In Review: Blood & Treasure (S2 – EP7) The Ravens of Shangri-La

Synopsis: Danny enlists his estranged father, Patrick, in their quest for the Spirit Banner. Patrick leads them to Shangri-La, a top-secret base in Laos, where he makes a startling admission to Lexi about the secret he’s hiding from his son.

The Story

Following up on a lead that he discovered in last week’s episode concerning an engraved Raven symbol on the back of a watch. Danny gets his father released from prison in order to find out what the Raven symbol means. Danny’s father tells them that The Ravens were a division of Air America that operated outside of the Golden Triangle during the Vietnam war. Danny and Lexi ask Patrick if he ever transported the spirit banner, but Patrick says he has no knowledge of it but knows someone who might.

This leads them all to Laos where they go in search of Patrick’s old boss Danny Kowalski who chose to stay behind after the war and now runs a small neutral community called Shangri-La, which is hidden inside of the Golden Triangle. They ask Kowalski if she had ever seen the Banner and she reveals that she was the pilot who transported it for the CIA back in the 70s and gives them the coordinates of where she took it. 

Meanwhile, back in Rome Father Chuck and Kate learn more about a covert joint CIA and Vatican Op that was called AG and they get a lead off of Father Alonzo who sends them to his old mentor who was involved in the operation that AG pulled off back in the day.

The Acting

We get two brilliant guest stars in this episode. Firstly, we see the return of Mark Valley as Danny’s father who helps them find out the location of where the CIA took the Spirit Banner but finds time for some father and son time along the way. Valley’s scenes with Lexi (Sofia Pernas) really reveal a lot about Danny’s father while also bringing some of Lexi’s insecurities and fears about letting people she loves down.

We also get a brilliant guest appearance from Lindsay Wagner who plays Patrick’s old friend Danny Kowalski. Wagner has a really nice scene where she pleads with Danny (Matt Barr) to give his father a chance. 

Overall

The Ravens of Shangri-La is a solid episode that builds on events of previous weeks while also allowing for some strong character moments for Danny and Lexi as they take some sage advice from some rather parental figures, but parental figures who also happen to kick some ass.

I really enjoyed seeing Lindsay Wagner in a role in which she is being sort of the same kind of parental figure that the late Richard Anderson was to her during her time as The Bionic Woman back in the late 70s to early 80s. Of course, her character in this show differs somewhat from that of Jaime Sommers. But it was still a good role for her.

Overall though, a pretty solid episode, which ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger, which we will have to tune in for next week.