NCIS: New Orleans - Treasure Hunt - Review: “Pride Likes Pirates”
4.17 - “Treasure Hunt”
Directed by Tony Wharmby
Written by Brooke Roberts
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
The episode opens up during Pirate Fest, a pirate themed festival in New Orleans. Everyone is dressed festively, including two women who are looking for a costume party. The women have a map, which leads them to an abandoned warehouse.
One of the women thinks she’s found the location, while the other thinks they should turn around. She should have listened to her friend. They find a deceased woman, bloodied and hanging upside down in an empty warehouse.
Gregorio and Percy show up to the scene of the crime. Gregorio wants to know what’s up with Percy. Percy says once she figures it out, she’ll let Gregorio know.
The victim is LCDR Elaine Dodd, who was an oceanographer out of Stennis Space Center. Her purse is still at the scene, so it doesn’t appear to be a robbery. There’s evidence that she was possibly tortured. The person or people who killed her also peeled back several inches of skin off of her arm. Yuck and also, why?
LCDR Dodd was on leave. She told her boss that she was going to go see her dad, but instead, she was in New Orleans.
They can’t find any dirt on LCDR Dodd. She has a mundane job as an oceanographer. That being said, she’s been paying close attention to a specific location off the coast of New Orleans. Pride knows exactly where it is and when Gregorio gives him a look, he retorts, “Alright, maybe I liked pirates as a kid. Tease me, you’re fired.” Points for the writing room!
LCDR Dodd’s father is an ex Green Beret. He reported his daughter missing. Pride is going to tell him what happened.
Pride meets Mr. Dodd at the morgue. He wants to identify the body. It’s his daughter. Scenes like this are so hard to watch.
Pride asks Mr. Dodd for his help. He relays that his daughter called him before she was murdered. He tells Pride that she said she was excited to surprise him with a secret. He thinks it had to do with a treasure hunt. They used to exchange ideas and clues, which was about their only contact.
Loretta and Sebastian have a clue. They think they know why LCDR Dodd’s skin was peeled. It turns out that she had coordinates tattooed on her arm. The killer needed the coordinates, presumably to find the buried treasure, so they sliced it right off her arm.
Mr. Dodd thinks his daughter found the Napoleon fleur-de-lis, which was gifted to New Orleans as part of the Louisiana Purchase, but later stolen by the Pirate Jean Lafitte. Pride’s ears are perked. He thinks that LCDR Dodd’s research and tattoo were leading her to the fleur-de-lis.
Pride and Sebastian have used the coordinates from LCDR Dodd’s tattoo and are at a church on a treasure hunt/murder investigation. As soon as they get upstairs, shots ring out.
Sebastian gets sidetracked with a statue as Pride chases the bad guy. Pride and Sebastian move the statue and find a secret compartment which contains an old puzzle book wrapped up in dusty cloth. Per Pride, “It’s definitely something pirates used to use to hide something.”
Gregorio reports that LCDR Dodd researched the fleur-de-lis. They don’t have any other helpful info at this time. Sebastian and Pride are trying to open the puzzle book. It’s very elaborate and has to be opened carefully, in order not to destroy anything. Gregorio thinks the whole thing is ridiculous.
Percy and LaSalle have details on the two men who shot at Pride and Sebastian in the church. They have identified one man as Nathan Hendrix. He’s a “hired gun.” Mr. Dodd walks in as they are talking and tells the team that he thinks he knows who hired Hendrix. He also says that he is looking for the fleur-de-lis, for his daughter.
Mr. Dodd thinks he knows who employed Hendrix. He says he can go talk to the guy, who specializes in sunken treasure, since he will not talk to the police or NCIS willingly.
Gregorio and Sebastian have more info. Coordinates help point them to, Michelle Faucheux, an expert on Jean Lafitte that works at the Historical Society. They are heading over to see her immediately, as Michelle and LCDR Dodd spoke several times on the phone and she may be the killer’s next target.
Does anyone else think Mr. Dodd might not be the person he’s claiming to be? Something feels off about him…
Sebastian and Gregorio are going to visit Michelle. They have a brief conversation about Percy acting differently. They suddenly stop talking when they find the Historical Society trashed and Michelle in the closet. She’s terrified.
She tells them that two guys trashed her store and threatened to kill her. She also tells them that she and LCDR Dodd talk about John Lafitte a lot. Michelle’s in shock to hear that Dodd died.
Over at Pride’s bar, the team meets with a man named Sturgess. Mr. Dodd tells his friend that, “They killed Elaine.”
Sturgess identifies Nathan Hendrix and Walton, the other shooter, immediately. He warns them that nothing will stop the killers from looking for the fleur-de-lis.
Sebastian and Gregorio fight about where Michelle should sleep/stay until they find Elaine’s killers. Sebastian obviously has the hots for her. Elaine stumbles upon the puzzle book. Together, she and Sebastian open the puzzle book, which the killers are desperate to get their hands on. The puzzle box contains a new code to crack.
Uh oh! The killers are stalking the puzzle book and they are only a few blocks away. Gregorio warns Sebastian and Michelle. Interesting, the bad guys don’t attack, they are just sitting outside waiting. Pride thinks they might want the NCIS team to lead them to the Napoleon fleur-de-lis. Pride says, “Let them follow us, hopefully all the way to the fleur-de-lis.” That way, whoever they are looking for will hopefully show up and the team can arrest him or her.
Sebastian and Michelle are trying to crack the next code, which appears to be a map with a riddle. Pride, being the pirate fanatic that he is, helps LaSalle lead the team to the next location, Barthelemy Lafon’s cry in a New Orleans cemetery. Woo hoo! The team is getting closer to finding the fleur-de-lis!
Michelle, Gregorio, and Sebastian head to the crypt. Uh oh, what if Michelle is in on it? Did they ever stop to check and make sure that she’s really Michelle? I’m suspicious of everyone.
Gregorio calls out Sebastian’s feelings for Michelle. Gregorio bursts his bubble, by telling him that Michelle, “plays for her team.”
LaSalle and Percy are together and watching the bad guys stalk Sebastian, Gregoiro, and Michelle. They are all parked outside of the cemetery. Percy and LaSalle used Patton’s phone cloner and can see all of the calls and texts that the bad guys get.
LaSalle asks Percy if she’s mad at him. She says, “No, don’t worry. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. It’s just about me.” Ugh… Don’t leave, Percy! Don’t do it!
Sebastian, Gregorio, and Michelle get the puzzle book to reveal the next clue, which is written in French. Sebastian takes a picture and sends it to Pride. Michelle quickly grabs it and says that she can read French. Michelle reports that the fleur-de-lis is in another crypt at the cemetery. Ah, called it! Percy and LaSalle call Pride to tell him that Michelle has sent them as in the bad guys a message with the real location of the next clue or the Napoleon fleur-de-lis. Michelle is working with the bad guys! Pride shares this info with Mr. Dodd. I really hope he isn’t in on it too…
Sebastian hands Michelle the puzzle book, while he and Gregorio investigate the crypt. Michelle locks them in the crypt. Percy and LaSalle are searching the crypt.
Pride tells Dodd that Michelle’s real last name is Harrison. Her brother passed away while treasure hunter. She’s obsessed with finding the Napoleon fleur-de-lis. Mr. Dodd tells Pride that he wants to help back him up. He says that they killed his daughter and he adds, “You have to let me help you, please.”
Sebastian and Gregorio are running out of air in the nearly air-tight crypt. Why haven’t they called 911 to have emergency works assist in Percy and LaSalle’s search?
Meanwhile, Pride and Mr. Dodd are tracking Michelle’s cell phone.
Sebastian finds and lights a candle, which helps LaSalle and Percy find them. They are shaken up, but okay. They want to find Michelle A.S.A.P.
Pride and Mr. Dodd get to the alleged location of the Napoleon fleur-de-lis. He tells Mr. Dodd that he’s a civilian to stay put. He gives him the keys to the lockbox and tells Mr. Dodd to fill in the police as soon as NOPD get there.
Pride starts searching while Mr. Dodd opens up the lockbox. There’s a riffle in there.
While searching the scene, Pride finds Michelle. Turns out Hendrix and Walton are there and are holding Mr. Dodd at gunpoint, so he’s not on the bad guy’s team.
Michelle makes Pride dig up the location of the Napoleon fleur-de-lis. Mr. Dodd attacks the bad guys. Pride joins in and the good guys are now in power. Mr. Dodd wants to kill Michelle for killing his daughter, but Pride talks him out of it.
Wow! The team finds the Napoleon fleur-de-lis and has it back at HQ. Mr. Dodd says that he’s going to donate it to the city, because that’s what his daughter would do.
The team is really excited! LaSalle invites Percy out so they can catch up. She says that she already has plans, but asks for a raincheck.
Mr. Dodd leaves HQ with the Napoleon fleur-de-lis. Pride looks upset, but not about the treasure. The episode ends with Pride calling his daughter.
*******
My Thoughts:
This was a fun episode. I love that Pride is all about that pirate life. I’m glad Mr. Dodd wasn’t a bad guy. He was able to fulfill his daughter’s dreams without hurting any of the villains.
There were a lot of hints dropped about Percy being out of her element and unsure about her life/future. How do you think the show is going to handle her departure?
Leave me a comment below with your thoughts!
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