Did that just happen? Or are we also having bizarre hallucinations?
On one of the most intense and horrifying installments to date, Nancy Drew Season 1 Episode 17 proved that anything can happen to anyone.
Unless you’re a series regular. Then you’re probably fine.
Owen’s death is hard to accept, but not unacceptable.
Looking back on the entirety of Nancy Drew Season 1, it’s clear that Owen was written into the series to die.
The show needed a death that would be impactful and come as a shock but wouldn’t take anything away from the show’s core.
And that’s when Owen Marvin came in.
Nancy Drew built up his relationship with Nancy enough for viewers to become invested, but not enough for it to play a major part on the series.
Owen would spend a handful of episodes sleuthing with the Drew Crew, and then disappear for the foreseeable future.
This was a tactic to show that he is expendable.
The issue, however, is that Nancy Drew created a very compelling character. Maybe more so than they intended.
Rather than forgetting about him when he was away, viewers missed his presence. It wasn’t a gigantic hole, but the series did seem to have better energy in the episodes he was a part of.
It’s not often that you find a genuinely kind and compassionate man on television with no ulterior motives.
But as much as everyone has come to love Owen, his fate was sealed the moment he first appeared on the show.
Television often forgets that it’s allowed to change it’s mind and go down a different direction than originally planned. Sometimes better things come along that are worth exploring.
Sadly, Nancy Drew didn’t change their mind about Owen, and while it’s disheartening, his murder didn’t feel like a useless death.
There was a point to it in the long-run. The ghosts have, more or less, been floating around the town causing trouble, but never chaos.
The spirit following through and refusing to show mercy is a message to viewers that there are lives at stake when it comes to the supernatural.
Nancy will also have to deal with the emotional ramifications of what happened to the man she cared about.
Although we didn’t get to see too many scenes of them as a couple, Owen had become Nancy’s safe place.
He was an escape from all the horrible things that were happening in her life, and it was satisfying to watch Nancy feel free in that relationship.
When Nancy discovered the truth about her heritage, Owen’s house was the first place she went.
Owen: I’m flying back to New York tonight. Why don’t you come with me? I think after everything that’s happened you deserve a few personal days.
Nancy: Yeah. Yeah, I do deserve that.
Will she eventually turn back to Nick once everything has settled down?
George and Nick are in a good place, so that could be something that gets complicated.
Speaking of complicated, the relationship between Nancy, Ryan, and Carson is royally screwed up.
As a viewer who doesn’t have a personal stake in the situation, it’s easy to see all sides.
Carson and Kate were trying to do the right thing by a baby they came to love and the baby’s mother.
But Nancy always wants everyone to be honest with her about everything, which is ironic given how much information she withholds from the people closest to her.
However, even if the truth is painful, Nancy wants to hear it.
Knowing that about his daughter, Carson should have come clean.
Nancy: I know what it feels like now. To have a secret that you don’t want anybody to know, because if they find out it’ll change anything.
Carson: I was afraid I was going to lose you.
Nancy: Keeping the secret changes everything, too.
But one also has to remember that no one could know that Nancy was Lucy Sable’s biological daughter. That’s a secret Nancy would have had to have kept for her safety.
By the time she’d be ready to handle that kind of life-changing information, Nancy would have already seen it as a betrayal.
There wasn’t a way for the Drews to win. But there also isn’t a single reason why Nancy shouldn’t be upset with them.
It’s a complicated situation with no right or wrong answer.
When Ryan Hudson gets thrown into the mix, things, somehow, get even crazier.
After seeing Ryan’s desperation and heartbreak over the possibility that he had a child, I wanted Nancy to fess up and ease his suffering.
Nancy: Yeah, Lucy was pregnant. You guys were together on New Years Eve of 1999. Her due date was late September 2000. She died August 31st.
Ryan: Maybe she had the baby early, you know? She put it up for adoption?
But less than five minutes later, viewers were promptly reminded that Ryan Hudson is an asshole.
Ryan’s suggestion that they do not perform the ritual because of his business rivalry with Owen was so ridiculous it appeared as if he was kidding.
I thought that Ryan was going to crack into a smile and assure Nancy that he’d never do anything like that, and it would be the moment Nancy realized her biological father might not be as horrible as she thought.
Nope. Ryan Hudson continues to be the worst.
Sure, Ryan did end up helping with the aglacea after he realized Nancy was his daughter. But it didn’t feel like a selfless or costly act.
Not to mention that he made the connection between Nancy and Lucy in the most ridiculous way possible.
Nancy just so happened to drop her locket with a baby picture in the car. Ryan just so happened to have a yearbook with Lucy’s baby picture handy.
When he compared the two everything just so happened to click.
This is a picture of Lucy as a baby from our yearbook. Compare and contrast. You look like you could be twins, Nancy. Why is that?
Ryan
How big was the photo in the locket? An inch?
Two babies looking similar in a black and white photo is a large leap for Ryan to make to that conclusion.
All babies look alike.
Nancy Drew usually pieces things together nicely, but the way this revelation played out was laughable.
Regardless of a few questionable aspects, this episode was incredible, and one of the best installments of the show.
Could the series have kept Owen alive and told an even more compelling story than they planned?
Sure.
But could his death also have been the right choice for the story? Absolutely.
As we’re nearing the end of Nancy Drew Season 1, only time will tell if they made the right move or not.
It’s your turn, Nancy Drew fans!
What did you think of “The Girl in the Locket”?
Do you think Ryan and Nancy are ever going to be able to see each other as family?
How did you feel about Owen Marvin’s death?
Hit the comments section down below and let us know your thoughts and predictions!
And don’t forget that if you missed the episode you can watch Nancy Drew online right here at TV Fanatic!
Rachel Foertsch is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.