Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 10 Review: The Ballad of Lives Foregone

Nancy Drew has the most horrible luck when it comes to love.

Her former boyfriend, Owen, was killed. Then Ace died during her hallucination and then fell under Temperance’s death curse.

And now on Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 10 Nancy shot Tristan with a crossbow and almost killed him.

Oh, and we failed to mention that Tristan is actually a sin eater and, even without the poison arrow, is still fated to die before he’s 30 years old.

To think that Nancy was attracted to the gorgeous lobsterman because she thought he was uncomplicated. The Universe definitely has a sick sense of humor.

One of the only low points of this installment was that there was far too much Tristan. Yes, the guy has the most adorable eyes I’ve ever seen, but he’s not Ace, and I’m a diehard Nace shipper.

The more time Tristan is around correlates directly to the less time Nancy and Ace have together. Hence, I intensely dislike Tristan Glass.

But other than the overabundance of lobster boy, this episode was a fast-paced ride from beginning to end, with most of the Drew Crew working together.

I say most because, once again, Ace spent his time away from the rest of the group. It’s a trend I’m really beginning to dislike.

At least Bess was there for him. I appreciated Bess reminding Ace about how close she got to Odette and how that ended. Ace needs to be careful with the connection he’s formed with this beautiful ghost.

And this ghost must have popped up for a reason, but as of now, her connection to the rest of the story is a mystery.

However, we did get some wonderful scenes between Nancy’s two dads as a panicked Ryan ran to Carson for help in this Nancy Drew quote…

Carson: Whose blood is that?
Ryan: Tristan Glass’. The lobster kid. The son of my mortal enemies. Yes, he is the Sin Eater. Nancy shot him in the woods with a poison arrow, and now he might die.
Carson: Hang on. You brought our daughter to the woods with a bow and arrow?
Ryan: I mean, technically, it was a small crossbow and a couple of arrows, but the whole plan to kill a sin eater was in the works long before I came along.
Carson: Would you stop saying sin eater, like it’s something that everyone says! We’ve got real problems here, like how the Glasses hate you, which means they hate our daughter by association.

Carson’s plan to let the Glasses know what had happened to their son was sound, but I still didn’t trust this couple even before the twist at the end.

Yes, you can explain a lot of their behavior away with their desire to find a way to save their son, but Bess was right. They tried to kill her and Ryan, and there is no excuse for that.

Others have blacklisted the Glasses in the relic trade because they can’t be trusted.

In that vein, I was concerned for Ryan as he searched the Yacht Club and that house with Shelby Glass. When they learned that Tristan was going to survive the poison, and then Ryan gave her the correct translation, I wondered if she’d take Ryan out right there because she had no further use for him.

But her actual plan may have been worse as she already believed Nancy to be the last sinner at the fountain. Shelby was planning to kill Ryan’s daughter.

Admittedly, it’s both heartbreaking and incredibly disturbing to think of Tristan as a little boy having to morph into a sin eater. And knowing that their son only has a few short years left to live has made his parents desperate, but that still doesn’t excuse their willingness to kill anyone who gets in their way without even looking for other options.

But let’s leave the Glasses for a moment and get back to Nancy.

Nancy and Nick made a great team as they worked together to save Tristan. I’ve really enjoyed how their friendship has grown this season. If Ace is Bess’ platanchor, Nick may turn out to be Nancy’s.

Nick: Everyone is complicated.
Nancy: But I just kind of hoped deep down that he was my ticket to a mature, drama-free relationship.
Nick: Yeah, but maybe there’s no such thing.

Despite what Nancy says, it feels like Nick is right. Perhaps Nancy is even more attracted to Tristan now that there are obstacles in their way. Nancy is at her best when she has something to fight for.

But if that’s the case, why doesn’t she put her time and effort into trying to break Temperance’s curse so she can be with Ace? I keep remembering Nancy’s words from Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 5…

The thing is, when you have the best kiss of your life, you don’t just give up on a person. Right?

Nancy

It still doesn’t make sense to me that Nancy would let Temperance win or that she’d give up on the love of her life and just move on.

And I hate it even more, knowing we have so few episodes left before the series ends.

And I have a few more questions I’d like answered about “The Ballad of Lives Foregone.”

• Why were all the sins kept in such pretty bottles?

• How is Nashua connected to Nancy? He claimed they’d walked this path before, but they lived in different centuries. Could Temperance have something to do with this?

• Was Nick right? Is Nancy more drawn to Tristan because now she sees him as a mystery?

• And what was up with all of the candles surrounding Nancy and Tristan at the end? There’s a line between romantic lighting and a fire hazard, and I think they crossed it.

• And will they let Ace out of the morgue so he can help save Nancy from the Glasses?

So, TV Fanatics, hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to share your thoughts, or let us know if you have answers to any of my questions.

Then check back in for our review of Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 11.

And remember, you can watch Nancy Drew online here at TV Fanatic.

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C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.