Carson Drew was a dead man walking on this week’s Nancy Drew. If it weren’t for the reckless actions of Ace’s kidnapping attempt, the disgraced lawyer would’ve been silenced forever. The Hudsons had him dead-to-rights and would’ve cleaned up all loose ends in the Lucy Sable case, but thankfully, Nancy Drew gave his character a reprieve and another chance to fix his mess. Ever since the series premiere, Carson hasn’t had the most interesting or well-developed plots, except for his involvement with the Lucy Sable case. Everything else, like his romance with Karen or his relationship with his daughter, fell by the wayside. Hopefully, this urgency to keep him alive will fix all that.
Ace risked a lot to protect Carson from being stabbed in prison. Hacking into the prison, forging documents, kidnapping, and starting a fake hostage situation are grounds to throw Ace in jail himself. He really didn’t think any of this through, which is a dangerous quality to have in a devious town like Horseshoe Bay. After his previous encounter with the drug bust, you would think that he would be more cautious and find a workaround. Sure, time was of the essence; however, the last thing we want is for Ace to get arrested too and end up behind bars. I love that Ace thinks about others and goes out of his way to help them, like Nancy or Bess. Let’s just hope next week he plans ahead before moving forward with a plan.
Side-note: What is the purpose of Karen’s character anymore? I like Karen, and Alvina August does a great job adding heart to the character, like creating a mother-figure for Nancy. However, Nancy Drew is adding nothing to her storyline/purpose. In her most recent scenes, Karen has dealt with the criminal missteps, like Carson getting arrested or Ace’s hostage negotiation, or the surprising connection to Lucy Sable. But, beyond that, Karen has been non-existent. Does anyone else want to see her included more?
What I loved about “The Lady of Larkspur Lane” was that both plots – the rush to save Carson’s life and the visit to the asylum – involved the group working together. Even characters prone to be lone wolves like Nancy and Ace banded together with their friends to conduct their missions; it felt out-of-place, but it was so needed for their growth. In Ace’s case, if he didn’t have Bess and Amaya to jump into the fray, neither he nor Carson would’ve been saved. The plots are proving yet again why Nancy Drew needs to go in this direction of having the group be together and act like friends. Friendship and teamwork win out over isolation and lone wolf syndrome.
Speaking of Amaya, who else is loving the new character? She is direct, commands a room, and goes for what she wants in life. Plus, Amaya probably has a long sordid history in the rich world that could expose a few secrets and open locked doors the group hadn’t been able to access before. Though, Nancy Drew was clearly teasing the beginning of a romance between her and Bess; it was so obvious that the series didn’t even need subtext in the dialogue. From the looks of it, Bess is kind of into Amaya too. This mentorship program might be the start of tension in the Lisbeth romance. I’m on the fence about this since Bess just got her love life in order and opened up to someone, but let’s see how this develops.
Over at the asylum, Nancy should learn from Ace’s example and reach out to her friends more. On many occasions, she ran off by herself to conduct her investigation and ended up in a dangerous situation in the Whisper Box. This all could’ve been avoided had she gone searching with George or Nick. Nancy’s journey to letting people is a roller coaster – it’s never been the same week twice where she lets her friends or family by her side. Nancy has a long way to go.
The main mystery involving Lucy Sable’s mother didn’t add any new momentum to the case as of yet. “The Lady of Larkspur Lane” started with the group unsure if Lucy’s mother had hurt her, and the episode ended with that question not being solved. The mother only led Nancy to a dark dimension and reinforced the fact that no one in town truly understood Lucy Sable beyond the rumors. The latter being something we as the viewers (and aspiring detectives) already knew. A “filler episode” came to mind after all the events were done and said.
On the other hand, the supernatural elements were a nice touch to the investigation. Who doesn’t get creeped out by an eerie asylum? The growing mold, moving bugs, and appearance of disappearing figures felt right at home in the setting; Nancy Drew infused a horror movie tone that suited the mystery at hand. Plus, the surprising twists, like Sal being a patient, added to the uneasiness from the eerie tone.
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George and Nick should just get together now! Their chemistry is on fire, and from the way they interacted with each other, they totally like each other. Even Nancy could tell that something was brewing between them. The focus on the diner business was an excuse for Nick to spend time with George. I’m not at the “shipping level” between them, but they have the potential for so much more.
“The Lady of Larkspur Lane” created a filler episode to push it forward to more interesting developments. Nancy Drew ended some of the background plots to bring us to the next stage of these characters’ journeys, like their dating lives, the murder case, and Nancy being trapped in an alternate dimension. Could we be in store for another “What if?” reality episode? That seems like an inevitability.
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