In Review: National Treasure: Edge of History (S1 – EP3) Graceland Gambit

Synopsis: An old clue handed down by the Masons sends Jess and her friends on a caper to Graceland. Meanwhile, Billie and her team head to Mexico.

The Story

Picking the story up from last week. Billie and her henchmen managed to steal one of the treasure cubes from Jess and have managed to open it to reveal the same map that Jess uncovered before losing the cube. However, Billie has another of the cubes, which means that she holds two-thirds of the Map. Meaning that there is still one of the cubes out there. As they put the pieces of the map that they have together. Billie and her crew head to Mexico.

Elsewhere Jess and her friends have learned that Jess’s mother was also a guardian of the treasure and was working with Jess’s father to prove that the treasure existed as it would show that the Incan, Mayan, and Aztec people did work together after the Spanish started the occupation of The Americas. Jess and her team learn of the Daughters of the Plumed Serpent and their role in creating the treasure map and separating it into three cubes and hiding them. However, a clue among some of Liam’s late grandfather’s things leads the team to Graceland as they figure out that Elvis’s connection to the Free Masons and his Cherokee heritage gave Elvis a connection to the Daughters of the Plumed Serpent and made him one of the Guardians. But the clue Jess needs is connected to an old Guitar that Elvis played, which is contained in a dark vault hidden within Graceland.

Armed with this new information. Jess and Liam come up with a sting operation to get them into Graceland so they can get access to the guitar. But all doesn’t go exactly to plan.

Meanwhile, FBI Agent Ross’s investigation into the death of Peter Sadusky draws in a potential ally as she tries to figure out what killed Sadusky and how it connects to Jess and her friends. 

The Acting

Lisette Olivera puts in a solid performance in this episode as we see Jess learn more about her mother’s relationship with her father and how it connects to the Daughters of the Plumed Serpent and the treasure maps. Wanting more answers. Jess becomes more determined to find the treasure before Billie in the hopes that it will give her the answers she is looking for. Likewise, Liam (Jake Austin Walker) is now fully committed thanks to the fact that the information that Jess has found proves that his grandfather wasn’t nuts. This episode sets the stage for a really fun chemistry that is developing between these two actors. Indeed Austin Walker puts on a fun performance, which sees him posing as an exterminator and performing a unique and fun version of Suspicious Minds. In fact, this whole episode is full of dialogue, which connects to popular Elvis songs.

Catherine Zeta-Jones continues in her role as the villain Billie who gets a little Indiana Jones-style action this week as she and her team visit a site in Mexico, which turns out to be somewhat of a red herring.

The acting performances were much stronger this week.

Overall

Graceland Gambit does a lot more to set the tone of this series than we have seen from the previous two episodes. As the episode hits the ground running and sees Jess and her friends now fully committed to the cause.

Overall. A great blend of action and adventure with a sprinkle of comedy and a dash of mythology.