That’s it! The Curse of Oak Island Season 5 is done and dusted. The ‘Drilling Down’ episode with Matty Blake wrapped what was a remarkable season in terms of finds, including the first ever item that Rick and Marty Lagina and the team can actually class as treasure!
As Matty pointed out, back in Season 1 a single coin was an amazing find — this season they made 600 different discoveries.
Despite the highs, Season 5 also had some massive lows and its inevitable frustrations for both fans and the team. As a farewell to the season that was we’ve put together a light-hearted list of “awards” to pay tribute to the standout moments and people from Season 5.
FIND OF THE SEASON: The medieval lead cross. Could it really be anything else?!?! Found in Smith’s Cove by Gary Drayton, it’s the hands-down winner for obvious reasons — from history and intrigue to sheer “wow” factor. Runner-up: The rhodolite garnet gemstone and brooch.
MOST VALUABLE PERSON: Gary Drayton. Again, this was a very easy award one to choose. We didn’t get to see his famous “Gold Dance” but the number of “top-pocket finds” was hard to keep up with, and as we found out on the Drilling Down episode there were lots more we didn’t even get to see. If only they could send him down into the Money Pit!
BEST BEARD: Jack Begley, no contest. Usually Rick is up there, but Jack put him to shame this season after letting his beard go into overdrive.
THE ‘GET STUCK IN’ AWARD FOR PERSEVERENCE: Jack Begley again. If anyone was up for getting their hands dirty this season it was Jack. As we learned in the Drilling Down episode, he spent an entire two months of his summer last year sifting through spoils to try and find items of interest. Yes, TWO MONTHS. Thankfully, his work paid off — and there would have been far fewer discoveries without him.
PHRASE OF THE SEASON: “Eyes and boots”. Love it or hate it. Courtesy of a certain Mr. Rick Lagina.
MOST EMOTIONAL MOMENT: Naming of the DMT shaft. Seeing the team rally behind Craig and Jack following Drake Tester’s death showed just how much this journey really is about family.
MOST SATISFYING MOMENT: Finally finding treasure! It may only have been a single semi-precious gemstone set in a silver brooch but, as defined under the Treasure Trove Act, it’s treasure!
MOST DRAMATIC MOMENT: The high-pressure hose exploding earlier in the season, which thankfully left drill team member Max Williamson with only minor injuries. This could have been far, FAR worse.
MOST MYSTERIOUS FIND: The bones. Seriously, two bones from different humans in the Money Pit, one with Middle Eastern origins? What on earth were they doing there? And who did they belong to? Runner-up: The book binding and parchment.
MOST INTERESTING BIT OF HISTORY: Captain James Anderson? Rochefoucauld? Sir Francis Drake? It’s got to be all the weird Rochefoucauld links, which included the Duc D’Anville — and also meant we got to see a bit of France.
BIGGEST LET-DOWN: H-8. Seriously, how does a 6in borehole dig up so much and a 60in one so little? Closely followed by DMT, of course.
THEORY THAT GOT THE BIGGEST BOOST: Templars!
MOST HARD-TO-BELIEVE-BUT-COULD-STILL-BE-TRUE THEORY: Joint winners — that the medieval cross was a representation of the Goddess Tanit, and that Templars etched carvings in the prison at Domme with their teeth!
FUNNIEST MOMENT: Marty Lagina doing his ‘ruby dance’ after the discovery of the rhodolite garnet. It only lasted a split second, but he did the dance world proud.
MOST WTF MOMENT: Fred Nolan’s maps. These were incredible. I mean, did you see how detailed they were? This was a man who was CERTAIN there was something to be found on Oak Island.
THE ‘WHO TURNED MOST FROM SKEPTIC TO BELIEVER’ AWARD: Hard to decide, but either Marty or Alex Lagina — both came a very long way this season.
BIGGEST QUESTIONS WE’RE LEFT ASKING: Where is the rest of the book binding and bones in the Money Pit? What are the books/manuscripts, and who do the bones belong to? Where did the medieval cross come from?
MOST PROMISING LOCATIONS FOR POTENTIAL BREAKTHROUGHS NEXT SEASON: The Money Pit (freeze-dried, anyone?), and Smith’s Cove.
BIGGEST HOPES FOR NEXT SEASON: Treasure! Seriously, though…this might seem an obvious thing to say, but it would be really great to see the team finally make a REALLY big breakthrough. They have so many puzzle pieces, and they’re definitely coming together — they just need that “one thing”. It feels like they’re within touching distance, and they deserve it.
Any other awards you think we missed? Let us know in the comments below!