Give Ace a Break

Nancy Drew + text posts (92/?)

Nancy Drew themes: Self-acceptance. The lynchpin to Nancy's development has always been about overcoming her demons, accepting shortcomings, and learning that she is not inherently a bad person and is in fact worthy of love and good things. Nancy Drew ending: Her soul is intrinsically linked to a horrendous murderer and oppressor of the town, something that shakes her so violently she has to leave Horseshoe Bay to find any sort of peace; the town where she recently decided to put down roots, to "grow where she's been planted".

Ace Hardy themes: Finding family. As a loner, Ace always longed for a community where he felt he truly belonged, which he canonically found with the Drew Crew. These friendships fueled his drive, self-esteem, and gave him purpose. Ace Hardy ending: His friends are all too caught up in their own lives to spend time with him anymore, so he dives headfirst into an isolating career in medical examination that drives him even further away from everyone. Oh, but also, they're all splitting apart anyway so who cares.

George Fan themes: Breaking the cycle. An absent father and deadbeat mother forced George to work hard to provide for her sisters, which also closed her off from forming deep emotional connections for many years. George Fan ending: George leaves her sisters behind to pursue an exhaustive, difficult career path on a whim. She ends the series in a new surface-level relationship rather than one that helped her open up and be vulnerable.

Bess Turani-Marvin themes: Creating a happy life. Bess arrived in Horseshoe Bay to connect with family and escape from an empty, traumatizing life on the run. She seeks joy and stability; somewhere she can finally call home. Bess Turani-Marvin ending: Bess randomly loses her room at the Drew home (?), her entire found family leaves her after less than a year together, oh yeah and her fucking HOUSE BURNS DOWN.

Ned Nickerson themes: Building community. He wants to improve things in his new town, now that he's proclaimed he's finally found where he belongs after a troubled adolescence. Ned Nickerson ending: Nick's several attempts to make a difference (buying The Claw, starting a youth center, running for council) all go nowhere. His efforts are a flop. He essentially gives up and takes a job with Tom Swift instead (career choice is consistent for him, at least).

To me, Ace saying "I believe in being true to yourself, even at the risk of being misunderstood" is one of his most character defining lines in the series. It's cool to think about this quote after finishing the series and knowing everything we do about Ace.

Even though at the point of him saying this we haven't seen the full extent of the conflict with his dad, in retrospect, we can understand that Ace is likely thinking about his dad in some sense when saying this. Yes, he is saying this to Laura and in response about leaving Horseshoe Bay, but it extends to so many aspects of his life and character.

Ace is well aware that his dad doesn't understand or respect where he currently is in life, but he doesn't try to change himself to make his dad understand him. No matter how much he wants his dad's approval, he doesn't compromise who he is. He knows that will only lead to him living a life that isn't really his. What his dad sees as laziness is Ace having not found his purpose and not wanting to force himself into a box before knowing if he will fit.

Ace values being true to himself, and he values this trait in the people he surrounds himself with. This is at the heart of the conflict between him and Nancy in season 2, and I think it might give some perspective to why he struggled to find a solid group of friends before the Drew Crew.

We all know that high school is a difficult time for self-identity and finding yourself, and this has been affirmed through Nancy's character and her high school friends. So I think Ace struggled to make meaningful friendships with people who weren't necessarily being true to themselves (speaking from experience, this is something I struggled with in high school, and it was aggravated by questioning my own sense of self and hiding parts of my identity).

But for the most part, once the layers of secrecy at the beginning of season 1 are removed, I think Ace realizes that this group of people try their hardest to be true to themselves, despite some slip ups.

Nancy could easily leave the mystery solving to the police and stay out of trouble, but she values truth and justice, and she knows it is her responsibility to find those things. Bess values family, whether it is biological or found, and she strives to do right by the people she loves, even if it costs her. George has been known as the town screw up but for the most part, she ignores the labels others put on her and works hard to build a life for herself and her sisters. She knows she is more than their labels for her. Nick is driven by his desire to help and protect people. We see him stay true to himself most clearly when he tells his mom he's staying in Horseshoe Bay, that he has a purpose in this town and he's been planted there for a reason.

That was a long winded way of saying that Ace has finally found people who try their hardest to push away the opinions of other people and stay true to themselves.

For a moment, I was thinking about this quote in line with him telling Nancy he isn't lacking anymore after getting his apartment and starting to work at the morgue. Because if this is the code he lives by, then why would he do these things just for someone else's approval? But then I realized that he isn't. He's had an interest in medical and forensic examination since season 1 when helping examine Lucy's bones. And I think he's been ready to move out of his parents house for a while. He just needed a push to do those things and his insecurities tell him that he has to prove to Nancy that he is good enough for her. But the things he chose to do are still true to who he is.

So yeah, I really just love this quote and think it sums up who Ace is and we can see it reflected in everything he does throughout the series, even up to the very end.

NACE APPRECIATION WEEK 🔦 DAY ONE: Favorite Season 4 moment

KENNEDY MCMANN as NANCY DREW