Now in Season 9, “The Curse of Oak Island” is about two brothers’ lifelong pursuit of a supposed mysterious treasure located on a small Canadian island. The brothers are Rick and Marty Lagina, and they are joined by a support crew that has managed to find several small relics and artifacts on the island, but nothing approaching the true bounty the Laginas crave. One major theory motivating the group is that Oak Island is actually a secret repository and former hidden base of the Knights Templar who fled persecution in Europe.
The Laginas and their organizations own the vast majority of the island, and recent developments have created a fair amount of instability for the show. As the crew of “The Curse of Oak Island” have had several significant finds in Season 9, the team has been forced to make some rather hard decisions. Fans of the show haven’t been exactly the keenest on these recent changes, so what exactly could they worried about?
Fans of Oak Island are worried about eminent domain
Taking to one of the internet’s favorite places to engage in discussions, fans coalesced on Reddit to speculate on the future of “The Curse of Oak Island.” Reddit user Patch267 initiated the conversation by referencing that the archaeologists that were on the team were just let go. They stated, “Strange that the dynamic was cooperation and that cooperation has now led them to ‘boot’ the archaeologists. Very ‘real life’ is it not? Personally speaking my interest in the show ‘peaked’ when they brought them (archaeologists) onboard and begin [sic] making legit progress on the show: whom, what, where and why.” The commenter added that any kind of significant archaeological find might illicit a response from the Canadian government, which would result in the efforts of “The Curse of Oak Island” being shut down.
Reddit user prospero_duke replied, “Spot on analysis again, Patch. Hanging over all future activity is the province’s right to assert ‘expropriation legislation’: Expropriation legislation (the term used in Canada for eminent domain) and the common law of Canada recognize that property owners who have had their property taken from them are entitled to be made whole through the payment of full and fair compensation.” Other comments repeated that the government has a right to claim any area where important historical discoveries are made. If this were to happened, the Laginas would still receive compensation for their efforts, but they would effectively be kicked off the island, likely ending the show as well.
Fans are also concerned about the archaeologists
The decision to kick out all of the archaeologists provides a modicum of resistance against government oversight, and the team of “The Curse of Oak Island” will instead use drills and other methods in order to continue their search. It seems as though fans’ worries are twofold -– one, that if the show’s crew should find anything truly important, they may be expunged from the island, and second, that by removing the archaeologists, a measure of authority and credibility are greatly diminished. These are arguably legitimate reasons to be concerned for the future of the Lagina brothers and the series.
Reddit user pdeb49 finished the conversation by stating, “I don’t understand how they plan to find anything by core drilling. Potentially right past the depth they might need to examine. And they are so fixated in that one area. Meanwhile Marty kept saying he feels the treasure is down the money pit but off to the side somewhere. It could be 100 feet away. They may find something, but I sure hope it’s not something that was priceless, now shredded by the drill.” The doubts of fans are definitely becoming palpable, but hopefully these new developments don’t impact the quality of “The Curse of Oak Island” too much.