Blood and Treasure episodes 1 and 2 review: What a fun summer ride
When his mentor, Dr. Ana Castillo (Alicia Coppola), is abducted by terrorists after discovering the tomb of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, art expert Danny McNamara (Matt Barr) recruits an old flame, professional thief Lexi Vaziri (Sofia Pernas), to rescue her despite Lexi blaming him for her father Reza’s death two years prior at the hands of the same terrorists. With assistance provided by Danny’s billionaire contact, Jay Reece (John Larroquette), they track the stolen antiques to a Mafia auction in Rome, unaware that the Carabinieri are planning a raid. At the auction, Danny uses the resulting chaos as an opportunity to kidnap the terrorist’s middleman, Aiden Shaw (hearing that name gives us serious Sex and the City feels), who turns out to be an American named Dwayne Coleman (Michael James Shaw). Shaw demands $2 million to contact his employers, but when Danny steps away to make a call, Lexi lets him escape so the pair can discreetly follow him. Danny admits that what happened to Reza still haunts him, and has carried his prayer beads with him every day since he died, giving Lexi some closure. She forgives him, and they prepare to pursue Shaw across the border.
The second hour of the two-parter started in 1942 when a unit of German soldiers enter the tomb of Cleopatra and steal her sarcophagus, but are ambushed. Outside a handful of men escape while the others are sealed within the tomb by a mysterious cult. In the present day, Shaw tries to sell back his remaining antiques to Karim Farouk, a terrorist who was supposedly killed two years earlier, but when Danny and Lexi show up, Farouk shoots him and escapes despite Lexi’s attempts to pursue him while Danny rescues Castillo and the still-alive Shaw. Danny and Lexi are arrested by Interpol agent Gwen Karlsson, but manage to parachute off the transport plane into the Vatican, where Danny’s friend Chuck Donnelly (a Vatican official) informs them that Shaw has fled to Istanbul. There, an assassin sent by Farouk tries to poison him, but Danny and Lexi are able to steal the antidote and save his life again. With Castillo’s help, Danny determines two things: Farouk wants to weaponize the curse of Cleopatra and Antony and the cult that killed the Nazis is the key to finding the bodies.
One aspect of the show we were curious to find out was whether or not this would be a procedural type show or a long form one, and with the episode two ending it appears as though the long form wins. For us, this is exciting as the writers don’t have to fulfill a 22 episode order and give us a lot of filler episodes but instead with 13 episodes they can tell a concise story jammed packed with exciting moments, adventure and maybe some romance. A perfect summer romp!
CarterMatt Verdict
Barr plays the title role perfectly. He gives Danny the charm to make us love him while also showing the audience that he is a rule-follower who rarely oversteps his morals. Danny is serious about his work and the mission at hand, but Barr also brings a flirtatious side to Danny that shows whenever he and Pernas share the scene. Their chemistry is undeniable, but it’s not over the top. It’s just enough to tell us they are meant to be without suggesting they will immediately jump into bed. This amount of chemistry and anticipation is what fans live for.
Overall, the two-parter of CBS’s newest drama is exiting, fresh, and one that we will tune into each week. So if you haven’t checked it out, make sure you tune in every Tuesday night.
This article was written by Samantha D’Amico. If you want to follow her on Twitter, you can do so at SAM_iamXO. (Photo: CBS)