Nancy Drew Review: The Confession of the Long Night (Season 3 Episode 10)
Honesty may be the best policy, but by the end of Nancy Drew Season 3 Episode 10, “The Confession of the Long Night,” it might be easier to recount what doesn’t hit the fan rather than what does. Let’s just say the repercussions are probably going to last past this hour.
The most cutting result is George and Nick’s breakup as she wonders about just how many limitations she’s set on herself in being marked to die young. Nick is far from pleased by her abrupt revelation about potentially wanting to explore her options.
It’s a logical thought, of course, but doesn’t align with how much the writers and we have invested in their relationship both within the time of the curse and outside of it. Let’s not forget about all those times they’ve been in love without George also being doomed.
In short, this is a heartbreaking step, but it’s honestly also just a frustrating and unsatisfying one. I do hope it at least allows us to see that growth George mentions for both her and Nick. They’ve been about each other a lot lately and independent character developments would be a nice silver lining.
There are several other more successful relationships at this annual winter ball—both once we want to see and, well, others. After a few painfully awkward interactions, Nancy and Park are kissing at the ball, inhibitions lowered by a certain candlelight-powered potion.
I again feel compelled to say we should genuinely like Agent Park. He’s the best of all the visiting law enforcement characters we’ve seen; more open to accepting the supernatural and Nancy’s skill at handling it while truly aligning himself with helping the town (assuming he’s not secretly evil or something.)
Reactions to the episode are already pretty clear, though. I’m rarely a fan of love triangles, and this feels like a very one-sided one in the fandom. We may be willing to wait on Nancy and Ace (and now George and Nick’s reunion, too), but everyone I’ve seen is indeed waiting for them.
Fear not: there is plenty of fodder for the ship, because although the moments of Ace and Hannah being trapped in that parallel universe feel a bit wedged in, they manage to load on the feels. That can happen which said universe threatens to vanish their very existence.
So, even if we have to keep waiting, we do get Ace being able to use his connection to Nancy to reach out to her, her relief when Temperance’s somewhat gruesome ritual brings him back, and the fact that pretty much everyone on the show sees the truth about these two.
Meanwhile, at least we have Carson and Jean developing their brand new relationship (while realizing they should probably give Nancy a heads-up) and Addie and Bess continuing to make theirs into something sweet and wonderful for them both. See? Not all happiness is dead!
There are even plot points in this episode not directly tied to romance. Many of them come from a random death followed immediately by the appearance of an old friend of Ryan’s who offers a million dollar investment in Nick’s youth center.
There isn’t much here to last past this episode. Tyler is clearly bad news and though Ryan resists that at first, truth serum makes exposing the whole thing a lot easier. It does help Nancy and Ryan air out a few things they might not say otherwise.
The one thing worth noting is the ore Tyler comes to town to target. It’s worth a lot of money, is on land sacred to Addie’s native people, and is itself deeply important to them for its potential ability to heal wounds. That all but screams foreshadowing for emotional turmoil in the rest of the season.
Everything does and probably will tie back to Temperance. The serum comes into play when Bess tries to use it on her and she instead spreads it through the crowd. Her intentions remain hidden from Nancy for the moment, now covered by a tidy layer of chaos.
Just in case you thought there was any chance she might cling to moral ambiguity over true villain status, she ends the episode by bringing Nick into a form of blackmailed silence by threatening the lives of all the children at the center.
There are signs that the prophesies on the Drew Crew are starting to play out. We’ve just unleased several new layers of plot riddled with tension and angst. We already know how season finales play out on this show, and now another comes in just a few episodes.
I’m holding back on making any predictions, largely because there are a lot of worst-case scenarios I don’t want to consider. I hope the ore is a sign that everyone at least survives what’s to come, even if we wind up having to use it on our own nerves.
What did you think of this episode of Nancy Drew? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Nancy Drew airs Fridays 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.