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The Echo of Lost Tears is the eighteenth episode and season finale of season 2 of The CW television series Nancy Drew, and the thirty-sixth episode of the series overall. It aired on June 2, 2021.

Synopsis[]

Official synopsis of The Echo of Lost Tears from The CW:

SEASON FINALE - Carson (Scott Wolf), Ryan (Riley Smith) and the Drew Crew work together to help Nancy (Kennedy McMann). Leah Lewis, Tunji Kasim, Maddison Jaizani and Alex Saxon also star.

Plot summary[]

COLD OPEN: Carson, Ryan, Nancy, and the Drew Crew gather at The Claw as they try multiple methods of expelling the Wraith. They are unsuccessful which leads Ryan and Carson to fret over their daughter. Ryan emotionally remarks that with Celia’s death, Nancy is all he has left. When he leaves to get her water, Nancy asks Carson to help Ryan put Celia to rest now that his assets are frozen and he can’t navigate funeral homes. Meanwhile, Ace decides to take things with Amanda to the next level with a road trip. Gil enters looking for Nancy but she tries to get rid of him. Hannah calls George to tell her they can use the Wraith’s supernatural echo to view the Wraith’s birth, with Nancy acting as a receiver and the Wraith an antenna. Gil takes Nancy aside as he disagrees with her choice to stay with her friends, calling her out for having bad judgment. A new mark appears when Gil tries to pull her away, leading him to press its progression is because of the Drew Crew. Nancy realizes it’s because of Gil; he put her down, undercut her, and tried to isolate her. She ends their relationship but he promises she’ll regret it. Ace overhears and tells Nancy that she separated herself from the Wraith just then.

They go to Gorham Woods, where they perform the ritual. The group flashes back to 1847, where Temperance Hudson is being banished from Horseshoe Bay by the other Women in White. Cora refuses to allow Temperance any further, a barrier now around the town. Temperance is angry that their barrier is trying to keep her out. She cuts her palm, attaches herself to a device, and creates an entity strong enough to destroy the barrier. She uses her tears as fuel while the other women beg her not to do it. From Temperance, darkness flows out to create a small baby Wraith. Cora points out the deformed Wraith and how she failed. They can’t let her live to pass through the barrier again and surround her, using magic to create lightning while she screams. In the present, George tells Nany that Temperance created the Wraith.

ACT ONE: Nancy realizes the Wraith latched onto her because it could smell its creator - Hudson’s blood. Ace shows Nancy a drawing of a lacrimatory that Temperance used to collect her tears to power the device which created the entity. Nick shows her a sketch of the device itself, and if they can find the device he can get it to work. Meanwhile, Bess and George research Temperance. They learn that Temperance was a troubled young woman who started going against the Women in White. She tried to make contact with a diabolical power hiding beneath the town, which put everyone’s lives in danger. The Women in White cut Temperance off from her power source by building a barrier strong enough to last seven generations, as seven was their special number. A decade after the Women in White killed Temperance, her daughter Chastity stole her artifacts back from the women in white including the device used to create the Wraith. She settled in New York. Bess finds George’s research into wills, as George wants to leave The Claw in Jesse’s name. Ever since she kicked the blood bucket she’s been running from death, so she doesn’t want to dwell on what she won’t get to do. Odette warns Bess that she’s pushing George too hard. At the Drew House, Amanda calls Ace to end their road trip as Gil is upset over his breakup with Nancy. This leads Amanda and Ace to argue as she’s putting her life on hold for him again. Ace finds a lead; Stonerock Manor is run by Myrtle Hudson, which belonged to her great-great-aunt Charity.

ACT TWO: They arrive in Westchester New York and hatch a plan to distract Myrtle Hudson while two pretend to be engaged while the others look for the device. Odette comes through to fake an engagement with Bess. Odette, Bess, and Nancy enter the home where the “fiancés” go on a tour while Nancy lets the boys inside. Myrtle tries to woo over the couple with her planning skills, which include zebras. Bess shrieks over zebras to distract Myrtle from the boys passing the window. Meanwhile, Ryan moves caskets to make room for Celia’s, with Carson putting the fees on his card for now. Ryan inquires if there is a document he can sign that would relinquish his rights to Carson, so he won’t be in trouble if Everett comes after him. Ryan learns that while there is such a document, it would mean that he has no legal meaning to Nancy. At Stonerock Manor, Ace and Nick find the device while Bess and Odette continue to distract Myrtle with an argument of their relationship not being realistic. A crash pulls Myrtle into the living room where she catches Ace, Nick, and Nancy trying to smuggle out the device.

ACT THREE: Myrtle tries to call the police until Nancy outs herself as a Hudson, Ryan’s daughter, though Myrtle hasn’t heard of her before. Nancy reveals that she was a secret until now, but she needs to stay that way. Nancy makes an emotional plea for the device so she can destroy the Wraith created by their ancestor Temperance Hudson. Myrtle allows them to borrow it on the property. They prepare for the ritual which they have to do in reverse from how Temperance does it. The Wraith will then retreat like a cockroach allowing them to kill it. Ace holds her hand while the Drew Crew supports her. The device works but drains a significant amount of Nancy’s blood, so with the addition of the rest of her tears, the Wraith expels, and she is rendered unconscious. She awakens on the sand inside her mind and is greeted by a version of herself that is dark and menacing. This Nancy tries to choke her.

ACT FOUR: Nancy knows this manifestation isn’t the Wraith but the manifestation warns that Nancy can’t get past her because she is her. George knocks out the manifestation, as she’s the defense Nancy’s mind created. The manifestation reveals that on her back is a tentacle from the Wraith, which leads through a door. When Nancy crosses through the door she ends up outside in the warehouse where she solved her first case. She is greeted by a younger version of herself, who wants her to answer for what she’s done to them. The door moves as the young girl does. She wants to know how Nancy became someone who lies, cheats, and lets people get killed. Bess appears to press her into figuring out why young Nancy is here, more importantly, why she went into the warehouse. Nancy realizes that she always knew her parents were lying and wanted the truth from them.

She passes through another door that leads to a grave. Above it is Nancy from the day of her mother’s funeral. Grieving Nancy believes the loss of her mother damaged them beyond repair. Nick appears to tell Nancy she has to pull herself out. The Wraith is buried underneath layers of trauma and sadness, though she was okay again. Nancy knows Nick played a part in that which is why it hurt when he chose George. He assures her that he’s still here for her. Nancy climbs her way out to pass through another door, which leads to the bluffs where she was born. Ace is there to help her realize that while she might not remember this, it still lives inside her. She’s the only one who can find a crying baby Nancy. This is where it started so she believes she was born broken. He tells her that isn’t true as she might have been born hurt, but the only way to heal is to let that pain become love. She wants that to happen and the baby appears in her arms. Ace tells her to kick the monster out of her house. She asks him to hold her, and he takes the baby. They share a moment before she follows the final door to a grungy basement.

The wraith crawls out of a cave as a knife appears in Nancy’s hand. She looks up to see the many Nancy’s of her past looking down from a balcony. The Wraith connected itself to her traumas by feeding off her past selves. If she kills the Wraith she kills them too, and she can’t destroy the pieces that made her who she is. She severs the connection to the Wraith and traps it. She decides to bring the trauma with her by connecting the cords to herself. She’s ready to face all the pain and trauma. The four Nancy’s hug as flowers bloom from the cave and Nancy wakes up to see Ace. She says she’s okay as the Wraith is gone, but she’s strong enough to hold the trauma now. Ace tells her she was always strong enough.

ACT FIVE: At The Claw, Ace calls Amanda to apologize for not being sympathetic. She knows Gil can come across wrong but they’re all they have. He isn’t asking her to choose but wants to be a priority. George thanks Odette for stepping it up for her. Odette admits she’s fond of George but is becoming a helicopter ghost. She has to say goodbye which means locking herself away so she can’t come out. George needs to live her life while Odette gets out of the way. George writes a note for Odette to give Bess before she locked herself away. At the Historical Society, Odette gives Bess flowers. Bess doesn’t want to say goodbye. Odette admits that Bess made her whole again. She gives Bess the note which says “Kiss Her”, so Bess does and in a whirlwind, George turns into Odette, then back to George. Once the kiss ends, Odette locks herself away inside George, which allows George to comfort Bess.

Nancy goes to Ace’s house to tell him about the powerful dreamscape experience and let her feel things. Rebecca interrupts to tell her that Ace left for his road trip with Amanda, noticing that she seems disappointed. She gives Nancy cookies. Meanwhile, Amanda and Ace kiss by the shores but he can’t help but feel as though he left something behind. George goes to Nick’s where he’s painting the Safe Harbor Youth Collective sign. She wants to live her life now with no more waiting. She wants to start by marrying him. She then proposes to him. Nancy comes home to find Ryan and Carson on the couch waiting for her. They both ask how she’s doing which throws her off guard. She assures them that she’s okay. She’s hosting a press conference to announce she’s a Hudson to take over the Enterprise, but she’s only doing it to divide the assets to give to Everett’s victims. She begins to tell Ryan about the document he can sign to relinquish rights, but he presents it to her already signed. He got a spot on their couch in exchange, as Carson allows him to stay there until he figures things out. She sits on the couch with cookies for both of them and leans into Carson.

Later, Carson teaches Ryan how to do dishes while Nancy finds a letter from Myrtle. The letter states that she’s lucky to find a long-lost blood relative and pours Nancy’s blood into a bath. She emerges from the bath as Temperance Hudson. The mausoleum workers discover that a tombstone is broken and removes it to find an open casket, the inside covered in claw marks. In the letter, Temperance promises to carry a bit of Nancy with her and bottles her blood. She turns over a portrait to reveal a family tree, where she enters Nancy’s name with “7th generation” listed underneath it. She travels to the order of Gorham woods where she covers her hands in Nancy’s blood, so when her palms press against the barrier it disintegrates. She stands on a cliff overlooking Horseshoe Bay, the electricity in the town flickering. She hopes to see Nancy again soon. A heavy knock comes at Nancy’s door.

Cast and characters[]

Starring:

Guest-starring:

Co-starring:

  • Eden Summer Gilmore as Young Nancy
  • Anja Savcic as Odette Lamar
  • Ariel Ladret as Cora
  • Aj Crivello-Jones as Workman
  • Asia Domisiewicz as Edith Fowler
  • Jenaya Ross as The Gorham Wraith

Additional:

Quotes[]

Nancy: "The Wraith is gone. The trauma is still there, but I think I'm strong enough to hold it now."
Bess: "Good. Come on."
Ace: "I think you always were, Nancy."
Nancy: "I was born broken. And that's why all these pieces of me are broken."
Subconscious Ace: "You weren't born broken. You're hurt, maybe. But, in the end, the only way to heal is to let that pain become love."
Nancy: "I really want that."
Nancy: "I'm getting worse because of you. The Wraith made it so I didn't see the worst parts of you. You put me down, you undercut me, you tried to isolate me from my friends! And they warned me."
Gil: "You're not yourself right now. This is the Wraith talking, clearly-"
Nancy: "No, it's the Wraith's fault we lasted this long. This whole time it's been manipulating me and feeding off of my vulnerabilities. We're not doing this anymore, Gil."
Ryan: "I can't even afford Celia's funeral right now."
Nancy: "Oh, Ryan, I'm really sorry."
Ryan: "Don't be sorry because all that matters, right now, is that we help you. I mean, you're all I got left."

Trivia[]

  • Noga Landau and Katie Schwartz live tweeted the episode from the Nancy Drew writers Twitter account.
    • Noga: Did any of your personality make it into the episode? “Delving through layers of subconsciousness and confronting past versions of yourself is not exactly a hobby, but it’s definitely something that I’ve had to engage in from time to time."[1]
    • Katie: Noga Landau and I spent a lot of time writing this episode on Zoom -- with guest appearances by her adorable son. I kept an Elmo stuffie close by to entertain him. Now he says my name when he sees me on Zoom -- which makes my heart explode” [2]
    • Katie: “Ace's line to Nancy about how the only way to heal is to let the pain become love was based off of a text from @JesseStern after I lost my dog. His text brought me a lot of comfort in a difficult time, and I loved being able to incorporate that.”[3]
    • Noga: Watching back the episode, is there anything you wish you had changed/done differently? “I wish I'd had more baby wraith. He’s the real star, let’s be honest. Haha”[4]
    • Katie: “The #NancyDrew writers have been along for my wedding-planning journey since we met in #season1 (a prolonged process thanks to Covid), so it was fun to bring wedding planning into this ep -- you'd be surprised how many venues in LA come with zebras…”[5]
    • Katie: “There's nothing I would've changed -- even though we ended up cutting a lot out of the original script that I didn't think we could live without. It all came together so well, I don't even remember what used to be there.”[6]
    • Katie: "Amanda Row did such an incredible job directing this episode! I'm in awe of everything she does -- including her idea to add various items from Nancy's life when Nancy meets all the different versions of herself. Such a cool touch!”[7]
    • Katie: “My fave twist of the ep is Odette deciding to lock herself up inside George. It's such a heartbreaking decision, and it really shows the growth in the Odette/George and Odette/Bess relationships.”[8]
  • Temperance Hudson is revealed to be alive, having survived with the use of dark magic. She used Nancy's blood to return to her true physical appearance.
  • Nancy is the seventh generation Hudson born since Temperance's banishment.
  • The Hudson family tree is seen for the first time.
  • George, upon accepting her fate to die in less than a decade, decides to propose to Nick.
    • Odette wants to let George live her life to the fullest and locks herself away in George's subconscious.
  • HBO Max lists this episode's title as "The Echoes of Lost Tears."
  • In her narration, Myrtle/Temperance refers to Nancy as her "long lost blood relative;" however, her letter to Nancy does not include the word "blood." Additionally, the sentence: "I'm going to carry a bit of you with me from now on" is omitted from the letter.

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