S04.E05: The Oracle of the Whispering Remains

[jewel21]

Quote

The Drew Crew discover a clue in an unexpected place and call in someone from George’s past to help find answers.

Airdate: 06/28/2023

[bettername2come]

I enjoyed this one. Kennedy McMann's comedic chops in the speed dating scene were shown off. I'm always happy to see Osric Chau. He and Ryan should form a "teenage fathers who came into their daughters lives late but are doing a pretty decent job now" club. I feel George's paper check is going to be destroyed before it gets to the bank, but I love that she was going to set all her sisters up with college funds. Bess is at her best when she is looking out for her friends in overbearing and annoying ways. She's just so enthusiastic about helping them in the most awkward way possible. She manages to make it charming and sincere. 

[the-grey-lady]

I really enjoyed every aspect of this episode, especially Bess's delightful meddling. But that scene with Nancy and Ace at the morgue was brutal, and it felt like a goodbye.

[quarks]

This show just does such a delightful job of mixing comedy - that speed dating bit - and horror - not just Bess stepping on a tattooed tooth (like, yuck) but whatever that creature was in the last couple of minutes. Loved it. Though I do have some questions/qualms:

1. I admittedly am not a dental expert in any way, but, uh, how exactly did the coroner determine that the mystical markings just grew on the teeth, instead of getting put on the teeth? Did he just decide that the markings weren't made of dental porcelain or something like that? And how could he tell without removing the marks, which he apparently didn't do? These are the questions that don't get answered when you are focusing on your lunch break, coroner!

2. Love how the coroner has just given up on resisting all of the "can we just steal the teeth, thanks?"

3. "Thank you for letting us use your biological dad to meet a stranger from the internet." Thank you, show, for acknowledging the inherent craziness of all of this, not to mention following this zinger up by immediately bringing in Nancy's biological dad.

4. Though speaking of the first biological dad - I like Osric Chau, but he just does not look old enough to be George's father. The father of one of her younger sisters, maybe.

5. And speaking of the second biological dad - Ryan, kinda sorta glad that you have apparently found your calling, but maybe try to dress a trifle less suspiciously for these outdoor encounters? The trenchcoat was one thing; pairing it with a black baseball cap just kinda screamed HELLO I AM NOT AT ALL SUSPICIOUS DO NOT LOOK AT ME SUSPICIOUSLY REALLY NOT SUSPICIOUS HI NANCY

6. And speaking of Ryan and Nancy....one thing I noticed: both of Nancy's dads essentially had just one true love, and both of them went massively downhill after losing that true love, although they are both recovering/recovered. Still. It's no wonder that Nancy is kinda panicking/angry over losing her true love, especially since, unlike me, she doesn't realize that she'll be back with Ace in just a few more episodes. Nine at the most. Because even apart from the pain, she's seen what this can do to people. Ace, though, knows that his father was able to fall in love with two different women - and he's seen his father recover. So Ace and Nancy are both bringing different lived experiences to this breakup, thus explaining their different definitions of love.

7. George! TAKE THE CHECK AND ALL THE OFFERED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE! Avoid the student loan trap!

8. Nick! Before bribing people with pie, find out their favorite flavour and THEN bribe away!

9. Bess! I love you, but learn to recognize when people are not yet ready for the speed dating scene! I suspect a good half of those guys are now scared off of speed dating for life! 

Edited June 30, 2023 by quarks

[quarks]

1 hour ago, the-grey-lady said:

I really enjoyed every aspect of this episode, especially Bess's delightful meddling. But that scene with Nancy and Ace at the morgue was brutal, and it felt like a goodbye.

I genuinely liked that Nancy was able to tell Ace that hey, he created this particular situation, and that Ace in turn was able to give her his definition of true love - and that just moments later, they were conferring with the Drew Crew about the mysterious artifact and going monster hunting with the rest of the gang. It showed the importance of their friendship, and that they can still communicate.

Granted, I'm also expecting them to get back together within eight episodes, if not sooner, so...that may have colored my reaction to that scene.

[thuganomics85]

Liked seeing Edwin again, even if my brain is always going to struggle with buying Osric Chau as a father of someone in their late teens.  I know it's been established he had George young, but it's still wild!  But I loved him being part of the mission and how excited he got over it (a common theme with the dads on this show!)  And while he and George are understandably not leaving things as a full-fledge family or anything, I'm glad they've taken the steps to at least visiting once a year for a teeth clean (even though you should visit the dentist twice a year, George!)

Ryan getting into the artifact trading game was something I didn't predict!  Glad he found a purpose, but like Nancy, I hope he doesn't slip into anything too nefarious.  But I'm glad he ended up being a big help here.  I wonder if we'll see that mysterious woman again since she and Ryan did seem to be vibing a bit and have a common enemy.  The actress was good too (remember her as Menagerie on Supergirl.)

Great seeing Connor the Coroner again.  I was wondering what the chances were since Giacomo Baessato has a more steady gig over on The Good Doctor as Jerome, but I'm glad he at least showed up once!  Loved how Connor kind of accepted he wouldn't be able to stop Nancy from stealing the teeth, so he just accepted fate and lent it to her instead (although he did put poor Ace's job on the line!)

Fun seeing some of the same town-folks from the council meeting at the police station as well.  This show has actually done a solid job at making Horseshoe Baby and its citizens feel lived-in in a way I usually don't expect in television shows.

Nancy's parade of speed date suitors was hilarious, but I kind of wanted to see more of Ryan's.  You just know some thought his obsession with straws was some kind of euphemism!

No Carson again, sadly, but at least Scott Wolf got to direct!

Nancy/Ace's big showdown did lead a few vibes that there is a way to move forward without being together, but I guess I'm just a sucker because I still think it's going to end with them being back together, dammit!

Well, that creature at the end was disturbing!  Good luck with that, Drew Crew!

[the-grey-lady]

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Nancy/Ace's big showdown did lead a few vibes that there is a way to move forward without being together

Exactly. They said that during the conversation.

[tennisgurl]

I swear, they had better not be heading towards an ending where Nancy and Ace aren't together by the end of the show, especially if its all over this damn curse. They are actually handling things pretty well all things considered, I really feel for both Ace and Nancy and can understand their points of view, but this really hurts. That last conversation sounded way too much like a real goodbye for my liking. At least we got to take a break from the sadness with the speed dating scene, Kennedy McMann was hilarious. 

It was fun seeing George's dad again, he might have really messed things up but he is putting in a lot of effort now, I'm glad that George is willing to give him just a leg in the door. His glee at being part of the mission was really fun, like any good Drew Crew dad he is just SO down to be a part of whatever crazy scheme is happening. Its still weird to think that he's George's dad, even if he had her really young, which I think the show even acknowledged when his reaction to Ryan being Nancy's dad was "he must have had her when he was eighteen." He and Ryan truly can start a club, although Ryan certainly has a better excuse for not being there to raise his daughter. 

Speaking of Ryan, Nancy's reaction to seeing Ryan as the secret informant was priceless. Ryan might have found his calling working in magic antiques, but I'm with Nancy in being worried. He might be great at this, but he really needs to work on his stealth, he might be meeting up on park benches with secret code names, but he's basically still the guy who didn't know how to do dishes until about a month ago.

I loved seeing some of the same people at the police station that we saw at the town council meeting, especially the conspiracy guy who's yelling about cults. In any other town he would just be the local coot, but he's actually got a point, even if its not for the reason he might think. As weird as Horseshoe Bay is, they do a great job at making it feel like a real place. We even got to see Connor the Coroner, who is just

That's a creepy ass monster, this mystery is really getting good!

[quarks]

4 hours ago, the-grey-lady said:

Exactly. They said that during the conversation.

I mean, sure, but they also made a huge point this episode of pointing out that not only are they both still still in love with each other, but they both believe that the other one is the love of their lives. Neither one is willing or able to move on. Ace refused to even try the speed dating thing - and Nick and Bess didn't push him on it. Nancy's speed dating was a complete disaster. Hilarious, but a disaster, because she's fixated on Ace. And Ace made it clear that he doesn't want to just be colleagues, either - that feels like a punishment to him. 

So, yeah, although I'm pretty sure that the next episode will show each of them trying to move on, I'm also pretty sure they are getting back together at some point this season - possibly as early as episode 8, but certainly by episode 13.

[the-grey-lady]

On 6/30/2023 at 10:46 PM, quarks said:

I mean, sure, but they also made a huge point this episode of pointing out that not only are they both still still in love with each other, but they both believe that the other one is the love of their lives. Neither one is willing or able to move on. Ace refused to even try the speed dating thing - and Nick and Bess didn't push him on it. Nancy's speed dating was a complete disaster. Hilarious, but a disaster, because she's fixated on Ace. And Ace made it clear that he doesn't want to just be colleagues, either - that feels like a punishment to him. 

So, yeah, although I'm pretty sure that the next episode will show each of them trying to move on, I'm also pretty sure they are getting back together at some point this season - possibly as early as episode 8, but certainly by episode 13.

I so hope you're right. I'm just annoyed they're introducing alternative love interests at this point.

[quarks]

24 minutes ago, the-grey-lady said:

I so hope you're right. I'm just annoyed they're introducing alternative love interests at this point.

That's fair. I mean, a, we've already seen alternative love interests, and b, although in my experience it's relatively common for people to jump into rebound relationships, also in my experience it's usually either because at least one person has said, yeah, I'm not in love any more (which isn't happening in this situation), or at least one person has said, I'm not ready for this/we're going too fast/can we take a break (which is happening with George and Nick, but not with Nancy and Ace.)

That said, I'm not really convinced these alternative love interests will amount to that much in terms of romance/relationships - especially Tristan, who seems to be around as much for his connections with the evil relic dealers as for a romantic interest. So this doesn't bother me that much. Not to mention that so far, at least, Tristan is a HUGE improvement on Gil, so, there's that.

[the-grey-lady]

5 hours ago, quarks said:

That's fair. I mean, a, we've already seen alternative love interests, and b, although in my experience it's relatively common for people to jump into rebound relationships, also in my experience it's usually either because at least one person has said, yeah, I'm not in love any more (which isn't happening in this situation), or at least one person has said, I'm not ready for this/we're going too fast/can we take a break (which is happening with George and Nick, but not with Nancy and Ace.)

That said, I'm not really convinced these alternative love interests will amount to that much in terms of romance/relationships - especially Tristan, who seems to be around as much for his connections with the evil relic dealers as for a romantic interest. So this doesn't bother me that much. Not to mention that so far, at least, Tristan is a HUGE improvement on Gil, so, there's that.

Those are great points, and you're probably right about the function of these love interests. It's just frustrating with so few episodes left.

Everyone is a huge improvement over Gil. 😉