The Secret Room
The kids break into the secret room at the start of episode 10 of The Hardy Boys. With cobwebs everywhere, they switch on the lights and marvel at the antiques dotted around. Books line the shelves, framed insects are caked in dust up on the wall and in the corner, a map with circles seems to hint toward something far bigger than they realized. As Joe and Frank talk together, they discuss how Laura never made it as far as they did but instead of answers, they’ve only found more questions. The brothers start looking around for clues, finding more maps along with George’s personal journal which could hold the answers they’re looking for. After leaving and putting everything back the way it was, Joe speaks to Biff who reveals that she was the one who took the piece of the Eye after what happened with J.B. Callie follows Stacey home and tries to get to the bottom of what’s going on. It turns out she has someone there to do her homework and there’s definitely something here that doesn’t add up. Callie speaks to Chet about her concerns but he doesn’t believe her and leaves Callie with a phone number and a farfetched plan to act like a tele-marketer. Back at Aunt Trudy’s, more secrets are revealed from the diary as the brothers read the entries. Within that, they learn that all three sides are currently wrestling for control of the different pieces. With J.B. holding one of them, his luck soon changes when he’s playing cards. Eventually he speaks to Joe again and reveals what he’s taken. He asks exactly what it is and tells Joe his plan involves putting all three pieces together himself. Joe meanwhile remains concerned over what this may mean for them. Back at school, tension between the different teens continue to escalate as Callie and Frank go on a lookout together. Given she’s clearly jealous about Stacey, they show up at her house and notice that her two associates are wearing guns and seem to be controlled by her. Bringing Callie into the attic, the duo realize that Stacey isn’t clean and try to work out whether she may be undercover or not. Thanks to Callie and Frank growing closer together, Chet decides to break up with Callie. Joe and Frank discuss Stacey and who she may be working with. That conversation soon turns to that of the Eye, as they decide that they should get the pieces back and destroy it at Demon’s Paw once and for all. Unfortunately both brothers disagree over what to do with this artifact and fall out over the best way of proceeding forward, prompting Joe to storm off. Downstairs though, Stacey phones Frank and asks to meet. There, he wastes absolutely no time getting to the crux of the issue. He demands to know who she is and eventually Stacey caves. Her real name is actually Anastasia and she’s Victor’s daughter. She’s there to get vengeance, knowing that Laura too was killed and wants to fight for her Father’s memory. As she sits next to him, Anastasia kisses Frank on the mouth…just as Callie shows up. When she and Anastasia leave at different times, Chet turns up and tells Frank that he and Callie broke up because he arrived at Bridgeport and changed everything for them. Joe catches up with Biff and manages to find out where she’s taken the piece of the Eye. It turns out it’s hidden underground and together they agree to try and destroy it once and for all. Unfortunately they wind up lost while out and about, calling on the Eye’s power to somehow find where Demon’s Paw is. Unfortunately they fall through a hole in the ground and look to be lost. Frank heads back to Gloria’s house and asks about the Eye again. Specifically, he asks about Victor and who could have killed him. He asks whether Gloria or Khan did it but she simply chuckles and tells him that’s not true. However, Gloria does admit that she’s looking to make him her successor so finding the pieces of the Eye are imperative to her plan.
The Episode Review
The mystery continues to deepen as both Frank and Joe head off on separate adventures again. With Anastasia (Stacey) now thrown in the mix on Victor’s side of things, all eyes (no pun intended) now turn to see who gains control at the end. However, in the midst of all this mystery and drama we also have the misunderstanding trope involving the cliched love triangle which feels tired and misplaced here. I understand this is to appease to a young adult market but the show feels like it would have worked better by keeping these characters as friends. Still, The Hardy Boys definitely has its moments and with 3 episodes to go, it’s anyone’s guess how this one is going to turn out at the end.
