Nancy Drew season 4 episode 9 recap: The dark history of Horseshoe Bay revealed

Episode 9 of Nancy Drew season 4 was titled The Memory of the Stolen Soul. Directed by Robin Givens and written by Lisa Bao and Tiffany Patterson, it was released on July 26, 2023, on The CW.

The synopsis of the epsiode reads:

"Nancy and the Drew Crew prepare to battle a Sin Eater."

This episode revealed the origin of the sin eater and the brutal history of the town. During the 19th century, settlers kidnapped and killed several Native American children. The truth had been hidden from the public eye for ages, but not anymore.

---

Nancy Drew season 4 episode 9 recap: Did Nancy kill the sin eater?

The episode began with the discovery of a new body. The corpse was charred, and everyone believed it was that of the camper, Mia Preston. A couple of paranormal occurrences, like lights swinging and the radio turning on and off, freaked everyone out. Ace then communicated with the corpse in front of them and realized that she was not Mia.

Elsewhere, Tristan had asked Nancy out, but she decided that she would only go on a date with him once the sin eater was dead. The team then began researching what the sin eater's first meal was. They learned that the sin eater was created by the founders of their town, Horseshoe Bay.

Addy's parents knew the history of the town. The founders had arrived in town during the 1800s. It was already occupied by Native Americans. In the beginning, there was peace between the settlers and tribes, but one morning the former kidnapped the native children. The founders then went ahead and murdered the children. In the end, the land was inherited by the founders' children. This was the first sin the sin eater had consumed.

Meanwhile, the time for Bess's hearing had arrived. The court offered her a plea deal, but she rejected it. She then revealed that the supernatural source was not a threat but something that could be used for good. She then used a portion to showcase a ghost mural of Native American children getting murdered by settlers.

Bess then figured out a way to kill the sin eater. When the entity appeared, Nancy and Ryan went after it with a crossbow and the poison Bess had created. Nick and Bess learned that the native children were used as guinea pigs for the entity to survive. It needed a human body for survival.

Nancy still shot the entity with her crossbow. When it collapsed, she looked into its hands and saw a shell. This horrified her because her date, Tristan, used to send them to her as a way of flirting.

---

Nancy Drew synopsis

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the synopsis of Nancy Drew reads,

"Nancy Drew is a brilliant teen detective whose sense of self had come from solving mysteries in her hometown of Horseshoe Bay, Maine -- until her mother's untimely death derails Nancy's college plans. Devastated by her mother's passing, Nancy swears off crime-solving while crossing off the days until she can reapply to college."

It further reads,

"But when a socialite is murdered, Nancy finds herself a prime suspect in the crime, along with a group of other teens present at the scene: Nancy's nemesis from high school, George Fan; a rich girl with a mysterious past, Bess Marvin; Nancy's secret boyfriend, Ned "Nick" Nickerson and amiable burnout Ace. The five of them must team up to clear their own names, encountering emotional entanglements and even more mysteries along the way."

Nancy Drew stars Kennedy McMann, Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, Tunji Kasim, Alex Saxon, Alvina August, Riley Smith, and Scott Wolf.