Instead, we're actively seeing the seriousness of it lessened, painted as inappropriate because it was an affair. It's as if biology suddenly excuses everything he's done or offers him a chance of redemption.īut, that's the thing: Ryan hasn't earned redemption for what he did to George, not in the slightest, and whether he could is incredibly questionable. Ryan has little to no acknowledgement of what he did to George, and the show completely shifts focus to Ryan as one of Nancy's fathers. Throughout season two, this is exactly what we see. Ryan's main flaw after this is his privilege, as the story with the Hudsons heats up. Only nothing actually changed, except the writing of the character, which essentially pretends his vile actions with George never happened. On several occasions during season one, Nancy Drew (the show and the character) acknowledged how wrong this situation was and called Ryan out, particularly when he was one of Nancy's main suspects in the investigation of his wife's death.īut, upon the reveal that Ryan was actually Nancy's biological father, everything changes – and suddenly Ryan is a man worthy of redemption.
Ryan actively manipulated and groomed George - a teenager in high school - as a man in his late thirties, making false promises of leaving his wife and keeping her quiet about their connection. Throughout the first season, this had quite a toll on George, with this 'relationship' shown to be exactly as vile as it is. Ryan was shown having a sexual (and extramarital) relationship with Nancy's friend, George, that began when she was 17 years old.