Carson Drew (2019 character)

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Carson Drew is a main character in The CW's 2019 television series Nancy Drew. He is Nancy's father, and their relationship is strained following the death of his wife Katherine. He is portrayed by Scott Wolf.

Appearance

Carson is a man in his late forties with fair skin, brown hair, and brown eyes.

Character

Character description from The CW:

Carson is an attorney who has become estranged from his daughter after the death of his wife. His relationship with Nancy is thrown into disarray when the sleuth's murder investigation reveals secrets from his past.^[1]

History

Carson passed the Maine state bar on March 30, 1999.^[2] He married Kate and they planned to start a family together, though they were never able to have children of their own. Carson represented many clients in is legal ventures, and even worked for the Hudson family as their attorney for some years. He severed connections with them when their illegal activities caught his attention. He was bound by attorney-client privilege and unable to bring their crimes to light. Kate, however, worked as a guidance counselor at the local high school and befriended the wayward Lucy Sable. The couple tried their best to support Lucy and invited her over for dinner a few times. On August 31, 2000, Carson and Kate had a picnic when Lucy called them in a panic and begged for help. They rushed to the bluffs where they found Lucy with a newborn baby as she had just given birth. Carson and Kate held the baby to ensure the child was safe. Lucy begged them to protect the child and keep her away from the Hudson family. When Kate and Carson turned their backs to check on the child, Lucy fell to her death on the bluffs.

Carson and Kate were horrified and Carson retrieved only Lucy's pink dress which had survived the fall. He and Kate brought the child to their home where they planned to take the child to social services in the morning. They stayed awake all night with the little girl and fell in love with her. They named her Nancy and decided to keep her as their own. They packed their home and left Horseshoe Bay for a year. They returned when enough time had passed that no one question whether or not Nancy was theirs. Nancy grew into a wonderful young girl who loved mysteries and solving crime. She was bright and intelligent, though her love for solving crime began to annoy the local police department. Carson and Kate tried to deter Nancy from getting involved but this only pushed Nancy away. When she found a missing girl at the age of thirteen, it was clear that Nancy wouldn't give up this passion.

A few years later, Kate became sick with cancer and her condition deteriorated quickly. She didn't want Nancy to see her grow sicker and convinced Carson to help her deter Nancy from staying home from dances and events. Kate ultimately died of cancer when Nancy was 18, and Carson's insistence that Nancy stay out at Homecoming that night drove a wedge between the duo. Nancy blamed her father for not allowing her to say goodbye, as she was unaware of his promise to Kate. As time passed, the duo continued to drift apart and Carson began to date Detective Karen Hart with the Horseshoe Bay Police Department.

Plot summary

Season 1

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Carson Drew was the recently widowed husband of Kate Drew and single father of teen detective-turned-rebel Nancy Drew. He came into action when Nancy and her colleagues were arrested for suspicion in the murder of Tiffany Hudson, and he represented Nancy as her lawyer. He learned of Nancy's relationship with Ned "Nick" Nickerson and warned her to stay away from the boy. He refused to elaborate which prompted Nancy to investigate and she learned that Carson represented Nick as his lawyer in a manslaughter charge. She learned that the witness testimony was given by Tiffany Hudson. She also uncovered her fathers relationship with Detective Karen Hart which prompted her to lose more trust in her father. She began to suspect her father in the death of Horseshoe Bay's ghost legend Lucy "Dead Lucy" Sable when she uncovered Lucy Sable's bloodied dress in the attic.

In the meantime, Carson is approached by Tiffany's millionaire husband and heir to Hudson Enterprises, Ryan Hudson. Ryan requested that Carson be his lawyer to help him get back into the towns good graces, though Carson refused as he promised his wife he would never work for another Hudson. Nancy broke into a morgue to steal evidence and was arrested by the Horseshoe Bay Police Department. Carson arrived to bail her out and when she expressed her distrust in both Karen and Nick, Carson assured her that Nick wouldn't have seen his witness as they would have been protected by anonymity. He admitted that he could only afford to bail her out by agreeing to represent Ryan Hudson. She confronted him about the bloodied dress in the attic so Carson claimed it was a prop of her mothers. That night, Carson burned the dress.

The following day he met with Ryan for their first meeting, and learned that he would inherit all of Tiffany's finances if she died of natural causes. Carson indulged Ryan's antics and drove to a property Tiffany owned where he prodded Ryan for more information about Tiffany. He learned that Tiffany was self-medicating as she thought someone had been following her. She often saw things that weren't there, but now Ryan wondered if she was haunted. Carson was skeptical and rebutted that Ryan owed a lot of powerful people money, to which Ryan brought up Lucy Sable and Carson's involvement. As Carson continued to represent Ryan his relationship with Nancy continued to sour. Nancy suspected that Ryan and the Hudson's were involved in Tiffany's murder due to an incomplete autopsy report, while Carson insisted that she stop seeing people as clues in her cases. At Tiffany's funeral, Carson was approached by Everett Hudson who expressed his happiness on Carson working for the family again. Carson insisted that he was Ryan's lawyer not the families.

Carson visited Kate's grave and was surprised to see Nancy there. They were able to voice their truths as Nancy admitted that she held a grudge against Carson for not letting her say goodbye to her mother. Carson had insisted that she go to the dance and not come home even though he knew Kate was dying. Carson admitted that Kate had asked him to keep Nancy away as she didn't want her daughters last memory to be of her dying. Nancy understood and the shared a moment of silence with Kate's tombstone before Carson left to handle reporters. He voiced his concern the the reporters over Tiffany's autopsy to be accurate. This put him in the crosshairs of Everett who warned that he made a mistake with the claim.

Season 2

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With his secrets all revealed, Carson moves out of the Drew home to give Nancy the space she needs. He moves into a loft but struggles to settle in, constantly worried for Nancy’s well-being. His adjustment period is helped by Ace, who brings him some things to make his loft feel more comfortable. They become an unlikely pair of friends, though Ace’s loyalty to Nancy keeps him from disclosing anything to Carson. In an attempt to learn more, he approaches Ryan who warns him that this is a family matter and to stay away from him or he’ll charge Carson with kidnapping charges and out Nancy as a Hudson. Nancy later approaches Carson for help with a case, as he served as the lawyer of AJ Crane. Nancy doesn’t disclose that AJ is a former Aglaeca victim, which leads to some confusion on Carson’s part and genuine worry. Once the case is dealt with, Nancy asks for Carson’s help in saying a proper goodbye to Lucy Sable. Carson happily agrees and goes with Nancy to the woods, where he recommends inviting Ryan, but she already has. The men dig a small grave for a box Nancy filled with meaningful objects.

Carson pairs up with Ryan and Ace for a road trip to collect a dybbuk box for Nancy, though the tension between Carson and Ryan is evident. Ryan asks about the use of the box with Ace refusing to tell him. Ryan is okay with that since he’s helping Nancy, but Carson snaps that he can’t buy a relationship with her. That night, Ryan confronts Carson about not knowing he was Nancy’s father, with Carson repeating that Lucy asked him and Kate to protect Nancy from the Hudson's. He thought Ryan was part of the problem - that he wasn’t safe. He apologizes for what he took from Ryan. Ryan, however, is worried since Nancy seems off and might be in trouble. Carson thinks she might be willing to talk to Ryan, suggesting that he be honest as that helps open her up. The fathers wind up working together to spy on Nancy as their worry for her well-being peaks. She outs them for spying but isn’t angry. She and Carson reconcile that night when they share a pizza, though she doesn’t understand how he can love something that wasn’t his. He explains that the love he has for her wasn’t a lie and that love will live in him forever. His words spark inspiration for her defeat of the Aglaeca so she hurries off.

Now reconciled, Nancy discovers that Carson is in financial trouble and offers to help. While he initially declines, she is adamant that she isn’t a child anymore and should help. He hires her as an investigator for his law firm. Ryan appears to him and re-engages his legal services with Carson to ask for a favor in changing his Grandfather’s will. As it stands, if Ryan commits an act of treason against the company or its CEO, he will be removed as it's heir and the company will eventually go to his heir - Nancy. Everett is unaware of Nancy’s biological heritage. Ryan is sure Everett will kill Nancy if he learns she will inherit Hudson Enterprises one day since she would dismantle the company immediately. Carson presses the importance of protecting Nancy, which Ryan understands completely. In the meantime, Carson lends some fatherly love to Bess, following her exile from the Marvin family. She asks how he’s doing, to which he reveals that he’s scared but also free; for the first time since Nancy’s birth he doesn’t have to worry about keeping his story straight. He can just be himself. She is still upset and worries for her future. He tells her about a spider monkey documentary and how they swing from vine to vine and how they never falter once they let go of one vine because they know the next vine will be there. He tells her that her next vine will be there and to just have faith.

A frantic Ryan contacts Carson and Nancy to warm them that Celia knows about Nancy. The men worry how Everett will react when Celia tells him, since they are both painfully aware how far Everett will go to protect his company. Nancy tells Carson about her use of device to remove Celia’s memories, and how it made Celia into a kinder woman. She knows she had to remove the memories to buy herself more time, but worries that she’s more Hudson than Drew. He tells her that she’s a Drew at heart. She asks him to come home and he agrees by hugging her tightly. She later does the right thing by restoring Celia's memory. Nancy and Ace ask Carson for a favor in learning ore information regarding a WITSEC case that took place twenty years ago. He agrees to help by paying a visit to DA Jean Rosario and winning her over for a favor. She is primarily grateful for Nancy's help as her key witness in Everett Hudson's prosecution case. On Nancy's legal birthday, Carson celebrates by making her food but she warns that she doesn't want a party. She is then arrested by Abe Tamura for contempt of court, as she withdrew her statement about Everett's involvement in the Bonny Scot.

Her arrest brings her to a hostage situation where a mysterious figure called the Arbiter forces her to solve the missing persons case of Dolores Barrett. Carson tries to help from the outside, but the Arbiter warns Nancy that if he touches the door he will suffer a fatal electric shock. Arbiter allows Nancy to make a phone call to Carson to send him away, so Nancy gives him a coded message to alert him of her situation. He recruits Bess and Ace for help in saving Nancy, with Carson willing to scale the building if that's what it takes to save her. They are able to open the doors long enough for Nancy to let an injured Detective Tamura out, but asks her father to trust her before closing the door again. She saves herself by closing the case and going home, where Carson throws her a surprise birthday party with the Drew Crew. He gives a speech about Nancy, calling her their "better angel".

Nancy begins to suffer from intense nightmares where she wakes up screaming. Carson worries that these nightmares are brought on by her upcoming debut as a Hudson, now that Everett has been released from prison. The night of her debut, she comes downstairs when Carson who remarks on the dress, which is a gift from a friend of hers. He wants her to be safe but she presses that she’s trying to keep everyone alive including herself. She’s sick of people doubting her when she knows what she’s doing. He assures her that he does trust her but he’s worried. He takes a photograph of her before she leaves.^[3]

Quotes

Carson to Nancy: I was trying to honor your mom's wishes. I thought I was doing the right thing, but maybe I wasn't. Whatever you're feeling...you can carry it with you, but you can't let it consume you.

Gallery

Main article: Carson Drew (2019 character)/Gallery

Trivia

According to his business card, his office is located at 118 River Heights Drive, Horseshoe Bay, ME 04854.^[4]
When Scott Wolf signed on the series he knew from Day 1 that Carson was actually Nancy's adoptive father. ^[5]