Well, that didn’t end the way I was expecting. “Reset” might not have lived up to its title – I’m not even sure what, exactly, the title refers to (HG wanting to reset the world with another ice age?) – but it did provide a surprisingly satisfying conclusion to the season. Here’re 13 thoughts about the final episode of Warehouse 13′s second season:
1. If You Quit, Myka, Then The Terrorists Have Won! Okay, so Myka didn’t really leave at the end of the episode, right? I mean, the start of the third season will see her being brought back into the fold somehow, right? Right? Even though I expect that to be the case, there was something weirdly affecting about her quitting, and the manner in which it happened. Even though, just one scene earlier when Myka was comforting Pete, I was thinking how much I enjoyed their relationship, I’m almost wishing that Myka stays gone for some time, just to have her leaving mean something more than a season finale cliffhanger.
2. All You People Need To Go To Disneyworld Or Something. Maybe it’s because I’m a sap, but one of the reasons I’m glad that Myka is leaving, at least temporarily, is because she called the Warehouse her “happiest place on Earth.” Sure, she was mirroring Pete’s earlier phone call with Kelly, but also underlining the point made last week during the heart’s desire fantasy sequence: Myka has no life outside of work. Here’s hoping she finds one in the six months or so before the next season starts.
3. Goodbye, Pete’s Happiest Place On Earth. I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised by watching Kelly leave, although I admit that I’m surprised that it was her decision, and not Pete deciding that he couldn’t put her in harm’s way (As soon as the compact appeared, I started expecting that scene before the end of the episode). Still, at least we saw her go temporarily insane before she went. Between Todd and Kelly, should we begin to suspect that Warehouse agents meet such sad ends because none of their relationships work out?
4. I Knew HG Wells Wasn’t To Be Trusted. It’s not exactly something I should be proud of, I know, but you should’ve heard the “I knew it!” in my head when it was revealed that HG only wanted to visit Christina’s grave so that she could retrieve part of the Minoan Trident, and my glee at finding out that her plan was less “Save the world” than “Kill all of humanity” was, I admit, pretty vast. True, it’s not as if her turning good was ever really given enough time to feel real, but nonetheless: She was much, much more fun as a bad guy than someone who’d work within the Warehouse’s confines. Plus, who doesn’t want a bad guy who longs to destroy the world?
5. Wait, Was That MacPherson’s Plan Actually Explained Really Quickly In Passing? You might have missed it – or I might be misunderstanding – but did Artie very, very quickly hypothesize that MacPherson debronzed HG so that she could reveal where she’d hidden the parts of the Minoan Trident, which he planned to sell to the highest bidder? It’s not much of a plan, but it’ll probably be the only explanation for the start of this season we’ll ever get, so I’ll take it. And just when I’d given up all hope of ever finding out, too…
6. Also In The Blink Your Ears (?) And You May Have Missed It Files… The Minoan Trident was the very first artifect ever? I couldn’t work out if the 15th Century BC date was intended for the Trident or for Warehouse 1 itself, but still. Hmm.
7. In The Midst Of Victory, Failure. Yes, the Daedalus Wings are cool in theory, but those special effects were really, really not very good at all. And Artie just managing to be in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time? There’s stretching credibility, and there’s pulling credibility so far that it snaps back into your face and leaves a mark. I mean, seriously, people.
8. Let Me Take You On A Magic Carpet Ride. I was right there with Pete, expecting there to be a magic carpet somewhere in Warehouse 2. Can we have a magic carpet in the next season, please? Think of the airfare it’d save the Warehouse.
9. Hard. Core. Is it just me, or does anyone else get the impression that Artie isn’t quite as cuddly as he sometimes seems? Despite the “My aim hasn’t improved” self-depreciation later – in front of Claudia, note, for whom Artie is essentially her father – there was something surprisingly badass about his attitude towards shooting HG: “I don’t normally do this.” As we saw earlier this season, he’s also a pretty good MacGyver when needs be, and he has that shady “swapping secrets with the Russians” past, too. Hmmm. Maybe he’s the next character we should worry about going bad.
10. Where Is HG Now? On the one hand, her ultimate fate being left open to question – and implied to be worse than bronzing – leaves the door open for the character’s return at some point in the future, but on the other, watching her getting led off by… federal agents, I guess? Super Secret Warehouse Security? felt more than a little anti-climactic. Couldn’t she have died an ironic death after deciding that she didn’t want to destroy the world or something, instead?
11. Okay, Now You’re Just Messing With Me. “I can’t even buy a wine cooler in this state!” says Claudia, which makes her… younger than 21, I presume. If the next season of the series doesn’t have an episode where someone comes right out and just tells us Claudia’s age for the love of God, I give up.
12. And The Moral Of This Season Is… Paranoia is okay sometimes? I thought we were given a great explanation of why Artie was so distrustful of HG back when it was implied that it was transferred MacPherson issues, but the “She didn’t fool Artie” line from Myka, while completely in line for her character arc, still stuck out for me: Artie’s paranoid dislike of HG was okay because HG turned out to be evil after all? Is that what we’re supposed to take from this year?
13. Come Back Soon, Warehouse. Overall, this felt a little more uneven than the first year, but the highs were higher, even if it occasionally took some ridiculous plotting to get there (Hello, Todd. And mindcontrolled Leena. And Mrs. Frederick the psychic Warehouse caretaker). The mythology of the show managed to quietly take center stage, and the season finished leaving a stage set for something great next year. Here’s to living up to expectations next time out.
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