Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 10 Review: The Ballad of Lives Forgone

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.

On Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 10, “The Ballad of Lives Forgone,” Tristan’s demise isn’t as set in stone as we might expect, but there’s still little room for relief—even after he’s saved.

It takes several gruesome seconds for the sin eater to transform back into Nancy’s new beau and confirm her worst fears. We hit the ground running from her and Ryan’s frantic attempts to explain the situation to everyone else.

“Everyone else” soon includes the Glasses, and for almost the entire episode (spoiler alert!), they make us question our notions of them, perfectly playing the role of parents distraught over the possibility of losing their son to this curse too soon.

They aren’t alone. Though theoretically we could assume that giving our heroes hope for Tristan means we’ll follow through on saving him, the odds of beating something like this feel tiny. Then again, this drama has never been too rooted to realism.

After a couple false starts, Nancy slips into Tristan’s subconscious chasing the very last sin his sin eater witnessed. It’s a tellingly anonymous one, and our relief that she won’t have to live with the guilt of killing someone is tinged with doubts over what’s to come.

With this being a full “all hands on deck” situation, it feels strange for any characters to be focused on anything else. To be fair, Ace and Bess do help Nancy early on. It makes it even more impressive that they save another life, too.

These two have a great dynamic together, and it’s lovely to see it again so close to the end, even under tense circumstances. After a case of mistaken identity with Ace’s ghostly friend in the morgue, they set out to find another girl who is very much alive.

It’s bittersweet seeing Mia emerge alive, knowing another family not expecting a tragedy may soon receive one about the real dead girl. It’s also about when we and Ace see her — in a beautiful and unburned body — that things get weird.

It’s not explicitly stated that he feels “something” for her, but receiving words of caution from Bess, who has experienced romance with someone from the other side, is telling. This can’t really go anywhere with just a few episodes left in the series, can it?

Unfortunately, this is far from the only thing to worry about. After momentarily taking the drama as a sign to break things off with Tristan, Nancy instead takes a message from one of his past lives as a sign they might be soulmates.

This could be a devastating blow to Nace, but the stakes are about to change dramatically. The Glasses learn that Nancy carries the last sin for Tristan’s sin eater, and that saving him means sacrificing her. Just when I was considering liking them, too.

I’d be more worried if this were the penultimate episode. The title character dying in the closing scenes is unlikely but not completely out of the question for a show like this. But it’s sure not going to happen this early on.

Instead, we’re likely to get Ace, the dads, and the whole Drew Crew in a fervor to save Nancy’s life. I have a feeling it’s something most fans will be happy to see, especially if it means coming back to the truth about her real soulmate along the way.

—

This episode was directed by Kristin Lehman and written by Lauriel Harte Marger & Hayley Munoz

What did you think of this episode of Nancy Drew? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Nancy Drew airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

15 Most Binge-Worthy Shows of 2023 (So Far!)