Major spoilers.

Liam finds the truth about Salazar.

Last week ended on so many intense notes, it almost seemed like this should be the finale. Instead of a resolution, things get much worse for our heroes.

The most difficult thing about plot twists is to have them make sense yet still surprise. The show pulls it off this week with a vengeance. The shock, that is, of Salazar’s identity. A lot of pieces fall into place, and it works. It stuns, but at no point earlier in the series does anything contradict it. Very well done.

After that, things go downhill a bit. Agent Ross apprehends Salazar but can’t call the FBI because she doesn’t know whom to trust. So she calls the local police to pick up Salazar while she goes alone (?) to confront (?) Billie and her thugs. Except, if she trusts the police enough to turn Salazar over to them, she should trust them for backup. And if she doesn’t trust them for backup, she shouldn’t call them regarding Salazar. Plot holes like that annoy me, and make Ross look not that smart, doing a disservice to the character. As does confronting them instead of following them and watching.

Then on top of the bad logic, we get some bad staging. Yes, it’s shocking and theatrical and dramatic for Salazar to run Ross through with a sword. But, a sword? No one in this entire series has been walking around with swords. Just guns. Plenty of guns. All kinds of guns. His shooting her from a distance would solve more bad staging as well. Namely, Jess and her father stand there and don’t say a word while Salazar comes up behind her? We get one shot of reaction from Rafael, which I assume is supposed to address that, but it’s not enough. Ross deserves a better exit.

So Jess and Rafael remain in Billie’s clutches. Thanks to Jess’s necklace acting like a compass, they are on the verge of finding the treasure. Tasha and Ethan know what’s going on, but they’ve already called in the only cavalry they know unless they take a chance on local authorities. That part is well done, as is Ross releasing them both to earn their trust.

Overall, Jess and company look on the verge of defeat, which of course is the main point with only one episode left to go.

Verdict After last week ending at the height of suspense, this week ups the ante even more. (Minus one point for the sword and staging or it would have been an 9.) 8/10

Rigel Ailur

http://www.BluetrixBooks.com