With only hours left, the Drew Crew must race against the clock to find a way to vanquish the Agleaca before she takes what is owed to her.
Tropes:
- Awesomeness by Analysis: After leaving Nancy at the side of the road, Ryan pulls over for his own freakout, perhaps having taken her words as confirmation of the worst things he believes about himself. Then he spots the locket Nancy was wearing, now on the floor of his car, which he recognizes as Nancy's locket and, for confirmation, has Nancy's baby picture in it (which is reproduced in her high school yearbook, convenient to hand as part of his investigation of her pregnancy).
- Bad Liar: "One of the things I love about you, Bess, is that you're a terrible liar."
- Brutal Honesty: Regarding himself, Ryan is quite clear about what kind of person he was at 18, not ready at all to be a father.
- Due to the Dead: Kate buried the dress to honor Lucy. When Carson begged her to get rid of it, she instead hid it in the attic.
- Evil Matriarch: Diana punishes her stepdaughter for mentioning other people before her in her toast at her own wedding. Then she tells Bess that her relationship to Lisbeth is useful as a window into law enforcement, and that Bess should use her without telling her.
- Gene Hunting: Ryan finds out Lucy was pregnant from reading her journal and knowing he was the only one intimate with her. He's determined to find their offspring together He finds out it's Nancy after comparing an photo of her when she was younger to Lucy's photos.
- Hypocrite: After chewing Carson out for never telling her the truth during her entire lifetime, Nancy starts hiding the truth from Ryan although in her defense she wasn’t ready to tell Ryan the truth after learning it herself in the last 24 hours.
- In the Blood: Nancy's freak-out at the side of the road is more about this than about Ryan's moral failings in that moment.
- Internal Reveal: Everyone not already in the know learns who Nancy's blood parents are, including Ryan.
- It's Personal: Ryan is not handling this investigation well. He needs to know if Lucy was pregnant.
- Killed Off for Real: Owen is gutted like a fish at the end of the episode.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Because Nancy is compartmentalizing her life, the only other member of the Drew Crew who knew about her parentage is Ace, so Nick and George find out when they go to talk to Carson about the ritual.
- Manly Tears: Ryan breaks down on the side of the road after Nancy calls out his many failings.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nancy's freakout means Ryan drives away and leaves her by the side of the road, so he won't be there to participate in the ritual.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Nancy acknowledges how much it sucks to have a secret you don't want anyone to know and how much it sucks when they find out, but she's still not ready to forgive him.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Nancy doesn't need the details of her conception.
- Oh, Crap!: They think they're in the clear with the Aglaeca, only to get even worse portents. Then they find Owen, dead.
- Pulling the Thread: Ryan keeps pointing out all the weird things that connect him with Nancy (allergy to wasps, for example) and all her similarities with Lucy (like twins as babies, a way she'd look at him) and demanding to know why the hell Lucy was haunting her.
- Rejected Apology: Ryan and Nancy both tell Carson they don't forgive him. Nancy leaves some space for eventual reconciliation.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: This episode is diverted from The Clue of the Broken Locket (The eleventh Nancy Drew novel in the original series) with both sharing an same premise.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Ryan chews Nancy out good for hiding the truth from him and for never intending to tell him.
- You Owe Me: Because they ended the ritual early to save Owen's life, the Aglaeca comes calling with serious threats to all six of the Drew Crew.
