Charlotte (Episode)

Charlotte

Season

1

Episode

4

Writer

Cormac Wibberley^[1]
Marianne Wibberley^[1]

Director

Antonio Negret

Episode guide
Previous	Next
Graceland Gambit	Bad Romance

Charlotte is the fourth episode of the Disney+ American Adventure, action and mystery National Treasure: Edge of History series based on the film series. It aired on December 28, 2022.

Premise[]

For the first time ever, Jess finds herself in a puzzle-solving slump when she can’t crack the clue found in the last episode. Her personal life isn’t any less confusing as she tries to figure out if she and Liam have romantic feelings for each other. At the wake for Liam’s grandpa, Jess and her friends meet famous treasure hunter Riley Poole (from the National Treasure movies) and enlist his help. Jess’s puzzle-solving skills are put to the test when she and Riley get caught in a deadly trap..^[2]

Plot summary[]

Jess has a mountain of clues and a hint from Elvis Presley himself but isn’t sure how to proceed. Ethan brings some much needed refreshments to the group with a box of cupcakes, but that still doesn’t help provide any direction for the team.

On a private jet at the airport Riley Poole has just landed for the funeral of Peter Sadusky. Talking with Benjamin Franklin Gates on the phone, Riley describes how his hit podcast is going to be adapted into a streaming service show, and that Ben is going to be his first guest. Informed that Ben’s daughter Charlotte is sick, and his wife Abigail Chase must work, Riley is left to represent the group himself at the wake.

Meanwhile, Jess has spent many hours consulting with Mesoamerican experts about the validity of the story behind the Montezuma's Treasure. She meets nothing but opposition and is informed that her conclusions are wrong. When Liam Sadusky invites Jess and her friends Tasha, Oren and Ethan to Peter’s wake, the group has a chance to scout the clue room for more facts about the treasure.

Elsewhere, Billie Pearce has her own issues to deal with in New York City. Attending a board meeting of mysterious individuals who want to find the treasure, Billie assures them that she knows what she is doing and plays the Elvis clue for them. When she and her bodyguard are attacked in the parking garage, Billie proves how capable she is and easily defeats the aggressors.

Back at the wake, Jess can empathize with Liam about how he is feeling; sharing with him how it was like during her mother's funeral. Stumped by the clues provided and feeling emotional after thinking about her mother and father, Jess is introduced to Riley thanks to Tasha, and she shares the clues with him.

Poole walks away sounding out the clues when he meets with Agent Hendricks. Hendricks asks him if he is working on anything new, and Riley tells him that it’s not something he can discuss with him now. Agent Ross is also at the wake and spends some time talking to Peter’s nurse. Ross decides to search the leftover medications in Peter’s office to help eliminate some substances from his toxicology report. During her snooping, Ross discovers a toxic plant in Sadusky’s office, and wonders if it is connected to the former FBI agent’s death.

Outside, she is met by Hendricks who informs her that he knows about the toxicology report. Trying to explain her actions, Ross is surprised to find a level of support from Hendricks. He tells her about first meeting Ben Gates and Riley Poole and how he didn’t follow up their tip about the Declaration of Independence. Hendricks then tells Ross that if she has a hunch about something that she should proceed with her investigation with his blessing.

Riley is stumped by the clues given to him and is trying to text Ben about what they mean. Inside the mansion he finds Sadusky’s office and the secret clue room. Jess had been searching for Liam but finds Riley in the secret room. Riley is shocked to see the Meerschaum Pipe, and Ocular Device in the office and mistakenly touches the glasses which sends the office into a lockdown mode. The oxygen level is dropping in the clue room, and Riley and Jess must figure out the password to get out of the room alive.

Hidden away in a back garden, Liam is approached by Peter’s former nurse and tells him that his grandfather loved his music. Shocked, because his grandfather was never at one of Liam’s performances, the nurse tells him that they found his music online, and that Liam’s song about his van was Peter’s favorite.

As a eulogy is being given by Agent Hendricks, Jess and Riley are desperately searching for the passcode to the room. They have found some clues, but only have a small margin of error before being entombed until death in the office. Searching the office, Riley is continuously impressed by Jess and tells her how much she reminds him of Ben.

Liam plays his grandfather's favorite song, while Tasha is wondering where Jess and Riley are. With just moments to spare the two get free from the clue room and deduce that the next clue in the treasure hunt is connected to Sacagawea and the journal of Meriwether Lewis, which happens to be on display at the governor’s mansion.

Leaving on his private jet, Riley details his experiences to Ben via phone, describing how even Ben wouldn’t believe what happened to him.

Later, Riley tells Jess that Ben’s mother was approached to decode what Elvis’ message might mean. Somehow, Billie Pearce got a copy of the clue, and Riley warns Jess that someone who is her friend, may not be her friend at all.

Cast and characters[]

Starring[]

Special Guest Star:[]

Justin Bartha as Riley Poole

Guest-starring:[]

Co-starring:[]

Garrett Prejean as Sketchy Man
Paul Ryden as Shady Billionaire
Ray Gaspard as Wake Guest

Trivia[]

The episode's title is a reference to the shipwreck that was found during the opening of National Treasure.
When Bartha’s Riley and Armando Riesco’s Agent Hendricks talk, Riley alludes to some sort of secret project.
- Which seems to hint at National Treasure 3, where Nicolas Cage returns.
Talking with Liam, Riley reveals he and Ben have been working on a super important thing for 15 years, and there are 47 reasons to be interested.
- This seems to be alluding to the Page 47, what they saw back in 2007, 15 years ago.
It is revealed that Ben and Abigail are married and have a dog named Charlotte.
According to this episode, Peter Sadusky was born on August 11, 1938.
- Sadusky is mistakenly called 87 years old in both "Bad Romance" and "I'm a Ghost". But that conflicts with his revealed birth-date of August 11, 1938 from this episode, as the events of the series take place in 2022 as revealed on Sadusky's autopsy result in the episode "Graceland Gambit", which would make him 84 at the time of his death instead.
Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley confirmed that some deleted easter eggs would have taken place in the episode in which they had initially gone even further to implicate Cras Est Nostrum in the events of the films. Particularly, a scene in which Billie is confronted by a boardroom of financial backers, which originally included dialogue that confirmed the group was also behind the search for the Templar Treasure in the 2004 film. Originally, they actually had something in there along the lines of ‘We can’t have another Templar Treasure,’” Marianne says. “And Billie responded, ‘That was Ian Howe’s fault, not mine.’ We tried to tie all that in, even though things always end up on the cutting room floor. But we did think about how if it was all rewatched, it would fit together.”^[3]