WAREHOUSE 13: ‘The New Guy’ Recap

Welcome back, WAREHOUSE 13! It finally feels like summer when WAREHOUSE 13 is back on the air, right? These fall/winter/spring hiatuses are way too long in my book. If you haven’t read Marisa Roffman’s article with Jack Kenny and Aaron Ashmore, be sure to do so. But for now, let’s break down the season premiere!

The episode begins in New Jersey at a Rock & Roll history museum. The building is blocked off because of a potential bomb threat. I expected to see Pete, (possibly even Myka), Claudia and Artie around, but that doesn’t happen at first. As an ATF team prowls the building area, we see one agent hauling a suspect away, and immediately, we’re introduced to the newest character in WH13, Steve Jinks.

Steve can tell the suspect is telling the truth, and his colleagues roll their eyes that once again he can spot when someone is lying. Steve assures them it’s not a “special gift,” but as he’s thinking about it, he spots Pete calmly entering the museum. Intrigued, he follows.

Inside the museum is where we finally meet up with Artie and Claudia (still no Myka), and just as they are getting ready to do some snagging, bagging and tagging, Steve stops them.

Claudia and Artie both sort of hem and haw with false motives, but Jinksy (if Pete & Claudia can call him Jinksy, I’m calling him Jinksy) calls them out as liars each time. It’s only when Artie comes clean about their jobs as secret service agents and declares their doomed fate regarding one of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar strings that Steve realizes Artie is telling the truth. And now that he knows about their work (and presumably will soon know about the Warehouse), Steve must now be dealt with. And THAT is a fantastic way to bring in a new character. Very creative!

Claudia saves the day by playing a face-melter on the guitar, and Pete saves the girl but is completely “unaware” of her intense “gratitude.” Seems he’s all about the job these days.

And please tell me I’m not the only one who saw Steve alone at his apartment later and thought, “Mrs. Frederic better be there.” And she WAS! YESSSS!

Oh, and this is all before the opening credits! Yes, it is indeed good to have WAREHOUSE 13 back!

Back AT the actual Warehouse 13, it seems Pete is having a really hard time coping with Myka’s absence, and he especially is not interested in having a new partner — not at all.

Meanwhile, in Denver, a woman received a letter that, with artifact propensities, makes her act like she’s been bitten by a snake and also like Cleopatra. The pyramid in the ancient archives of the Warehouse starts reacting, and Artie goes to check it out while Pete and Steve head there to investigate the death of their victim. She suffered snakebite, but there’s no evidence of snakes. They run into an FBI agent (played by Ashley Williams), and Pete kind of takes a liking to her, which was fun. Their next victim was a waiter who died from mysterious stab wounds, a la Julius Caesar.

When Steve and Pete put the Shakespearean literary connection together, Pete knew exactly who should help them. He visits Myka at her parents’ bookstore, but she’s resistant to his “charm” and his begging for assistance. When Steve arrives, Myka is more inclined to assist. It’s just not Pete’s week, is it?!

Myka quickly puts the two and two of the cases together and identifies the literary thread as from The Lost Folio, which disappeared over 400 years ago. The original was said to be cursed by an actor who Shakespeare wouldn’t hire. If someone has gotten ahold of it, they could be using it. Myka gets enthusiastic, but Pete cuts her off and says he doesn’t need (read: want) any more of her help. He leaves, and Myka is visibly bummed, and in what might be my official favorite moment of season three so far, Steve stays behind and tells her that for what it’s worth, Pete was lying. I am LOVING Jinksy’s “special gift”!

Later at a hotel, it turns less special when Steve is the killer’s next target, and he’s presented with a picture from the Lost Folio. Pete tries to save his life, but it’s not until Myka runs in and identifies the scene in print and in person that she is able to save Steve. He’s thankful, but Pete is still not interested in having her back on cases. (Despite the fact that he was BEGGING Artie at the beginning of the ep to get her back!)

Over the past two seasons, I’ve been on the fence as far as Pete/Myka as a romantic couple and have always gone more toward the brother/sister vibe. But Jinksy straight up called them out and said they should deal with their unresolved sexual tension. Hmmm…what do you think about that? I’ll admit that the small shared moment between P & M before she drove away was slightly sweet, but I’m still not feeling the heat there. But convince me, if you so choose!

This episode felt strangely “comfortable” in a WH13 kind of way, with Claudia offering Steve cookies when he arrived, with Pete trying to be funny, with the long sweeping shot of the warehouse, and a few other nods to the Pilot episode (including the boomerang football and Mrs. F’s startling appearances). But one thing that surprised me, in a good way, was when HG Wells showed up (via hologram) to talk to Myka at the bookstore, encouraging her to consider going back to the warehouse. Helena tells her that hate can turn to fear, and she doesn’t want her to end up like that.

While I really liked that moment, I’m not sure how I feel about Myka returning to the warehouse so soon. I think we all probably figured it was in the cards, but I was interested to see how it played out with her NOT being there for a few episodes. On the flip side, when the rest of the team welcomed her back, I felt exactly as Artie articulated, “Good. Good…”

He quickly bustled them back to work, and the end shot featured what can only be a criminal mastermind (teamed with Ashley Williams’ FBI Texas drawlin’ character — which was a final WHOA, right?) who is still on the loose.

So what are your thoughts? Are you a fan of Jinksy? Are we looking at a new villain to face off against Pete and Myka? Will there be residual resentment (and possible banked desire) between Pete and Myka? Let’s discuss!!