'The Curse Of Oak Island' Season 7 Episode 21 Review: The Restalls return makes for an emotional watch
After watching more than 21 episodes, you are pretty familiar with the pattern of 'The Curse Of Oak Island'. There's excitement, cheer, positivity after a few excavations, followed by disappointment, and renewed by hope again. But the latest episode of the History Channel show deviated from the pattern for a while. The remaining members of the Restall family returned to Oak Island and their tragic story made the episode a rather an emotional one.
For those unversed with the story: Robert Restall had done unforgettable work on the cursed island back in the late 1950s. With his son Bob Restall, wife Mildred, he had moved to Oak Island and was determined to find the fabled treasure.
Their family braved the harsh and ruthless winters for over six years. One day, tragedy struck. While digging the shaft, Restall Sr was overcome by hydrogen sulphide fumes. His son Bob went down the shaft and also lost consciousness. Their companions, Cyril Hiltz and Andy DeMont, went down the shaft and tried to rescue them. Edward White, who was visiting the island managed to rescue only DeMont. The rest died.
Rick Restall and Lee Lamb, who are the only two surviving children of Robert Restall, returned to the island. An overwhelmed Rick recalled the time he shared the cabin on the island with his brother Bob, and how he might have just turned out as strong-willed and determined as his father. These little familial anecdotes did tug at the heartstrings as you think of the people who lost their lives in the determination to solve the mystery of Oak Island.
In other news, the team gets excited after finding a piece of pottery and are certain that it's old. They believe it could be left behind the searchers and that they're close to the original Money Pit (yawn, they've been saying that for ages). Gary Drayton gets excited after finding a pickaxe 90 feet deep inside ground. "That's going to put a smile on Rick and Marty's faces for sure", and "That's a sweet find", is repeated quite often. And, they find a stonemason's tool. Carmen Leggae is consulted, and he says it all goes back to the 14th century.
This part of the episode is nothing unusual, and the show goes back to its original script: find artifacts and soar to the skies.
'The Curse Of Oak Island' airs on History Channel, Tuesdays at 9pm.