Freed of the demands of its own mythology, last night’s Warehouse 13 went back to its original formula of “Pete and Myka hunt down the Mysterious Object Of The Week,” and the results were… well, more enjoyable than last week, if nothing else. At least it gave me these 13 thoughts…
1. Reunited And It Feels So Good (1). Okay, so Pete and Myka weren’t exactly separated, but they were far too much in the background of last week’s season premiere; brought back to the forefront this time around, it was like the show had rediscovered the mismatched buddy-movie dynamic that worked so well the first time around. Yes, the odd couple routine can be a little stretched here and there (Of course Myka is into classical music and classic literature and dances around the room, holding a beloved soft toy; how else could we tell her apart from the comic book loving Pete? Sigh), but on the whole, it makes the show more interesting than Artie and Claudia’s affectionate sniping.
2. Hello, Wasted Opportunity (1). People, people, people: If you set up a mystery about Myka’s middle initial, giving us the answer at the end of the episode is way too easy. You couldn’t have waited a little bit longer to tell us that it’s “Ophelia”? Although, points for Pete’s pun afterwards.
3. Reunited And It Feels So Good (2). Firefly‘s Jewel Staite and Sean Maher together… again! Now, Warehouse 13 may like its Syfy-target-audience stunt casting quite a bit – Didn’t three of Eureka‘s cast show up last year, along with Battlestar Galactica‘s Saul Tigh? – but as one who had a massive crush on Kaylee, I’m not going to complain too loudly about seeing Staite again, and she and Maher played off well against each other. Hey, Syfy: Come up with a new series that pairs the two of them on a regular basis.
4. Hello, Wasted Opportunity (2). I loved the idea that MacPherson had somehow survived death, and lived on inside Artie’s head, if only because I felt like it redeemed the speedy death of the character last week and maybe offered a possible explanation as to what he was up to all along. If we were supposed to take the end of the episode as closure, I’m pretty disappointed that he only came back to give Artie a watch.
5. Ghosts Can’t Look In The Right Direction, Apparently. Okay, so Roger Rees was obviously doing his scenes somewhere else entirely, surrounded by a green screen so that they could cut and paste him in later, but still: Why did he never manage to look anywhere close to where Artie actually was? Or, for that matter, manage to put any kind of emotion other than “I am doing this for the money” into his readings?
6. Leena Exists To Be A Problem. Seriously: last week, she was the weak link that got possessed in a disappointing retcon of her being evil, and this week she’s… actually, I have no idea what that’s supposed to be. Under psychic attack? Dream outcome: She’s going to be thrown out of her own body and possessed by MacPherson permanently. That way, the actress gets to keep her job, and we might finally get some payoff for that whole plot.
7. That Iron Shadow Isn’t That Legendary. As my wife pointed out, he looked like someone out of Who Wants To Be A Superhero?, and that’s something that no-one connected with Syfy should want people reminded of.
8. Plus, The Iron Shadow Is A Terrible Name. Well, it is. I’m just saying.
9. Hello, Gratuitous Myka In PVC! Yes, yes; “In men, it causes impotence” was a funny line and definitely a way of explaining why it was Myka, and not Pete, who got the supersuit to defuse the Iron Shadow’s powers-gone-wrong, but still: No-one on the show commented on the fact that she had to wear a suit that looked like that? Really? There are times when you can pander too much, people.
10. Didn’t Batman XXX Have A Plot Like This? Talking about pandering, let’s not think too much about an episode where the artifact was someone’s pants, which had to be removed when they became so strong that they couldn’t stop attracting people. Hmm. No, wait. I said I’m not thinking too much about it. Must. Stop.
11. The Easter Eggs Were Strong With This One. As might be expected from an episode written by two former comic book writers, this episode was filled with nerd shout-outs, whether it was the Frenemy Of The State and Scott Pilgrim posters on walls, dialogue shout-outs to Spider-Man, Batman and Doctor Who (“Allons-y!” shouts Claudia, bringing back David Tennant memories), or one of the suspected artifacts being the work of Jack Kirby himself.
12. I Really Want Warehouse 13 To Bring About A Rotary Phone Revival. I can’t help myself! Everytime they use one instead of a keypad to unlock something, I get jealous.
13. Where Were HG Wells And Mrs. Frederick? Okay, I can buy that neither are going to appear in every episode, but neither of them were in this episode? And, maybe it’s just me, but shouldn’t there have been some kind of explanation about why Pete and Myka weren’t out there trying to find Wells, before she causes more steampunk-related mischief? I know, I know; wait until the end of the season. But I’m the kind of person who wants to open his presents the day before, goshdarnit…!
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