Nancy Drew 1×14 Review: “The Sign of the Uninvited Guest” reveals Tiffany Hudson’s killer!

Ryan and Karen discussing Tiffany's murder on Nancy Drew

Kailey Schwerman/The CW

The identity of Tiffany Hudson’s killer has been revealed on Nancy Drew! After weeks of the #DrewCrew finding a way to tie both Tiffany’s and Lucy’s murders together, it was one connection that caught everyone off guard. The group literally had to bring their investigation back to the beginning of that fateful night at The Claw to figure out how Tiffany died. It’s not who we all suspect, but it’s enough of a believable move that works in its favor. This wasn’t someone random, they had a clear motive for why everything went down.

Josh (i.e. Lucy’s brother) had plenty of motivation to get revenge over the death of his sister. While we don’t have complete confirmation regarding who killed Lucy, we do know it’s someone in the vicinity of the Hudsons and the Marvins. Plus, the first half of Nancy Drew’s first season has taken the time to introduce Lucy’s family members and the connection to the past, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility to have them be a part of the mystery, too.

What threw me for a loop is that Tiffany’s death was a complete accident! Nancy Drew created the biggest red-herring by focusing on Tiffany to dive deeper into Lucy’s murder, but none of that mattered because she wasn’t even the target in the first place. A random series of events went into motion that gave Tiffany that fateful salad instead of Ryan. If Ryan had eaten his salad, or Bess had dropped that tray, or even if he’d ordered fries like the rest of his guests, everything would be completely different. Doesn’t that blow your mind?

In addition to that, if Josh had not returned to his mechanic shop that night or if Ryan had his meeting at another location, the murder wouldn’t have happened. Josh tried to commit Murder 2 because he saw the man he believed to be responsible for his sister’s death. While it was all thrilling and shocking, it was also a very soapy twist. All of the clues we discovered before gave background into the events leading to Lucy’s death, but it was a thin layer that connected to Josh’s motivation to kill Ryan. In hindsight, it’s all about the perspective since it all plays a part, but it’s not in the way we expected it to be.

Kailey Schwerman/The CW

I loved that the Drew Crew recreated the events of the night. Retracing their steps helped to pick up on clues they missed and it helped us as viewers get a refresher of the crime scene that happened during the series premiere. A few mini details had been lost or missing since the beginning. If it weren’t for that recreation, none of them would’ve deduced how Tiffany died or that Ryan was the intended target. The entire scene felt like it had been taken from the pages of a mystery novel, just like a Nancy Drew book!

What do you think happened to Josh’s body? Getting beaten and electrocuted in his garage should’ve killed him, especially from the seriousness of that shock. (Come on, even his skin was burnt from the damage!) I’m guessing that someone took his body away so that Nancy couldn’t prove her father’s innocence. Nancy Drew made a point of saying that without a cop nearby to hear testimony, that evidence would be deemed as hearsay. All Nancy has now is hearsay. My guess is that it’s someone working for the Hudsons. It could even be Owen Marvin since he was supposed to be at the diner that night, too.

I’m going to miss Laura Tandy! She’s such a fun and bright character who moved to the beat of her own drum. But, with the Tiffany Hudson case closed, there’s no point for her character to stick around any longer. Plus, her romance with Ace seemed to be one-sided at times. She can’t make someone choose her and their life together. She and Ace are better off apart if they can’t put in the work to stay together.

Though, this could be the start of a potential romance brewing between Ace and Nancy. Did you see the sparks and looks they were giving each other? Nancy looked impressed at every turn he showed his hacker skills, like at the library when he retrieved Lucy’s old emails. There’s some energy going on there, and I’m not talking about the apparently long-standing war going on between Ace and Dominique. (Seriously, what is going on there?)

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Bess made the right call putting herself first in her life plans. Amaya is a great catch, but Bess can’t be used as a ploy by the Marvins to win over another family contact. If Bess wants to make things work with Lisbeth, she has to set limits on what she will do for her family.

“The Sign of the Uninvited Guest” answered one of the season’s biggest burning mysteries in a satisfying way. A juicy mystery that had a thrilling conclusion – it’s so very Nancy Drew. Now that one murder is out the door, the team can focus on the biggest mystery overall. Let’s hope Lucy’s mystery delivers with an explosive conclusion!

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