Nancy and the Drew Crew continue to search for clues to battle the Aglaeca. Meanwhile, George has an unfortunate first encounter with Nick’s visiting mother. Lastly, Carson and Ace have a heart-to-heart.
Tropes:
- Abandoned Hospital: It's an orphanage, but it serves the same function. Interestingly, no supernatural stuff happens there.
- Bait-and-Switch: The Drew Crew think the body they discover at the orphanage is Mac's friend AJ. Turns out it's his bartender, Buddy. Mac beat him to death and hid the body under his bed.
- Blatant Lies: Nancy tells Tamura she knows the body is AJ Nishiyama because "Call it a hunch.".
- Calling the Old Man Out: Nick finally stands up to his mother when she starts yelling at George.
- Foreshadowing: AJ doesn't show up with the other Aglaeca 1975 ghosts. The end of the episode reveals he's still alive and has been caring for the Aglaeca graves ever since.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Carson is just about the only regular in the show who doesn't know anything about the supernatural side of Nancy's life.
- Lonely Bachelor Pad: Carson moves into the loft above his office. He's got a futon and...
- Empty Fridge, Empty Life: ... a fridge full of water.
- Meet the In-Laws: Nick's mom shows up out of the blue, leading to a lot of tension with George.
- My Beloved Smother: Nick says standing up to her was the first time he ever told her no.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: The shanty tells the tale of the Captain Marvin and his wife Odette, a whirlwind shipboard romance that ended when Odette died of tuberculosis without ever reaching land. Odette sings a second track telling the truth, she was raped, robbed, and murdered.Nancy: Tuberculosis? I mean, it's sad, but doesn't really sound like a reason to become a ghost.
- Rejected Apology: Nancy isn't yet ready to face her father, but she's willing
- Ripped from the Headlines: Nick's mom repeats tropes common in the black community of terror about what can happen to their children, what will happen to some of them, and the things they try to teach them to best improve their chances to survive an encounter with the police.
- Shout-Out: "Stephen King is right! Maine is full of terrifying ghosts!"
