S04.E02: The Maiden's Rage

[jewel21]

Quote

Ace senses that Nancy is holding back and presses her to give him more information about the curse. Meanwhile, Bess is determined to prepare the perfect meal for Addy's parents, and Nick schedules a brunch date with someone new. Lastly, George's plan to let Judge Abbott know how grateful she is for the opportunity to be his clerk takes a shocking turn.

Airdate: 06/07/2023

[Shorty186]

I was happily surprised AGAIN with how they left things on the Nancy/Ace front. I did not have Nancy agreeing to break the curse in ep 2 on my bingo card. I can't tell if they're trying to lull me into a false sense of security, but I'm still cautious.

I didn't like Bro-Nancy. I think Kennedy nailed it but I don't like bros so why would I want to see Nancy as one?

I was really confused by the larger mystery. How did the judge and Logan lose their memories in the first place? Will more people be recovering memories or acting violent/aggro as they drink the water?

[thuganomics85]

Bro-Nancy was the worst.  Kennedy McMann did a great job, but that really was an obnoxious character, although I suspect that was on purpose since this episode was definitely this show's takedown on toxic masculinity.  All the other character's disgust over it was on point (and Ace was a saint for how he handled it.  And that doesn't even include literally having to fight off her physical attacks!)

I'm guessing this isn't the end of the Logan/Abbott subplot, but I'm curious to see how the tainted water is going to affect Horseshoe Bay in general.  I can't see it hitting everyone at once, so I wonder how it will be implemented and who will be the main targets?  Plenty of secrets to unlock, I'm sure!

Liked seeing Addy again.  Really hope Bess gets a relationship that actually works.

Potential new love interest for Nick, I see.  Still think he and George could end up reuniting though.

There is definitely some kind of tension between Nancy and Tristan, but it really seems clear that Ace is who she actually loves.  Glad they are continuing to not drag it out and she not only reveals all of the truth, but hint that they might actually try to find a loophole after-all.  I believe in them!

Nancy's Two Dads had the week off, but at least Ryan did provide some assistance by phone!

Still love the casual approach to the supernatural stuff like George's "Oh, of course there is a stomach pump to remove magical poison.  That checks out!" to the victim taking Nancy's "So, you were actually attack but your memories have been magically altered somehow!" revelation at face value.  Everyone in Horseshoe Bay has accepted that nothing is off the table here, and that's the best way to approach it!

[tennisgurl]

I was quite annoyed by this curse last season as its a transparent way to add more drama to keep Nancy and Ace apart, but I actually think that they've handled it well this season. I'm so glad that Ace knows what's going on so quickly and that he and Nancy are working on it together, its really circumventing the pointless communication drama that I was afraid of. Ace is handling all of this like a real champ, and while Nancy is understandably struggling, she's trying to do better when it comes to being honest. Even with this new possible love interest for Nancy, its clear that Ace is the one for her. 

Kennedy did a great job as the worlds most annoying bro, she was really going for it. I figured out pretty much instantly that the judge would have skeletons, George was spending so much time saying how great he was you knew that there would be something wrong, but I liked the twists the mystery took. So the water makes people tell the truth somehow? Or it just makes secrets leak out? That's maybe connected to the zombies? 

Nice seeing Addy again, hopefully things go well for Bess and this relationship. I also like Nick's new love interest, although I still feel really confident that he and George are going to be the endgame. 

I was hoping to get more of the sheriffs reaction to seeing zombies, I am really hoping we get to see that in the next episode. I was also sad to take a break from Nancy's two dads, but at least Ryan was being helpful over the phone!

I cracked up at how easily the victim accepted Nancy's magic water memories, that's just how it is sometimes in Horseshoe Bay. They just have so much magic stuff just lying around and people are just so down, has anyone checked to see if there's a Hellmouth around? 

"I went to Bess for moral support. Bess went to everyone else for moral support." 

"Jolene is a solid boat name." 

[bettername2come]

Kennedy always displays great comedic chops as out of character Nancy. I'm happy she told him about the curse. I didn't think that would happen. Yay for honesty! Although I kind of expected the curse to view attempting to break the curse as "acting on their feelings" and attempt to take Ace out right then and there. 

7 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

"I went to Bess for moral support. Bess went to everyone else for moral support." 

"Jolene is a solid boat name." 

These were fantastic lines. I agree about Jolene as a boat name. 

[quarks]

1. Nice of everyone else - Nancy, Carson, Ryan - to agree to clear out of the house for the evening so that Bess could have her girlfriend and her girlfriend's parents over for dinner and the show didn't have to pay for a new set.

2. And speaking of Bess - look, I'm delighted that people finally listened to one of my major complaints about last season's finale and told Bess what was going on. I am distinctly less delighted that Bess didn't immediately start trying to figure out how to break the curse. Granted, the show sorta kinda showed us that her curse breaking powers are limited - that one clarity potion only seemed to work for a few minutes - but I'd still like to think that Bess would respond to "hey, Nancy and I are under this weird death curse" with more of a "I'll get right on that," rather than "I'll spend hours cooking dinner."

3. That said, I am - so far - cautiously liking the way the show is handling the curse, and specifically that people are talking about the curse.

4. Look, I'll just say it: I LIKED Nick in the hat. I don't know what that says about me, but I liked Nick in the hat. 

5. And Jade was also very cute. I don't get the sense that they will be around for that many more episodes - I don't think that Nick and George are really over - but, still, very cute for those two scenes, with a nice, easy chemistry with Nick. And nice to see a non-binary character on the show. 

6.  Lobster guy is less immediately irritating than Gil, and his interactions with Ace were pretty hilarious, but even when the inevitable happens and the town's water supply makes Ace and Nancy temporarily forget everything, I think it's going to be hard for me to take lobster guy seriously as a potential romantic rival here, just because he has virtually no history with the group. Another reason why I wish Tamura hadn't left the show.

7. Did we see new waitstaff in the background at the Claw? I think we did! Way to finally realize that your friends are just not reliable workers, George!

[Lady Calypso]

I got around to watching this a little late, but better late than never.

These comedic-type episodes can always be hit or miss, the ones where a spell/potion goes wrong and one, or all, of the Drew Crew get affected by it in a way that I think we're supposed to laugh at?

In this case, Bro-Nancy was obnoxious and awful BUT I appreciate that the show made it very clear that she was being awful and this was not typical behaviour. I also appreciate them establishing that Nancy acting the way she was happened to be a lot to due with her feelings being locked away and not being able to really feel much of anything. Not sure I loved this Nancy/Ace plot but I do think they're making it work better than I thought they would. The honesty is nice, and I'm glad we're getting closer to the answer of it all. Yay for healthy communication!

Nick/George may not be over, but I guess it's nice that we have Jade coming along as a temporary love interest. I mean, it makes sense since George was not great to Nick in season 3, so I do think time apart is needed for both of them, but I do like that they're still interacting as friends.

Nice to see Addy and get more of her and Bess. It seems like the show is sticking with them, which is fine by me. Addy's probably the best love interest Bess has had.

Tristan seems fine for now. I actually do hope he doesn't end up like so many of the other love interests, where he turns out to be shitty. I would be totally fine to see him be a pseudo-Drew Crew member, especially with his own experience. His interaction with Ace was entertaining and I love how chill he was to Nancy's bro'ing out, and he joked about it with her later on. However, I'm fairly certain the reveal that he's also adopted is going to play into the big plot somehow, but I haven't figured out how. No way they drop that fact about Tristan in for a final season without it meaning something later on.

I did like how the case with Judge Abbott is tying in to the main mystery. What's in the water?!?!

Overall, a solid episode, not fantastic but not terrible.