FULL EPISODE SYNOPSIS (spoiler!)
For weeks the monsoon has raged over the island. Most of the crops has been destroyed by the rains. The animals enclosures have been breached and many animals have fled into the forest. The family's morale is low. When the rain stops for a short while they try to save what is left from the crops and repair as many damages as possible.
Ernst is in an especially bad mood. He is frustrated, feels trapped on the island and wants to do something. So he spends as much time as possible lighting the beacon and hoping for a ship. David is unhappy about this, especially since he could use some help with repairing the damages. He tries to talk to his son but Ernst is unwilling to listen. Ernst would like to take the raft out to sea and try his luck there but David flatly refuses that because of the high risk.
In the treehouse Elisabeth discovers that the fish Billy had caught is suddenly missing. Everyone wonders what may have happened to it.
Ernst talks to Billy about his plans for the future once they have been rescued and returned to Boston. He is surprised to learn that Billy would prefer to stay on the island, because only there he can truly be free.
At night Christina brings her pet pig which she has named Barnabas secretly into the treehouse and hides him in her bed. Emily discovers this but promises to keep Christina's secret. Christina can also talk Emily into building her a kite. They paint a face on it and Emily tells ghost stories.
Ernst and Billy and David and Joanna go hunting in two groups. Ernst spots a splendid boar. But as it turns out it was not his arrow that brought it down but Emily's who had suddenly appeared behind them. This incident frustrates Ernst further. Suddenly sinister laughter echoes through the forest and startles them. Ernst and Billy pick up the body of the boar and with Emily quickly leave the forest.
In the evening, after dinner, they tell stories. Emily starts with a ghost story about a lady without a head. Then Ernst tells the legend of Raven Jones, a notorious pirate who had been a navy man before he became outlawed and was famous for his raven tattoo, symbol of his free spirit, and his spectacular escape from the Tower of London.
During the night Joanna catches Ben trying to secretly climb into the treehouse. He is startled, when he sees her at her window and falls back to the ground. Joanna watches him leave but does not raise the alarm.
Joanna also finds out about Barnabas. She starts an argument with Christina who lets go of the kite she had been flying. The kite catches a breeze and flies away. Parsons and Ben spot the kite flying high above their heads and Parsons believes it to be a sign from beyond.
Later that day Christina is frightened by an old man while she is collecting eggs. Her father does not believe that it was a real man but rather an optical illusion. Ernst and Billy tell him about the laughter in the forest. Emily thinks both times ghosts were at work. But David dismisses that idea as nonsense. When Joanna tells her father about Ben he believes the ghost to have been Parsons.
Out of the blue Elisabeth faints at the bottom of the stairs of the treehouse. She tells David that it is only exhaustion. She pleads with him to once again talk to Ernst whose mood is still bad. After Emily once again teased him he has had quite enough. The young Robinson is determined to leave the island on the raft and bring back help. He tells Billy he will loose his mind if he stays and asks the boy to keep his secret.
David is looking for Ernst when he sees the raft quite a distance away in the bay. He believes it to be his son and calls out his name. Ernst answers from behind him, coming out of the forest. The person on the raft is Billy! A strong current is taking the raft towards the shore and Billy is not strong enough to steer clear. As if that is not enough a shark is circling near him. Ernst and David manage to pull Billy onto the safe shore. David is telling Billy how foolish he has been when they hear Emily scream. Again she has heard the terrible laughter and also seen a skeleton. She believes this to be a warning from the ghosts to leave the island.
Meanwhile Parsons and Ben have sneaked up to the treehouse and stolen Barnabas. On their way back they also discover the skeleton. Ben is so startled that he drops Barnabas who quickly runs away. Near the skeleton they discover a large boulder on which the words "Leave or Die" are written. Parsons and Ben hide nearby and watch how a ragged skinny old man collecting the skeleton and talking to it as if it were alive.
Barnabas finds his way back to the treehouse and startles everyone by making strange noises in front of the door just when David and Ernst are about to go looking for the cause of Emily's fright. On the way David once again attempts to talk to his son. But Ernst is stubborn and tells his father to no longer consider him part of the family.
The monsoon starts again. Ernst is standing watch at the beacon when Joanna joins him. He tells her that he does not believe their father truly wishes to leave the island. Joanna accuses her brother of being unfair and reminds him that he would be dead if he had gone out on the raft. Reluctantly Ernst admits that she is right. Joanna discovers that they are watched by an old man that matches Christina's description. The old man runs away and they follow him. Ernst is ahead of Joanna and follows the old man to his cave. Joanna watches by the light of lightning bolts how her brother is struck down by the old man. She runs back to the treehouse and tells her parents what has happened.
Early next morning David, Billy and Joanna start looking for Ernst. The discover another boulder with writing. This one says "Leave or boy dies". The Robinsons take this threat serious. They prepare the raft with dummies and send it out to see to make the old man believe that they are leaving the island.
The old man has taken Ernst prisoner and has tied him up. He accuses Ernst of wanting his treasure and aims a pistol at the young man while conferring with the skeleton. As he has told Ernst, the skeleton is that of his ship mate Daniels. Unnoticed, Parsons has crept up next to the cave's entranced and is eavesdropping. Ernst quickly realises that his adversary is himself still looking for the treasure as all he has to show is a map. The old man spots the raft heading out to sea and triumphs. Ernst does not believe his eyes when he sees it too. The old man forces Ernst out on a ledge by pointing his gun at him. Suddenly Ernst realises from a remark the old man makes that this is, in fact, the legendary Raven Jones. Raven is flattered when Ernst tells him he is considered a legend. Ernst finds out that Daniels tried to leave the island by boat. The tide brought the boat back with his body. While they are talking Parsons sneaks up behind them, as well as David, Billy and Joanna, and, separately, Emily. Raven changed his mind and cuts Ernst's bonds. When Ernst looks at the treasure map Parsons steps forward. Ernst retreats and looses his footing. He precariously hangs over the crevice. Parsons strikes Raven viciously down. Emily shoots an arrow into Parsons arm when the old sea dog points a gun at Ernst. Startled, Parsons falls down the ravine and Ernst is pulled up by his father. Raven is dying. Before he draws his last breath he tells Ernst and the others how he had escaped his prison. While everyone had been dazzled by the golden cage that had been built Raven had slipped away unnoticed.
The Robinsons bury Daniels and Raven Jones. And they find Raven's rice field which turns out to be his real treasure. David and Ernst talk their differences over and reconcile. Parsons has survived his fall and returns with Ben to their outer island.
|