Treasure Hunters - Air Date July 24
I don't know what I'm going to do when Treasure Hunters ends. Is there any way to get Laird to send me sporadic video messages? Best not to think of it yet. Not where there are still more artifacts to uncover, and an identity to discover.
At the Magnolia hall Bed & Breakfast in Georgia, the teams are seen packing and examining the death masks they discovered last week. This is unusual, because we've never seen artifacts get this much air time in previous episodes. In an interview segment, Kristen of Team Miss USA even talks about it. Now call me crazy, but I think these masks might come into play somehow on this leg of the hunt.
One thing that's driving me nuts is when Margie Fogal asked Brad Fogal who he thinks the mask looks like, he replied, "Uncle Louie?" Damn it. Now I must know what Uncle Louie looks like! The Fogal parents had been so well behaved lately, then Pa Fogal has to go get this enigma stuck in my head! Uncle Louie, where are you? I need to see your face!
Speaking of missing, where are the late night Motorola messages? The sun is shining bright when Uncle Lairdie calls with the next clue, darn it.
To find the next artifact, the teams must uncover and decode the secret correspondence of America's first spy, and the man behind the death mask will lead them to it. One hint - At no point did the first spy use "ROFLMAO!" in his correspondence. Their search begins in Paris, France. I love this show, but this is one of those areas that can be tweaked. How much more exciting would this have been if the teams uncovered a clue that lead them to Paris? Once there, the teams would have to take the Metro to the city's historic Catacombs to find their next clue.
Here's something a little extra - The Eiffel Tower, live on webcam.
This trip was very exciting to Genius Charles, who was positively giddy trying to imagine what Dungeons & Dragons would be like in The City of Lights. Miss Realivision 2006, Melissa Witek, was made to plug Orbitz.com as the Miss USAs used their provided Visa card to book their flights. Even the Fogals seemed happy, but I'm sure Kayte was just waiting to cry that she doesn't WANT TO EAT SNAILS! WHY DOESN'T ANYBODY HELP HER? DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND SHE'S HURTING?
Genius Francis had never left the country before, despite the obvious evidence of his very British muttonchops, and is looking forward to the long, tedious flight. I just bet he is, the scamp!
Once in Paris, the teams started searching maps, guidebooks, hobos, anything they could to find out where the Catacombs were located. John Southie said something, but my heart was too busy fluttering to really catch it. It was either about how Professional Entertainment Journalists are treated right in Boston, or he was comparing his hometown subway system to the Metro.
Staring deep into my heart, he talked about how the teams were split. On one end of the train were the Southies, Miss USAs, and Ex-CIAs, and on the other end were the Fogals, Air Force, and Geniuses. Having my favourite teams together made me happy, but if anything were to happen...
Over on the other other end of the train, Kayte Fogal started talking to a couple of girls who lived in Paris, and they were helping the teams on that end find their location. This pleased the Geniuses who planned on staying close. That, and maybe the French girls would kiss them. Oh la la!
The SouthUSACIAs didn't have any locals lending aid, but found the Catacombs on their map and knew where to get off the train.
Hold on. Three stops from where they thought they had to get off, the FogaGeniuForce got out of the train! One of the Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variants said that the girls were going to take them to where they needed to go, which seemed like a fine idea as their internal GPS units were on the fritz.
There was much confusion, but the SouthUSACIAs stayed on the train. I have to admit, I started getting a little nervous here.
Kayte said, "They're silly if they don't follow us."
Genius Charles, in his best geek inflection (seriously, it's not like I'm not well-versed in all things geeky, so if you have this on tape go to this spot and listen - that is a very geeky inflection in his voice, one dripping with intellectual superiority), said, "I have a hard time understanding why we wouldn't follow somebody who actually knows the area."
Martin Southie knows that this is going to be a huge turning point in the hunt.
Kayte is talking to the young women, pleasantly surprised that the others aren't following, and Charles said, "The statistics at this point are definitely in our favour." He then took out a portable DVD player, popped in an episode of Star Trek, and started screaming how Spock's quarters were supposed to be on the other side of the corridor.
Kayte threw in one more "That was silly of them not to follow" just to remind Charles that if Kayte thinks something is a good idea, he and his team are in deep doodoo.
Sure enough, the Miss USAs, Southies, and Ex-Spooks get off at their stop and land almost right on top of the entrance to the Catacombs.
If you watch The Simpsons, you know who Nelson is. His famous "Ha ha!" is playing through my head right now.
A phone rings, and the three leading teams get an electronic Lairdogram. The man behind the mask waits for them next to a golden laced bridge somewhere in Paris. To find their next clue, they would each have to send one member of their team into what some call The Empire of the Dead. Here's the most delightful thing about the Catacombs - the collected remains of some six million Parisians are stored there, and I'm talking miles and miles of human bones with plenty of skulls to keep you company. The remains are organized by year of death indicated by markers in tunnels that go on for miles. They had to find the tunnel housing the remains from 1789, the year that the man in the mask created the modern day French national flag.
Going down into the tunnel would be John Southie, Miss Melissa, and Double-0 Jacob (who is licensed to thrill, baby).
To see so many human remains so meticulously arranged was disturbing, fascinating, creepy, cool and sad all at the same time.
Back in the surface world, the other teams are walking and wandering, coming to the dread realization that their guides have no idea where they're at. When the guides have to stop and ask for directions, things aren't going well. Then suddenly the two girls had to leave. It's not like they were on a hunt for treasure, but they will forever be treasures in my eyes.
Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Female Variant did the calculations and realized that the other teams had a significant lead on them. Someone had forgotten to program into their code that one important equation: When Kayte Fogal thinks something is right, do the opposite.
Down amongst the dearly departed, Melissa spotted the plaque they were searching for. "The HERO OF TWO WORLDS
Awaits upon the RIGHT BANK of the SEINE
sword raised
A friend to America
A friend to Washington
Face him to find your fate"
One interesting thing downstairs and up is that everyone seemed to be perplexed by what the Geniuses had done. The other two teams leaving didn't bother them, but the Geniuses? (According to Melissa's insider coverage at the Team Miss USA forums, the Geniuses were part of their overall alliance, so that helps explain why everyone was wondering about them.)
Here's where editing can mess with you, because after the first three teams left the Catacombs, we saw the next three arriving. With however long it took to search for the clue, you never know if it was a near miss or hours of seperation.
Brad Fogal, Genius Charles, and Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 1 all went down into the Catacombs. Dark tunnels full of human remains? Oh how I miss the evil Brad and the evil Chuck! The horrifying prose just writes itself!
Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant Version 1's temperature sensors are functioning at normal parameters as he notices how much colder it is when he goes down into the Catacombs. He wants to walk as fast as his servo-mechanisms will allow, but he doesn't want his ocular sensors to miss anything.
Brad Fogal talked about how much he walked down there.
Genius Charles said he's not someone who gets scared very easily (except in gym class), but this is something different down there and he wished he brought his Cloak of Concealment and Sword of Undead Slaying with him.
Sure enough Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 1 finds the plaque first. I know I go on a lot about the Southies, particularly John, and Laird on these pages, but let me tell you. When they made Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 1, they used the good mould for his face (this is the model designated "Matt Z."). The Air Force artisan who created that visage can be very pleased with him or herself.
After getting directions and hopping the Metro, the top three teams discussed what the clue means and the Southies are positive it's a statue. In an interview, Matthew Southie talked about how the Southie Boys sell themselves short. "We know things but are just too scared to say it 'cause we think other people are smarter than us." The unfortunate mining incident aside, they've been doing well, are likely right about a statue, and something else where I won't spoil what's to come.
Underground again, Charles is the next to find the plaque, and I see something that totally escaped my notice the first time I watched this through. It's normal for all the tunnels the players have gone through to be totally deserted, but when Chuck gets to the clue, there are two people just standing there. Were they tourists? Catacomb employees? Producers? Nerd fetishists? I must know! Between this and Uncle Louie, there are entirely too many mysteries this episode!
Whatever the case, they were gone by the time Pa Fogal arrived and got the clue.
Either they got good directions or good editing, but the top three teams are now seen approaching the bridge with golden lace, and they spot a statue of a man with sword.
Upon arriving at it, the teams got a MotorLairda message. He told them they found the statue of Lafayette, the man behind the mask. They are seeking his American contact, one of the most important founding fathers. Lafayette has left them a clue, they must face him to find their fate.
On a pillar in front of the statue is a replica of the masks that they had been carrying with them with one big difference, this one was broken in two. They examined this mask and found a cavity inside, making them wonder if they have to break theirs.
This is unnerving, to say the least. What if they break their mask and it's a horrible, horrible mistake? The only ones with the guts to try it are the Miss USAs. For shame, Southies and Spooks! In the broken mask, wrapped in cloth, was a big coin and on one side it said, "DOVER CASTLE THE ARROW POINTS THE WAY," and the other side had a picture of a boat. As Double-0 Mark (licensed to grill) pointed out, Dover Castle is in England. Geeze. Not even an overnight stay in Paris?
This is the fourth of seven artifacts, and apparently the ship engraved on the other side might mean something, as Laird asks in his next message, "...but what ship?" Normally one team would be eliminated here, but the hunt continues. They must search for Lafayette's contact, America's first spy.
As those three teams head for their next location, we are drawn back to the Geniuses and Fogals. Margie Fogal said that Air Force headed out and knew where they were going.
Except that they didn't know where they were going, and we got to see the little graphic that said...
AIR FORCE
Lost
Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Female Variant said that they were programmed to be in such a hurry they forgot to scan for their coordinates.
They stopped and plugged themselves into a network. Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 2 said this was the lowest point they had found themselves at in the entire hunt.
A quick glimpse at the frontrunners getting ready to hop on a ferry, and Double-0 Mark (licensed to grill) said they were all feeling tired, but at the same time excited to have their lead.
FOGAL FAMILY
Lost
Hoooo boy! That's two teams so far!
They're looking for the bridge, one of the "tons" of bridges according to Kayte, who suddenly gets excited. "Oh my gosh, look behind you!" Her parents turned to see the Eiffel Tower.
GENIUSES
Not Lost
Okay, it didn't say that, but they were the first of the three to find the statue, and were able to leave before the others arrived.
As they were leaving, they said they had just "Fogaled the Fogals!" Er, not quite. Getting to a clue first isn't exactly "Fogaling" someone. Stealing a clue out of their hands? That's a Fogaling.
The Fogals did find a statue, but it was the wrong one. Same with the Air Force.
Then the Fogals found the right statue. While Kayte was trying to convince her father not to break open the mask, the Air Force arrived. The Fogals did break their mask open first, shocking Kayte when she discovered that was the right thing to do. Robot Squad didn't take too long to crack theirs open too.
The Ex-CIAs, Miss USAs, and Southies arrived in Dover, England.
They entered Dover Castle as the sun was going down, giving the whole scene a beautiful orange glow.
Now for the big problem. The castle is huge. Or as Donald Trump might say, "This castle is 'UGE! It's the finest castle in the world and fine castles are a 30 BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY! I am going to buy this fine property and make Trump Castle the most extravagant casino resort in the world!"
Anyway, they looked and looked and didn't find anything.
The Geniuses then arrive.
On the ferry, the Fogals and Air Force were talking and decided to help each other, though Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Female Variant wasn't sure if they could trust the Fogals after what they heard from the other teams, and how the Fogals were hogging all the WD40.
Back to the castle again, the first three teams were up on the roof when Matthew Southie noticed a giant arrow shape. He stood by the idea, but Double-0 Jacob (licensed to thrill) was particularly against it, and so the teams looked around inside a little longer.
Now the Fogals and Air Force arrived. To cover more space, the two teams then split up. After all, without puny humans holding them back, the Air Force team could really get zipping.
The first three teams decided to try out Matthew's arrow, and sure enough they found the next clue with the Southies in first place, the Miss USAs in second, and the Ex-Spooks third. I guess the editing wasn't as free as we've seen in the past, as Miss Realivision 2006, Melissa Witek, suggested they look at the clues fast before the others saw them there.
What they found were tubes with big pieces of paper in them with a little writing, mostly blank though, and another Motorola message from home care of The Lairdfather.
They must now find the identify of this spy and the location where he developed the methods of decoding methods.
On the back of the paper was "Samuel Palmer Printing Press London", so they whipped out their notebooks and went to Not Google to find out where that might be. One of the Miss USA (there is a fan obscuring the view right now) brought up that Lafayette's America partner was Benjamin Franklin, and that was without using the computer. Ha, doubters!
Double-O Todd (licensed to chill) did some research and found out Franklin used to do some work on a printing press in the back of an old church, so off they go!
The other teams still searched around the castle without much luck, the frustration bringing about a small argument between Geniuses Charles and Francis.
Then the unimaginable happened. Kayte Fogal found the giant arrow shape. They called the Air Force over who were sitting down and conserving atomic battery power and took them over to find the clue. No Fogals, now is when you take off the gloves. When it matters.
The Geniuses however managed to find the clues outside without going up on the roof.
At the church the teams would have to blah blah blah next artifact, one team would be going home.
This is taking a while, as we get the little clock in the corner again and at 2 hours 57 minutes the first three teams were still searching. They new the papers they got at the castle would come into it, but they didn't know how. 3 hours 34 minutes go by, they're still looking.
Now you're not going to believe this, but I worked it out pretty quickly. Of course without the pressure of competition it probably came easier. I was a bit of a science geek when I was a wee lass, and one of the cooler things was making invisible ink out of lemon juice, writing on paper, then holding that paper above a heat source to make it appear (usually a light bulb). That's how I figured with all these candles that is what may be the case here.
At 4 hours and 19 minutes, Double-0 Todd (licensed to chill) noticed the candles and thought about using them, and anothing seemed to happening until... Oh, look, a picture!
It turned out to be a map of the church with Xs in various parts. Yup, that was it!
The Miss USAs were the first to find the next artifact, a key, followed by Ex-CIA and the Southies. Yes! Both my favourites plus a nother team I like are moving on! And that's what's important, that we be able to make this all about me.
The Fogals and Air Force are next to arrive, with the Geniuses arriving next. They were all looking around.
Air Force tried using the candles, but not enough so they kept looking.
Genius Francis was the next to discover the invisible picture, but they kept moving around and hiding candles so that the other two teams couldn't see what they were doing. In the end, they got the next artifact, meaning the Fogals or Air Force would be leaving the hunt.
It seemed close there, but the last team to find an artifact was Team Air Force, meaning the Fogals were eliminated. How could they take my Kayte away like that?
So the Fogals are gone. Back when they were playing a dirtier game, I called it "stupid dirty" because they were screwing their reputation and turning people against them early in the game for what? Second place in one leg of the hunt.
Now they played "stupid nice". It was great to see their nice side, but they should never have made that deal with Team Air Force in the first place even if it did seem like it would have helped them more at the time. If the Fogals left the castle without telling the Air Force about the clue, they'd still be in the game and the hunt is the game and you should be playing to win.
At the Magnolia hall Bed & Breakfast in Georgia, the teams are seen packing and examining the death masks they discovered last week. This is unusual, because we've never seen artifacts get this much air time in previous episodes. In an interview segment, Kristen of Team Miss USA even talks about it. Now call me crazy, but I think these masks might come into play somehow on this leg of the hunt.
One thing that's driving me nuts is when Margie Fogal asked Brad Fogal who he thinks the mask looks like, he replied, "Uncle Louie?" Damn it. Now I must know what Uncle Louie looks like! The Fogal parents had been so well behaved lately, then Pa Fogal has to go get this enigma stuck in my head! Uncle Louie, where are you? I need to see your face!
Speaking of missing, where are the late night Motorola messages? The sun is shining bright when Uncle Lairdie calls with the next clue, darn it.
To find the next artifact, the teams must uncover and decode the secret correspondence of America's first spy, and the man behind the death mask will lead them to it. One hint - At no point did the first spy use "ROFLMAO!" in his correspondence. Their search begins in Paris, France. I love this show, but this is one of those areas that can be tweaked. How much more exciting would this have been if the teams uncovered a clue that lead them to Paris? Once there, the teams would have to take the Metro to the city's historic Catacombs to find their next clue.
Here's something a little extra - The Eiffel Tower, live on webcam.
This trip was very exciting to Genius Charles, who was positively giddy trying to imagine what Dungeons & Dragons would be like in The City of Lights. Miss Realivision 2006, Melissa Witek, was made to plug Orbitz.com as the Miss USAs used their provided Visa card to book their flights. Even the Fogals seemed happy, but I'm sure Kayte was just waiting to cry that she doesn't WANT TO EAT SNAILS! WHY DOESN'T ANYBODY HELP HER? DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND SHE'S HURTING?
Genius Francis had never left the country before, despite the obvious evidence of his very British muttonchops, and is looking forward to the long, tedious flight. I just bet he is, the scamp!
Once in Paris, the teams started searching maps, guidebooks, hobos, anything they could to find out where the Catacombs were located. John Southie said something, but my heart was too busy fluttering to really catch it. It was either about how Professional Entertainment Journalists are treated right in Boston, or he was comparing his hometown subway system to the Metro.
Staring deep into my heart, he talked about how the teams were split. On one end of the train were the Southies, Miss USAs, and Ex-CIAs, and on the other end were the Fogals, Air Force, and Geniuses. Having my favourite teams together made me happy, but if anything were to happen...
Over on the other other end of the train, Kayte Fogal started talking to a couple of girls who lived in Paris, and they were helping the teams on that end find their location. This pleased the Geniuses who planned on staying close. That, and maybe the French girls would kiss them. Oh la la!
The SouthUSACIAs didn't have any locals lending aid, but found the Catacombs on their map and knew where to get off the train.
Hold on. Three stops from where they thought they had to get off, the FogaGeniuForce got out of the train! One of the Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variants said that the girls were going to take them to where they needed to go, which seemed like a fine idea as their internal GPS units were on the fritz.
There was much confusion, but the SouthUSACIAs stayed on the train. I have to admit, I started getting a little nervous here.
Kayte said, "They're silly if they don't follow us."
Genius Charles, in his best geek inflection (seriously, it's not like I'm not well-versed in all things geeky, so if you have this on tape go to this spot and listen - that is a very geeky inflection in his voice, one dripping with intellectual superiority), said, "I have a hard time understanding why we wouldn't follow somebody who actually knows the area."
Martin Southie knows that this is going to be a huge turning point in the hunt.
Kayte is talking to the young women, pleasantly surprised that the others aren't following, and Charles said, "The statistics at this point are definitely in our favour." He then took out a portable DVD player, popped in an episode of Star Trek, and started screaming how Spock's quarters were supposed to be on the other side of the corridor.
Kayte threw in one more "That was silly of them not to follow" just to remind Charles that if Kayte thinks something is a good idea, he and his team are in deep doodoo.
Sure enough, the Miss USAs, Southies, and Ex-Spooks get off at their stop and land almost right on top of the entrance to the Catacombs.
If you watch The Simpsons, you know who Nelson is. His famous "Ha ha!" is playing through my head right now.
A phone rings, and the three leading teams get an electronic Lairdogram. The man behind the mask waits for them next to a golden laced bridge somewhere in Paris. To find their next clue, they would each have to send one member of their team into what some call The Empire of the Dead. Here's the most delightful thing about the Catacombs - the collected remains of some six million Parisians are stored there, and I'm talking miles and miles of human bones with plenty of skulls to keep you company. The remains are organized by year of death indicated by markers in tunnels that go on for miles. They had to find the tunnel housing the remains from 1789, the year that the man in the mask created the modern day French national flag.
Going down into the tunnel would be John Southie, Miss Melissa, and Double-0 Jacob (who is licensed to thrill, baby).
To see so many human remains so meticulously arranged was disturbing, fascinating, creepy, cool and sad all at the same time.
Back in the surface world, the other teams are walking and wandering, coming to the dread realization that their guides have no idea where they're at. When the guides have to stop and ask for directions, things aren't going well. Then suddenly the two girls had to leave. It's not like they were on a hunt for treasure, but they will forever be treasures in my eyes.
Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Female Variant did the calculations and realized that the other teams had a significant lead on them. Someone had forgotten to program into their code that one important equation: When Kayte Fogal thinks something is right, do the opposite.
Down amongst the dearly departed, Melissa spotted the plaque they were searching for. "The HERO OF TWO WORLDS
Awaits upon the RIGHT BANK of the SEINE
sword raised
A friend to America
A friend to Washington
Face him to find your fate"
One interesting thing downstairs and up is that everyone seemed to be perplexed by what the Geniuses had done. The other two teams leaving didn't bother them, but the Geniuses? (According to Melissa's insider coverage at the Team Miss USA forums, the Geniuses were part of their overall alliance, so that helps explain why everyone was wondering about them.)
Here's where editing can mess with you, because after the first three teams left the Catacombs, we saw the next three arriving. With however long it took to search for the clue, you never know if it was a near miss or hours of seperation.
Brad Fogal, Genius Charles, and Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 1 all went down into the Catacombs. Dark tunnels full of human remains? Oh how I miss the evil Brad and the evil Chuck! The horrifying prose just writes itself!
Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant Version 1's temperature sensors are functioning at normal parameters as he notices how much colder it is when he goes down into the Catacombs. He wants to walk as fast as his servo-mechanisms will allow, but he doesn't want his ocular sensors to miss anything.
Brad Fogal talked about how much he walked down there.
Genius Charles said he's not someone who gets scared very easily (except in gym class), but this is something different down there and he wished he brought his Cloak of Concealment and Sword of Undead Slaying with him.
Sure enough Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 1 finds the plaque first. I know I go on a lot about the Southies, particularly John, and Laird on these pages, but let me tell you. When they made Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 1, they used the good mould for his face (this is the model designated "Matt Z."). The Air Force artisan who created that visage can be very pleased with him or herself.
After getting directions and hopping the Metro, the top three teams discussed what the clue means and the Southies are positive it's a statue. In an interview, Matthew Southie talked about how the Southie Boys sell themselves short. "We know things but are just too scared to say it 'cause we think other people are smarter than us." The unfortunate mining incident aside, they've been doing well, are likely right about a statue, and something else where I won't spoil what's to come.
Underground again, Charles is the next to find the plaque, and I see something that totally escaped my notice the first time I watched this through. It's normal for all the tunnels the players have gone through to be totally deserted, but when Chuck gets to the clue, there are two people just standing there. Were they tourists? Catacomb employees? Producers? Nerd fetishists? I must know! Between this and Uncle Louie, there are entirely too many mysteries this episode!
Whatever the case, they were gone by the time Pa Fogal arrived and got the clue.
Either they got good directions or good editing, but the top three teams are now seen approaching the bridge with golden lace, and they spot a statue of a man with sword.
Upon arriving at it, the teams got a MotorLairda message. He told them they found the statue of Lafayette, the man behind the mask. They are seeking his American contact, one of the most important founding fathers. Lafayette has left them a clue, they must face him to find their fate.
On a pillar in front of the statue is a replica of the masks that they had been carrying with them with one big difference, this one was broken in two. They examined this mask and found a cavity inside, making them wonder if they have to break theirs.
This is unnerving, to say the least. What if they break their mask and it's a horrible, horrible mistake? The only ones with the guts to try it are the Miss USAs. For shame, Southies and Spooks! In the broken mask, wrapped in cloth, was a big coin and on one side it said, "DOVER CASTLE THE ARROW POINTS THE WAY," and the other side had a picture of a boat. As Double-0 Mark (licensed to grill) pointed out, Dover Castle is in England. Geeze. Not even an overnight stay in Paris?
This is the fourth of seven artifacts, and apparently the ship engraved on the other side might mean something, as Laird asks in his next message, "...but what ship?" Normally one team would be eliminated here, but the hunt continues. They must search for Lafayette's contact, America's first spy.
As those three teams head for their next location, we are drawn back to the Geniuses and Fogals. Margie Fogal said that Air Force headed out and knew where they were going.
Except that they didn't know where they were going, and we got to see the little graphic that said...
AIR FORCE
Lost
Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Female Variant said that they were programmed to be in such a hurry they forgot to scan for their coordinates.
They stopped and plugged themselves into a network. Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Male Variant - Version 2 said this was the lowest point they had found themselves at in the entire hunt.
A quick glimpse at the frontrunners getting ready to hop on a ferry, and Double-0 Mark (licensed to grill) said they were all feeling tired, but at the same time excited to have their lead.
FOGAL FAMILY
Lost
Hoooo boy! That's two teams so far!
They're looking for the bridge, one of the "tons" of bridges according to Kayte, who suddenly gets excited. "Oh my gosh, look behind you!" Her parents turned to see the Eiffel Tower.
GENIUSES
Not Lost
Okay, it didn't say that, but they were the first of the three to find the statue, and were able to leave before the others arrived.
As they were leaving, they said they had just "Fogaled the Fogals!" Er, not quite. Getting to a clue first isn't exactly "Fogaling" someone. Stealing a clue out of their hands? That's a Fogaling.
The Fogals did find a statue, but it was the wrong one. Same with the Air Force.
Then the Fogals found the right statue. While Kayte was trying to convince her father not to break open the mask, the Air Force arrived. The Fogals did break their mask open first, shocking Kayte when she discovered that was the right thing to do. Robot Squad didn't take too long to crack theirs open too.
The Ex-CIAs, Miss USAs, and Southies arrived in Dover, England.
They entered Dover Castle as the sun was going down, giving the whole scene a beautiful orange glow.
Now for the big problem. The castle is huge. Or as Donald Trump might say, "This castle is 'UGE! It's the finest castle in the world and fine castles are a 30 BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY! I am going to buy this fine property and make Trump Castle the most extravagant casino resort in the world!"
Anyway, they looked and looked and didn't find anything.
The Geniuses then arrive.
On the ferry, the Fogals and Air Force were talking and decided to help each other, though Air Force Mechanized Contestabot: Female Variant wasn't sure if they could trust the Fogals after what they heard from the other teams, and how the Fogals were hogging all the WD40.
Back to the castle again, the first three teams were up on the roof when Matthew Southie noticed a giant arrow shape. He stood by the idea, but Double-0 Jacob (licensed to thrill) was particularly against it, and so the teams looked around inside a little longer.
Now the Fogals and Air Force arrived. To cover more space, the two teams then split up. After all, without puny humans holding them back, the Air Force team could really get zipping.
The first three teams decided to try out Matthew's arrow, and sure enough they found the next clue with the Southies in first place, the Miss USAs in second, and the Ex-Spooks third. I guess the editing wasn't as free as we've seen in the past, as Miss Realivision 2006, Melissa Witek, suggested they look at the clues fast before the others saw them there.
What they found were tubes with big pieces of paper in them with a little writing, mostly blank though, and another Motorola message from home care of The Lairdfather.
They must now find the identify of this spy and the location where he developed the methods of decoding methods.
On the back of the paper was "Samuel Palmer Printing Press London", so they whipped out their notebooks and went to Not Google to find out where that might be. One of the Miss USA (there is a fan obscuring the view right now) brought up that Lafayette's America partner was Benjamin Franklin, and that was without using the computer. Ha, doubters!
Double-O Todd (licensed to chill) did some research and found out Franklin used to do some work on a printing press in the back of an old church, so off they go!
The other teams still searched around the castle without much luck, the frustration bringing about a small argument between Geniuses Charles and Francis.
Then the unimaginable happened. Kayte Fogal found the giant arrow shape. They called the Air Force over who were sitting down and conserving atomic battery power and took them over to find the clue. No Fogals, now is when you take off the gloves. When it matters.
The Geniuses however managed to find the clues outside without going up on the roof.
At the church the teams would have to blah blah blah next artifact, one team would be going home.
This is taking a while, as we get the little clock in the corner again and at 2 hours 57 minutes the first three teams were still searching. They new the papers they got at the castle would come into it, but they didn't know how. 3 hours 34 minutes go by, they're still looking.
Now you're not going to believe this, but I worked it out pretty quickly. Of course without the pressure of competition it probably came easier. I was a bit of a science geek when I was a wee lass, and one of the cooler things was making invisible ink out of lemon juice, writing on paper, then holding that paper above a heat source to make it appear (usually a light bulb). That's how I figured with all these candles that is what may be the case here.
At 4 hours and 19 minutes, Double-0 Todd (licensed to chill) noticed the candles and thought about using them, and anothing seemed to happening until... Oh, look, a picture!
It turned out to be a map of the church with Xs in various parts. Yup, that was it!
The Miss USAs were the first to find the next artifact, a key, followed by Ex-CIA and the Southies. Yes! Both my favourites plus a nother team I like are moving on! And that's what's important, that we be able to make this all about me.
The Fogals and Air Force are next to arrive, with the Geniuses arriving next. They were all looking around.
Air Force tried using the candles, but not enough so they kept looking.
Genius Francis was the next to discover the invisible picture, but they kept moving around and hiding candles so that the other two teams couldn't see what they were doing. In the end, they got the next artifact, meaning the Fogals or Air Force would be leaving the hunt.
It seemed close there, but the last team to find an artifact was Team Air Force, meaning the Fogals were eliminated. How could they take my Kayte away like that?
So the Fogals are gone. Back when they were playing a dirtier game, I called it "stupid dirty" because they were screwing their reputation and turning people against them early in the game for what? Second place in one leg of the hunt.
Now they played "stupid nice". It was great to see their nice side, but they should never have made that deal with Team Air Force in the first place even if it did seem like it would have helped them more at the time. If the Fogals left the castle without telling the Air Force about the clue, they'd still be in the game and the hunt is the game and you should be playing to win.
posted by Tabby at 12:45 a.m.
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