Indepth Analysis: Ned and Nancy

Within the world of the Nancy Drew games, we see a Ned and Nancy relationship that is currently on shaky ground. Over time the Francy (Frank and Nancy)  idea from the Supermystery books has bled into the game plot. While Nancy makes no effort to hook up with Frank, Ned still gets a bit weird about Nancy solving a mystery with the Hardys. 

*There may be game spoilers!*

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Today I'm going to go into the details of the Nancy and Ned relationship (games only). I'll start with a rundown of what has happened in their relationship from game 1 to game 33. From there I'll jump into what each of them seems to need from each other. Lastly, I'll state my opinion on whether Nancy and Ned should be together as a couple or not. If I think they can fix it I'll state how I think they could, but we'll see. 

The Relationship As It Stands

Ned starts at game 1 as a phone boyfriend. He only really gives hints here. In the next game, he does say "I love you", but still a phone boyfriend. For the majority of the series you only talk to him over the phone. We never see him in person, even though we once play as him. We see only a picture or two to go off of.

It may be that the many books they based the games off of didn't include Ned, but be that as it may, Ned is not in games 3,6-10,12-14,20,22-23,26-27, and 30-31. He is mentioned in many of these games. You just can't call him. Again, I will make the case that the books may not include Ned (in fact, she may not have met him yet in some books). That has no bearing on the relationship itself if that is indeed the case. I am taking that into account and assuming Ned receives her letters and communicates with her between cases. 

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With all that in mind, the content of those calls includes advice on the case at hand. We also learn he's in college working hard on his degree and in a fraternity. He's busy, too, so we can't say he spends all his time waiting for Nancy to come home. Early on we see no complaints from Ned. He worries over Nancy's safety and helps her solve her cases with good advice. In Kapu Cave, however, Nancy sees the Hardy boys on the beach and hangs up on Ned mid-conversation. You call him back, yes, but you can find conversation indicating he's not happy Frank is there. No indication of any other conflict surfaces the game after. Nancy even checks on Henry Bolet for him in Crystal Skull while she's with Bess.

Within Phantom of Venice, there is a heavily mentioned locket that Nancy says Ned gave her. This still shows a rather healthy relationship. We don't know what happens outside the cases Nancy handles. We assume they go out between cases. I do, anyway, but to each their own. Why else would Ned buy her a locket if he wasn't committed to the relationship? After a while, you can't avoid calls from Ned (should you not bother to call him as the player). This happens in Blackmoor Manor, Kapu Cave, and Waverly specifically. 

Captive Curse begins to give us a clue as to how many times Ned had to reschedule their dates for Nancy's cases. He gets upset about it and says he doesn't have anything to do. This shows us that his life tends to circle around Nancy's. He even goes to the Hardys for consoling, who then call Nancy and ask what happened between them. The game has you make up and get back together. Truthfully, this has roots that may have been happening behind the scenes. Ned later admits he's waiting for exciting things to happen to him like they do for Nancy and Nancy assures him she would love for him to be able to join her. He admits he knows that and forgets that sometimes. Next game Ned helps Bess and George get Nancy out of jail. He even endures a date with Deirdre so the rest of the gang can get her fingerprint and notes. 

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For the next few games he's the usual helpful phone boyfriend. Silent Spy shows him defending Nancy as she is in Scotland. He declares his loyal support for her. Sea of Darkness lets the player choose a response more than other games have before. Nancy completely forgot their anniversary dinner. This means if you hate Ned you can refuse to return his "I love you". Assuming you are nice to Ned and return his "I love you", the response you get is that Ned has a gift he can't give you over the phone and that he's constantly worried he'll get a call about Nancy's untimely death any day now. He's consumed by worry, basically. Hot tip, buy him a sword and he'll love it.

Now we need to talk about Midnight In Salem's (MID for short) mysterious call early in the game. If you don't know, Ned suggests Nancy take a break from cases in a somewhat passive-aggressive tone (it may be just my perception, but I'm not sure) and then gets interrupted by a woman mocking Ned. She steals his phone and won't give it back. She hangs up on Nancy. No explanation is given. 

We can take two thought journeys with this one. Road one suggests Nancy is being cheated on. Road two suggests Ned's sister took his phone. I choose to believe Ned's sister is to blame, as he openly texts he is hanging out with friends. He also is on vacation, presumably with his family. Plus, what idiot calls his girlfriend with his side chick beside him? Come on, Ned isn't stupid. Frankly, even Dierdre says he's not budging "on the you situation" and would wait by the phone for eternity even if Nancy never called Ned again. Deirdre knows the score. She's kept her eye on Ned for years, so she's probably right. 

We come back to the rest of MID, where we play phone tag with Ned the whole game. He's not being helpful at all in the communication department. Nancy says she'll call him back as she encounters situations like vandalism to the Perry's house and Mei's disappearance. I wish she'd have just explained what was happening instead of not taking his call. This communication situation is not good, as well as Ned's consuming worry over Nancy combined with his dislike of Frank. She does end the game by planning a vacation with Ned, however, where they can talk out their issues uninterrupted. This is the game that last came out, so we know nothing else. 

What Do They Need?

Nancy has tunnel vision. Any player of Herinteractive games knows this after several games in. She is seldom in River Heights. Her constant barrage of cases leads her all over the map. This means she's seldom home to have a romantic getaway with Ned or spend time with him. What does she need? I can't really say. She has the support of Ned, the attention of Ned, and doesn't need much. If I had to say what she needed from Ned it would be the understanding that she needs space to solve those mysteries and live her life (which Captive Curse touched on). 

Ned is a college student that also has a busy life. He's also expressed that he wants more of her attention and time. This one is simple. There isn't much more to say. He needs more time spent and attention from Nancy because she's practically traveling all year. The time he does have off seems to not match up with hers if MID gave me the right vibe. 

This is shockingly simple to fix. All it really takes is an intentional inclusion in her cases, if possible, so Ned can come with her. It could also help if she did what the end of MID actually suggested they were going to do. Nancy is trying to save the relationship. In my opinion, Ned also needs to give her some space if he's not going to join her adventure. She loves mysteries. Ned can't just keep her at home. There needs to be a balance of time at home and mystery solving. It all comes down to their lives being out of balance. Add some clear communication to a re-balanced and prioritized relationship and they may just work out forever. 

Will It Work Out?

Yes, I think it will. Nancy made a step toward prioritizing Ned at the end of MID. Ned is clearly not cheating on Nancy if Deirdre is convinced he would wait on her forever. He's declared his support of her, his worry over her, and his devotion to her in Sea of Darkness. Long story short, they need to balance their time together and time away while clearly communicating. If they do that they're going to be fine.

I am fully aware that some players declare Nancy to be a horrible girlfriend, but I also present to you that Ned also needs to make an effort. Captive Curse demonstrated that Ned is too dependent on Nancy for his free time and needs to give her space. MID demonstrated that he's not good at communication either. A relationship is a two-way street and they need to understand each other. It takes two people. Nancy seems to have a dynamic life and Ned doesn't seem to be anything other than a homebody. You see this also in Carson and Kate's relationship, which seems to create arguments also. Ned is too dependent on Nancy in some cases, which isn't good. 

Keep in mind these are my opinions. You can disagree at any time. For perspective on my perspective, I am someone who gets lost in their own head, like Nancy here. Ned's argument in Captive Curse comes across to me as whining about how he has nothing to do outside of Nancy. I do see how he'd be upset that the getaway had to be rescheduled, but aside from that, he has to know that Nancy can't bale from a case on his whim. The world doesn't revolve around Ned.

With all that, I end my case. Ned and Nancy, in my opinion, can fix this and are actively trying.