Nancy Drew and the Fantastic Second Season

The sophomore outing is often one of the hardest because with it comes expectations. In these follow-ups, be they TV seasons or movie sequels, the trend in ones that deal with supernatural elements is usually to lean into raising the stakes and complications by increasing the number of “Big Bads” the protagonist is faced with, doubling the cases or supersizing the load. It’s rarely successful. So, I was pleasantly surprised when Nancy Drew, after concluding the Agleaca storyline, a holdover from the first season, went into what appeared to be case-of-the-week episodes and delivered one of the strongest sophomore outings I’ve seen in ages.

Now you’ll notice that I wrote “appeared to be case-of-the-week” because right from the first episode of the season the writers had linked every episode with one big case, one Big Bad, but they didn’t reveal this until the second last episode of the season. For the entirety of the season, Nancy had been tied to a supernatural parasite that was feeding off her life force and influenced her actions throughout the season. The show hid the parasite by doing the unexpected, acknowledging its actions. For example, when Nancy stayed quiet in a situation she previously would’ve spoken up in, they not only had her call herself out later but over-correct what she now perceived as a personal flaw. By acknowledging these out-of-character moments they were able to hide the supernatural element of them and connect them to Nancy dealing with (aka mostly avoiding) the reveal of her true familial ties and what it means for her identity. Leaving the parasite until the end of the season when the stakes were life and death.

In hiding the season-long arc under episodic structure the writers allowed themselves to unearth more from the core characters, both as members of their group, individually, and in pairings within and outside the “Drew Crew.” Without a constant known threat hanging over their heads for the season, there was room for fun and unexpected team-ups, like Carson and Bess. In addition, the season allowed the actors to stretch their ranges via various possessions. Leah Lewis spent much of the season doing double duty as George and Odette (the ghost spirit that was the Agleaca and now shares George’s body) but Alex Saxon as Ace also stood out getting into the physicality of an old woman when acting as a conduit for her spirit.

Season 1 like many teen dramas (which Nancy Drew is even though it’s set post-High School), utilized the protagonist voice-over, also a common tool in the gumshoe genre. But after the season 2 opener, AKA when Nancy got infected with the parasite, they dropped the use. Shows often fade out their voice-overs and it made sense with the series shift to a more ensemble focus but with the parasite reveal they created another possible reason. Unfortunately, the answer to the mystery of whether this was a creative or story-driven decision won’t be revealed until season 3.

The series has 16 episodes seasons and maybe that’s part of the reason showrunners Noga Landau and Melinda Hsu Taylor took their team at Nancy Drew down the episodic path but in doing so it allowed them to take their spin on classic genre tropes. In “The Spell of the Burning Bride” Nancy finds herself overtaken with uncontrollable lust towards the male characters allowing Kennedy McMann to delve into physical comedy. However, their best dive into the genre handbook was with “The Scourge of the Forgotten Rune” which combined both the amnesia and time loop tropes to great aplomb. It’s notable that in both these examples of episodic tropes they either introduced them in parts (“The Scourge…”) or later acts after the mystery of the episode was already essentially solved (“The Spell…”).

Season 2 did lean into universe expansion by introducing the Bobbsey Twins in the first episode of season 2 and Tom Swift in a later episode. The latter of which has the potential to spinoff into a series of its own. The Bobbsey Twins were introduced mainly to be foils for Nancy this season. Amanda Bobbsey due to her budding relationship with Ace whom by the end of the season Nancy has concluded she’s been fighting her feelings towards. Nancy and Gil Bobbsey were in a relationship but in the finale, Nancy ended it because she believes the parasite blinded her to who he was and they never should’ve been together. The twins appeared in less than half of season 2 but should they return to season 3 they set the stage for interesting dynamics.

Season 1 was about Nancy Drew uncovering her identity. Season 2 was about her accepting her identity. Based on the final moments of the finale, season 3 may be about her fighting for a future where she still has an identity.

Score: A+