Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 11 Review: The Sinner's Sacrifice
Christine Orlando
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What did Nancy do? Not even she knew on Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 11.
All she could remember was flame, which coincided with a charred body at the morgue and Ace being strangely connected to a ghost.
What the heck is going on? Why would Nancy go to the fountain of the sin eater? What did one brief conversation with Ace make her so desperate to forget?
Whatever it was, the guilt of it is tearing Nancy up inside, and she won't let it go until she knows the truth.
Of course, she won't. She's Nancy Drew. If there's a mystery to solve, she solves it.
And this one has to do with herself and the love of her life.
It was incredibly sweet of Ryan to try and convince her to let it go. To remind Nancy that she is so much more than her worst moment, no matter how bad it might be.
Ryan and Nancy are one of many highlights of the series. To think that barely a year ago, he didn't know he had a daughter, and now he'd do just about anything to help Nancy or keep her safe.
There is a fragile tenderness to their relationship. Maybe it's the newness of it. Maybe it's that, until now, they missed out on a father/daughter bond through no fault of their own, but there's a preciousness in their connection that they both seem willing to nurture, even if that goes unsaid most of the time.
It's so sweet it almost hurts to watch.
Speaking of pain, we'll move on to Ace and his ghost.
It's heartbreaking to know that Ace has been so lonely and miserable that speaking to a ghost through an old transistor radio has been his only joy for weeks.
Nancy: Bess said that you wouldn't want my help.
Ace: But you did it anyway. Why do you have to solve this?
Nancy: Why don't you want to solve it?
Ace: Because I like her. I like Jane Doe's ghost, and she feels the same way. I know she's a ghost. I know it doesn't make sense, but I don't care.
Nancy: Ace, I…
Ace: For the first time since you, somebody makes me feel happy. If you solve this, she'll go. I don't want her to leave.
There's something very wrong here, but it feels like we're missing key pieces of the puzzle. This ghost doesn't even know who she is. She doesn't have a name. The only thing she remembers about her death is that she was cold, and yet her body was charred beyond recognition.
And she's oddly fixated on Ace.
Yes, who wouldn't want to fixate on Ace, but to our knowledge, Ace has never been able to directly communicate with the dead before, so why is this happening now?
As I said, there are pieces to this puzzle we haven't been given but kudos to the Nancy Drew writer for crafting a mystery that I can't wait to solve.
Also, it's a bit of a relief to know that Nancy and Ace found it so difficult to move on from one another that Nancy turned to the supernatural for help.
Because something about her deciding to date Tristan never felt right. Nor have their friends been so willing to accept that they weren't going to try and solve the death curse Temperance put on them.
Since when does the Drew Crew give up?
One of the most memorable moments of the entire series may be Ace leading the Passover seder with his friends and family in attendance.
I've never attended a seder, but this had me hoping to be invited to one someday. There's always been something about Jewish traditions that I've found fascinating. Perhaps it's because no matter how many times the evil in the world tries to annihilate them, they persevere.
It's clear that no matter how contentious Ace's relationship with his father can be, there is a great love between them, and these shared traditions help make their family stronger. And now Ace has chosen to share that with his chosen family as well.
But it was sad to hear that Ace has always wanted to share the seder with a date. That person should be Nancy. Instead, he was sharing it with a ghost.
This gathering brought about other issues as well.
Nick was horrified when he overheard George and Judge Abbott's conversation.
Nick: You sent Abbott to sacrifice himself.
George: It was his idea. Redeem himself by saving Nancy. His choice.
Nick: But you didn't try to talk him out of it, so it was your choice too.
George: Okay, fine. You win the debate. He'll just have a target on his back until we solve the sin-eater curse, but that will be easier to do if Nancy's not dead.
Nick: And if Abbott dies? You can't sacrifice one life to save another.
George: No? If I talked him out of it, I'd be doing the same thing. Who do you want to save, Nick? Our friend who we love or a piece of crap judge who buried an assault?
That George seemed so willing to let a man die to save their friend shook Nick to his core.
The expression on Nick's face spoke volumes. George has always had a hard outer shell, but could the woman he once loved and had planned to marry really be so callous?
Thankfully, Nick's rebuke got through to George in this Nancy Drew quote.
Abbott: Let me redeem myself.
George: This will not do that. Putting a target on your back is punishment, not redemption, not accountability. We do not sacrifice one life to save another.
George and Nick challenge one another and care about each other deeply. Would they really be happy seeing the other truly move on with someone else? Perhaps, but I just don't feel it.
I still hope they end up back together, even though with each passing installment, I fear that won't happen.
And then there was Jean's pregnancy.
The moment Jean stumbled over her explanation as to why she was at the hospital, it was obvious she was likely pregnant.
The only thing more surprising was that Nancy was so off her game that she didn't ask the glaring question and follow the clue. If podiatry wasn't on the third floor, then what was? Likely, OB/GYN.
Jean was asking Carson all of the right questions. He's already raised a child. Does he want to start from the beginning again?
When Carson and Kate "adopted" Nancy, they were already married. They loved and were committed to one another. Carson and Jean's relationship is new. In the scheme of things, they barely know one another.
It felt like Jean was leaning towards having this child. If so, will she and Carson co-parent, or will this hit the fast-forward button on their budding romance?
Finally, we get to the twisted development that Callie, like generations of her family before her, is actually the minder for the sin eater.
Nick: Erasing history since 1805.
Callie: Well, the town's a better place for it.
So is Callie publically against the teaching of anything supernatural because she wants to keep the town from knowing about its sordid past? Or does she just want to keep that power for herself?
Either way, she put the Drew Crew on notice.
Know this. I don't care about any of you, and if you ever try to break the sin eater's legacy like the Glasses did tonight, I'll come for you without mercy.
Callie
With only two more episodes left, we're left with far more questions than answers.
Is this the last we'll see of the Glasses?
With Callie protecting the sin eater legacy, is Tristan destined to die before he turns 30?
If this weren't Nancy Drew's final season, I would worry about the sin eater curse attaching to the soul of Carson and Jean's baby, but I just don't think there's enough time left for that.
Most importantly, what did Nancy do that sent her running to erase her sin? And will solving that mystery bring her and Ace back together?
Check back in next week for our Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 12 review, but for now, hit that SHOW COMMENTS button to share your thoughts and theories on this week's episode.
Then, go watch Nancy Drew online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
