifics. And I'm fairly sure that, given said specifics, Ace would be, ""Ok, yes, we can wait on the sex. Or saying certain specific words. The morgue doesn't pay me enough to let me keep replacing barometers." 

And while I'm at it, why aren't Bess and Ryan asking questions? They both know about Ace's feelings; they both were there when Nancy initially refused to kill Temperance. We can assume that Bess and Ace have had a few questions, and that Bess knows that Nancy is now avoiding Ace. And Bess was there for Nancy's slightly odd reaction to the Historical Society news. 

As noted above, the showrunners did have a partial answer for me - Nancy is afraid that just talking about the curse or her feelings might set it off. But first, this is the sort of thing that should be answered in the show, not in post-show interviews. Second, this doesn't fit with what we saw in the episode. Not just because the barometer didn't break because she was talking about the curse, or because Nancy - along with the audience - has reasons to be skeptical about Temperance's abilities, given that the tarot card stuff ended up being less than entirely accurate AND that Temperance failed to predict that Nancy would return and hit her with an axe, but also - the biggie - Nancy did talk to Carson!  

So if - as the showrunners are saying - she thinks that just talking about the curse, or letting Ace find out about the curse, will doom Ace, why talk to Carson? And since she has talked to Carson, why not talk to Bess? 

Beautifully acted. Very emotional. Heartbreaking. Beautifully shot, too - I loved the lighting. But.

I know we established in previous episodes that Carson, for whatever reason, decided he could just step back and let Nancy do her thing. But this is Nancy crying because she thinks she's lost the love of her life, and Carson a) doesn't ask who this is (I mean, sure, he probably doesn't need to, but), b) just accepts her story without asking questions, which is critical because c) he's an attorney, and thus able to argue/discuss the precise wording of Temperance's curse - notably the word "consummated." I mean, maybe if Nancy and Ace are able to stick with just kissing, all they will do is break barometers, not Ace.  And they can buy more barometers!

But leaving that bit aside, we're talking about a character who has asked questions in the past, or at least promised to ask questions later. Here he's all, ok then, and while I can understand that the last few months have left him a bit jaded about supernatural things, hi, your daughter is in obvious emotional pain here. Let's extend the conversation instead of, well. Taking off. 

And while I did appreciate the point that people can have more than one soulmate, and losing a relationship doesn't necessarily mean staying single forever, there is a rather glaring difference between Carson/Kate and Nancy/Ace - Ace is alive. A widower starting to date again is an entirely different thing. There's also the rather large factor that Ace is now working at the morgue, and since Nancy is now an investigator, it's not out of the question that they will be interacting. Frequently. 

So Carson's response felt totally off.

All this said, I tend to think that the main issues with this episode mostly stemmed from issues outside the episode - starting with the apparent decision to not plan this season out as much from the beginning (in contrast to the first two seasons), to whatever happened BTS around the middle of the season that forced the show to replace Temperance with another actress, a choice that not just added a convoluted back story but also seemed to rob the season of its momentum; to the choice to continue to cram enough plot for 18 or 19 episodes into what turned into a 13 episode season. And of course the various COVID filming issues/protocols, which could not have helped.

But assuming this show gets renewed, I'll be back. 

Ryan is apparently going to be connected to some nefarious actions that could be linked to the missing bodies in the graves. Thats the cause the others demise.

Also, im ready to see the writers make Ace figure out what might be going on vs Nancy trying to keep him safe at a distance while also working on the cursem all the while, watching the crew bring different dynamics to the group, with their new adventures ahead.

 

Like I said before, given all the circumstances the showrunners and cast went through, they did what they could and did a hell of a job. If this was any other show runner on the CW, it would have been a massive trainwreck. It wasnt perfect and the shortened  season stifled some pacing and being able to stretch the story and make it breathe. But they did as good as they could. I give the season a B+.

And this is CW, so they will basicslly bring back every show except for maybe 1 before the sale goes through.

[secnarf]

I spent the initial part of the episode, which I had recorded, wondering if I was jumping in part way through and it actually started earlier than when the DVR was set. When we jumped back to "an hour ago" I started to think maybe I was actually at the beginning, but not until the opening credits came onscreen was I sure. So yeah, pacing of this episode was completely off.

Really liked Ryan's "death" scene which I though was very well done by both Kennedy McMann and Riley Smith.

Somehow completely missed the curse on Ace, so clearly my attention was fading by that point.

I don't know how I feel about the mysterious and sketchy couple Ryan has become involved with - though I did like that they ended up telling us they had his car in the Temperance-flash-forward. I also am very skeptical that good will come of Nancy taking over Icarus Hall, or of Nancy going to a graveyard alone at night because an altered voice told her to.

In general, for ensemble shows like this, I find I enjoy them more when it is the core characters working against external conflict, rather than a bunch of internal conflict between the main characters, or splitting up the main characters to go on their own story arcs. Based on how they have set up the next season, I am a bit wary, but if they are renewed I will definitely still be watching. I do hope they are renewed, if only because I would hate for the series to end like this.

[quarks]

48 minutes ago, Cheetara1986 said:

Ryan is apparently going to be connected to some nefarious actions that could be linked to the missing bodies in the graves. Thats the cause the others demise.

Also, im ready to see the writers make Ace figure out what might be going on vs Nancy trying to keep him safe at a distance while also working on the cursem all the while, watching the crew bring different dynamics to the group, with their new adventures ahead.

 

Fair enough with Ryan and Nancy, BUT, at this point, Nancy has no reason to know this, and also may not know about what's happening behind the the youth center. Which means that from Nancy's viewpoint, at most one or two, maybe three, of those cards came true. (Ace losing his heart; Bess wrecking havoc, although I'll repeat I really wish we'd seen more havoc from the extras, and maybe Nancy achieving her destiny.) Add in the various shifts from the hallucination and reality, and Temperance's claim to be able to see the future seems shaky at best. And while it wasn't necessarily easy to defeat Temperance, it took less detective work than figuring out the truth about Lucy Sable and Tiffany Hudson's murder, and not all that much more effort to destroy the evil spirit attacking Nancy last year. Which leaves me wondering again why Nancy is so convinced that this curse is something she can't fight.

I don't think it's going to take Ace too long to figure out what's going on. He's already figured out most of it, and I don't think it will be too hard for him to figure out that a) the barometer chose a very interesting time to break, b) Nancy started avoiding him immediately after the showdown with Temperance, but it wasn't c) because she felt Ace was inadequate. Add in that, whatever she said, she was ready to kiss him (something she did not do when breaking up with Gil Bobbsey and Park), and his experiences with the supernatural, and yeah, he'll be able to figure it out. Probably alone; possibly with Bess' help.

Which could lead to a situation where they both know they have feelings, but also know - or think they know - what could happen if they act on said feelings.

5 hours ago, Cheetara1986 said:

 

And this is CW, so they will basicslly bring back every show except for maybe 1 before the sale goes through.

 

Usually I would be nodding right along with this. The CW doesn't care about ratings; they do care - or rather, their parent studios do care - that their shows generate just enough buzz to let their parent studios earn revenue through post-views, particularly international and streaming services. Before this month, I would have said that Nancy Drew was an automatic renewal until at least season five...

....but then someone "slipped" that the CW is up for sale. 

Whoever buys the CW is not going to be benefitting from that post-view revenue, which means that the shows are going to have to be offered beyond dirt cheap in order for the CW to be at all profitable. WB can afford to do this with the Flash, which is in most international markets and continuing to benefit from the Netflix deal. CBS can afford to do this with Dynasty, which apparently does very well internationally.

Nancy Drew does air in several international markets and on HBOMax, but it wasn't part of the Netflix deal; it's not in as many international markets as Dynasty or Riverdale, and I have to assume that, as a CBS Studios production, its days on HBOMax will be numbered once the CW is sold. And while I think we are all in agreement that Paramount Plus could use additional content, I'm not entirely sure that CBS/Paramount will decide that Nancy Drew is that content.

All of which makes me less confident in a season four renewal. And if the CW is sold, I have zero confidence in a season five. 

[tennisgurl]

I really hope that the show gets another season, I would hate if this was the end of a show that I have really loved, ending with a whisper instead of a bang. This finale just felt so rushed, and some of that I can understand due to behind the scenes issues, but some of it just feels like poor writing choices. I honestly thought that I had missed the start of the episode at first, everything seemed to be happening so quickly. I guessed that this would all be a dream or vision after Ryan died and we cut to one month later, so half the episode never even happened after rushing around to get there, the pacing was just all over the place. In general this season has been a lot more hit or miss, there was a lot that I really liked, but a lot that never really seemed to work, especially Temperance as the season's big bad. I think the second actress was fine, but I don't think its a coincidence that that body swap happened and then my interest in the Temperance plot started to drain. 

So now we get one of those "I have to reject someone I love to try and protect them and cant just tell them what's going on" stories, which all just seems so out of character for Nancy, and worse, its so obviously a contrivance to keep Nancy and Ace separated. Constance never said that this had to be a secret, she should have told everyone right away what happened and then let the gang help her find a solution, instead of suffering in silence letting Ace think that Nancy isn't into him. Its all just so uninteresting, why cant they just let Ace and Nancy be together instead of drawing things out? I like a good slow burn, but only when it actually feels natural. What always made this show so good was that it would take your typical clichés and subvert them in fun ways, but this is just an annoying trope played totally straight for now. 

The actors did a really good job, even if the writings for a lot of them felt a bit off. I especially thought that Kennedy McMann and Riley Smith did a great job during Ryan's "death" with their shock and terror at Ryan going from fine to dying in a few minutes, it was a really emotional scene, especially when Nancy finally called Ryan dad. Even though it never actually happened, its the part that sticks out to me the most. 

I am glad that George is going to be a lawyer, but I still have no idea why she and Nick need to be broken up. Its been another issue this season, characters just do things for the sake of drama that don't really seem in character, and George and Nick breaking up is the worst example. 

I am really hoping for another season so that the next season can be better planned out. There is still a lot this season that I loved, like the hijinks of Nancy's Two Dads (thank God Ryan is alright), there was a lot of spookiness, most of the characters grew a lot from where they started, and until this nonsense, I do like a lot of what they did with Nancy/Ace. I just hope that they get a chance to work on some issues from this season and get back to what made the show so good. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by tennisgurl

[quarks]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So now we get one of those "I have to reject someone I love to try and protect them and cant just tell them what's going on" stories, which all just seems so out of character for Nancy, and worse, its so obviously a contrivance to keep Nancy and Ace separated. Constance never said that this had to be a secret, she should have told everyone right away what happened and then let the gang help her find a solution, instead of suffering in silence letting Ace think that Nancy isn't into him. Its all just so uninteresting, why cant they just let Ace and Nancy be together instead of drawing things out? I like a good slow burn, but only when it actually feels natural. What always made this show so good was that it would take your typical clichés and subvert them in fun ways, but this is just an annoying trope played totally straight for now. 

I'm pretty sure that Ace knows that Nancy is into him. 

But otherwise, yes. 

And the weird thing is that I think the angst level - something the show is clearly trying to go for - could be even higher if Nancy told Ace, shifting the story into, ok, we care about each other - but we can't say that to each other (in case that's "consummate") and we absolutely can't touch each other unless/until this curse is broken. And we can't avoid each other, either, because if we did, we'd never figure out why skeletons/zombies are wandering around.

And sure, that's been done before on other shows (maybe not with zombies), but it would be more in character for both. 

[secnarf]

31 minutes ago, quarks said:

I'm pretty sure that Ace knows that Nancy is into him. 

But otherwise, yes. 

And the weird thing is that I think the angst level - something the show is clearly trying to go for - could be even higher if Nancy told Ace, shifting the story into, ok, we care about each other - but we can't say that to each other (in case that's "consummate") and we absolutely can't touch each other unless/until this curse is broken. And we can't avoid each other, either, because if we did, we'd never figure out why skeletons/zombies are wandering around.

And sure, that's been done before on other shows (maybe not with zombies), but it would be more in character for both. 

I do have a hard time buying that Ace believed Nancy when she said she wasn't into him, but they have shown him to be insecure enough that maybe.

The storyline has been done with vampires, at least ;) (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

[Cranberry]

And Pushing Daisies! They couldn't touch at all (even an accidental skin-on-skin brush) or the girl would instantly drop dead. A lot can be done with that idea. As long as the writers handle it well, it should be okay. 

[Noneofyourbusiness]

20 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

especially Constance as the season's big bad. I think the second actress was fine, but I don't think its a coincidence that that body swap happened and then my interest in the Constance plot started to drain.

Her name is Temperance. :)

Weird to see people comparing Olivia Taylor Dudley unfavorably given how good she was as Alice in The Magicians, who had her morally grey moments. I thought she was well cast for this character.

15 hours ago, secnarf said:

The storyline has been done with vampires, at least ;) (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

 

15 hours ago, Cranberry said:

And Pushing Daisies! They couldn't touch at all (even an accidental skin-on-skin brush) or the girl would instantly drop dead. A lot can be done with that idea. As long as the writers handle it well, it should be okay. 

In the second season of Dark Angel, Max was infected with a virus targeted to Logan's DNA, so they couldn't touch let alone fondle each other.

.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Noneofyourbusiness

[quarks]

Yeah, the "we're in love, but can't say it and/or can't touch each other" is not exactly a new concept, but I still think it would fit this show better than "You didn't tell me that I'm adopted! I can't even talk/deal with you right now!" Nancy Drew deliberately lying to one of her best friends. 

I don't know if this show wants me to draw that parallel - possibly, yes, as another hint that, like Nancy and Carson, Nancy and Ace will work through it, but possibly, no, since it's yet another indication that this feels out of character. But whatever the intention, I did draw it, and here we are.

[UncleChuck]

Quote

Nancy's two dads on youth serum for the win!

So Nancy must be at least 19 by now, and Ryan's death certificate (dated in 2019) said that he was born in 1984, and he was 35 years old.  Ryan was no more than 16/17 when Nancy was born, so probably 15 when he and Lucy did the deed.   Dang.  he was just a kid!

[akg]

On 1/29/2022 at 12:44 PM, thuganomics85 said:

we just dive right into the Drew Crew in the mist of a plan to use Nancy's blood to immobilize Temperance, use the soul splitter to get the last part of Charity's soul out of Ace, and actually put it in Temperance herself so that the Copperhead would kill her instead

I kept thinking I'd skipped an episode, especially when their x hours earlier scenes were so brief and barely explained anything. The show could definitely have used at least one more hour this season.

On 1/30/2022 at 2:56 PM, quarks said:

I guess Nick forsook what was dearest to him

That part of the episode confused me. Did Nick spend all of Tiffany's money on the youth center? When he mentioned selling something important, what was it? Halfway through this sentence, I realized he was talking about George's ring. I still don't understand why he needed to sell it though. Especially since I'm living in my own dream world where he and George are seconds away from realizing how stupid they're being by breaking things off completely and getting back together. 

On 1/30/2022 at 2:56 PM, quarks said:

The Icarus Hall set is a great set, so I see why they want to keep it. What I don't see is why Nancy is signing paperwork agreeing to inherit Icarus Hall now that Temperance is dead without a single "Uh, wait. The woman who tried to destroy the town and just cursed the man I'm in love with is leaving me a rather creepy house in her will. Should I find this suspicious at all?"

I was really expecting the scene after the paper signing to be Nancy setting fire to the Hall. Not only is it super suspicious for Temperance to leave it to Nancy but it's a horrible location for Nancy's detective business. It seems pretty remote and is super creepy. Even with her reputation, I think I'd be tempted to hire someone with a nice, normal office in town for my investigating needs.

On 1/30/2022 at 2:56 PM, quarks said:

So if - as the showrunners are saying - she thinks that just talking about the curse, or letting Ace find out about the curse, will doom Ace, why talk to Carson? And since she has talked to Carson, why not talk to Bess? 

I've decided Nancy hadn't intended to tell her dad, she just felt overwhelmed at that moment and spilled everything. Now that she knows telling people won't kill Ace, she can go to Bess first thing next season (I'm sure the show will prove me wrong immediately but going with this theory makes me feel better).

 

[bettername2come]

That opening was so weird and fast that it made sense it was all a month in the blink of an eye. Ryan's death was so sad. Two characters in 2022 breaking my heart with "I can't feel anything. I'm scared. I'm not ready to go." Nancy's "I see someone capable of taking a life" had me thinking this is something she should discuss with Nick instead. 

When they started going through the prophecies I totally had forgotten one of them was "one of you will lose your heart." Good thing or I might've been more worried about Ace last ep. 

This episode felt like kind of a let down. Like it all kind of built to nothing.

[Quark]

I've just finished catching up with this show and overall think it's decent (first two seasons were better). This finale was strange to say the least.

I liked the first actress that played Temperance, much more than the second. The first actress made Temperance seem amused by everything; it was hilarious to watch.

Bess is probably my favourite character, followed by Ryan, she is an absolute hoot.

George irritates me. She's far too aggressive for Nick.

[Badsamaritan]

I held off watching until I knew if there would be a new season, and since it kicks off Wednesday, I figured I'd catch up today. And wow....

This was...not good. I'm one of the few who sees no sexual chemistry between Nancy and Ace - they give me strong sibling vibes - so the entire next season built around Nace is a big bummer for me. I had to fast forward their pretend sex scene, and then I got confused about it being an hallucination so had to go back and watch part of it. Ugh.

I'm very confused about the whole Temperance arc, how the Frozen Hearts killer got caught up so easily by Temperance, how she even knew it was a trap, blah blah blah. Again, ugh. 

I hate that I'm losing interest. Fingers crossed they turn it around for S4.