Well Nace fans, it’s finally out in the open. After the slowest of slow burns, one half of the Nancy/Ace pairing has shared their feelings! But how is that love confession received? And how does it fit in to Temperance’s scheming? Find out what happened in “The Spellbound Juror”!
Be Careful of Stones That You Throw
Nick has jury duty, and it just so happens to be a case where Carson will be facing off against Jean. They talk dirty with legal jargon before heading out to try the case. Carson loses the alibi he needs, so he calls George. His client Peter Tombar has a friend named Felix Raybolt who works in the kitchen at a nearby restaurant. George says she knows him and will track Felix down to provide the alibi.
As Nick gets escorted into the jury room, he finds that one of the potential jurors dropped a drawing of Gettysburg — it must be the next victim. He frantically tries to figure out who it is, realizing his only option is to get on the jury.
George finds Felix, who doesn’t want to talk. It turns out the reason Felix knows Peter is because Peter gets leftovers from the restaurant to survive. It’s against the restaurant rules, and if word gets out that Felix has been helping Peter (and others), it could jeopardize the makeshift food pantry. Since George has been in that position, she agrees to find another way to get Peter an alibi.
As Jean and Carson build their case to the jury, the judge calls them out for dating under the radar. He sequesters the jury to keep them from being influenced (the outcome Bess, who leaked the story, was looking for in order to help Nick.) George arrives to talk to Carson and Peter, and George lets them know she’s looking for alternate evidence. George realizes the security guard accusing Peter was wearing sunglasses and couldn’t have seen Peter coming — he also wears prescription glasses, and he can’t see without them.
The next day, Nick is trying to convince the jury that Peter is innocent. He references his own story and his belief in second chances, with Tunji Kasim giving a heartbreaking performance. They take another vote, and Peter is declared not guilty. George realizes she likes Carson’s job, and Carson suggests she could be a great lawyer. Jean arrives and lets Carson know that the victim woke up from his coma and confirmed Peter wasn’t his attacker. They make up as they decide to spend the weekend together.
I Will Possess Your Heart
Nancy talks to one of the servers from Jake’s restaurant, who reveals that Jake was acting erratically before he died, exhibiting the same behavior that Matthew Burke did. Ryan calls to tell her there’s a lot of Hudson heirlooms about to be up for sale, and Nancy agrees to stop by.
At the sale, Ryan comes across Celia’s jewelry box. As they browse, Ryan shares with Nancy that he has an interview at a consulting firm, which will be his first non-Hudson job. Nancy tells him she’s proud of him as they find a box of artifacts belonging to Charity. There’s a letter inside from Charity to Cora Dow completely disavowing her mother and foreshadowing Temperance’s vengeful plan. Temperance was lying about her grief at losing Charity — Charity was trying to split her soul to keep Temperance from using her to unleash evil. The Copperhead was meant to be an insurance policy in case the barrier made by the Women in White failed.
Nancy goes to Bess and Ace with what she found at the estate sale. Temperance is in New York with Park’s team tailing her, so they have some time to search for the victim. Nick manages to send info about one of the jurors through a secret code. Turns out Daniela has an ancestor who fought in the Civil War and her grandmother died at 101. Nancy has Park run the same numbers “just to double check,” which produces some great Ace jealousy faces. Nancy and Bess realize the doll is how the Copperhead is finding its victims and go around town spreading Daniela’s scent to confuse it.
Nancy and Ace realize that Daniela can’t be the next victim since she is a younger sister, not the oldest, as one of the jurors has an outburst in the courtroom. He had a nightmare that he was in a battlefield, and Nick realizes this is the true victim. Park finds out that this man is Lev Stern, and that he lives off the grid. Back in the courtroom, Lev sobs about “his” love, unable to control his visions. The judge kicks him out, and he runs away. The jury is sequestered in the hotel from “The Legend of the Murder Hotel,” and Bess comes up with an excuse to have Nick moved to the haunted room. The Drew Crew enters (Ace: “Murder room for the win”) to figure out their next move. Nick knows where Lev went.
At a local spa retreat where Lev is hiding out, the crew tells Lev about his supernatural soul situation. Bess has a plan to help as Ace shares with Nancy that both Matthew and Jake died at 11:57 p.m. They have two hours to spread his scent around town. In a stunning sequence that pays homage to Jurassic Park, Nancy is cornered in a restaurant kitchen by the Copperhead (shout out to director Larry Teng — this is the 14th Nancy Drew episode he’s directed.) She escapes by hiding as the Copperhead is distracted by Lev’s smell.
But their plan fails as Lev is lured outside the spa by the Copperhead. They chase Lev down as he creepily hums “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Nick goes after Lev and is blasted by the Copperhead, but Bess uses a protection ritual to break the trance. It’s 11:58 p.m., and apparently monsters have curfew as the Copperhead slinks away.
Can’t Fight This Feeling
Ace, Bess, George, and Nick are hoping to find the final two pieces of Charity’s soul. Seeking to one-up Park, Ace finds out that the vessels who hosted Charity’s soul have all lived to be 100, cutting down the number of family trees they need to look in.
Bess helps George move her things out of the loft, and George expresses that she thought she’d feel angry after her breakup with Nick. Instead, she just feels empty and alone. Bess tries to comfort her by saying that scar tissue is the toughest thing a human can make before Ace misses the point completely: “No man, that’s tooth enamel. That’s the toughest thing we make.” Nice work, platanchors!
Bess asks if Ace has told Nancy how he feels, and Ace confesses that he saw Park and Nancy kiss. Bess teases that he can’t be scared of a little competition, but then Ace shares his insecurities. He notes Park’s Ivy League degree and talents before adding, “I wash dishes for a living. I sleep on Nick’s couch, I got that going for me.” He quickly changes the subject, asking Bess to find the soul splitter so they can get Charity out of whoever is hosting her.
At Daniela’s apartment with Ace, Nancy sees that the temperature is warm, not like how Matthew and Jake sought the cold before they died. Park determines Daniela isn’t a match as he and Nancy flirt via text, causing Ace to ask how things are going. She says they haven’t put a label on their relationship but that Park surprised her.
After the events of the episode, Bess encourages Ace to try telling Nancy again. Ace is afraid it will change everything, and Bess says it’s worth it. Seizing his moment, Ace pulls Nancy aside.
“I have feelings for you. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time. Seeing you with Park made me realize I’ve been an idiot for not saying something sooner. I know you guys are together now, and it’s probably too late, but I just needed to tell you. So I told you.”
Nancy is stunned, and in the world’s worst timing EVER, Ryan arrives with a cheerful, “Hey, what’s up, Ace?” Ace, sensing his moment is gone, leaves as Nancy stares after him, unable to react. Ryan babbles about how “some kid” was trying to buy all of Charity’s items, so Ryan bought them back to keep them safe. The auctioneer handed Ryan a tarot card for Nancy that means “sacrifice.” We flash to the apartment Lev is going to for protection, where Temperance knocks out Lev and the guard.
Nancy Drew airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can find our other coverage of the series here!
