Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 9 Review: The Memory of the Stolen Soul
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Nancy Drew fans have tossed about some strange theories. But on Season 4 Episode 9. “The Memory of the Stolen Soul,” one of the wildest comes to fruition. If it means what the final scenes suggest, this is not how I ever wanted to resolve the issue of Tristan.
The quest against our latest threat hits the ground running, with the Drew Crew having taking major steps in determining why the sin eater exists and how it can be killed. As Nancy practices her archery, we get a new spin on the idea of “original sin”.
A shadow falls on the legacy of Horseshoe Bay’s founders early on. The depths of what that entails are a crushing reflection of some of the darkest parts of our nation’s history, and the unflinching telling of them (even a small-scale, fictionalized version) is admirable.
The founders attacked the native people on the land they’d stumbled upon, kidnapping their children and waging war. The images were burned to the walls of the town hall, but they memorialized themselves as heroes by literally painting over the truth.
All this comes out amidst Bess’s trial, which offers its own array of uplifting and heartbreaking moments, including George being the best BFF/second chair lawyer ever and the grief of her losing the historical society to the town’s biggest Karen.
Most empowering though, is Bess taking the stand both for the supernatural and for what happened to people like Addy’s ancestors Her speech, just before using her powers to strip away a mural of lies, is beautiful—and a hard truth we should all hear.
It’s a bittersweet victory given the judge’s verdict, but between the empowering moments and the ones full of love, it’s a satisfying one, too. Addy and Bess are adorable and stronger than ever. Bess and Nick will preserve the truth however they can.
Still, when the court case is over, there’s still a major battle to be won, and the fact the founders created the sin eater in the wake of their first and most unforgiveable actions takes accountability to a whole new level. This is where things go…well, bad.
Through the episode, hints are dropped in the form of seashell notes that Nancy and Tristan might be able to find something real. For most of the hour, it just feels like another frustration in the way of our hopes for Nancy and Ace. If only it were only that.
It’s after Nancy and Ryan set out, fully armed to face the monster, that Bess and Nick frantically piece together the truth. The newly created sin eater adhered itself to different hosts. It started with the kidnapped children, killing all but one.
From there, it moved to new hosts over the generations. Each host was fated to die, later awoken in the town’s roaming bodies. The latest host is a baby who grew up with adopted parents after being abandoned: Tristan, but in monstrous form.
By the time Nick and Bess call, Nancy has already taken aim. By the time she sees Tristan’s seashell next to the being, she’s already shot it, seemingly fatally. The episode closes just as she starts to realize what she’s done.
No matter how anyone feels about Tristan, it’s hard to paint this in a good light. Even if, as seems likely, the Glasses only adopted Tristan to hoard him as another of their artifacts, they’re going to be out for Nancy’s blood. But will her own guilt get there first?
There’s an epic story across generations here, from the horrors of what white “settlers” did to native people to this latest, almost Shakespearean tragedy. I’ll hold out hope until we know Tristan is dead, but the final episodes may be even darker than we imagined.
This episode was directed by Robin Givens and written by Lisa Bao & Tiffany Patterson.
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 8/7c 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.
2 comments
Thank you so much for your summary and review. I was left jaw dropping at the end of this episode. So many bombshells in this episode. I couldn’t not have seen this episode end coming. I’m still confused about all the dead bodies walking and regurgitating the black viscous material… and the connection to the sin eater. Also I’m now intrigued about the direction this new development will take with the Glasses. With this deepens the animosity ? Or is there any hope to band against the FFTH?
I have a sick feeling that Ryan might die this season. He’s been making many unnecessary mistakes and this whole Tristan thing just escalated everything.
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