Treasure Hunters - Episode 5 Summary

'Digging Their Own Graves' By realitybites

NOTE: We had some severe weather in the area last night, which means there might be a few holes in this recap. First, we had a ticker going across the bottom of the screen telling us where the watches and warnings were. Then, in the bottom left corner, we had radar of the surrounding counties. And then we had our overenthusiastic meteorologist interrupt the show - twice - to tell us that the worst weather was going through places with few people, "But it's heading for your area really soon, Mr. realitybites - like a half hour after this show is over!" I don't think he would be so enthusiastic if the show was "America's Got Talent", "Deal or No Deal", or something that actually draws more than a couple of million people a week.

Previusly, the seven remaining teams left a bed & breakfast near Boston to find a formerly hidden and forgotten tunnel in New York City, which led them to a swampy plantation in South Carolina. Near the end of the trail was a treasure worth $30,000, which the ex-CIA bunch earned.

Of the seven teams remaining, who will be eliminated... today?

We picked up the action with two teams that had some teammate troubles. The Browns lost Keith to a torn hamstring, and he would be out for the duration. Meanwhile, in the swamp, the Geniuses were about ready to ditch Sam, for reasons that seemed coldly logical - perhaps more cold than logical.

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The CIA team made it out of the swamp and to the last location on the Beneventum Plantation- the safe house. Laird told them to search around (the house featured a bunch of quilts and several gourds, among other things) for clues to their next location.

Meanwhile, the Fogals were still out in the swamp and we were treated to Kayte's Greatest Hits (So Far). I could have used some cheese with all that whine, but I had to do without.

The Southies were still with the Fogals at this time, but they moved away from them and teamed up with Air Force, who weren't far behind. One of the Southie Boys remarked that they needed a lead because they weren't too bright. No worries, guy; compared to some of the teams that made the cut, you're MENSA material.

Miss USA is still slogging through the swamp and complaining about biting bugs.

Sam had been left behind on the previous episode and was waiting and hoping that the other two would come back for him. Which they did. And they had some logic for that too, which escapes me.

At the safe house, ex-CIA found their clue telling them to head to the Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, SC. It said something about reflections, but they'd figure it out when they got there.

The Southies and Air Force arrive at the house a short while after CIA left, followed by the Fogals.

The CIA team was diddling around at the theatre wondering what all those mirrors were doing there. Genworth Financial gave us our hint of the day: "Mist half covers the symbol".

Air Force reached the theatre and one of them figured out that breathing on the mirror gave them their next clue - Fort Pulaski. CIA and the Southies quickly got the hint and did the same.

Back on the plantations, Miss USA and the Geniuses made it to the safe house. The smart guys were quite worried about the Browns. So were a few of us in the viewing audience, but for different reasons.

Laird officially KO'd Keith and offered a proposition to the remaining duo - continue racing with a 6-hour penalty as a 2-man team, or quit the race now. They called Keith at wherever he was and said gosh golly, we're gonna miss you, but we're going to go out and win one for you, blah blah blah. Keith approved of them going on without him.

Air Force, Southies, and ex-CIA all reached Fort Pulaski at about the same time. Laird gave them some more or less irrelevant trivia about the Civil War, then told them that their next clue was hidden in plain sight by America's most famous symbol. Whatever that means.

The Fogals reached the theatre, and Kayte whined to Pa Fogal that he was screwing up because they didn't find the clue right away. I was checking on the 'net (at Ask.com, of course!), and I found out that Kayte was a recent graduate of the Flo Pesenti School for Successful Reality Stars. And, like Morse code with the clue book, it all made sense.

The three teams at Fort Pulaski decided to search together. It was the lady from Team Air Force that figured out that their clue was in the ball on top of the flags. They were oh so careful not to let the flag touch the ground, but they got their clue and made tracks outta there. The clue was a crude map, but it seemed to lead them to the woods near Savannah, GA. Laird told them that an artifact was buried here. There were six for the seven teams, so, as usual, one would be left out. The area they had to search looked like a graveyard, but couldn't have been, since that would have been wrong on so many levels. But it was a creepy place and the teams started digging.

Air Force hit gold (almost) right away, finding the artifact - a death mask. Laird ordered them to go to camp to get some rest.

The other two teams kept digging... and digging... and digging...

Elsewhere, the sun had set and the Browns had completed their penalty. They didn't have to go through the swamp; instead, they were to report directly to the Dock St. Theatre.

Which, coincidentally, is where the Geniuses happened to be. They looked up, down, and around for that clue, but didn't find it right away. Sam - of course! - figured out the need to breathe on the mirrors. Then they took off.

The Brownies reached the theatre, but lightning in a bottle did not strike for them.

In the woods, the Southies and ex-CIA were getting frustrated because they had been digging for quite some time but hadn't found any masks. CIA found the mask and were the second team to do so.

The Fogals and USA reached the burial area and started to do their dirty work. Kayte whined about not wanting to hold the light. Flo would have been so proud.

The Southies found their mask, making them team #3, followed by the Fogals (thank you Kayte).

The tiara ladies looked like they'd been trapising through a hot, dirty swamp followed by hours of futile digging. This is exactly what they had been doing, and they were tired of it all. They thought about quitting.

Meanwhile, back at the theatre, the Browns figured out how to get their next clue. They headed toward the Fort. But would they be in time?

The Geniuses seemed to find their clue at the Fort fairly efficiently and headed out to the woods. They found the Miss USA team not moving very quickly, but they hadn't quit yet. Good thing, because they did eventually find what they were looking for. They were quite happy about this. The smart guys dug as the sun was coming up, then found their mask, the very last one. Laird told the Browns on the road that they were outta here. One of them said they let everyone down. Awww, don't feel so bad. You did beat out three teams. And only one team is going to win the treasure of "millions" anyway.

Next time, the teams will head to Paris and London - and perhaps other places - solving more clues along the way.

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