WAREHOUSE 13: Around The Bend

I don’t know about all of you, but after last week’s preview, I was really looking forward to this episode. Warehouse 13 is best when it aligns the artifacts and casework with good character development. As much as these Season Two episodes have made me laugh, there is still that underlying thread that some of us here on GIVE ME MY REMOTE talked about last season where the writers need to make sure that the characters don’t look too much like goofballs dropped in the middle of nowhere on accident. Pete and Myka ARE (were) top agents after all, and being assigned to the warehouse was a promotion. Not that it’s been a cake walk, as Pete tells his old flame, Kate Logan, played by the gorgeous Tia Carrere.

In this episode, Pete and Myka are visiting a British museum that includes some cool treasures and a walking stick known to cause earthquakes. Later on in the episode, the walking stick comes into play several times, but in a way we’ve never seen before on this show. But first, when Pete and Myka see it about to be swiped from the museum, they take action. Pete is surprised outside of the building when Mrs. Frederic approaches him and insists that he let the perpetrator escape and lie about it.

We can see that lying doesn’t sit well with Pete, and that’s a good thing.

He and Myka are called back to the warehouse immediately, where they (along with Claudia and Artie) are surprised by a visit from Valda, a Regent. What I loved about this part was that I really had no idea if Valda was there because he really was concerned about their work as agents, or if it was just a ploy to get them riled up. And I was constantly trying to read Pete’s body language and Artie’s reactions to see if they were in on it or more or less shocked than anyone else. And what about Mrs. F? Was she working on behalf of the Regents? Perhaps sacrificing Pete for the sake of the cause? Yes, yes, Warehouse 13 fans, this episode certainly brought the intrigue!

It didn’t slow down at all when Pete had a secret mission from Mrs. Frederic. I liked that she reinforced what he said about not keeping secrets from his team. And even though he’d been a prime player so far in the episode, I was surprised to see Valda as Pete’s first mark.

One thing I loved was that when Myka was suspicious of Pete, her mind automatically went to alcohol. Not that I want her to think Pete is drinking or anything; I was just glad in that moment that she didn’t intrinsically think that he was lying to her about the case. And holla, Eddie McClintock’s acting during the ‘intervention’; He was great this entire episode, but that particular scene was awesome. Heck to the yes!

Intrigue doesn’t even begin to describe the intensity of the middle minutes of this episode. I just didn’t have a good feeling about Kate Logan, especially when she had that suspicious ‘decaf’ with Pete, and he followed her back to her bed. But I never could have imagined Myka interrupting them, followed by a foot chase, a sniper-hit and then Myka walking into Kate’s office. Please tell me I am not the only one who was blown away by all of that! And that was just the beginning of the plot twist.

Even 45 minutes into this thing, I wasn’t 100% convinced that Pete was really affected by the artifact (the telegraph machine from the British museum) and was going insane with linear mirage visions. So please forgive my slight dissatisfaction with the ending of the episode. I really don’t want to take anything from it, because I think it was one of the best of the series, but didn’t it feel a little like it was too tightly wrapped up at the end? It was too much of a jolt to just be back at the warehouse, making jokes, right?

Not that I didn’t laugh, several times during this episode, in fact. Pete and Myka still share that brother/sister vibe, and it was very touching to see how she was affected by his affliction. His interactions with Mrs. F were hilarious. And I liked the writer’s move to have Pete not only be affected by an artifact (the telegraph) but to also be the one inflicting an artifact (the earthquake inducing walking stick). But what I loved most was that throughout it all, Pete’s motivation, despite his altered reality, was centered on keeping his team safe. Likewise, they worked very hard to help him get back to the Pete we all know and love.

What did you think of this episode? It’s hard to believe, but we are just about halfway done with this season of Warehouse 13. Say it ain’t so, right? I’m hoping we hear about a season three pick up very soon. Till then, make some noise and be heard in the comments below!