Nancy Drew Review: The Lady of Larkspur Lane (Season 1 Episode 12)
Nancy searches for clues to save her father, not knowing just how much danger he’s in, on Nancy Drew Season 1 Episode 12, “The Lady of Larkspur Lane.”
Things are as frantic as ever for the Drew Crew, but after a couple episodes of loosely-organized chaos, it’s nice to see plotlines that are generally easy to follow while keeping them same pace—and being connected to boot.
That connection centers on Carson and the threat on his life that plays out much sooner than I’ve been expecting. I also definitely didn’t anticipate it taking the form of comic relief.
On paper, Ace breaking Nancy’s father out of prison moments before he’ll be killed without any plan shouldn’t work. It’s hard to picture finding humor as cops surround the Drew house, demanding they both come out to their fates.
Yet there’s just something that works about it. Ace is fantastic here, as are Carson’s bewildered and exasperated reactions. It doesn’t hurt that we’re long overdue for things that aren’t terrifying or heartbreaking.
Still, the other reason this part of the episode works is that it balances the humor with the true seriousness of the situation. Sure, Ace hasn’t exactly thought it through, but he’s not taking it lightly. We feel the stakes throughout.
Carson is saved through the intervention of Bess and Ryan Hudson, but I admit that I was never sure of this, even while believing he’d never really get killed off. It says a lot that this is so believable even in a plotline with laughs.
As this is Nancy Drew, any humor must be balanced with horror. We get it in spades, through roaches, a spreading mold, and a room that has seen entire families die with smiles on their faces.
The climax of this, at least before that cliffhanger, is the scene in which Nancy meets Dead Lucy’s mother in the midst of a delusion that she’s living in a time where her daughter is still alive.
The tragic element of this works better than the creepy one that arises in the same scene. It’s heightened by the notion we don’t know whether Lucy’s mother helped or hurt her. Her actress is wonderful in her too-short scenes.
I enjoy the awkward situations the rest of the Drew Crew has to place themselves in here. (Nancy must owe her friends at least several rounds of drinks by now.) I’m considerably less fond of the vivid imagery of crawling insects.
It’s all leading to a point, of course. There’s fun and effective little twist when the man helping George and Nick turns out to be a patient of the sanitorium and not a doctor. By this time, Nancy’s already inside the “whisper room.”
The entire backstory behind this room feels disjointed, especially in light of plots that otherwise work so well together. I’m not yet sure I see the point of the “alternate reality” story that we’re about to see.
This doesn’t mean I’m not curious. It has the potential to be a fantastic standalone plot. I’m just unsure whether it will move the overall plot forward at all. We’re more than halfway through the season now, and there’s a lot left to happen, leaving little time for distractions.
Other Notes
- I like Amaya as Bess’s new mentor, but must we create romantic tension? Nancy/Nick/Owen already feels like one love triangle too many. Also, where was Owen here?
- The jury’s still out for me on Ryan. I just don’t know if we’re being mislead in trusting him. If we are, owing him a favor could be bad news.
- Speaking of that other love triangle, we’re continuing to see a lot of Nick and George. I’m fully on board with the friendship. A potential romance? I’ll wait and see.
What did you think of this episode of Nancy Drew? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Nancy Drew airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Caitlin Wyneken
Caitlin is an elder millennial with an only slightly unhealthy dedication to a random selection of TV shows, from PBS Masterpiece dramas to some of the less popular series on popular networks. Outside of screen time, she's dedicated to the public sector and worthy nonprofits, working to make a difference in the world outside of media.