Nancy Drew, a supernatural take on the sleuth and her tight-knit group of friends currently airing on The CW, has had a relatively strong start. The first season quickly introduced the town of Horseshoe Bay and the many mysteries it held, including the secrets of Lucy Sable whose story became legend years after her sudden death. However, while the show has excelled in many other ways, the one major fault of the show is its lack of focus on Bess Turani a.k.a. Bess Marvin (Maddison Jaizani). That is, until the currently-airing third season of the show. After two seasons, we are finally seeing the Nancy Drew writers realize how much potential lies in Bess' character.
An outsider that made her way to Horseshoe bay upon learning the secret of who her mother’s family was and why she ran away from the United States, Bess arrived in town seeking answers and a connection with this side of her family. At first, she didn't reveal who she really is. She began working at The Claw while living in her van, with some sticky fingers to keep her entertained in the meantime.
From the start of Nancy Drew, it was clear that Bess was not going to be treated as the others were, and as the only LGBTQ+ member of the Drew Crew, this was quite disappointing to come to terms with. And that’s exactly what happened. Of the members of the Drew Crew, Bess has inarguably been explored the least. Her ties to the Marvin family were introduced and cut short rather immediately, with viewers only seeing Bess interact with members of her family for a few episodes in Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2 before the head of the family cut her off for putting her chosen family (the Drew Crew) above her blood relatives. While Bess circled the Marvins, she also found romance with Lisbeth (Katie Findlay) in Season 1. But, when the Aglaeca’s curse left Bess’ life in jeopardy, this relationship ended rather abruptly with no real closure. From here, Bess fell in love with the spirit beneath the Aglaeca facade, Odette, who presently resides in George’s body after some magic went wrong. Another doomed love that had no real buildup, but simply was written in to take Bess’ attention away from the important mysteries that the other characters were all wrapped up in.
On all accounts, Bess has been extremely wronged on Nancy Drew. For far too long, she was treated as nothing more than comedic relief with no real stories, feelings, or connections that the writers would capitalize on. Her romantic and platonic relationships have consistently been treated as lesser than those of her fellow Drew Crew members. She’s been ostracized from her biological family in Horseshoe Bay, yet the most we’ve seen of her “dealing” with such a harsh reality is her moping around Nancy’s (Kennedy McMann) house until she got over it, despite the fact that the Marvin family is the reason she came to Horseshoe Bay in the first place.
It’s sad because, from the very start, Bess has been a very special, interesting character just waiting for her potential to be utilized. She has an entire life that we know very little about, as while Nancy Drew looked into Nick’s past before he moved to Maine, the same cannot be said for Bess. We know her sticky fingers have gotten her into trouble, and she desperately wanted to keep that part of herself away from the Marvins for fear of being disowned because of the shame she would bring them (not that it mattered in the end, though). Additionally, because Bess has been constantly dumbed down to be the comedic relief on the show, Nancy Drew has never shown that Bess is actually a fairly smart, insightful person, who can contribute to the mysteries that her friends are solving. That is, until Season 3. Finally, after 36 episodes, Bess has an actual purpose, and the writers are treating her as a member of the group that has something to offer.
The loss of her relationships with the living Marvins has caused her to seek comfort in learning about the Marvins’ history, looking back at how the Marvins helped shape Horseshoe Bay into the town it is in the present. This includes taking over at the historical society as the caretaker of the many mystical artifacts that are locked away there and looking through the records to seek answers to the current supernatural mishaps that the Drew Crew (or someone else, occasionally) unleashes upon the town.. Plus, like Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) on Riverdale Season 5 and Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) on Supergirl Season 6, Bess is toying with some witchcraft herself, She taps into the latent powers that have been passed down to her from the Women in White, an occult group that lived long ago, with the help of a former member of that group — Temperance Hudson (Bo Martynowska).
Bess leaning toward the occult was rather unexpected but is actually a brilliant choice for her story moving forward. Bess has always been seeking her own identity within a group of loved ones, and making her a witch gives her a vital role to play in the Drew Crew and a reason to stay in Horseshoe Bay permanently. As revealed in the latest episode, “The Demon on Piper Beach”, Bess is going to learn how to harness her powers and start her own group of Women in White. It’s a clever move for her, and it’s about time the Nancy Drew writers start to take Bess seriously as one of their main players. And, in the last episode, Bess finally stood up to the members of the Drew Crew for not taking her seriously or listening to what she had to offer, which felt like the writers acknowledging how they had messed up with Bess over the first two seasons. It felt as though the writers were calling themselves out through Nancy, George (Leah Lewis), Nick (Tunji Kasim), and Ace (Alex Saxon) for their blatant mistreatment of Bess.
The writers have given Bess a real voice, a new love interest, and a purpose in these first few episodes of Nancy Drew Season 3, which has started off strong and could be the best season yet. Plus, we’re finally seeing Bess have meaningful interactions with the other characters, like her worry over the legal trouble that Ace has gotten himself into with Amanda and Gil Bobbsey’s father or connecting with Nancy as they’ve shared a home for many months now. Frankly, it’s about time that Nancy Drew embraces Bess Marvin for everything she is and all she has to offer as the show’s secret weapon. After the mess that Season 2 created with Bess, it’s hard to believe it’ll last. But, for now, Bess’ potential is at long last being fleshed out and she’s being tied in deeply with the stories that are slowly coming together. Let’s hope this energy remains for the remainder of the show, so this isn’t yet another CW show that disappoints their one main LGBTQ+ character.
Nancy Drew Season 3 continues Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. The first two seasons are streaming on HBO Max.