Nancy Drew is stuck in more ways than one- She has just lost Ace; she doesn’t know how to break the love curse, and her hometown is about to have its own demonstration of “Days Gone.” But she is taking Ace’s absence more seriously than the rest. She isn’t talking to anyone and is spending her days at her lair. And to make matters worse, she doesn’t have a case that will reroute her attention. Well, the events of Nancy Drew episode 4 do that for her. Meanwhile, George and Nick try to find out what’s wrong with Brie Fortfield, the City Council Chief, because they haven’t seen her or heard from her for over a week. The last we saw of her was her screaming in her bathtub at the end of Episode 3. Here’s what happens:
Spoilers Ahead
Not At All Normal
A scream from the woods brings Nancy to a film set. Her friend Laci McAllister is directing her own version of the 1990s slasher Longhook. But since the shoot began, there have been occurrences on set that cannot really be termed natural. Nancy decides to look into it, although Laci would rather Nancy didn’t. Maybe she just doesn’t want to delay her shoot anymore. Back at The Bayside Claw, George and Nick realize that City Council Chief Brie hasn’t met either of them despite their arrangements. The fact that she hasn’t posted anything on social media is also unusual because she posts by the day. They need to speak to her or, better yet, find out if there’s anything wrong. After all, there’s water everywhere, but technically not a drop to drink. We know what’s wrong and can only hope that George and Nick aren’t too late. Moreover, Bess is a part of Laci’s Longhook. She will be playing a victim. So she will be the first one to die, and she is very happy about it. Don’t jinx it, Bess. Things seem quite normal, but I cannot help but think that by now, a considerable population of Horseshoe Bay must have ingested the water. Why aren’t there any reports on it anywhere?
Threat On The Set
During the shoot, Nancy and Ryan come across another such occurrence that seems to be more of a threat, i.e., words written on a mirror using blood. Laci doesn’t want things to go from bad to worse, so she “hires” Nancy. Nancy has formulated her own theory that the shooting itself has invoked the real Longhook, which is insane because Longhook is just a character created by Tom Brooker. The first assistant director, Doug, reveals that Jim Stanley, the director of Longhook in the 1990s, used to pull scary pranks on his unit to set the mood. He was known to exchange fake props for real ones, thereby risking the lives of his actors and production team. So much for creativity.
Unfortunately, Jim Stanley isn’t alive, but Nancy finds a video clip of him snapping at one of his actors on the internet. His words are the same as those she heard the previous night when Laci’s team was having issues with the walkie-talkies. So, the inference is that Jim’s ghost is back to haunt those who are remaking his movie. He is either unhappy because people are remaking his classic, or he wants the remake to be perfect and make sure that the actors to do their parts properly. Bess almost lost her arm, thanks to another of Jim’s pranks involving a real hook. If it is indeed Jim’s ghost and not Doug who is taking revenge after being removed from the role of Longhook, Nancy cannot risk it. A ritual is carried out, and it seems that the spirit is gone until Laci is almost killed in a bathroom setup when the roof comes crashing down. Chief Lovett, who has come following reports of unusual activities, postpones the shoot until notified otherwise. But who informed her? Is it really a spirit, or is something more sinister at play here?
Pranks From The Past
It is during Nancy’s second visit to the house (the location of the shoot) that Doug reveals that the house belongs to Brie Fortfield. Moreover, she and Doug assisted Jim Stanley on Longhook. Doug has even noticed black veins on those who drank water from the faucets. It was the stunt guys who drank the water. None of this is good news. Brie may be somehow involved in whatever is happening because we saw the black veins on her too. Also, we must remember that, as per Jim Stanley’s autopsy report, he was found dead in his bathtub. He drowned, and there was no foul play, but well, who knows what really happened?
Nancy conveys all this information to George, who, along with Nick, is already with Brie at her vacation house. She has probably removed herself to a separate location to make sure that she doesn’t pose any threat to anyone. But the question is, are George and Nick in any danger? What is Brie hiding? She reveals that owing to how Jim treated his team, she and the others decided to pull a prank on him. This eventually led to his death. Well, that’s unfortunate. Maybe Jim didn’t deserve to die. Meanwhile, back at Nancy’s lair, Laci is attacked by the very stunt group that had drank the water at Brie’s house, and she is badly wounded. Thanks to the supernatural stomach pump, Nancy and Bess, who arrive just in time, manage to put the stunt team at a temporary standstill. What irks me is how the contaminated water affects people. Granted, it reminds people of horrifying events from their past, but what else? Brie’s involvement in the ongoing case is technically zero, and so is Jim’s death. This is because the contaminated water is what made the stunt team attack Laci, not something that Brie did back in 1993.
As for the attack on Laci itself, why doesn’t the stunt team attack Nancy or Bess? Things aren’t making much sense yet. According to Nancy, the pranks that the stunt team pulled on Laci were similar to those that Brie’s team pulled on Jim. The stunt crew hated Laci just like Brie’s crew hated Jim. But how? This stunt crew doesn’t know about Brie, Jim, or the pranks. The contaminated water cannot just bring them memories of other people, right? Well, it seems that the crew drank the water from Brie’s house and got affected. That also doesn’t make sense unless you consider that Brie’s house, including its faucets, has established some weird connection with her that allows the contaminated water running through the pipes of her house to carry her memories inside the brains of those who drink it. Read that again. Well, thanks to the supernatural stomach pump, which belongs to Tristan, the stunt crew is back to their normal selves.
What Is The Black Door?
Brie has to resign as council chief unless she wants everyone in town to find out what she did. Someone died due to her actions. Resignation is the least she deserves as punishment for something, if we think about it, is a crime. She agrees. But she mentions that her father paid a visit to the “Black Door” to take care of the whole thing. What is this Black Door? Nick agrees to join the council, which brings a smile to George’s face. They may not be in a relationship anymore, but they still share a spark. Chief Lovett’s conversation with Bess proves that she is against Bess exploring the supernatural. For her, it’s a threat to the people of Horseshoe Bay. Her tone, as she tells Bess to stay in her lane, is one of threat.
Keeping in mind how things turn out in this town, it wouldn’t be unusual if Lovett, too, happens to be involved in something and just doesn’t want others to find out about it. Maybe she knows more about the zombies and the contaminated water too. Nancy Drew Episode 4 ends with Ace and Bess finding out that Brie’s father, Ron, and Judge Abbott were friends; they both knew about the Black Door, and they were both involved in unusual cover-ups. The Black Door seems to be some kind of a cult in Horseshoe Bay that deals with the supernatural. Maybe Lovett knows something about it. Is she somehow connected to Judge Abbott? Nancy Drew Episode 5 has a lot to answer for.
