Previously on Treasure Hunters, remaining seven teams discovered the secrets of the Underground Railroad. Teams trekked through the swamps of South Carolina, where the Geniuses were just ahead of the Browns. At a crucial juncture, teams were given the option of eliminating one member of their team from the Hunt. The Geniuses contemplated eliminating Sam, not knowing that Keith suffered an injury that took him out of the Hunt. What will the Geniuses do?
Opening Credits
Beneventum Plantation, Georgetown, South Carolina. We take a look back at what we saw last week with Keith and his torn hamstring, Geniuses Charles and Francis debate whether to eliminate Sam from the team or not, and the ex-CIA winning the $30,000 treasure.
The ex-CIA are the first team to the safe house, and they get a phone call. Laird tells the team that their journey through the Underground Railroad has concluded, and to look in the safe house for clues that will tell them the next step in achieving their “freedom”.
The safe house has a lot of quilts and they start looking around, oblivious to the word FREEDOM on the back of the door.
Meanwhile, in second place are the Fogals and the Southie Boys. Kayte is whining. I’m SHOCKED. Southie Boys ignore it, and Brad notes that Kayte wants the world to know that she’s in pain instead of sucking it up. Brad notes that they’ve lived with it for over 20 years, and they just ignore her. Clearly she’s cried wolf more than once. Anyways, both teams reach the last box as Air Force catch up to them and zoom ahead.
The Southie Boys discuss strategy. They realize that they’re not the smartest team out there, so by gaining a high placement each leg, they get more rest time and more time to figure out where they’re headed next.
Meanwhile, Miss USA are still chugging along in fifth. Sam is waiting to see if the Geniuses are coming back for him. Remember, it’s a three hour wait and you can go nuts waiting for that boat to come back. But as expected, Charles comes back for Sam, explaining that they are a team and despite his physical weakness, Sam is definitely the strongest in other disciplines.
Back at the safe house, the ex-CIA have been searching for 38 minutes, when they stumble upon a pouch in a red quilt which contains their next clue. The key parts of the clue say “This warrants some reflection. Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, South Carolina”. They’re off.
61 miles away from the plantation is the Dock Street Theatre, and the ex-CIA are there. They see the mirrors in the theatre, and they’re looking at them to find a clue.
Back at the safe house, Air Force and Southie Boys team up to look for clues. 34 minutes after they start searching, they find their clues. The Fogals arrive just as they leave.
Meanwhile, the ex-CIA have been looking around for 1 hour, 31 minutes. They’re standing on marks and not seeing it. The viewers at home, however, get a financial institution-sponsored clue telling us that mist covers half the symbol.
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It’s been 2 hours, 13 minutes, and the Air Force/Southie Boys tandem arrive and ex-CIA let them try to figure it out. After maybe an hour, the teams stumble upon a solution – by breathing on the mirrors, a picture and words appears, depicting Fort Pulaski. Todd of the ex-CIA calls Air Force “robots” for their ability to problem solve so quickly.
Meanwhile, the Fogals arrive at the Theatre, again just after the lead teams leave. They decide that the mirrors are just part of the décor. Miss USA have arrived at the safe house. They too are stumped by the quilts. Geniuses are hiking along.
The Browns receive a phone call from Laird. Because Keith was taken out via injury, they have two options. Continue as a two man team, skip the swamp and take a six hour penalty, or quit the Hunt immediately. They decide to continue, but first they call Keith to get his blessing.
Miss USA have been searching for 49 minutes, and they too stumble upon the red pocket and their next clue.
Fort Pulaski, Georgia. Air Force, ex-CIA and Southie Boys arrive and get a phone call. They’re told that their next clue pertains to the Civil War, and it is hidden in plain sight in America’s most famous symbol. I’m thinking the American Flag.
Back at the Theatre, it’s been 1 hour, 47 minutes the Fogals are still trying to figure out what’s going on. Kayte is whining again. Oh shut up Kayte.
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Miss USA has arrived at the theatre, and the Fogals take the same tack as ex-CIA, letting fresh eyes look around. Finally, Brad tilts the mirrors and notices something, allowing the two teams to find the clue and head to Fort Pulaski. They leave as Kayte uses the laptop to get directions to Fort Pulaski.
By the way, does anyone find it curious that there is apparently wi-fi everywhere, including the middle of nowhere on an Interstate?
Back at the Plantation, the Geniuses arrive at the Safe House. After some random searching, Charles actually comes across the correct way to solve the puzzle – use the red glasses (as indicated by the FREEDOM clue) to find quilts with a hidden star on it. Those quilts contain the clues they’ve been looking for. And after a whopping 9 minutes, the Geniuses are off to Charleston.
At Fort Pulaski, the teams stumble upon a display featuring the history of the American Flags. Brooke – the only woman among the three teams – reads a note on the display saying that soldiers hid messages on the tops of the flagpoles, and sure enough, they get a map. She notes that she’s kinda glad that she solved the clue amidst the sea of testosterone. I gather that to mean that she actually felt herself getting dumber by hanging around 8 guys. This is probably also the only time that there’s been videotaped proof of a woman hanging around 8 guys outside of porn. But I digress.
The next clue is a map, which leads them 15 miles just outside of Savannah, Georgia. They’re told that a great hero of the Civil War is buried here even though he wasn’t American, and the artifact that they are looking for pertains to him. They’re told that they must dig to find the artifact, and that this will test their “mettle”, as there is nothing to tell them where and how deep to dig – and of course that there are only six artifacts, but seven teams. Matt of the Southie Boys notes that the teams simply start digging without knowing what to look for. 17 minutes in, Air Force dig up something, and they retrieve a mask. Laird calls them and tells the team that it’s actually a death mask, and to head to camp to rest up. Jacob can’t believe it. “They probably just used their x-ray vision.”
Back at the plantation, the Brown’s time penalty has expired, and Laird tells them to head to the Dock Street Theatre. Geniuses? They’re already there, and they’re running like madmen looking for clues.
20 miles away, the Browns are hoping that they still have a chance as we head to an
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Back at the Theatre, Sam finds the clue, and leaves. Ten minutes later, the Browns arrive, and they try to keep it simply. Back in Savannah, it’s been over 4 hours, and ex-CIA and Southie Boys are still digging.
At 10:51pm, ex-CIA are the second team to find an artifact. Meanwhile, Fogals and Miss USA have arrived.
Now it’s bee 5 hours, 17 minutes for the Southie Boys, and 1 hour, 4 minutes for the other two teams. Bead has a strategy and Kayte whines. At midnight, the Southie Boys ask Brad for a prayer to help them. Finally, after 6.5 hours, the Southie Boys find a mask and are still in the hunt. But the other two teams have been at it for two hours now, and you KNOW Kayte’s gonna be complaining the entire time.
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At Fort Pulaski, it’s 2am, and the Geniuses have arrived. They get Wild Hanlon music as they search around in the dark. Meanwhile, Fogals and Miss USA have been digging for over 3 hours. Kayte wants to dig somewhere else, but Brad wants to finish digging his hole. And his perseverance pays off has they find the fourth mask.
Now it’s been over 4 hours, and Miss USA are still digging. Back at the theatre, the Browns are still looking around, and finally, after nearly 3 hours, they find the clue. They head out. At Fort Pulaski, the Geniuses have reached the flags, and luck out in finding a clue.
It’s 4:22am, and the Geniuses have arrived at the dig site. Miss USA are still there, and are now a bit motivated to find a new artifact. Finally, after 5 hours, 3 minutes, Miss USA have found the fifth artifact. It’s 4:54am. Now the Geniuses know that they have to find that last mask.
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It’s now 7:27am, and the Browns are 18 miles from Fort Pulaski. Geniuses have been digging for 2 hours, 40 minutes. The Browns are 5 miles from the Fort, but it’s all for naught as the Geniuses have found the final artifact. On the road, Laird calls the Browns and lets them know they’ve been eliminated. Again. Tonny’s both upset and relieved.
