History Fridge / NancyDrew

* Why would Minette be making a "Come-back" collection? Presumably, she might have gotten off with a lighter sentence, and possibly have been ordered to see a psychiatrist who could evaluate her AmbiguousDisorder.

** This is actually sadly rather TruthInTelevision - the competition ''for'' Valedictorian ''can'' be ''VERY'' cutthroat.

'''Warning:''' Spoilers below, read at your own risk.

* The fact that Rentaro will have been broken up with someone he genuinely likes. Sure, he may have "Deserved" it, but it's also sad.

* Nancy leaving Blackmoor Manor is honestly a little sad if you think about it - nancy's one of the few people who decided to relate to Jane on a personal level beyond trying to push her into her family's strange and esoteric conditions. Unless the Penvellyns decide to send her to a nearby school, she'll probably have almost no friends simply because she never got to be with other children her own age. And if she ends up going to a boarding school - like Waverly Academy - she'll end up with even ''greater'' abandonment issues with her dad and her stepmother.

* Also counts as a Fridge TearJerker, but in ''The Haunted Carousel,'' a throwaway line from Ingrid reveals that when Rolfe Kessler was carving the horses for the carousel, he said that if they were ever separated, bad luck would follow. She's referring to the recent theft and coaster accident, but [[spoiler: remember that Joy's mother died in a car accident ''the same night'' Joy received one of the horses for her birthday, and her father filed for bankruptcy years later before dying of a heart attack in court.]] Coincidence? Or a real-life curse?

* What ''did'' cause the divorce of the Penvellyns? There's a good chance that it may have been on good terms... but there's also a chance that Jane might actually need therapy if it turns out that her mother

* The antique phones in the Captain's Cove hotel in ''Haunted Carousel'' are intentional -

* Why ''would'' Jane try to gaslight her stepmother into thinking she's becoming a werewolf if she wants her mother back? She's a ''child'' - she didn't think this through.

** If a sadistic player makes Nancy put the mayonnaise or jellyfish on a sandwich, wouldn't she notice something was wrong when she ate it? Katie is implied to scarf down the sandwich too quick to notice if you gave her a bad ingredient, but Nancy should know better.

* Pua might actually end up with criminal charges lasting into adulthood that could make it difficult for her to get a job into adulthood.
* Nancy leaving Blackmoor Manor is honestly a little sad if you think about it - nancy's one of the few people who decided to relate to Jane on a personal level beyond trying to push her into her family's strange and esoteric conditions. Unless the Penvellyns decide to send her to a nearby school, she'll probably have almost no friends simply because she never got to be with other children her own age. And if she ends up going to a boarding school - like Waverly Academy - she'll end up with even ''greater'' abandonment issues with her dad and her stepmother.

** FridgeBrilliance: It's actually not Nancy he's talking to - it's ''Bess''. Even though he used to work for Bess's aunt and uncle, he was already gone by the time Bess&George ''finally'' made it to Shadow Ranch and thus he never would have recognised her face. Even if Bess&George ''had'' visited Shadow Ranch before, Shorty either didnt' work for them yet or didn't know her.

* In ''Ransom of the Seven Ships'', Bess was trapped in an underground tomb, the lack of oxygen in which was starting to be uncomfortable by the time Nancy arrived. Originally both her ''and'' George were supposed to be trapped there. If the villain's plan had gone as intended, would they have asphyxiated before help came?

* Occasionally a GameOver will have you being kicked out of the investigation site by a character who, if you finish the game, turns out to be the culprit who was "counting on you" to find the treasure, evidence, etc.. You'd think that, say, [[spoiler: Shorty from ''Secret of Shadow Ranch'' could forgive you a few under-ripe vegetables]] if letting you stick around made [[spoiler: him]] rich.

* The reveal of ''"Ghost of Thornton Hall"'' explains that [[spoiler: the hauntings are really hallucinations caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, but that doesn't explain why they also occur in the cemetery, the crypt and the ruins where Charlotte died.]] [[spoiler: It also doesn't explain one of the game-overs, when one of the suspects sends the ghost to attack you.]] Then again, it could be a case of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane.

--->''"There are a few possible explanations for the hauntings in Ghost of Thornton Hall, and we’ve hidden the answer in the game – and for the time being at least, we’re going to keep that secret. I will say this though, it isn’t just ONE thing from the list of possible culprits [[spoiler: (Harper and Jessalyn dressing up, low level exposure to carbon monoxide, the power of suggestion, that odd bit of film you find in the projector, or perhaps even a real ghost.)]] When it comes to deciding what caused each haunting, we’re leaving that up to you – at least for now. Perhaps we’ll revisit this again in the future, but for now we want to let everyone who plays the game put those pieces together themselves."''
* Almost all of the puzzles in ''The Curse of Blackmoor Manor'' were [[spoiler: created by the Penvellyns in order to protect their ancestral treasure.]] One such puzzle is a word game, which you have to play with Loulou the parrot in order to open a particular door. Thing is, the puzzles were ''also'' designed [[spoiler: to be solved by every successive Penvellyn heir (skipping a generation, as per tradition). So Jane's granddaughter or grandson will be the next one to search for the treasure - but how on earth are they going to accomplish that without Loulou? There's no way the parrot will live that long.]]
** [[spoiler: Presumably Jane's grandfather expected she would either find a way to incorporate the entry words Loulou knows into ''her'' puzzle, or would get and train another parrot.]]

* Occasionally, a game will make it possible for Nancy to seal off the entrance she'd used to access the final location, keeping the essential key or other access-item on her person, only for the villain to pop up and confront her despite there being ''no way'' for them to have followed her. This became less of a problem later in the series, when the BigBad would often admit to having their own key and/or using a secret passage Nancy missed.

* Although ''Curse of Blackmoor Manor'' ends on an upbeat note, it's unlikely that [[spoiler: Linda could just ''forget'' how deeply she'd fallen into the "werewolf" delusion. Eating ''raw steak''? Saying things to Nancy that imply actual HorrorHunger on her part? Even after learning she was drugged, she'd still going to need a lot of therapy to reconcile how easily she'd been slipping into a bestial persona.]]

* ''Alibi in Ashes'' ''kicks off'' with an attempt on Nancy's life and has pretty much the entire town (save the police chief, Ned, Bess and George) being totally willing to buy that Nancy is an arsonist. Makes you wonder what ''else'' [[TownWithADarkSecret might lie under the surface in River Heights]].

* Also counts as a Fridge TearJerker, but in ''The Haunted Carousel,'' a throwaway line from Ingrid reveals that when Rolfe Kessler was carving the horses for the carousel, he said that if they were ever separated, bad luck would follow. She's referring to the recent theft and coaster accident, but [[spoiler: remember that Joy's mother died in a car accident ''the same night'' Joy received one of the horses for her birthday, and her father filed for bankruptcy years later before dying of a heart attack in court.]] Coincidence? Or a real life curse?

* In ''Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake'', you mention how Emily once made tea for you. [[spoiler:Given that Emily poisoned Sally's well water, this may well have been an attempt to murder you.]]

* Your tendencies to be a KleptomaniacHero become this trope, especially when characters don't call you out about their missing possession. For example, you have to steal the director's script in ''Labyrinth of Lies''. Which has all the lighting cues in it, as well as things like the weights of the flies and a code for the stage lift. And you do this on ''opening night.'' And since the show is the cover for an elaborate heist, this is a ''very'' important document - and you carry it around for ''almost the entire game''. There isn't even a mention of the director dipping into extra copies.
* Occasionally a game will make it possible for Nancy to seal off the entrance she'd used to access the final location, keeping the essential key or other access-item on her person, only for the villain to pop up and confront her despite there being ''no way'' for them to have followed her. This became less of a problem later in the series, when the BigBad would often admit to having their own key and/or using a secret passage Nancy missed.
* In ''Danger on Deception Island'', the game only checks for bad ingredients when making a sandwich, even when the combination of the ingredients in the sandwich ''should'' make one person hurl. (Peanut Butter, Tomatoes, Ice cream, Lettuce, Jelly, Ketchup, Mustard, Meat).
** Nancy could also carry around a literal ice cream sandwich all game. Wouldn't it melt?
** If a sadistic player makes Nancy put baking soda or jellyfish on a sandwich, wouldn't she notice something was wrong when she ate it? Katie at least is implied to scarf down the sandwich too quick to notice if you gave her a bad ingredient.

** [[spoiler: Considering [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII what was going on]] [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar in Germany]] at the most likely time Renate and her sister were children has provided potential suspects...and neither of them are pleasant.]]

* Also counts as a Fridge TearJerker, but in ''The Haunted Carousel,'' a throwaway line from Ingrid reveals that when Rolfe Kessler was carving the horses for the carousel, he said that if they were ever separated, bad luck would follow. Of course she's referring to the recent theft and coaster accident, but [[spoiler: remember that Joy's mother died in a car accident ''the same night'' Joy received one of the horses for her birthday, and the financial troubles that lead to the death of her father years later.]] Coincidence? Or a real life curse?

** This is somewhat of a GameplayAndStorySegregation to help keep the player guessing as to who the culprit could be since in some cases, the culprit's identity is not inherently obvious. Notable examples include [[spoiler: Shorty from ''Secret of Shadow Ranch,'' Mike and Pua from ''Creature of Kapu Cave,'' and Victor Lossett from ''The Deadly Device.'']]

** Her Interactive did a Q&A where they more or less [[WordofGod claimed this was the case]], as well as answered other pressing questions fans had come up with. You can find the entirety of the interview [[https://nancythedrew.tumblr.com/post/50969621688/gth-official-answers-to-unanswered-questions here]].
->''"There are a few possible explanations for the hauntings in Ghost of Thornton Hall, and we’ve hidden the answer in the game – and for the time being at least, we’re going to keep that secret. I will say this though, it isn’t just ONE thing from the list of possible culprits [[spoiler: (Harper and Jessalyn dressing up, low level exposure to carbon monoxide, the power of suggestion, that odd bit of film you find in the projector, or perhaps even a real ghost.)]] When it comes to deciding what caused each haunting, we’re leaving that up to you – at least for now. Perhaps we’ll revisit this again in the future, but for now we want to let everyone who plays the game put those pieces together themselves."''

* Why is there a perpetual motion machine in your room in ''Curse of Blackmoor Manor''? To calm you down. The urge to run away like crazy after scary things come up in a game is strong, and you either have to find your way back to the path or go to a known safe spot and calm down. In point-and-click games, most players will have found it, and it's not an intimidating tick-tock, it's a steady noise.

* Occasionally a Game Over will have you being kicked out of the investigation-site by a character who, if you finish the game, turns out to be the culprit who was ''counting on you'' to find the treasure/evidence/whatever. You'd think that, say, [[spoiler: Shorty from ''Secret of Shadow Ranch'' could forgive you a few under-ripe vegetables]] if letting you stick around made them rich.

** This is somewhat of a GameplayAndStorySegregation to help keep the player guessing as to who the culprit could be since in some cases, the culprit's identity is not inherently obvious. [[spoiler: Shorty being the culprit, for example, is a surprise to people who play it.]]
* The reveal of ''"Ghost of Thornton Hall"'' explains that [[spoiler: the hauntings are really hallucinations caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, but that doesn't explain why they also occur in the cemetery, the crypt and the ruins where Charlotte died. It also doesn't explain one of the game-overs, when a certain person basically sics the ghost on you]]. Then again, it could be a case of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane.

* Also counts as a Fridge TearJerker, but in ''The Haunted Carousel,'' a throwaway line from Ingrid reveals that when Rolfe Kessler was carving the horses for the carousel, he said that if they were ever separated, bad luck would follow. Of course she's referring to the recent theft and coaster accident, but [[spoiler: remember that Joy's mother died in a car accident ''the same night'' Joy received one of the horses for her birthday, and the financial troubles that lead to the death of her father years later.]] Coincidence? Or a real life curse?

* Also, while two of the coats-of-arms in ''Blackmoor Manor'' contain pictorial clues which are essential to solving puzzles, [[spoiler: ''all'' the Initiates' emblems are necessary to forge the final key,]] some of the others contain hints that aren't crucial, but ''can'' help you approach the corresponding puzzles correctly. [[spoiler: The one with the rainbow confirms that the tile-puzzle should be arranged with the moon on the left, and the one from Loulou's original trainer shows the parrot and an open mouth, hinting that talking to the bird will help you solve his puzzle.]]