Brendan Jesus
Welcome back, fellow ranchers! We’re just three episodes away from the end of Season 6, and what a ride it has been. Let me tell you, it’s all for naught! There’s a decision made in this episode that makes this season and Season 5 basically pointless! Let’s dive into the episode that might make me stop watching this show for good.
Magnetic Personality
Skinwalker Ranch Command Center. 9:48 AM.
We join Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Thomas Winterton, Kaleb Bench, Jim Royston, Sam Deriso, and archaeologist Chris Roberts. Erik has examined the ceramic materials and has some revelations for the team. First, they examine the ceramic under a microscope. You can see crosshatch patterns clearly on the shard. Travis thinks it looks laser-etched.
Erik has completed a chemical analysis using an XRF (X-ray fluorescence) machine. The XRF uses X-rays to detect the elements of an object. Erik’s machine reveals nickel, iron, and cobalt, all materials considered modern. These elements imply a magnetic material, so they decide to test it.
A small magnet is held above the shard, and it quickly attracts the ceramic shard. Travis says the material listed on the XRF is similar to the elemental makeup of a superconductor. Scientists believe that superconductors will one day be used as spacecraft…but what if something already beat us to it?
Suddenly, the ceramic shard is repelled by the magnet. Thomas asks what happens if you flip the shard around, and there’s no change. According to Travis, only superconductors exhibit this behavior with magnets. Superconductors need extreme changes in temperature to change their magnetic fields. That’s when Travis asks, about six times, what if this is a room-temperature superconductor? That’s beyond our capabilities, we’re told. “Who or what made this?” Travis asks.
Mesa Drill Site. 12:22 PM.
The team from Mark Construction tells them they’re roughly 100 feet away from breaching the top of Borehole 2. They pull the drill out and notice one of the teeth is almost completely worn off. This is an industrial drill head! It’s honestly crazy how many they’ve gone through.
After seeing the latest destroyed drill bit, Thomas radios Travis, Erik, Kaleb, Jim, and Sam, who come over to check it out. Once there, they see the damage the Mesa (and the objects inside) have done to the drill. It’s noticed that the drill bit is tension-welded to the rod. But how could that be? The drill beacon stayed at 73 degrees Farenheight the entire time.
Kyle Blair says they need to order a new drill bit and have to halt for the rest of the day.
The next day. Mesa Drill Site. 1:34 PM.
The new drill bit has arrived, and Bearcat gets the drilling started again. They’re roughly 85 feet away from breaking through the top of the Mesa. Thomas lets them do their thing and goes to join Chris at the spoils pit. Chris tells Thomas that he found another ceramic shard.
3:41 PM.
The drilling is going too well, it seems. They’re going at a foot per minute and should break through in an hour or two.
4:54 PM.
Thomas joins Kyle at the top of the Mesa. We’re minutes away! That is, until Bearcat radios to say the drill bit isn’t making progress. The drill is stopped dead in its tracks. Bearcat does a talking head and reveals that this entire Mesa drilling project has left him bewildered. Thomas hears the drill head clunking against something…and it doesn’t sound like sandstone. Bearcat says they need to pull the drill out to check it.
EVERYONE comes to the drill to see what’s going on. They check out the drill head and notice ANOTHER tooth is worn down, and one side of the drill is completely smoothed out. Kyle says they can order a new drill bit, but this one will take a couple of days.
All Progress STOPPED
Orem, Utah. Utah Valley University.
Travis, Erik, and ranch owner Brandon Fugal meet with physicist Dr. Brian Patchett (this is the cold open we got in Season 6 Episode 1 “Bubble Trouble”). They start their examination of the ceramic shard by looking at it under an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). You can clearly see the crosshatch pattern on the material they have talked so much about. Dr. Patchett says that it looks like the geometric patterns were carved with a tool.
Travis has an interesting note when he says it looks like a circuit component.
Suddenly, the porous surface starts to enlarge. The holes seen under the microscope are growing. Dr. Patchett and everyone else are blown away by this. Travis wonders if it’s the electrons causing this. They shut off the microscope and then turn it back on…the shard has fixed itself. This is big news!
Next, they attempt to look at the chemical makeup of the ceramic shard. The surface makeup reveals carbon, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, and aluminium. Travis says those are the main ingredients of crafting stealth materials. Erik asks if they can scan the interior of the object, and Dr. Patchett says yes.
Inside the shard are oxygen, silicon, magnesium, potassium, and aluminium. Interestingly, there is no carbon. Travis is confident that this material is not natural. And that’s when Brandon drops the big news…the drilling must stop. Are. You. Freaking. Serious? Really? This might be the breaking point for me. (I’ll give my full thoughts in the final thoughts section.)
Who Cares Anymore
Skinwalker Ranch Command Center. 9:48 AM.
Travis, Erik, Kaleb, Thomas, Jim, Sam, and Chris are joined at the Command Center by Kyle Blair and Alex Swanson. Travis reveals that the drilling will stop immediately. Kyle and Alex take it well. But they’re not done on the ranch. Travis tells them that they would like to attach a camera to the drill and put it up in Borehole 2.
Later that day. Mesa Drill Site. 1:56 PM.
Chris is looking through the spoils pit and makes an interesting discovery. He calls the team over. The part of the Mesa that Chris is looking through is from the 496 to 498 foot level. Once the team arrives, Chris reveals what he found. A 1964 United States nickel. This suggests that the Mesa has been previously dug by an archaeologist, and the coin implies that it was used as a backfill marker.
Final Thoughts
Look. My full-time job is in emergency response. I understand that things can change at the drop of a hat. In my line of work, course-correcting is a must. But we’ve spent OVER two seasons hyperfocusing on these Boreholes and drilling into the Mesa. The fact that Brandon wants to cease all drilling because of what they found makes sense (in theory). But they’re 35 feet away from breaking through. They’ve already destroyed countless numbers of whatever they’re drilling through.
Based on what they’ve been able to scan, we know there is MORE of it inside the Mesa. Finish the drilling! It’s a complete slap in the face to the viewer that they want to stop when they’re this close. Everything has been for naught at this point. Why didn’t they get this stuff tested when they first found the ceramic shards? At least we wouldn’t have spent another full season drilling.
I honestly don’t even care about the nickel and the implication that someone else completed an archaeological dig anymore. It gets to a point, how much will you take before calling it enough? I’ve started my coverage of this season, and I will finish it. But if there isn’t something big that happens, it might be my last season.
