Edge of History Season 1 Episode 9 Summary

This recap of National Treasure: Edge of History Episode 9 Season 1 “Meeting Salazar” contains spoilers.

Well, it lasted nine episodes, though National Treasure: Edge of History finally delivered proper narrative development, including the apparent death of a main character and a twist that could truly be described as unexpected. The rest of this penultimate episode is still a mess, of course, and in all the usual made-up ways, but the rush of energy that emanates from its ending certainly helps build some hype for next week’s finale.

So, we’ll get to the details in a minute. The general structure is as follows: “A Meeting with Salazar” splits the storyline into two parts, with Jess and Rafael being captured by Billie and the kids in the States having to deal with the FBI. That’s fine most of the time, as it means we’re getting less goofy teen drama and more actual action.

National Treasure: Edge of History Season 1 Episode 9 Summary

As always, the puzzle-solving business is extremely eye-rolling on both fronts. It turns out that the secret all along was Jess’ locket, which is unlocked and transformed into an ancient compass by a pin hidden in Rafael’s pencil. Things aren’t much better in the US, as Tasha’s magical laptop is still being pulled out to solve virtually any problem. Even the FBI problem is relatively easy to solve because Oren simply volunteers for a lie detector test to prove he’s telling the truth.

This is the episode where all of Agent Ross’ stuff really intersects with the storyline of Jess and the gang. Following a lead from Liam, who claims there should be evidence of Myles’ murder at Peter Sadusky’s house, Ross and Zeke get into a shootout with Dario and another of Billie’s goons. Tasha also sends Ross a video file of Billie and several gunmen arriving with Jess at the Vicksburg County Airport, finally piling up enough evidence for the FBI to officially and legitimately intervene.

Who is Salazar?

However, this turns out to be a problem. As we discovered in the episode, Billie actually works for Salazar, who is the head of a cabal of “treasure destroyers”. And Salazar is… Ross’ boss, Hendricks.

I have to be honest; I didn’t necessarily see that coming. I figured Hendricks was just a bit of fanservice (he was in both movies) and a supporting character to give Ross a bit of a roadblock. The audience realizes he’s up to no good when Ross finds out he’s responsible for poisoning Sadusky, but the Salazar revelation comes a little later when Rafael recognizes him. And Salazar makes himself very noticeable by impaling Ross from behind with the sword that Billie keeps on her private plane.

Is Agent Ross dead?

It certainly seems so! And while I kind of enjoyed the character, even if she felt a little underserved by the story, I think overall if the show commits to killing her to up the ante, I think it’s probably a good thing. This was a very tepid affair so far, and some real consequences feel welcome. The episode ends with what looks a lot like Ross expiring, so I’m not sure how she escaped her fate in the finale. If this all turns out to be some kind of elaborate longcon somehow arranged by Jess, who figured it all out well in advance, I’ll be furious.

You can stream National Treasure: Edge of History Season 1 Episode 9, “Meeting Salazar” exclusively on Disney+.

Additional reading:

• National Treasure: Edge of History Season 1 Episode 10 Release Date.
• National Treasure: Edge of History season 1 ending explained.