WAREHOUSE 13 Season Finale Recap: ‘Emily Lake/Stand’

Back in July, Marisa gave us an interview with WAREHOUSE 13 showrunner Jack Kenny, and he told us that the season three finale would be “an earth-shattering event for the warehouse” and he said it was the tightest corner (writing-wise) they’d ever written themselves into. All season long, I’ve had that in mind, wondering what it meant and how it was going to play out. As the season progressed, there have been several interesting plot twists — Steve Jinks’ arrival and departure from the warehouse, HG Wells and her holographic appearances, the introduction of several new villains, and the revelation that Pete’s mother is a Regent to name a few. And as the finale grew closer over the past few days, my curiosity grew.  And I must say, Mr. Kenny — well played, well played.

Did you all like this episode? It was two hours long, so there is a lot to discuss! Let’s get to it!

Throughout the series and this season, there has been an underlying darkness when it comes to the warehouse and the loyalty demanded of those who work there. Mrs. Frederic is always quick to point out that the warehouse must be protected at all costs. In this season’s finale, we saw that loyalty questioned a few times. Likewise, Warehouse Regents were to be respected and obeyed, as they had the master plan in mind. Again, in this episode, that was questioned. Jane, Pete’s mother, reveals that the Regents have a plan, but it is not for the rest of the team to know. Myka balks at this, but Pete goes along with his mother — at least until he can show Myka “the Pete cave,” where he’s been trying to hash out Sykes’ strategy.

Marcus Diamond, Sykes’ henchman, and Jinks are with Walter. Jinks wants to know if he can get his old job with the ATF back, if he assists Sykes in getting the Collodi bracelet back. Sykes agrees. Meanwhile, Pete and Myka go against Jane’s orders and travel to Cheyenne, Wyoming. There they run into Helena, aka HG Wells. She is an English teacher, and she is clueless as to who Pete and Myka are. She insists her name is Emily Lake. Pete and Myka confront Jane and Artie about it and find out that the Regents set HG up as Emily as a way to give her a life and make her forget her past life.

But Sykes also knows about Emily Lake, and he is trying to capture her as well. He does so, and tries to pull HG’s memories up using the Janis coin. Pete and Myka try to pull up HG’s hologram, and they succeed. Pete figures that if they destroy the Janis coin, it will prevent Sykes from getting what he wants. HG agrees and is willing to make the sacrifice. Myka and Claudia disagree. Pete says they are in a war — and he states he wants to protect the warehouse for the greater good.

As Pete sets out to destroy the coin, he is stopped when his body is frozen in motion. Marcus is there with Cecil B. DeMille’s riding crop, which controls actions with thoughts. He controls Pete into throwing the rock at Myka’s head. Claudia grabs the coin and runs away and Jinksy chases after her. He reveals to her that he is undercover, by the authority of the Regents.

But when Pete, Myka and Claudia figure out Sykes’ hiding place, they get there in time to see that Walter is gone, and he’s taken Emily Lake with him. Worse…he’s killed Steve Jinks. Claudia cries, but also grows cold emotionally. The three of them try to work together to get revenge, but Walter has Emily and he transforms her back into HG.

At the warehouse, when Artie is sad about Steve, Mrs. Frederic encourages him (sort of), that the warehouse always endures. Artie uses MacPherson’s watch and opens a door portal with it. The team has a bit of luck when Pete reveals he found a “lighter” on Steve’s body, but Claudia knows it’s not one. It’s really a flashdrive — it’s video from Jinks, and he has some information that Sykes is going to Hong Kong, and that there is a small wooden box that seems to control Marcus. Jane arrives and says that Sykes may have found the ancient Regents’ sanctum.

Pete and Myka travel to Hong Kong as Artie and Claudia examine clues, including the eye of Horus once again. The Hong Kong roads on a map form the shape of an eye, and Pete and Myka know they have the right location. Sure enough, Sykes is in the basement of a restaurant, holding Tyler and HG at his will. There is a chess game set up, and in order to enter the sanctum, the chess game must be won. Sykes figures that Helena knows the way to win, since her previous Warehouse 12 caretaker set up the vault. She doesn’t know how to win, and Tyler loses, resulting in his head being split open.

At the warehouse, Claudia confronts Jane and accuses her of not trying to save the world, just trying to fix her mistake in Walter Sykes. Jane denies it, but Claudia isn’t hearing it. She’s still too shaken up from Steve’s death. At the bed and breakfast, Leena is surprised when Marcus startles her. He attacks her, and this alerts Claudia, Artie and Jane. They can see that Leena is in danger, but there isn’t much they can do about it.

While HG saves Myka from the same fate as Tyler, Mrs. Frederic saves Leena from Marcus. He retaliates by shooting a cannon at the warehouse. But Jane’s bracelet creates a force field around it. Nothing can get in or out of the warehouse. There is a portal inside, however, and Sykes manages to get in from the Hong Kong side of the portal. He drags Pete with him, using the manipulative crop. Sykes is after the Collodi bracelet, and once he gets it, he is able to arise from his wheelchair.  The team tries to chase him, but when Jane rushes through the portal to Hong Kong, Pete closes it up just as Sykes is entering–presumably Walter is lost forever.

At the B&B, Marcus pulls a knife on Mrs. Frederic, but Claudia arrives and stops a metronome of sorts. Marcus was kept alive by it, and so when she stops it, he dies. It seems that all danger has been averted, but when the warehouse alarms continue to go off, the team realizes there is still more to fear. Walter had left his wheelchair behind and underneath the seat is a bomb with nuclear artifact-ian properties. Artie, HG, Myka and Pete try to stop the bomb from within the warehouse and Leena, Claudia and Mrs. Frederic try to assist from the bed and breakfast. Mrs. F realizes Claudia still has the metronome. She asks for it back, and Claudia is cold and stubborn, saying she wants it for Steve. I thought that was fascinating. I am not sure if Claudia is going to try to bring Steve back from the dead or not. Thoughts on that? It was more than just young angst on Claudia’s part. She seems to have a particular distaste for the warehouse and the Regents at this point.

As the final minutes of the season began to tick by, HG trapped Artie, Myka and Pete in a bubble version of the warehouse’s barrier. She tells them it’s the only way to protect them from the blast. It’s successful, and she is obliterated…along with the warehouse itself. Pete, Myka and Artie are safe. But, as the warehouse falls to ashes, so does Mrs. Frederic. In an incredible WHOA moment: she died with the warehouse. Wow, wow, wow!

So yes, Jack Kenny! You have indeed written yourself into a corner. Can WAREHOUSE 13 survive without an actual warehouse? Thoughts from you? Did you like the finale? What surprised you most? What moved you emotionally most? Are you optimistic, as Pete, Myka and Artie were still left standing, even with no warehouse, or do you think Sykes has officially won? I guess there’s only one way to find out — tune in next summer for more!