Another year, another 20-plus-episode season of History’s nine seasons-long (and counting) reality treasure hunting series, “The Curse of Oak Island.” According to the sibling protagonist themselves — as explained in the pilot — this equal parts addictive and disappointing series all began with a 1965 Reader’s Digest article outlining the supposed centuries-old curse and hidden treasure on a small island off the coast of south shore Nova Scotia. The article captured the attention of an imaginative, 11 year-old Rick Lagina, who, as an adult, would eventually convince his younger brother Marty (who amassed his wealth in the energy industry) to fund and assist in his search for the treasure, along with a team of experts and excavators (via Sky/History). Since its debut in 2014, “The Curse of Oak Island” had amassed quite the following, despite the fact that the brothers have yet to find the actual treasure, or to fall victim (at least in any obvious way) to the island’s supposedly deadly curse.
Of course, hard evidence of buried treasure or legitimate proof of, for instance, the Knights Templar connection to the island, isn’t what keeps the so-called “acorns” (via Reddit) coming back for more. Its the potential each dig holds, the “Da Vinci Code”-esque breadcrumbs, and the Lagina brothers themselves that have so compelled viewers for over 140 largely fruitless episodes. This doesn’t mean, however, that viewers aren’t occasionally put-off by one of the series’ many distinct personalities, as a recent thread on the series’ subreddit reveals.
Marty steals Billy’s toy in On the Road
In Season 9, Episode 24, Rick Lagina is on the trail of the Knights Templar in Portugal. Meanwhile, “back at the ranch,” Marty and his team of excavators tempt to find proof of a Templar-made road connecting two of the island’s most important dig locations. While the majority of the series’ drama is derived from the close-but-no-cigar nature of their ongoing quest, Marty pulls a power move in “On the Road” that some fans found revealing.
“Marty kicking Billy [Gerhardt] off of the backhoe for no damn good reason this week bothered me so much,” wrote user sludgeface66, adding, “you have an expert digger there who does a fantastic job…Yet you kick him off the backhoe to either have your own little fun or show your ‘skills’?” It’s a valid point, since Marty’s usurpation of his own hired professional’s machine comes across as both awkward and unnecessary. Many fans felt, however, that the move revealed more about Billy than Marty. As user PumpPie73 put it, “sometimes you need to humor the boss. Once the cameras are off Billy takes over.” The assessment was echoed by JRoc160, who likened Billy’s stepping-down to a teacher letting a student write on the blackboard despite the latter’s ineptitude.
User prospero_duke was more sympathetic to the show’s financier. In their comment, the fan wrote “Marty took center-stage while Rick was gone and so likely felt a necessity to do [something] to contribute by way of active exploration instead of just commentary…give him break and let him ‘take over’ for a while…He’s paying for it big time…” Fair enough.