WAREHOUSE 13: Beyond Our Control

Eddie McClintock once mentioned that WAREHOUSE 13 is a show that is right for right now. I agree with him. People want to laugh and escape a bit, and I think season two of Warehouse 13 has been perfectly eccentric and fun.

In a world where even the local news meshes tragedies with pop culture scandals, it’s great to be able to tune our Farnsworths one hour a week and enjoy the company of Pete, Myka, Artie, Claudia, Leena and Mrs. F.

This episode, “Beyond Our Control”, was another great blend of intrigue (How the heck did that same guy from different time periods keep showing up in town?), character development (potential romantic interest for Claudia, anyone?), and fun (“Are you hit?!” “No, but I think my underwear are shot…”).

The episode begins in 1944 on an Army Proving Ground in Wichita. A warehouse 13 agent arrives and states he has full authority of the Secret Service to shut down the Gemini Project and the Philo Farnsworth (inventor of those fun walkie-talkies the team has) demonstration about to occur. But before he can enter the building, it explodes.

Later we see Leena and Mrs. F at the bed and breakfast. Leena had told her that she was having issues from her time as MacPherson’s involuntary virtual lackey. Mrs. F has brought in a few of the Regents to assist her in helping Leena. That entire plot line was interesting to me, as it showed that Mrs. F has a strong tie to Leena that the other Regents do not feel. At least, if they do feel it, they feel stronger about ‘the cause’ than her single life. I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say that maybe Leena is the daughter of MacPherson and Mrs. Frederic. What do you think? Is that totally crazy? Is there any other way to interpret that Leena has what was described as echoes or grooves of him inside of her? Interesting!

Meanwhile, Pete & Myka are once again attempting to get Pete’s things from the US Postal Service, but due to budget cuts, their office is closed, and Pete doesn’t have any luck. He and Myka are beginning to notice a trend; no one really likes them much! Of course, this is explained further when Artie reveals that their cover (and an alleged reason for the warehouse in the town) is that they are IRS agents. So Pete, Myka and Claudia have to interrogate the Univille citizens under the guise of auditing them. This works…actually, not well at all. Pete’s main problem is the pretty and annoyed local veterinarian Kelly Hernandez. Kelly confesses to having seen three WWII era Marines. That arouses Myka and Pete’s curiosity, but in a job where crazy is the norm, they roll with it and ask more questions.

As they walk down the street and hash out what they know now, Claudia (who’s attempts to modernize the Farnsworths, to Artie’s displeasure, resulted in them malfunctioning) is in a hardware store, somewhat crushing on the new clerk there, Todd. He was cute in a “works in a hardware store and would be Claudia’s type” kind of way, didn’t you think? But when she steps outside, she is almost run down by a horse-riding Wild West mirage. Pete and Myka are then caught in a showdown, and though the bullets seem real, when it’s over, the images are gone and the only casualty is Pete’s boxers, as we mentioned before.

After that, a tiger and a gladiator, and then a detective. Pete begins to recognize the lines the main character is using from old movies he liked, and realizes it’s all the same actor. Raymond St. James is the actor, and Pete figures out that somewhere, somehow, his movies are being played in chronological order. This means that the final film, featuring “Dr. Doomsday” is next. The plot of that film? To blow up an entire town, of course! It’s up to the team to determine how to stop that film from reaching the end. To do that, however, Artie and Claudia have to figure out where the missing ‘186’ artifact is. They narrow it down to the post office, but when the box has been opened, Pete and Myka remember the disgruntled employee from before and they arrive at her home, taking back the projector. Artie, Claudia, Pete and Myka then work together to change the wavelengths between the projectors to stop the film before Dr. Doomsday blows up the town.

I liked the Pete and Kelly chemistry, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her character. Pete is charming and funny, if not a little immature sometimes, so it would be interesting to see how he might kind of react to a real relationship.

It would also be interesting to see how Myka might react to that. With their partnership going so well, we haven’t really seen much in the way of her character growing. Not that I want her to experience trouble or a lot of angst, I just hope that in the next few episodes, we can see more of her character. It was cool that she was able to save the day and know how to assemble the projector backward, and I did like the way she teased Claudia about Todd. I definitely laughed out loud when in the midst of the entire team trying to figure out how to stop Dr. Doomsday, she turned to Todd and said, “Who IS this guy?!?” As for the Claudia and Artie bickering back and forth, I could do with less, but the fact that the snarky behavior is based in affection between the two makes it more bearable.

What do you think? Did you have a favorite line or moment? What about Pete and Kelly? Claudia and Todd? Is Warehouse 13 still a show you are tuning in for week after week? Let us know why below!