Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 4 continued to dig into the mystery of the sludgy water—their words, not mine.
Nick has been lobbying to get the town to test the water with no luck, and it’s absolutely not a coincidence that the person standing in his way, Councilwoman Brie, became the next victim.
It took the Drew Crew a minute to make the connection between Brie and the production of the new movie filming in Horseshoe Bay, a remake of a ’90s classic slasher titled Longhook.
In fact, the episode brought it all the way back to DetectiveCon from last season as the director of the film, Laci, is someone that Nancy already worked with.
Nancy actually walked onto the set of the movie by accident after hearing a woman screaming outside of her office. The only thing to get her out of a funk is the prospect of a new supernatural case—and the moment it arose, she ran head-first into danger.
She was quite startled to see that she interrupted the filming of a movie, but when she realized that her expertise might be needed, she hopes that this is what will help her heal from her heartbreak… or at least get her mind off of it.
While she initially starts working for Laci gratis, it’s not long before her particular set of skills is in demand and she’s actually hired as the dangerous on-set antics keep amping up, eventually nearly killing the director in the same fashion that the director of the original Longhook film died.
And that’s when Nancy pieces it all together. Jim Stanley, the original director, liked to prank his cast and crew, and one of those crew members was a young Brie, whose house they were filming in. Doug informed Nancy that all of the stunt crew drank water from Brie’s house, and when they did, he noticed their veins turned black, proving that they were infected.
Nancy knew exactly what was happening as she experienced it personally, so she sent an SOS to George and Nick, who were one step ahead of her and at Brie’s house. George then confronted the councilwoman to inquire about what happened on set in the ’90s to figure out why the current set is being haunted.
Brie confessed to remembering that she actually despised her time on set, despite her initial recollection that she loved the movie, which ended with her committing a major crime. Along with the stunt crew, Brie wanted to prank Jim Stanley to get back at him for scaring them, so they snuck into his hotel room and set up elaborate pranks. She, however, went the extra mile, scaring him so badly that he drowned in a bathtub. She could’ve helped him but she didn’t move a muscle, watching him die right in front of her instead.
And now, the stunt crew in the new movie was feeling those effects and taking their anger out on Laci. After they ambushed her at Nancy Drew Investigates, they watched her nearly bleed out after getting slashed by a piece of glass through the abdomen. Thankfully, Nancy arrived on time to save Laci and use the supernatural stomach pump—that she and Bess broke—on the remaining crew members.
Nancy Drew — “The Return of the Killer’s Hook” — Image Number: NCD404a_0314r — Pictured (L-R): Tunji Kasim as Ned ”Nick” Nickerson, Leah Lewis as George Fan, Kennedy McMann as Nancy Drew, and Maddison Jaizani as Bess Marvin — Photo Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW– © 2023 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
With the town’s water still posing a risk to the population, they’re going to want to fix that stomach pump immediately. And with all of the black matter that the crew regurgitated, Nancy likely needs a new office carpet.
Brie admitted to her crime and agreed to resign from the town council as punishment (it’s not jail, but it’s something that will provide a slice of justice), making way for Nick to lobby for the position, but she also divulged that her father buried the truth by paying a visit to the black door.
Unfortunately, he passed away, so he couldn’t tell them what that meant, however, Ace’s sleuthing connected Brie’s dad Ron to Judge Abbott, whose demise came at the hands of the tainted water.
What’s this mystical black door that they are referring to? This mystery is far from over, which will, at the very least, keep Nancy’s mind off of Ace in some capacity.
She questions what will happen if she can’t ever get over the love of her life, but everyone keeps assuring her that with enough time, she will.
Breakups are hard, and in Nancy’s case, she’s literally mourning the loss of a person she loved, so she has to go through the grieving process to allow herself to one day move on and be happy again.
Ace will always be in her orbit, but she needs to channel her love and feelings for someone else, and for the time being, Nancy Drew Investigates is a good substitute. I’m guessing eventually, Tyler will also step in there as a placeholder until they find a promising way to finally break the curse.
She’s also surrounded by so many people that love and care for her, including Ryan, aka Dad #2. Ryan came along for the ride, which was exciting for him as a self-proclaimed Longhook fanatic. And there’s nothing funnier than the Nancy Drew stating that she doesn’t do horror movies and screaming at the top of her lungs at the slightest jump scare. How is she scared of the fictional horrors but not when she’s facing down demonic spirits and ghosts? It doesn’t make any sense, but that’s why we love her.
George and Nick realized that they still make a great team, even if they aren’t in a relationship, and it’s promising that they are getting to the next phase in their relationship.
As for Bess, she’s made a new enemy in town—Chief Lovett. It’s always been Nancy who has an axe to grind with the chiefs, but this time, Lovett wants to silence Bess from spreading the history of the supernatural to the town’s folk. You know that isn’t going to sit well with her, especially as the whole town may soon be feeling the effects of the tainted water supply. Don’t they deserve to know the truth if they stand a chance at staying safe and defending themselves?
What did you think about the episode? Are you enjoying the new mystery of the season? How do you think it will resolve itself?