Nancy Drew Review: The Sign of the Uninvited Guest (Season 1 Episode 14)

A plot twists acts as the final puzzle piece to catch a killer on Nancy Drew Season 1 Episode 14, “The Sign of the Uninvited Guest.”

Fourteen episodes in, and we finally know who killed Tiffany Hudson. If you’re reading this before watching, know that spoilers are contained within.

After spending half a season slowly unraveling clues and connections, this episode feels like a race to a finish line, albeit one that only solves one of two murders, leaves us with still more questions, and takes a total 180 halfway through.

In a world of suspects, Ryan Hudson has been perhaps the figure of most indeterminable morality. He’s certainly not citizen of the year, but the work to slowly convince us he may not be guilty of his wife’s murder is effective.

That makes his launch back to the top of the suspect list even more abrupt. Soon enough, it’s also just another red herring. The poison that killed Tiffany was meant for him—targeted in an act of vengeance.

This is the series’ most effective shocking reveal to date. When it leads us to a killer, it makes us want to re-watch every moment that’s lead to it, looking for the subtle hints that seem almost obvious in light of the news.

Ryan has long been the most logical person to have killed Lucy. That’s established more here. The murder drove Lucy’s mother insane and left the brother we’ve only recently heard of left alone as a bereft caregiver.

There are layers of tragedy in confirming Joshua’s guilt: that he acts out of grief, that an innocent woman is dead because of a mistake, and that Ryan may not be guilty at all. And, of course, there’s that ending.

For a show so heavy on paranormal scares, handing some of the most brutal imagery to Joshua’s graphic and very human death is both bold and stomach-turning. Overall, I can do without seeing a man get fried alive, even if it is as he tries to kill our hero.

Tiffany can rest easy, though at the cost of Patrice losing both her children and likely her last connection to reality. Lucy’s spirit still lingers, as does her mystery. That “may” surrounding Ryan’s potential innocence is still the biggest one on the show.

If he is innocent, just what is Lucy trying to tell Nancy and us? It’s already odd that she seems to have led us straight to her own brother’s guilt. If he’s guilty, do we assume she’s trying to protect the Drew Crew from him? How long will that hold?

For now, those answers feel like anyone’s guess, and the same can be said for the new mystery inevitably shoved in in the disappearance of Joshua’s body. A bit cliché, but still intriguingly puzzling under these circumstances.

Given what we see (shudder) it seems extremely unlikely he can still be alive. The more likely matter is who moves him and why. Ghosts? Humans? I’m open to almost any answer. Any one that doesn’t involve zombies, anyway.

Other Notes

• Ace and Laura have never felt long-term, and now that she’s off to Paris without him, it seems likely the tension between him and his hacker librarian “nemesis” will turn romantic. I’ll need more time with it.
• I am still fully on board with Bess and Lizbeth and am still anxious about the idea of a love triangle with Amaya. I know stable relationships don’t draw in the ratings, but couldn’t we just have one?
• Nancy and Nick seem to forget they’re broken up at a couple points, though promos tell us that doesn’t mean much. Meanwhile, the way Karen with Nancy about Carson, does she even remember their own relationship?

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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