I understand that there is a big to-do with Myka leaving and coming back, but to make the whole episode with her as narrative was incongruous to how the rest of the episodes have always been done. A for attempting new stunts with narration, C- for execution. Especially when I think about how Supernatural has done the same thing and pulled it off fantastically. First with Chuck, the prophet, as narrator to Season 6 finale and then with Castiel in Season 7. I mean Castiel breaking the fourth wall (or is that the third wall because he looks at the camera but doesn’t acknowledge that he is on a t.v. show?) was just chillingly beautiful. Myka’s reflective narrative seemed out of place as it is only the second episode of the season. Myka and Pete go off to solve one case, while Jinx and Claudia hunt down a soon to be auctioned artifact. I like the dynamic of Jinks and Claudia who is on top form, Myka and Pete seem stilted, but they would be after Myka leaving. So I’ll let it pass as really good acting and hope that the gang gets back into the grove shortly. All in a all a fine Warehouse 13 episode of artifact gathering and mishap, with a dose of relationship mishap thrown in as well.
The episode opens with a pilot being attacked by a case of the nerves, quite literally. Some nerve lines attack his eyes and he leaves the cockpit all confused. Myka’s narration begins about innocent objects causing destruction. And something is up with her hair or make up, because something is throwing me off. OH EM GEE. They took away the curl!! Tsk. Anyway, Myka says that she left because, “Life or death all the time, was too much.” But she is back because she was told that she can’t walk away from her truth. Myka wonders if she is ready, because the world is a scary place. She heads down to breakfast and is upset there is no chair for her at the table, then poof, Leena arrives with a chair and all is better. Artie hands out the pilot case to Pete and Myka who fly despite Pete’s reservations about airplanes. Myka tries to bring up her leaving, telling Pete he can say whatever he wants. “Mikes, we’re double rainbows all the way.” Pete tells her.
Screen Still from the episode
Claudia and Jinx are handed a case to retrieve an artifact up for bid, the knife of Typhoid Mary. Claudia does her happy dance because she is senior agent on the case, and Jinx is annoyed because he thinks going to an auction will be boring. Oh Jinks. You haven’t learned that saying something is going to be boring is a sure fire way for writers of t.v. shows to make sure that you get more than you bargained for. Artie is heading to the funeral of a reagent killed in a boating accident. Claudia dubs him Jinksy and the two of them head off. Pete and Myka head to the hospital to check on the Pilot, who keeps regressing. Currently he thinks he is five. His memory is slipping away. End Scene. Suddenly, we are in surgery and the surgeon gets attacked by the purple nerves and leaves the surgery.
At the auction Claudia gets into the auction scene while Jinks wants to have more excitement by going after bad guys. “Well, we don’t go after bad guys.” Claudia explains, “We go after artifacts.” Claudia inappropriately gets excited about winning the auction and decides that Jinks new nickname will be Poopy Pants. He prefers Jinksy. But when Claudia and Jinx go to pick up the artifact it has been stolen. Meanwhile, Myka and Pete are back at the hospital checking out the surgeon who has similar symptoms as the pilot, though she hasn’t regressed as far. There seems to be no connection between the two of them. Myka and Pete have awkward moment, Myka hoping that he talks to her.
Claudia and Jinks are now hunting down the missing artifact and discover that the janitor quit that morning even though he only worked there a week. Claudia and Jinks head out to investigate this suspicious work ethic. Leena and Myka talk over the Farnsworth start to talk about Pete’s attitude when he shows up and disrupts their conversation. Pete finds out that the pilot and surgeon both ate at the same place the night one of the waitresses was killed. Myka tries to get Pete to open up to her, and he makes a joke instead. Typical Pete. “May the Floss be with you always.” Pete goes to question the wait staff and finds out that several of the customers are being called to testify on behalf of the defendant who police think murdered the waitress. The surgeon and the pilot were set to testify. Myka informs Pete that the pilot has completely lost all his memories, and is forgetting how to breathe. They must solve the case fast. When do they ever have time to solve a case? It’s the end of the world, all over again scenario. Which I am a fan of, but I don’t need it pointed out to me every episode.
Claudia and Jinks are on a stake out of the janitor’s apartment. Claudia is nervous and Jinks tries to talk to her about centering herself. Which Claudia mistakes as a come on, and Jinks assures her he wasn’t hitting on her because he is gay.Awkward Claudia turns into awkward way to come out to a co-worker. Good for Jinksy that he came out, but seriously not getting the gay vibe. Maybe we need a make-out scene? ::Shrug:: 😀 Claudia and Jinks decide not to talk about it. Awkwardness resumes. Pete goes and talks to the defendant Jeffrey asking why his witnesses are getting sick. The lawyer gets all in Pete’s face about how the witnesses are getting tampered with. And that Pete should protect Eric, Jeffrey’s friend that Jeffrey drove home from the restaurant. Jeffrey claims he got home late and didn’t want to wake his pregnant girlfriend so crawled in bed without waking her. Myka goes and talks to the mother of the waitress. The mother assures Myka that she has not done anything to tamper with the defenses witness because that would be vengeance, and she wants justice. A television reporter shows up for an interview. The Reporter is up in arms that Jeffrey is definitely the killer. I’m guessing Jeffrey is definitely NOT the killer.
Claudia and Jinks are still sitting in awkward silence when Jinks talks to Claudia about how she puts too much pressure on herself. Claudia expresses her fears of not being a “real agent” because she hasn’t been trained. Jinks says, you want to impress Artie? Claudia says she can’t let Artie down. Jinks points out that Artie would not have sent her out in the field if Artie didn’t trust here. Claudia lets slip that she was in an institution when they both see the Janitor. He sprays mace at Jinks and takes off. Claudia runs after him, and they both run into Artie. Both Artie and the Janitor touch Typhoid Mary’s knife and the Janitor’s bad knee problems are transferred to Artie. The Janitor gets away. Artie makes up excuses why he is there. Claudia is mad because she thinks that Artie is spying on her.
Myka and Pete track down Jeffrey’s friend Eric and speak with his mother. Eric too has fallen prey to the regressive memory thing. He really wants to play with Jeffie! Eric is the third victim. Myka suspects the reporter. Eric’s mom says that the reporter has talked to everyone involved in the case. As Myka and Pete walk down the hospital corridors Pete is attacked by the purple nerve stuff and falls victim to the regressive virus thing. He keeps telling Myka she is hot. Aw Pete, how we love your fifteen year old self. This kind of reminds me of the How I Met Your Mother episode word “Revertigo” that people revert back to their former selves when place in situations or around people that they grew up with. Myka assures a bed ridden Pete that he is going to be alright. But he disagrees. Because he is stuck back to the time right after his dad died, and his dad will never be coming home. And his mother buries herself in her work so she doesn’t have to think about it. Myka reminds him of his sister, but Pete is worried because his sister will leave for college soon. Pete says, “Everybody keeps leaving me.” ::Sadface::
Finally Myka realizes what has been going on with Pete. Finally. Thinking the reporter is to blame Myka storms the castle, well the t.v. station and confronts the reporter who falls prey to the purple nerve attack. She regresses also. Artie, Jinks, and Claudia are trying to find the Janitor, again. Claudia is upset. Artie says that he didn’t come to spy on her, but that he wanted to see her in action on her first case as non-apprentice. He tells here that he is proud of her. Claudia finds out where the Janitor is and why he must want the artifact. Artie decides to leave, because he trusts Claudia. Myka goes and talks to Jeffrey to figure out how everyone is connected, because not it is not just the defense witnesses. Jeffrey has no clue, except for that he gives Myka an avenue of investigation when he tells her that when his lawyer stood up to the reporter, the reporter backed down.
Claudia and Jinks also find themselves at a hospital. The Janitor uses the knife on his son (who is father to the Janitor’s grandson). The Janitor’s son is dying of leukemia. Now the Janitor will die of leukemia, and his son will live a healthy life. The janitor asks if they are going to arrest him. No, says Jinks, We don’t go after bad guys we go after artifacts. Collective “Aww.” The son miraculously wakes up. Claudia and Jinks watch outside the hospital room as the Dad and Son have a moment. Claudia grabs Jinks hand and they have a moment.
Myka goes and tracks down the confrontation between the Reporter and the Lawyer, and the Lawyer puts her in her place. Myka notices that the Lawyer is wearing a strange-looking tie clip. She wonders who wears a tie clip anymore. Um. Myka. Lawyers do. Take my word for it. Really not that unusual. Myka realizes that everyone affected was questioned by the Lawyer. So Myka heads off to get the tie clip away from the Lawyer who explains that the tie clip was left as a gift about a week earlier with no note. Myka takes the tie clip which has the initials W.W. on it. Myka and Leena figure out who the tie clip belonged to, a Walter Winchell. Myka and Leen do some research and discover that not only does he wear the tie clip in every picture but he wears cuff links that match in every picture. Myka hypothesis that the cuff links put the memories back in because Walter Winchell didn’t leave behind regressed bodies. Leena discovered that one of Winchell’s colleagues had a daughter, who just so happens to be the mother of Eric, Jeffrey’s friend.
W.C. Fields and Walter Winchell 1937
By NBC Radio (eBay item photo front photo back) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Myka goes back to confront Eric’s mother and get the cuff links back. Eric is not in the hospital, his mother checked him out after a miraculous recovery. Myka goes to track them down, and Pete stops her, he gets upset that she is leaving without him. She promises to come back. He gets more sadfaced. Myka head to the mother’s house and tells her to hand over the cuff links Eric’s mom threatens to wash them down the drain with the garbage disposal whirring. Eric’s mother knows that Jeffrey didn’t kill the waitress. Eric appears, he wants to stop this charade, especially as he didn’t know that other people were getting hurt. His mother assures Myka the death of the waitress was an accident. Everything gets really tense and then Myka shoots the garbage disposal outlet and it stops whirring. Eric hands the cuff links to Myka.
Myka cures Pete, and while they are sitting there says she realized that she needs to say something and not wait for Pete to say something. She apologizes that she left their partnership without telling him. That she should have talked things over with him. The Reporter interviews the Laywer and this time is all happy his client is going free. Very unnecessary scene. Myka begins to narrate again, how the world is scary and can hurt. But the world also has warmth, and soft songs that play while we go about our lives apparently. Or at least while telling the story to the Reagents. It all becomes clear now, the reason for the narration. Myka has been explaining to the reagents why she feels she is fit to be a warehouse agent again. The reagents reassure Myka they think she is ready, they just wanted her to know that she was ready for herself. Myka assures she knows that she is ready. “I just nailed a one inch light switch from 20 feet away. Yah, I’m okay.” Yah you are. I have to say, that shot was pretty awesome. Way to go Myka! Never narrate again.
So, I get the purpose of the narration, I just didn’t feel it fit the feel of the show over all. I like when shows try new things, so I will give them that. I like Jinks and Claudia and I think it will be fun to watch them stumble around finding artifacts together. I think Pete and Myka are adorable and hope that the air is now finally cleared. All in all a good heart warming episode. Now, let’s go fight bad guys. In spite of Claudia’s assertion to the contrary. I like how Myka acknowledges that Pete is an extraordinary partner, and then goes, “Don’t tell him I said that.” 😀 So Myka.
Absurdly Nerdly 