Okay, quick note, if
you read these regularly but missed the thing last week where there
wasn't a review, some stuff came up, so this week's TV reviews are
all doubled up. The last two weeks of Warehouse 13 have seen lava
assisted prison breaks, old boyfriends, creepy math geniuses, and one
of the cooler ideas for an artifact this whole season, as well as the
most insulting (in the same episode no less!). For the most part,
given my past gripes about the show's slow pace, while its only just
kicked up, I'm still a little more interested than I was at the
beginning of the season, and only more so now that it looks like the
home stretch might actually get us to something.
First up, “Runaway,”
primarily a Jinx story, which we don't get nearly enough of in my
opinion, whereupon a new case forces him to deal with his ex when two
criminals use an artifact to escape from prison and go on the run. I
started liking Jinx the minute the whole gay thing was revealed, not
because I have any particular emotional investment in the representation
of gay people on TV or any preference for it, but because it just
seemed like such a casual screw you to the standard character arc
template where a guy and a girl are paired up, both assumed to be
straight to the point where it doesn't need to be said, and
eventually they end up together. I also like that they've kept up with it
and were willing to do an episode like this, which seemed more real
than anything I've ever seen on other, supposedly more gay-friendly
shows like Glee, steering clear of stereotypes and incorporating
Jinx's human lie detector ability in a clever twist explaining the
end of their relationship.
The B plot was a
little less satisfying, if only because it started off well with a
Claudia and Artie romp but kind of fizzled out pointlessly in the
end. When Artie is infected with a constant stream of Mozart in his
head that threatens to make him go deaf, they go off to find a second
piece of the artifact that hit him. There's really nothing to this
story, and given the events of earlier this season, pairing these two
up together and not doing anything is a wasted opportunity. They've
left hints of Claudia's unease with being around Artie since the
stabbing, but I wish they would either finally hash it out or use the
strain of their friendship for something other than the occasional
reference. Also, the episode ends with Claudia's birthday party,
complete with a self-indulgent, “let's let the actress show us how
she knows how to play guitar” moment which I hate in every show. I
remember when they did this with the lawyer guy on Angel when he
left, and of course whenever they do it, all the other characters
have to marvel at how great the person plays. The whole thing seems
like it should have been saved for a different episode, as here it
feels like there is very little set up for it.
Next up, “What
Matters Most,” overall a much better episode, and one that finally
advances the plot in a way that seems like it might actually stick,
even if it does so in a bit of a hacky way. The main story follows
Pete and Myka on the trail of an artifact in a wealthy suburban gated
community that kills people in a variety of different ways based on
bad things they've done in their past. This is largely a flimsy set
up to give Eddie McClintock an Emmy moment related to his character's
alcoholism, but it works as far as it goes. What doesn't is a last
minute reveal related to Myka, which I won't spoil, except that it
feels completely out of place, so much so that I thought they'd
started the next episode by mistake. It presents an interesting
wrinkle for later on, but its too abrupt for this episode. As is the introduction of someone who I guess will be a recurring villain that relies on casually accepting that the crew of the Warehouse would do something they've never been shown to have done, and that it was all part of some elaborate plan that they would act so out of character.
The B plot is the
one that advances this larger story, as we finally get a glimpse of
the bad guy's plan as Claudia and Artie try to help a homeless kid
afflicted with killer math genius. I mentioned a particularly
insulting artifact, and this one is what I was talking about. It
turns out that a wall street mathematician is using Orville Wright's
goggles to leech off the minds of others to be better at his job,
with the explanation that they, like Orville, steal from those more
talented. Now, I don't know much about the relationship of the Wright
Brothers, but this seems unnecessarily mean to a historical figure.
I'm sure there were more clear cut examples of intellectual theft
they could have used. By contrast, the human face mask made of salt
from Sodom and Gomorrah was awesome, even if the motives of the
person using it seemed a little silly.
There are only three
episodes left in this season, and Wikipedia tells me that Anthony
Stewart Head of Buffy The Vampire Slayer fame is in at least three of
them this season as a major character, along with Polly Walker, the
villainess introduced in the premiere, who is slated for five and has
only been in two. My point is, clearly they've got to have some
action packed stuff planned for the rest of this batch of episodes.
That they decided to save all the story development for the last
three seems a little strange in my opinion, especially in the wake of
the much more interesting Brother Adrian story line last year, but at
least this is progress, or the promise of it. I can't in good
consciences give up on a show so soon before its gone for good, and
its getting incrementally better with each episode, so here's hoping
we go out with a bang.
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