It’s the final episode, and it all ends with an epic confrontation in the swamps outside of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Questioning Salazar/Hendricks (Armando Riesco) why he was there, Billie is annoyed at seeing the boss of the treasure destroying cabal. Wondering why Jess and Rafael (Lisette Olivera and Jacob Vargas) are still alive, Billie tells Hendricks that she thought she would keep them alive until after they found the treasure.
Ethan, Oren, Liam, and Tasha (Jordan Rodrigues, Antonio Cipriano, Jake Austin Walker, and Zuri Reed) arrive at the boathouse only to discover the group has left, Agent Ross (Lyndon Smith) is laying on the ground appearing to be dead, and a large guard with a gun blocks their way. Working out a plan to distract the guard, the group is easily captured by another of Billie’s guards.
The guards plan to shoot the group and dump them in the swamp for the gators. Trying to save Tasha, Oren jumps in front of the gun, only to be saved by the semi-conscious Ross, who has shot the two guards. (Agent Ross lives! Lyndon Smith gets a hero moment.)
Oren and Tasha get Ross to the hospital, while Ethan and Liam chase after Billie and Hendricks to save Jess.
Onboard the boat of bad guys, Hendricks admits that he should never have doubted Billie, and Billie tells him that he’s a man, naturally he would underestimate her. The boat can no longer travel via the motor, and the thugs need to start using poles to push the boat along. (Though I know this is in no way connected to it, I love the unintentional homage to the classic film Davy Crockett and the River Pirates).
In a very slow pursuit, Ethan and Liam are forced to push their own boat along, and this is a perfect moment where the two bond. In the van, Tasha is trying to keep Ross from bleeding to death. She tells Tasha that Hendricks killed Peter Sadusky.
It’s slow going in the swamps, and Billie’s boat enters a thick fog that comes out of nowhere. The compass tells them to keep going, and while the group plunges into the void, Rafael and Jess tell their captors that this is the fog of death. Billie and Hendricks are not easily spooked and they continue on.
Liam and Ethan follow behind and enter the fog too. Billie’s boat has hit a sandbar and while Kacey (Breeda Wool) is trying to get the boat moving, Jess questions Hendricks about his motives. She tells him he is an FBI agent and that he took an oath. Offended by this question, Hendricks explains that they are the good guys. To Hendricks, when secrets of the past get uncovered, it causes problems. That’s when Rafael realizes that the group plans to destroy the treasure.
Billie tells them that there is nothing more dangerous than the truth. To Billie, the Pan American treasure is a political powder keg. Their group keeps the status quo.
Kacey leads the group onto a path. Noticing that the path is lined with ornate stones, Billie and Hendricks see evidence of past visitors, as bodies lay beside the trail. Wondering why the past visitors killed each other, Billie suspects that something is up.
When one of the guards is gassed by a coyote statue, he hallucinates and forces Kacey to shoot him. In the melee Kacey is shot, and Jess and Rafael escape. On their own, Jess and Rafael plan to get to the treasure and salvage as much as they can before Billie and Hendricks. Finding a Mesoamerican statue, and using their historical knowledge they set a direction to go left.
Back in Oren’s van, racing to get to a city for medical help, Tasha is shocked to see that Zeke (Tommy Savas) is calling Ross. Tasha begs Zeke for help and starts to explain what happened.
Ethan and Liam find the dead guys from Billie’s group and continue their search. Billie, Hendricks, and Kacey get to another statue and aren’t sure where to go. The compass is telling them to go both ways, and Billie realizes that this is a test. Hendricks knows the direction as he sees a clue on the trail left by Jess and Rafael.
Over the phone Zeke directs Tasha to stab Ross in the chest with something sharp and hollow because that will relieve the tension in her chest and allow her to breathe. Tasha finds an ecofriendly metal straw, and Oren pulls over so that Tasha can be as precise as possible.
In the swamp, Jess and Rafael continue their trek and find the resting place of the treasure. No sooner do they find the location, then they fall victim to an ancient trap.
Over the phone Zeke tries to prepare Tasha for the procedure, but Tasha doesn’t wait and does it quickly. Within seconds, Ross can breathe. The ambulance arrives at the van, and Agent Ross looks like she just might survive.
Trapped in the cage, Jess laments that they are going to die so close to finding the treasure. Rafael puts the blame on himself. He tells Jess that he should have listened to her mom. Jess’ mom told him that the treasure hunt would ruin their lives. Jess tells Rafael that he doesn’t get to take all the credit for their misfortune. Rafael regrets not being there for Jess and her mom. To him, Rafael missed everything that mattered in life. Father and daughter really connect in this moment. To Jess and Rafael’s surprise, it is Liam and Ethan that find them first. The four of them work together to lift the cage.
While Billie, Hendricks, and Kacey avoid dangerous traps, Ethan and Liam use elementary school science knowledge of simple machines to lift the cage off of Jess and Rafael with a lever.
Agent Ross gets loaded into the ambulance and Oren and Tasha try to figure out what to do next. It will be at least a half hour before a police search team can come out to the swamp. Unwilling to wait, Tasha and Oren head out to help their friends.
Free from the cage, Liam reveals to Jess that his grandfather figured out the Hendricks and Billie plan to destroy the treasure. While the group is planning to enter the ancient temple, Ethan decides that he must go meet Tasha, Oren and the cops and lead them to the temple. Rafael, Liam, and Jess make their way into the temple.
Kacey’s wound slows down the group, and before she can stop him, Billie watches helplessly as Hendricks kills Kacey. Hendricks explains that Kacey was a liability, and this reminds Billie of her conversation with Rafael. Back at the prison visitor room, Rafael described how Hendricks/Salazar called Billie’s brother a liability and shot him. Admitting that her brother was slowing them down, Hendricks admits to killing Billie’s brother, and reminds her that the cause is all that matters.
While Hendricks is talking about how he was chosen to be Salazar because he makes the hard decisions, Billie shoots him with Kacey’s gun. Taking the medallion, Billie proclaims herself Salazar now.
At the temple, Rafael is searching for a latch to open the temple, when Jess smacks his hand, and reminds him of the dangers that are waiting. Rafael is just happy that she called him dad in the exchange. Using his left hand, Rafael pulls a hidden lever, and an opening to the temple is revealed. Not a moment too soon, the group jumps into the temple as Billie fires at them from a distance.
Inside Jess, Rafael, and Liam find a trap laden floor that has a mysterious puzzle laid out for them which if followed correctly will bring them safely to the treasure room door, without being killed. Jess realizes that the floor is a puzzle, and that to get across the room they need to solve the puzzle.
Remembering the three symbols that the Daughters of the Plume Serpent used to identify themselves, Jess identifies the markers on the floor. Directing Liam and her dad to the proper symbols, Jess knows that the traps won’t stop until they step on the three symbols together. Jess must make it to the last step before they are all killed. Successful, the group proceeds onward.
Entering the treasure room, Jess, Liam, and Rafael find a room filled with priceless relics and treasure. They have found the great Pan American treasure. Behind them, Billie enters the hallway to the treasure room and stumbles upon the trap.
While the group is exploring the treasure room, they find a tapestry of Malinche and wonder how they are going to get the treasure out if they are locked in. Their question is answered when Billie blows a hole in the wall with some C4 explosives.
Dazed by the explosion, Jess awakens to Billie threatening her. On the cusp of setting fire to the place, Jess trips Billie up with an ancient sling, and Ethan comes back to save the day. Billie is captured and held at gunpoint by Ethan.
Ethan explains to Liam that when he was going for help, he saw Billie and decided to follow her. Having left a smoke signal for help, thanks to Ethan’s success in the Scouts, help soon arrives. Billie is led away in handcuffs, but not before Jess recovers her medallion. While Jess and Liam embrace over their success, Ethan, Tasha, and Oren are celebrating their success in finding the treasure and taking a selfie with the fortune. Rafael tells them that the mistake he made twenty years ago was trying to find the treasure himself.
Just a short time later, the opening of a new exhibit of Malinche has Agent Ross and Zeke entering the star studded exhibit together. (Yeah, Ross lives.) Behind glass cases, with tons of security, the items found in the remote temple are on display, and the story Malinche is finally being told.
Rafael, Tasha, Oren, Ethan, and Jess are looking at a portrait of Jess’ mom, drawn by Rafael, when Liam joins them. He was late and told them that he was cleaning out his grandfather’s study and found a cassette tape with information about the Pan American treasure. When Rafael suggests the curators of the exhibit could add the tape to the collection Liam tells them no. According to Liam there is another thing on the tape.
Oren asks if this other thing is treasure related, and Liam tells them yes. (Season 2? National Treasure 3.)
Final Thoughts About Season 1:
I really liked this show. There is nothing on television quite like National Treasure: Edge of History and it is the perfect adventure series that sparked my curiosity about history, and made me miss Indiana Jones and Ben Gates.
The purpose of these movies and a show like this one is to have a fun filled action packed adventure that forces the viewers to go for a ride. This was a lengthy ride which allows the viewers to have a moment of fun, with little harm.
The cast was superb, the connection to the movies was perfection, and having Catherine Zeta-Jones be the villain was brilliant. This was a show that checked off all the necessary needs for an adventure series, and did so expertly.
My one complaint was having Agent Hendricks as Salazar. Armando Riesco was not in the show that much, so his reveal was anticlimactic. I liked Agent Hendricks, and I wish he had stayed a hero instead of a heel. Oh well, I felt the same way with the sudden change for Ed Harris in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. That didn’t stop me from buying the DVD.
Hopefully, the long gestating National Treasure 3 will be announced soon, and that this how gets renewed for a second season. There is so much history to explore, and so many stories to tell.