WAREHOUSE 13: Regrets
September 2, 2009 by Sarah Curtis
Warehouse 13
Happy September, Warehouse 13 fans!
I hope you are doing well. Thanks to all who have been leaving comments these past weeks. Did you like this week’s episode, REGRETS? I have some mixed feelings about it, as I will discuss in detail in a bit, but I also want to know what you think.
Was it just me, or were the two plots of this episode almost completely out of sync? I liked them both, but together…it felt like a mash up. Pete and Myka go to Riverton Penitentiary in Florida, where four inmates have committed suicide within a month, after a two year period of no suicides there. Meanwhile, back at the warehouse, Claudia wants to change a light bulb. And then she gets stuck and it’s up to Artie to get her down.
So while Pete and Myka are dealing with multiple deaths, as well as innermost fears (more on that later), Claudia and Artie are dealing with hijinks. And while Artie’s line “Only put on in the case of stupid?” was funny, and I agree that Venus De Milo’s arms WERE rad, indeed, I always felt jolted around when the plots switched.
But that is all the time I am going to spend on Artie and Claudia, because what I LOVED about the episode was the character development for Pete and Myka, both individually and as partners.
I’m not sure even Pete believed himself when he said, “Maybe this is what Mrs. Frederic meant by endless freaking wonder”, and for sure, he and Myka got a lot more than they bargained for with this artifact (and…help me out here. Did anything from this episode get snagged, bagged, and tagged? The necklace right, but then the Reverend John Hill was wearing it again? Did I miss something?).
But what’s happening is that the quartz surrounding/built into the prison, combined with hurricane effects, are causing its victims to hallucinate, specifically about situations in which another person was killed, presumably at the fault of the victim. Pete hallucinates his dad, Myka, her former partner. The man who died at the beginning of the episode imagines the girl he killed as a drunk driver, and likewise his doctor kills himself over the guilt of his patient. But throughout the whole episode, the underlying theme was: the truth.
There were two main ways in which this theme was portrayed. 1) Religion, and 2) Making your past your past.
From the moment we hear “You killed me, Bunny”, we know that Myka is going to have to deal, FINALLY deal, with what went down in Denver. And Pete is stunned a few moments later when he sees the image of his own deceased father in his full firefighters uniform. What I love about Pete is that he tells the truth. It’s not always nice, or polite, but it’s the truth. So when Myka asks him what he sees, he says he saw his dad. And when Myka later reveals she saw Sam, he’s a bit hurt that she didn’t tell him that.
His line, “I want you to know that you can tell me things” is a turning point for the two of them , in my opinion, and it warmed my friendshippy heart. J
“To feel remorse is to shame God” Reverend Hill tells us, but I’m not sure I agree. I liked that the cross was what disarmed the riots in the prison, but I have to say that “The cruelest prison is the one we build for ourselves out of fear and regret” is a statement I can get behind. I loved how that line was what enabled Pete to break free from the fear and regret he felt over his dad’s death. He also helped Myka face her regret head on and fight it. Their partnership is turning into something special. I wish she’d gone with him to get ice cream, but him knowing her fave flav was just as good.
Like I said before, I want to know what you thought of this episode. Sound off below!
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I really like Warehouse 13. One line from the “Regrets” episode will stick with me, hopefully forever.
“The cruelest prison is the one we build for ourselves out of fear and regret”
I only caught the last half of the show but I’ll definately watch the repeat on Friday.
That line is kind of like Star Wars, Star Trek 5 and Buddhism (and a lot of other stuff) all rolled into one. I’d be real interested to know more about the background of the writer of this episode.
This episode wasn’t my favorite of the series so far, but I about flipped my goard when I saw Miles freakin’ Dyson! I can never remember the actor’s name (because to me he will always be Miles Dyson), but he played the creepy reverend guy. His presence alone helped me to somewhat overlook how absolutely ANNOYING Claudia is. I agree, seeleybaby, that the two plots didn’t sync up this week. The secondary plot was just a way to involve Artie and Claudia. I get that they needed another character to have Artie interact with when Pete and Myka are out in the field, but I don’t think I’ve ever been more annoyed with a television character than I am with Claudia. They’re trying to make her seem all dryly sardonic and witty, like with her “What all the fashionable people are wearing this fall” line about Votla’s lab coat, but I just hate her. As much as I like the show, I’ve contemplated not watching because I detest the character THAT much. I always come back, though! 🙂
As much as I hated Artie and Claudia’s storyline, I loved Pete and Myka’s. The writers are doing a good job of slowly bringing around the backstory of the characters. Pete and Myka both clearly needed a catalyst to begin finally dealing with the misplaced guilt they feel over the death of their loved ones. I’m hoping this experience will allow Myka to really feel safe in confiding in Pete. I’m looking forward to seeing their partnership continue to grow.
I’ve been watching Warehouse 13 since it started, and I’ve really been enjoying it. I am glad to see that GMMR is giving this show a good well-rounded review each week. I started visiting this site after I found their very well done Chuck reviews and I’ve been impressed with the quality ever since.
Well, enough sucking up, I just wanted to comment on the whole Claudia is annoying bit. I guess that I just don’t see her as annoying. In fact I didn’t even really consider that possibility until I read it here on GMMR. I compare Claudia’s character on Warehouse 13 directly to that of Ashoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars (I may really enjoy Chuck and Warehouse 13, but my fan passion will always be for Star Wars). If you haven’t seen the show, Ashoka is the padawan (apprentice) assigned to Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. She often oversteps her bounds, talks back to her mentor, and makes impulsive decisions. Sound familiar?
As with a lot of the reviews of Warehouse 13 saying that Claudia is annoying, there were also a lot of Star Wars fans who considered Ashoka to be annoying at the beginning (myself included). As the first season of the Clone Wars progressed, Ashoka stopped using her annoying nicknames (like Skyguy for Anakin and Artoo-eey for R2D2) and she began to develop into a more complex character and her role in the show progressed accordingly. I guess what I am trying to get at is that perhaps there is a long term goal in mind for Claudia. Remember, this a girl who spent the majority of her youthful years as an orphan searching for her lost brother. It’s only natural to assume that after all those years of repressed teenage social growth, that she is going to be a little different. A real life parallel might be someone who has been home-schooled for their entire life and then goes off to college. Even though that person might be exceptionally bright intellectually, they are more than likely to be a little socially awkward at first.
Well, those are just some thoughts, sorry if they seem to be kind of random. And if you haven’t checked out the Clone Wars and you are a Star Wars movie fan, do yourself a favor and check them out, the writers and directors are truly passionate about preserving the key essence of Star Wars in each episode. Thanks for all the insightful reviews on Warehouse 13, they are the perfect companion for each episode. Any news on when we can expect the Season 1 DVD box set?
And I thought I was the only one that watched this silly show and googled that terrific line! 🙂 Still trying to find out where it comes from…
Great observations, Nick, about the potential long-term growth of Claudia’s character. Star Wars is practically a foreign language to me, but I totally get what you’re saying. What I probably should have said is it’s not just the facts of the character that annoy me–it’s the acting as well. The actress, Allison Scagliotti, comes across as completely one-note. Her acting chops unpleasantly remind me of the actress that played Lily on Privileged (moment of silence for its untimely death…)–everything from her voice to her mannerisms are nails on a chalkboard for me.
Oh, and Silverbeck, your comment inspired me to do a little googling of my own. I think the actual quote from the show is made up, but its very close cousin “The cruelest prison of all is the prison of the mind” was said by Piri Thomas, a writer who was involved in drugs and gangs in Spanish Harlem in the 1940s and 50s before spending years in prison, turning his life around, and becoming a well-known writer and poet.
Fritz! Thanks for the comment. I hope you liked the rest of the epi, too.
Kelly, I agree with you about Claudia. Although, I’m more inclined to feel as if the writer’s have made her ‘one-note’ vs the acting. But we’ll see how that goes. And thanks for your investigative research on the quote!
Silverback, thanks for the comment! Isn’t it nice to know that we all loved that quote?
And Nick, thank you also for your nice comments and thoughts. It’s easy for me as a fan to judge quickly. I don’t want to be unfairly judgemental about characters (or actors), so it’s nice to see a review like yours, to help me keep that in mind. ALSO…I know that the GMMR writers who cover CHUCK would be thrilled to know you like their coverage. I’ve passed on your compliment to them, but if you ever have other comments on other shows, (or if any of you do), you can always scroll to the top of the site and click ‘contact GMMR’, and let GMMR know what you think!. Here’s the link for it, too
https://www.givememyremote.com/remote/contact-gmmr-2/
How well has Warehouse 13 done rating-wise? Will we get S2?
In regards to ‘regrets,’ I was really happy to see a storyline that took place in the warehouse. They need to do more of this. I mean, Venus de Milo’s arms? How cool was that? I think they have been missing an opportunity to make the warehouse itself an important cast member. A couple weeks ago when Pete and Myka were doing inventory they almost had it. Lewis Carroll’s looking glass? AWESOME! We need more of this kind of stuff in the show at least once in awhile. Sang it, bag it, and tag it is fine, but weirdness in the warehouse works for me.
So gratifying to see that I was not the only one searching for the origin of that wonderful quote. I am loving this show, it’s uniqueness, the actors and the warehouse. It’s not perfect, but it’s different and kind of charming. Here’s hoping there’s a season 2! I am the only one that wants to see Leona’s character a bit more developed???
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