Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 12 Review: The Heartbreak of Truth
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.
We’re almost to the end. And on Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 12 “The Heartbreak of Truth,” our biggest question has to be: how can they possibly wrap this up in just one episode?
By now, we’ve become used to tying almost everything to the saga of Nancy and Ace. With him falling for a ghost and her dating a man doomed to die young, that’s clearly going to carry through to the end of the series, whatever it brings.
You probably notice a certain shared issue in both of those relationships. It’s one that Nancy and Ace point out themselves, unable to either fight for each other or move on with someone else. The signs are so close at hand, yet they move further apart.
In the wake of the previous episode, this one is left in the shadow of sin. When the truth comes out, it’s as terrible as expected, but with one twist. It was Ace who arguably sacrificed his new beau, now known as Alice, in being forced to choose his father’s life over hers.
Nancy’s sin comes in shielding him from the truth, and it’s a fact that outrages him. While I understand, this relationship block feels manufactured. Nancy is right to call the events too horrific to accept. In the forgotten aftermath, Ace is left nearly catatonic from shock.
Alice fades away, and we feel enough for her to be affected by this foregone conclusion. We hurt more for Ace, of course, but there’s that ray of hope that he’ll finally turn back to Nancy, herself trapped in something that can’t last.
Or can it? In a surprisingly anticlimactic scene, the Drew Crew seems to relieve Tristan of his curse for real. While he’s also left reeling in the aftermath, he soon finds his way back to Nancy. Is their connection that deep already? Their kiss suggests as much.
If we haven’t been lying to ourselves about Nace being endgame all this time, what can be done to overcome this? Well, something certainly does get in the way, but we’ll come to that in a moment. For now, our star-crossed couple has so far to go in so little time.
Elsewhere, the impending end of the series is more bittersweet. Nick is still planning his road trip. George is accepted to a law school across the county, with her new boyfriend attending college nearby. And both of them seriously consider an offer to sell The Claw.
Add other, less emotionally tumultuous relationships into the mix along with the fact that Carson is very likely set to become a father again, and the impending parting of ways is clear. However far Nace may be from their closure, everyone else is ready to start a new chapter.
Four seasons feels short in light of series that last a decade or more, but with so many making it only a season or two, it’s an impressive achievement. While the ending comes too soon, at least the show has a chance to set that ending for itself.
Before we can get to it, though, we need to put to rest the notion that Callie might be forgivable—and along with it, the notion that that a series-ending fight for true love would spare Horseshoe Bay from the threat of a horrific fate.
When Tristan is saved at the expense of her power, Callie reveals herself as someone who might be the true villain of the final few episodes. She unleashes the entire, massive stock of the town’s sins upon it as residents gather for a party Bess has put together.
The last time Nancy was forced to pick between saving her home or the fate of her love, she chose the former. We know where that’s gotten us, but we won’t have that chance anymore. In this dire situation, can there be a way for her to choose both?
For now, all we can do is hope that this is the kind of series that will give us a hopeful ending rather than a tragic one. These characters all deserve to be happy, and that happiness is within reach, even if it’s harder for some. We’ll know soon enough, my Drewds.
This episode was directed by Kristin Lehman and written by Celine.
Other Notes
- So Ryan is dating Red, the relic lady he bargained with? I love it, but when the heck did It happen?
- Bess can throw a town bonfire and party together in 24 hours flat. Those are sellable skills.
- Tristan talks about telling his parents everything, but weren’t the Glasses arrested? We simply won’t have time to worry about them in the series finale either way.
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.