National Treasure: Edge of History's Lisette Olivera Talks Teaming Up with Justin Bartha

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for National Treasure: Edge of History Episode 4. Read at your own risk!]

National Treasure: Edge of History premiered on Disney+ two weeks ago, and in last night's episode we got the biggest crossover yet from the original franchise. Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) may not be a part of the new series, but his tech-saavy treasure-hunting partner Riley Poole — portrayed by Justin Bartha — made an appearance and even faced a near-death experience.

Ben and Riley were friends with FBI Special Agent Peter Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) in the National Treasure films, and this episode took place at his funeral service. Remember, Sadusky is the one who before he passed away in the show's first episode, prompted Jess Valenzuela (Lisette Olivera) to start her hunt for a Pan-American treasure. Jess was trying to decode the next clue, and asked Riley at the funeral service for help. But when the pair were in Sadusky's "clue room," they accidentally triggered an intruder lockdown. Oxygen levels started to run low, forcing Jess and Riley to solve Sadusky's puzzle passcode or be doomed.

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"When I read that scene, I literally was just on the edge of my seat being like, oh my God, are they gonna die?" Olivera told TV Guide. The actor shared the experience of working with Bartha. "Watching Riley in the movies, he's so funny," she said. "And when I got to meet him in person, the reason why is because he's so big on adding his own flavor into a scene." In this instance, Jess and Riley partnered to decipher words that would lead them to escape. "It was cool to watch his process and how he'd always come up with something that wasn't necessarily scripted, but it just made the scene so much better," Olivera said.

Through their teamwork, Jess and Riley eventually cracked the code. But it wasn't not long before Jess was met with another obstacle with dire consequences. "[Riley] leads my character to believe that someone is against her, someone she cares really deeply about," Olivera said. At the end of Episode 4, Riley called Jess to say that a person close to her has been leaking information to Billie (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a black market antiquities dealer who is after the same treasure. 

Earlier in the show, we saw that Billie somehow got her hands on a recording that Jess had made. And the prime suspect seems to be Liam (Jake Austin Walker), Sadusky's grandson and the man Jess just kissed. "At that point, Jess' world kind of turns upside down given that she allowed herself to be vulnerable with somebody that I don't think she had ever done before in her life," Olivera said. 

Only time will tell whether Liam is indeed the mole. But for now, Jess is beginning to experience the seeds of doubt planted in relationships thanks to treasure hunting. 

The first four episodes of National Treasure: Edge of History are available to stream.