Previously in “National Treasure: Edge of History,” we saw Jess discover a clue from Sadusky’s clue room about the Sun King, who turned out to be Elvis Presley, and “Peace,” who turned out to be his great, great, great grandmother. They traveled to the famous Elvis Presley Museum in Graceland in search of additional clues, where they discovered Elvis’ unreleased golden record that held a key clue about a twin-tongued serpent and a newly found land. The clue was extremely perplexing for Jess because that’s just how the clues are, but as a crypto genius, she knows she’ll figure it out. So, let’s take a look at the fourth episode to see how she resolves it.
Spoilers Ahead
Did Ben Franklin Attend Peter Sadusky’s Wake?
“National Treasure: Edge of History” Episode 4 begins with Jess struggling to decipher the clue, and each time she does, the solution was unsatisfying. She wasn’t certain, but she and Tash thought the twin-tongued serpent was Malinche. Even historians were reluctant to support her mother’s research or Jess’ theory on Malinche because they thought the woman was a traitor. Jess received an invitation from Liam asking her and her friends to attend his grandpa’s wake. Liam’s mother forced him to participate in Sadusky’s wake even though he wasn’t particularly eager to. Mr. Riley Pool arrived in the interim to attend Peter Sadusky’s funeral, but regrettably, he announced that Ben Franklin was unable to come due to family issues, indicating that we should not anticipate Ben Franklin’s appearance this season. While all of this was going on, Billie Pearce was seen attending a conference where the manager offered her condolences for her brother’s passing in relation to the treasure hunt. This suggests that a flashback to Billie’s past in relation to her brother’s tragedy and the reason why searching for these relics was personal to her might be forthcoming. She reassured the group that she had discovered two relics and also had a hint for a third, meaning she would find the treasure sooner. In front of everyone, she played the Elvis voice recording.
However, not long after leaving the hall, in a parking basement, she was attacked by a conference attendee who demanded the relics. Billie’s bodyguard Kacey knocked them to the ground, clearing the way for Billie. Kacey informed her that Riley had arrived at Sadusky’s wake, so she should keep an eye on them, but Billie reassured her that she had already been doing so. Jess, Tash, and Oren had arrived at Sadusky’s wake and discovered Riley Pool there. They greeted Riley Pool and, seemingly out of nowhere, began discussing the clue with him in the midst of a public gathering. Riley didn’t appear to be aware of the clue or capable of cracking it, but he kept it in mind. Meanwhile, we discovered that Ross from the FBI had spotted Jess and Tash at the gathering. She approached them and wanted to ask how they came across Mr. Sadusky, but when she saw her boss, she backed off because her boss had strictly forbidden her from investigating Sadusky. However, when she snuck into Sadusky’s room to look for his medications, she discovered a small tree of a poisonous fruit instead of any suspicious drugs. She took the fruit from it and kept it to herself. But as she was leaving the room, she ran into her boss, who knew she was investigating the toxicology report. He gave her the go-ahead to carry out the investigation. Ethan discovered that a sketchy man had been following him after he and his girlfriend arrived at the wake. Ethan drove him away and told Jess and Tash about it.
How Was The Clue Resolved?
Riley Pool had gone into Sadusky’s room and discovered his books there. When he tried to pick one of them, Sadusky’s clue room was opened. He entered the clue room and immediately began touching everything. Jess had also gotten to visit the clue room in order to look for Liam, who had hidden himself to skip the eulogies. Riley found it shocking to learn that Sadusky had a clue room as well. Jess warned him not to touch anything out of excitement, but when Riley saw Ben Franklin’s glasses on display, he couldn’t help but touch them, causing warning sirens to sound. All of the ventilators and the room doors were closing, and the oxygen level began to fall. Riley and Jess were trapped inside the room, and the only way they could get out was to figure out the passcode, but Jess was unsure of what it might be. She tried the birthday of Sadusky, but Sadusky—an FBI agent—might have set something more effective. Jess recalled that Sadusky had dementia, which meant that he might have written down his passcode somewhere in the room. But when she noticed an FBI shield directly above the code lock, she realized the passcode had to do with the FBI. She recalled the three FBI maxims: fidelity, bravery, and integrity. Jess discovered a number from a dog showpiece that represented fidelity or loyalty. After realizing that this number formed a part of the passcode, Riley discovered Sadusky’s badge of honor that stood for bravery, and finally, they both discovered a snake’s puzzle piece that represented integrity. They deciphered the code and saved themselves from a suffocating death.
Jess learned that Sacagawea, who was also an explorer and a translator and assisted in Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s expedition on Louisianan territory, was the twin-tongued serpent in Elvis’s clue. She found that Newfoundland is the name of Lewis’ dog and not a place. Sacagawea hid the clue to the treasure in a journal that Lewis kept as a tribute to his dog. Ethan interrupted to ask what the “bend” in the clue was and how it got to the three-times great-grandmother of Elvis. Riley explained that York, an African American man who had been Clark’s slave, represents the “bend.” York was also aware of the journal’s hints and carried them with him until his death in Tennessee, where he may have run into Morning Dove White, given that she was also a Tennessean. They appeared to have solved the entire puzzle; all that remained was to locate the expedition journal.
After all of this, Liam revealed his feelings to Jess, and the two of them shared a kiss. However, right after this butterfly moment, Jess got a call from Riley Pool, who informed her that someone in her group of friends was secretly leaking news to Billie since she also had the same voice clip of Elvis talking about the clue. Jess began to suspect Liam because he was the one who had first played the clip to her. Although she wasn’t certain about him, it appeared that Liam was the only person who could have done it. However, it is unknown what Liam’s motivation was for doing all of this, or if it was someone else who was forced to fall into Billie’s trap in order to survive. If Billie killed Liam’s father, why would Liam be helping her? Another possibility is that Oren, who was first kidnapped by Billie, might have been brainwashed by her. Since he was not that brave and afraid to lose his life and his friends, he could have become Billie’s scapegoat. Billie may have threatened him with leaking the news, but it was all a blur, and until the next episodes arrived, all we can do is speculate. So keep on digging until the next episode of “National Treasure: The Edge of History” airs on Disney.
