Major father/son bonding takes center stage as Danny and Patrick work together to save Lexi.

Minor spoilers ahead. I hope the show maintains this upward trajectory. I consider this the best episode yet.

Last week Lexi suffered a critical injury in the helicopter crash, enabling the aftermath in this outing to focus on the interaction between Danny and his dad. This week’s episode manages to surprise twice – a difficult thing to do well. Clumsily-done twists evoke one of two reactions. Either the viewer sees them coming a mile away (not necessarily a bad thing, just not a surprise), or they come from so far out in left field that they completely defy even the barest semblance of anything even approaching logic (a very bad thing).

Both surprises worked.

We get to see the smarts and ruthlessness that make the Great Khan great. Supremely devious, he manipulates Hardwick, yet Hardwick doesn’t look foolish. This time. Future episodes will confirm how well Hardwick learns the lesson or not. The revelation stuns, and no doubt Hardwick will not forget it. The Great Khan’s latest maneuver continues to up the stakes, as it should at this point in the season, and brings him closer to victory.

In the second surprise, Danny and Patrick resolve the conflict in their relationship. Danny makes a huge, heartfelt gesture on his dad’s behalf. Equally important, Patrick graciously accepts it. In a nice touch, Lexi pretends not to notice, feigns believing their obvious lie, and gives them some privacy – to the extent she can without wandering off into the jungle, anyway. The scene adds some lovely and poignant emotional resonance to the adventure, as does the nice blink-and-you’ll-miss-it callback confirming the Marshal survived last week’s hostilities just fine.

An added benefit tonight, the real Chuck returns! He demonstrates his intelligence and good instincts again. The scene starts really badly, and it looks worse than last week. But then in an about-face, Chuck proves he actually can handle himself and get things done. He takes deft command of the situation and gets the information they need.

Blood & Treasure breaks no molds and covers no new ground. Instead it achieves its goal of formula done well. It remains light, upbeat fun with enough gravitas to avoid triteness or sap. Engaging, appealing Lexi and Danny drive the action forward thanks to skillful scripts and charismatic performances by Pernas and Barr. Likewise, the rest of the cast continues to charm and keep the story fresh. Special kudos to seeing Chuck back in good form. I miss Shaw but trust he’ll return, hopefully soon.

Verdict: Still hitting all the right beats and then some.   10/10

Rigel Ailur