Blood and Treasure episodes 4 and 5 review: Tensions are high
The episode starts out with Fabi finding Max Najjar (a cult operative posing as Castillo’s research assistant) in Tripoli and executes him for informing on the group to Farouk in return for his life. Pretending to be married, Danny and Lexi travel to an Austrian castle used by the Nazis to store Cleopatra’s body, and learn that her body was moved by a member of the Kreisau Circle.
What was great about the scenes in the castle was it brought that back and forth sexual tension that most people love from a show like this. The tension in these scenes made us think of shows like Castle or Bones where the chemistry brought fans back each week to see when the two characters would get together. Now while this show doesn’t revolve around a love story it’s a great storyline to have within the show and it definitely contributes to us coming back each week.
Meanwhile, Gwen and Fabi track down Najjar’s contact Simon Hardwick, a British smuggler Danny once rescued from Farouk, and he advises them to investigate the cult, which he names as the Brotherhood of Serapis. The character of Hardwick was briefly introduced back in the premiere episode and since then we have been wondering what his role in the story would be? While his appearance in this episode was longer, it was still brief. However, a part of us believes that as we keep uncovering clues, Hardwick’s role will have more of an impact, and to be honest, if that’s true we can’t wait.
After Gwen and Fabi confront Hardwick, Danny confronts Lexi over her desire to kill Farouk, which clashes with his plan to bring him to justice. Chuck uses his ties to the Jesuits to decipher a code left by the Circle, revealing the location of an abandoned German tank depot; a false wall reveals a secret elevator to an underground vault where Danny finds part of Cleopatra’s sarcophagus. Farouk and his second-in-command (Omar) ambush them and seal off their exit route, so Lexi tries to escape through the roof only to be tasered and captured by two men while Danny winds up trapped in the vault when the ladder breaks.
Episode 5 “The Brotherhood of Serapis” picks up right where we left off with Danny trapped in the vault and Lexi being kidnapped by the Brotherhood. Immediately Lexi realizes Fabi is a member and after having been caught Fabi becomes an unlikely ally who reveals to her that an Egyptian official has files which could lead her to Farouk. The catch is that she must enlist Danny in a dangerous plan while lying to him about her source.
Meanwhile Jay rescues Danny from the vault and informs him that the treasure found at the depot will be given back to the Egyptian government at a ceremony in Geneva. However, Lexi knows that Minister Ghazal is the mole within the Egyptian government and the man sent to receive the items from the depot in Germany and while at the event secretly obtains information about the artifacts. After Danny catches on to her operation she reveals what she knows, but not the source of her information in order to keep Danny safe. Together Danny and Lexi are able to obtain damaging information on Farouk from the files in Minster Ghazal’s office, but the flash drive is taken by the Brotherhood.
By this point, it’s clear to the audience that Lexi and Danny’s methods are starting to blend together. Before Lexi would do anything to achieve her mission no matter the consequences, and Danny would always be on the morally correct side, but after their mission to obtain the Farouk files from Misnter Ghazal, we can a small transformation in them. They work well together and it’s clear that both of them still will side with their moral allegiances. However, the fact that they are willing to bend them for each other is interesting to watch.
Meanwhile, while the artifacts are en route to Egypt, Farouk successfully gets back the items he stole from the Pyramids by attacking Jay’s protected convoy. However, Gwen and her team believe that the artifacts are safe, but Danny knows they are fakes after the crown of Cleopatra has jewels on that were previously confiscated. Jay urges Danny and Lexi to lie about the convoy incident, but Danny later uses the information leverage to make Minister Ghazal listen to him while Lexi raids his office.
This request by Jay didn’t sit right with us. Suddenly we became suspicious of him and we like that. Either unintended or not, the added layer of suspicion that makes us question everyone because it’s clear that the mystery of Cleopatra is even bigger than anyone imagined. And unlike Dr. Castillo, who has left the group, we will be sticking around to find out how this mystery ends.
Blood and Treasure airs Tuesdays at 10 pm on CBS.
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)