Nancy Drew season 4, episode 3 definitely threw a few things for a loop, and proved just how diabolical Temperance truly was.

Nancy Drew has always been a pretty fast-paced show, giving us multiple supernatural creature stories in a single season, and including a pantheon of lesser mysteries along the way. This season feels like it’s racing along at superspeed, and I have a feeling we might be backtracking at some point to see all the clues the Powers That Be left behind for us. More on that later.

You can’t talk about Nancy Drew season 4, episode 3 without talking about Nancy and Ace, so let’s just start there. Yes, there’s another, pretty substantial storyline to address, too, but we’ll get there.

Time to break a death curse!

Nancy Drew season 4, episode 3 is a huge episode for Nace (Nancy/Ace) fans. While this curse is doing its best to keep our favorite pair apart, we knew it was only a matter of time before the Drew Crew would fight back. And that is exactly what they did. And while fighting back, we got to watch Nancy and Ace reveal the when and where each of them figured out they had feelings for each other. It informs so much of what happened between them in the series up until now. Knowing that Ace has had a sizable crush on Nancy for the show’s whole duration, it definitely colors how you read some of Ace’s choices and reactions in seasons 1-3.

The first glimpse of our couple in the episode shows them on their 36th attempt to break the curse, but it seems like those were small-scale attempts. Why not try things that don’t require them to act on their feelings and therefore tempt the curse to enact its revenge first, before trying the big spells? Bess finally gets back to them with a ritual that has serious potential to put their curse on its heels.

And that ritual has a few moving parts, all of which allow Nancy and Ace to spend some quality time together while they contemplate their future once the curse is no more. Nancy painting the sigil on Ace’s chest (to inoculate him with the Nantegon, lol), them going on a Plagonia doll hunt after a mishap, and, finally, the moment of truth, the final ritual.

The ritual itself ranks up there pretty high on my list of romantic moments on television. They drank their elixirs and extinguished flames and then gave us one of the most intensely romantic first kisses I’ve ever seen. Quickly followed by one of the saddest scenes I’ve seen play out between a couple. Ace is currently going through what Nancy went through in last season’s finale. He has seen a glimpse at what they could have together, but has also seen the consequences of what might happen if things go awry.

It was insanely heartbreaking to see Nancy try to convince Ace to not be scared with her, to keep taking chances, to fight for their future. She knows what its like to feel that fear, and has moved past it at Ace’s bequest. Do you think Nancy will be able to convince Ace to put their lives on the line again when they (hopefully and inevitably) find another ritual to try?

There has been a lot of talk about other romantic interests for them both this season, and I’m sure the next episode or two will probably feature those characters, but hopefully we won’t have to wait till season’s end to discover whether or not this curse has an expiration date.

So, no one’s worried about the town water supply?

In addition to the Nancy and Ace storyline, we also saw an advancement of the tainted-water story. As I sort of predicted last week, George and Nick are basically in charge of that mystery at the moment. Nick is fighting against a town council that seems wholly ignorant and vehemently against believing in anything supernatural. He tries to go the diplomatic route, and presents a well-rounded argument and plan for mitigating the water supply contamination problem, but there’s a force at work behind the scenes that we don’t know much about yet. My money is on the Glass couple. They are up to no good, and it would be just like them to want to cause more supernatural mischief, especially if there’s any chance they could come out on top and make a quick buck.

Supernatural history is a deal breaker.

Finally, we saw Bess continue to struggle to keep the historical society afloat. Her newest hope lies in the generous hands of a town benefactor who has an interest in local history… as long as it has nothing to do with anything supernatural. Bess is put in a difficult position when she has to decide between the truth and keeping her funding. Ultimately, she lies, downplaying her experience with the supernatural entities plaguing Horseshoe Bay, alienating George’s sister, Jessie, and her girlfriend, Birdie, who I instantly recognized from the season 2 episode about the fire souls.

Crazy hijinks have the Drew Crew racing to save Jessie and Birdie from a parasitic demon possession, but, ultimately, Bess comes clean to her benefactor about her position on supernatural beliefs. He leaves, warning her that he is going to report her to the sheriff, and will not be sending another cent to the historical society.

Here’s where my brain asks again: What happened to Nick’s millions? Did he spend it all on the youth center? Why can’t he help until Bess can nail down a constant source of income for the historical society? I feel like I’m missing something there.

That pretty much wraps up this review of Nancy Drew season 4, episode 3. Make sure to get yourself a refresh before the next new episode drops this week.

Check out all our other great Nancy Drew-related coverage here, and if you’re just a massive Kennedy McMann fan (like us), you won’t want to miss this great article about her next new project.

You can find all the official Nancy Drew Season 4 info, as well as catch the latest episode, on the CW’s website.