Jess and company forge ahead in their mission to unearth the historical – and most historic – treasure of all of ancient America.

A lot happens in this tightly-scripted episode. We learn a lot more about Jess’s parents – along with a bit more about Liam’s dad. Billie and her henchman open the first box and combine its map with the one from the second box they already had. We also see that the baddies have Jess and her posse under (electronic, at a minimum) surveillance which the foursome, but especially tech genius Tasha, should have at least suspected. One nice detail (that will hopefully continue): Jess still wears her treasured necklace, but no longer plain for all to see.

The latest information sends Billie and her crew racing off to Mexico. With additional clues courtesy of Liam’s (grandfather’s) secret room, Jess, Liam, and the rest of them go racing off to… Graceland.

Because everyone knows Elvis was a Mason and deeply involved in any number of conspiracies. Not to mention, still alive. Natch. According to Oren, anyway, the resident Elvis super-expert. Oren gets more to do that being kidnapped, which is good.

Thanks to Oren’s encyclopedic knowledge of Graceland – including all its contents, its schedule, and (of course) its secret room – Jess and the rest plan a heist. Despite seeking information rather than anything tangible, we still get a really fun caper episode. Liam gets to run point inside Graceland because the target is a guitar. They decide pictures of it will have to suffice as the clue.Sending Liam and Ethan inside proves to be clever for two reasons. It shows Jess isn’t the only capable member of the team. But it also allows Jess to save the day when they, through no fault of their own, need to improvise and go back in for a second clue, this one audio. Ethan at a couple points skates perilously close to the line separating concerned friend from overbearing, self-righteous friend. He seems to step back from that, though. The show will also hopefully take a tiny step back from the frequent reminder of Jess’s DACA status Yes, we know she’s a Dreamer and understand that that ups the peril for her considerably The reminders don’t need to be quite so frequent.

Meanwhile, newbie FBI Agent Ross continue to take the initiative, which will undoubtedly play into the shows ultimate resolution – shades of Keitel’s Agent Sadusky from the movies. In a nice touch, we also get confirmation that Ross’s boss also played a role in both movies Ross comes closer to confirming what will surprise no one: most likely someone murdered Sadusky.

The series does a nice job of referencing the previous movies, but never in a way that requires the audience to have already seen them. Billie’s wild goose chase in Mexico turns into a figurative and literal dead end. One of her minions falls prey to a Mayan booby-trap when he ignores Billie’s warning This, in turn, ups the stakes and makes Billie’s quest even more personal. The scene of her and her remaining henchman addressing the loss of their cohort adds some nice depth to the characters without making them any less despicable.

Verdict: Lots of action that allows Jess and her crew to show off their courage and quick thinking. Another great episode. 8/10

Rigel Ailur