TV Review: National Geographic Uncovers the Gateway to Cleopatra's Legacy in “Cleopatra’s Final Secret”

One of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world is what happened to Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Archaeologists have searched for her tomb for hundreds of years, mostly to no avail. But all of that might be about to change as National Geographic unveils Cleopatra’s Final Secret.

This new special from Nat Geo follows lawyer-turned-archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, who has spent the past 20 years searching for the lost tomb of Cleopatra. Martinez has always had a fascination with Cleopatra, but her family didn’t think going into the field of archeology was a good idea. She became a lawyer but couldn’t shake her fascination with Cleopatra. Eventually, using her lawyer instincts, she decided to dedicate her life to searching for Cleopatra’s lost tomb. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Martinez became the first woman and person from Latin America granted a license to excavate in Egypt – a project she has led since 2002.

The bulk of the special takes place at the ruins of Taposiris Magna, where the theory is that Cleopatra’s body was brought to Taposiris Magna, carried through a lengthy tunnel that stretched out into the Mediterranean Sea, and through a port offshore, before being laid to rest, hidden and out of reach of the Romans. After finding a number of artifacts that very likely could date back to the age of Cleopatra, Martinez and her team discover a series of colossal constructions underwater, arranged in rows and over 20 feet high, that suggest the submerged site could have been a port that was once used by Cleopatra.

While the excavations are showcased, we also learn a little about Cleopatra’s history through the use of a narrator and minimally animated Egyptian-like drawings. As one of the interview subjects notes, history is often written by the victors, and so much that we know about Cleopatra is through the tainted lens of the Romans. Cleopatra came from a rare time and place where women were not only accepted, but able to rule over the land – something the conquering Romans did not agree with. Part of Martinez’s goal here is to reclaim Cleopatra’s story, and find out what really happened to her.

Quite often with these sorts of discoveries, something is teased, and then the program doesn’t really deliver on it. You’ll see this all the time with programs like Expedition X on Discovery, that purport to have a terrific discovery of some sort, that really is not the case. So it was refreshing to see that actual discoveries were made in the course of Cleopatra’s Final Secret. We actually get to see some of the underwater ruins that could lead to Cleopatra’s tomb. While there’s likely years of excavation and discovery ahead, it’s nice to know that they’re heading in the right direction.

Cleopatra’s Final Secret airs tonight, September 25th at 10/9c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.