Damn, they took the easy out.

The man behind the curtain was finally revealed on Blood & Treasure Season 1 Episode 12.

Being a John Larroquette fan, I didn't want Jacob Reese to be the season's big bad.

But I guess in the end Jay was the only one who had the wealth and connections to drive this search for Anthony and Cleopatra.

So Danny's surrogate father and mentor proved to be something other than the philanthropist he appeared to be.

At least Jay's back story explained the reason behind his obsession with the two lovers.

First, he inherited that obsession from his father, who pursued Cleopatra while a soldier in World War II.

After Jay picked up the search, he met and fell in love with Zara Farouk, who eventually bore him a son, Karim.

Related: Blood & Treasure Season 1 Episode 11 Review: Return of the Queen

Yup, there's dark secret number one: Jay was father to the infamous terrorist.

It was a secret he wanted to keep hidden, to the extreme that he poisoned Anna so that it would stay that way.

What his connection is to what remains of Farouk's organization remains up in the air.

However, the fact that the biotoxin Farouk had developed has attributes of the substance which killed his mother can't be coincidence.

Another question to be answered is what is Farouk's lieutenant Taj planning to do with that biotoxin.

I wouldn't be surprised to see an attack on the opening of the mummy exhibit at Jay's Egyptian museum, which promises to be packed with dignitaries, in the finale next Tuesday.

There were a lot of action and wisecracks to get to this point, however.

I loved how everyone piled into Father Chuck's apartment just as he was preparing lunch.

It was a great mechanism to recap all that's happened by having everyone give details to Chuck so he could ascertain the next line of inquiry.

Of course, it never got that far as Danny said the wrong thing and Lexi took off.

At least they agreed to disagree in the end, which each investigating their own theory.

Only not by themselves. That was the fun of it to see Danny and Lexi with different partners.

Aiden once again made himself available, this time helping out Danny. After Simon's Brotherhood bug crapped out, Aiden volunteered to use his contact to locate Reece's lieutenant Rick, to see what he knew.

Gwen paired up with Lexi. The cop and the thief. What could possibly go wrong there?

Gwen has been a revelation in recent weeks. Ever since Chuck gave her absolution back on Blood & Treasure Season 1 Episode 10, there's been no putting Gwen in the corner.

She was been surprisingly comfortable on the dark side and she and Lexi worked well together.

After an Egyptian intelligence official and his hard drive disappeared, Lexi and Gwen turned up at Yates' safe house just after Danny and Aiden.

What followed was a great action piece through the streets of Cairo. Danny jumped onto the top of Yates' car while Lexi served as the driver of the second car, eventually nudging Yates into a parked car.

Related: Blood & Treasure Renewed for Season 2

Unfortunately, he got run over when he tried to escape so nobody got any information.

But it was fun while it lasted.

Inside was the missing Cleopatra painting from the Boston museum heist for which Danny's father was imprisoned.

This proved to Danny that Jay was behind that heist.

This made Danny question all that Jay had done for him through the years and whether he was deserving or if Jay had helped him to keep his father quiet.

The answer directly from Jay seemed to be a little of both, not terribly reassuring.

Lexi was there for Danny, to bolster him up and tell him that he has earned everything which he's received for his hard work.

Then Simon came through, leading to the recovery of Anthony and Cleopatra in the most unusual way.

Disguised as robbers, Aiden, Lexi, and Danny stormed into the Paris bank. Alessandro, the Brotherhood leader, was also there, but wouldn't provide them the vault combination.

Lexi cut apart the vault lock, then the three robbers vanished, leaving Gwen to "discover" Anthony and Cleopatra inside.

Afterward, the heist completed, Lexi, Danny, and Aiden, now disguised as cops, drove off with Gwen.

I left bad for poor Simon.

Gwen introduced him to Jay and explained he was responsible for the sarcophagi being found. Then Jay butchered his last name. So Simon's legitimacy isn't forthcoming.

Danny confronted Jay and gave him two days to get his affairs in order before turning himself into the FBI for masterminding the museum heist.

With all Jay's wealth, that's never going to happen. His attorneys' words against those of a disgraced FBI agent, I don't like Danny's odds of getting even an arrest.

What was great about this episode was that every living character was involved. No more dribbling out the recurring and supportive characters one per episode. It showed what a strong cast Blood & Treasure has.

So Anthony and Cleopatra were recovered. Instead of having some magical power together, will they serve as bait to get a large group of people to gather in Cairo, targets for Farouk's gang?

Related: Get CBS All Access via Amazon Channels for Hit Shows, Exclusive Originals & Live TV

And what's Jay's role in this? Was he just fulfilling an obsession, or does he have some more nefarious plot?

Resolving the Cleopatra storyline should clear the decks for a new artifact to be hunted on Blood & Treasure Season 2.

To review before the finale, watch Blood & Treasure online.

How do you feel about Jay being the villain?

Who is your favorite supporting character?

What do you expect in the finale?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.