Nancy Drew Review: The Legend of the Murder Hotel (Season 2 Episode 7)

Over the course of a season and a half, we’ve come to expect that everything on this show will have a paranormal explanation. Nancy Drew Season 2 Episode 7, “The Legend of the Murder Hotel,” is the first in some time to disprove that… well, almost.

The overly dramatic term “murder hotel” itself is a clue that a setting that seems to fit into every horror movie cliché may in fact be intentionally theatrical, from the college volleyball players targeted as they “initiate” a new team member to the blood dripping from the walls.

It’s refreshing to remember those very early days when we weren’t certain what path this adaptation would take. The Nancy of the original novels spends her time proving that crimes that seem to be caused by ghosts really have far more human origins.

I’d go as far as to call this particular case mundane, at least once we work past the theory of a serial killer. In the end, a girl’s disappearance is linked to nothing more than a hotel that likes to set up its guests for the kind of scares that draw in visitors.

The highlight of this, and the best part of the episode, is that we eventually get to spend a moment with that girl, Jennifer, and Nancy, both reflecting on their pasts, and looking towards futures that are very much at a crossroads.

For Nancy, that means contemplating the idea of college. There’s little chance of her leaving Horseshoe Bay, but Columbia offers virtual classes. She could become a journalist totally online — if she decides what last name to use in her application.

A lot of the family and personal drama of recent episodes has come with extreme emotional highs and lows. This quieter moment of reflection for our heroine is both somber and hopeful. I’m hopeful she takes this next step.

Of course, a twist in the mystery means we can’t completely avoid the world of spirits for an episode. Jennifer’s immediate disappearance is an accident, but she soon flees with the help of a familiar figure — George. But then, it’s not really George at all.

There are the obvious reasons it’s troubling that Odette claims her possession can only be removed with George’s death. It’s also upsetting that this woman whose tragic past has humanized her is once again made into just a foe to overcome.

It’s both the expected angle for this storyline and a big of the reason I feel like it’s been unnecessarily drawn out. Unless Odette can be further explored as a person, I’d rather leave her in the past, much as I’m looking forward to more strong dramatic acting.

Elsewhere, Nick presses Ryan to follow up on taking down his family, at least when he’s not either worrying about George or helping Ace deal with Jennifer’s potential future teammates. This will be more complicated that either of them expect.

It’s no more surprising that Everett will target Nancy than it is that Odette threatens George. Since Carson says Everett absolutely cannot know Nancy is his biological granddaughter, we can be assured he’ll learn the truth by the end of the season and probably much sooner.

Even so, I’ll be all too happy to see the inevitable conclusion in which Everett is taken down. Now that it means Ryan must entrench himself back with his father, though, I am again concerned for the potential fates of characters other than our titular heroine.

Other Notes

• Ace and Nick dealing with a pack of coeds is hilarious and eventually surprisingly heartwarming. Maybe not all fictional sorority-tyoe girls are awful.
• Suddenly Ace is flirting with hotel desk clerks? Amanda is helpful and witty, but what happened to the possibility of something happening with him and Nancy?
• That chute Jennifer supposedly accidentally tripped through would lead to a brutal fall. How is she not dead or at least seriously injured?

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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