S04.E09: The Memory of the Stolen Soul

[jewel21]

Quote

Nancy and the Drew Crew prepare to battle a Sin Eater.

Airdate: 07/26/2023

[quarks]

One thing that I will not miss when this show ends: the CW's episode descriptions.

Edited July 24, 2023 by quarks

[TiffanyNichelle]

Out of all the twists in this show, I did not see that ending coming.

[quarks]

At this point I really should be used to the marketing/promo ineptness that is the CW, but that episode description wasn't just lacking, it turned out to be pretty inaccurate! They did battle the Sin Eater! And many other things! Or at least shot an arrow at the Sin Eater, and some magenta dust at some other things!

Anyway, trying to move past the CW's unbelievably terrible promotional/marketing department:

1. Do I watch this show for realistic courtroom drama? No. Can I believe that the judge wouldn't have immediately had Bess arrested for contempt of court for that little magic thing in court? Also no. I mean, look, in general I am on Bess's side, but no one - NO ONE - is supposed to be tossing powder around in courtrooms, not to mention defacing courtroom paintings. Callie may have been wrong about literally everything else - ok, she was wrong about literally everything else - but she was correct about damaging paintings.

2. Though, um, I for one thought the new - well, ok, original - painting was much better on an artistic level. Maybe not something ideal for a courtroom but much better. The first one was, how to put this kindly, a terrible painting. 

3. Another sighting of Cameron, and....you know, I was into this last week, and a trifle skeptical this week. I get that he's also a pre-law student and very into George, but this random hey, you are in this courtroom too? WHAT A COINCIDENCE felt, you know, off.  Especially given what we learned about another rival love interest this episode. So I am now all suspicious of Cameron. 

4. Speaking of that rival love interest: the instant Nancy told Nick that she liked Tristan because he was uncomplicated, I thought, yep, dude is definitely complicated and is probably going to turn out to be the Sin-Eater, and the instant Connor showed off that mug, I thought, yep, that mug is not going to survive the episode, and the instant I saw those shells instead of, you know, TEXT MESSAGES, Tristan, or something cuter than shells, thought, yeah, that's going to be used later in the episode to identify his body.

And, like, I would like to take some pride, or at least credit, for guessing accurately, but this is one of the few times when the show was predictable not once, not twice, but three times in the same episode. Perhaps because it was both trying to rush towards a major plot twist AND make a very loud comment on book banning. I appreciate both efforts - and the attempt to put down some groundwork for the Tristan reveal, given that "HEY HIS PARENTS ARE TRYING TO KILL THE DREW CREW" was clearly not enough of a clue for all viewers, but...I kinda prefer the more subtle buildups.

5. Speaking of Nick and Nancy, though, great episode for them, proving that they can and do work well at investigating together, what with Nick's caution and ability to create weird whatever things, and Nancy's usually correct intuitive leaps - even if those leaps led her astray in the last few minutes. I hope we get to see more of this duo in the remaining few episodes.

6. And loved that Bess Marvin and Addy are the ones leading the "WE DO NOT BAN BOOKS YOU DREADFUL BLONDE PERSON YOU."

7. Did not love that the dreadful blonde person is now in charge of the Historical Society, with the power to quite literally whitewash the town's history. Yikes. 

8. Did love how the same group going on and on and on about the evils of the supernatural watched a supernatural event and were like, look, it's a trick. Also loved that the lawyer for the evil side was the one person going, uh, look, this can't be legal. 

9. More name dropping of Tom Swift - is this to get us to buy the complete DVD series, or a foreshadowing that he's about to make a guest appearance?

10. So....has Nancy actually killed Tristan, or just mortally wounded him? In either case I feel that this relationship has come to an end. And just as Ace appears to be making some sort of connection to a ghost in the morgue! Oh, you two crazy kids. Don't worry - I'm still sure that your curse is going to get broken just in time for you to head to Paris in the finale. Or maybe an episode or two earlier. 

Meanwhile, at least Nancy looks great holding a crossbow, even if she is now regretting all that target practice.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

Especially relevant subject matter with what's going on in Florida.

Obviously, they'll be rushing to keep Tristan alive next episode, 'cause that's more dramatic than him being suddenly dead.

The insincerity of the FFTIH's platform is blatant, given that they both want Bess to admit to spreading "false beliefs" about the supernatural and want her supernatural artifacts locked up under maximum security.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Noneofyourbusiness

[thuganomics85]

Can't thinking of many courtroom dramas were a defendant used magical powder to help prove their innocence and expose the truth!  Unless I missed that particular special Law & Order episode, which, to be fair, isn't that far-fetch considering how many seasons/episodes that show had.  Man, I would pay to watch Jack McCoy lose his shit if someone brought magic to the stand and went off in the way only Sam Waterston can!

Of course, it isn't all good news since while Bess wasn't convicted for any of the charges, the judge deemed her unfit to run the Historical Society, so she just hands it off to the FFTIH and Evil, Smirky Callie instead.  That necessary, judge?  Even if you didn't want Bess to remain in charge, couldn't you have given ownership to someone who isn't part of an organization that clearly wants to whitewash Horseshoe Bay and ignores the obvious signs of shadiness?

Happy to see Addy again and find out more about her parents as well.

Poor Connor's mug!  Ace is so getting fired!

Yeah, that reintroduction of Cameron was obvious (and clunky), so you know he will be playing some kind of significant role soon.

So, the Sin Eater isn't actually a creature but a human host for this brand of sin eating.  And the current human host?  Yup, it's good old Tristian!  Nancy sure knows how to pick them!  I'm guessing he isn't dead though (looked like the arrow hit the shoulder), so I'm guessing the next episode will be about trying to save him.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Can't thinking of many courtroom dramas were a defendant used magical powder to help prove their innocence and expose the truth!  Unless I missed that particular special Law & Order episode, which, to be fair, isn't that far-fetch considering how many seasons/episodes that show had.  Man, I would pay to watch Jack McCoy lose his shit if someone brought magic to the stand and went off in the way only Sam Waterston can!

Imagine if a defendant turned the prosecutor into a frog during cross-examination.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Noneofyourbusiness

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:38 AM, quarks said:

One thing that I will not miss when this show ends: the CW's episode descriptions.

I actually like that they give so little away, so there can be subplots I didn't know about.

[tennisgurl]

Nancy sure can pick em, of course the new guy she's interested in while on the rebound is actually the reincarnated Soul Eater! Who else could he be? Next up, Ace will probably rebound with that ghost.

Are they hinting at a Tom Swift cameo by the end of the series? Would be nice to give him a bit of closure after his show ended pretty abruptly, and watching him lose it over the crazy magical stuff going on would be hilarious. 

RIP Connors cup, and also probably RIP to Ace's job.