Nancy Drew Team Breaks Down Series Finale’s Biggest Moments, Including That Long-Awaited Ace Reveal

Nancy Drew left us with one last clue to follow.

The CW drama wrapped its four-season run on Wednesday, pitting the Drew Crew against its greatest supernatural threat yet before revealing what the future holds for everyone in Horseshoe Bay. More importantly, the finale also (potentially) solved the show’s longest-running mystery — Ace’s last name.

One of the episode’s final shots was a carving of the crew’s initials, including “A.H.” First name Ace? Yes, confirmed. But could that “H,” as many fans have speculated over the years, really stand for Hardy? Did the show just confirm that Nancy has had a Hardy Boy by her side this whole time? All signs point to… probably!

Though executive producer (and pilot director) Larry Teng didn’t exactly spell it out for us, he confirmed to TVLine that he’s known about Ace’s last name from “day one, episode one.”

Speaking of Ace, yes, he ended up with Nancy in the end. Here’s a quick summary, if that’s even possible: Saving the town required apparent soulmates Nancy and Tristan to sever their spiritual connection, following the discovery that they’re only linked because she murdered him in a past life. (Oops!) Ace saved Nancy by tethering himself to her, but the process literally cost them their souls, making it impossible for either to be reincarnated. Silver lining? It also destroyed their death curse, allowing them to enjoy the remainder of their last lives together.

“When Ace says to Nancy, ‘Will you solve this last mystery with me?’ in my mind, that was, ‘Will you marry me?'” finale director Amanda Row tells TVLine. “That was both of them acknowledging that there’s nothing they can possibly do to stay apart. They have to be together. And I love that. I love how big Nancy and Ace have become, because it was definitely not planned. It ended up just organically happening, which I think makes it so special.”

Every epic reunion needs an equally epic kiss, and Row definitely felt the pressure to deliver with this one, “especially because there was that gorgeous slow-motion shot wrapping around them when they kissed earlier this season,” she says. “With this one, I wanted to keep it more still. I was echoing the same framing I did in [the Season 4 premiere] when they meet up at at Icarus Hall. I did the exact same conversation, but this time it had a different outcome.”

Row’s instructions to Kennedy McMann and Alex Saxon in that moment were simple: “This is about relief. This is about joy. This isn’t a dramatic we’re-having-our-first-kiss moment. This is about saying, ‘We can finally do this and enjoy each other.’ It’s supposed to be about that bubbly, butterfly feeling you get when you’re with somebody that you love. Shooting that was one of the most special things I’ve ever had to do.”

And then there was Nancy’s farewell to Tristan, whom Rowe describes as “an innocent bystander in a lot of ways.” For that reason, “you can’t help but feel for him,” but at least we can find a “really beautiful resolution” in that he and Nancy were able to overcome the sins of their past lives. As Row says, “it shows that the cycle doesn’t have to keep going. Things can change. His role was really significant in teaching Nancy that.”

As for the rest of the Drew Crew, George got into Northern Seattle Legal College; Nick accepted an engineering position under Tom Swift (R.I.P.!), while Jade also landed a gig in Swift Enterprises’ PR department, courtesy of Zenzi; Bess is embarking on a global expedition to replenish the historical society’s destroyed artifacts, while Addy is running for local office; Carson and Jean are preparing to welcome their new baby girl; and Ryan… well, let’s just say that Red appears to be keeping him on his toes.

What did you think of Nancy Drew‘s closing hour? Ace’s long-awaited last name reveal? Grade the episode and final season in our polls below, then drop a comment with all of your thoughts.