Thursday, October 6, 2011

Warehouse 13 makes a "Stand" with "Emily Lake"

    SyFy's Warehouse 13 did a special, two hour season finale this week. The episodes were titled "Emily Lake" and "Stand," and featured a major showdown with Walter Sykes (Anthony Michael Hall, Dead Zone, The Breakfast Club). The team discover that Skyes is going after H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray), and try to beat him to the punch. They do, but Sykes's guys take H.G. from them before they get very far. One of those guys is Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), who is secretly undercover for the Regents. H.G. is living under a different identity, but soon her memory is restored. Sykes kills Jinks, blows up Warehouse 13, and Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder) dies as a result. Only time will tell if Artie (Saul Rubinek) has the power to put things back together.

     "Emily Lake" and "Stand" are the two best episode of Warehouse 13 yet. Abandoning the case of the week format, these two hours concentrate on this season's larger arcs, including a showdown with a major villain. There is some heavy emotional stuff, and some really moving deaths. The stakes are high, and the writers aren't afraid to rain destruction down upon this wonderful world. As such, throwing convention out the window, the series manages to be more exciting and unpredictable than ever before!

     Well, not completely unpredictable. Anyone could see Jinks being a double agent coming from a mile away. It was an obvious move for viewers, so it's a little surprising that Pete (Eddie McClintock), Myka (Joanne Kelly), and especially Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) lose faith in him. In fact, that one part does destroy the credibility a little bit. But perhaps they are just too close to it all to see the bigger picture, so it can be overlooked. Sykes doesn't overlook it though, or he's just a very bad dude. Again, Jinks's death doesn't come out of nowhere, but the rest of the showdown, including the Warehouse being blown up and Mrs. Frederic dying, and completely surprising!

     Moving on from here, it's hard to say where the series will go. As "Stand" ends, Artie holds a watch and says that it might not be too late. Fans of Warehouse 13 may remember that Artie blew up at the end of season one, and an artifact allowed him to survive. Let's hope that this clock will not set everything back to status quo, but may be used to prevent such a total, devastating fall out. Like, the destruction of the Warehouse. Even though morphing into Warehouse 13 would be mighty cool, allowing a new setting and lots of fresh ideas.

     As far as who will stay dead, that's uncertain. Sykes's guy, Marcus (Sasha Roiz, Caprica, Grimm), was able to stay alive through anything, until Claudia stopped his metronome. She intends to use it to bring back Jinks, and she should. Not only will that keep Ashmore around, a welcome addition to the cast, but give Warehouse 13 a character with a very special ability - he cannot die. As long as the metronome stays safely locked in the Warehouse.

     But might Claudia feel pressure to use the artifact instead for Mrs. Frederic? After all, she is a more vital member of the team, as far as hierarchy goes. However, it is also possible that Mrs. Frederic perishes because the Warehouse does, and only stopping that will save her. Or she could be reborn, in the same body or with a different performer, when Warehouse 14 goes into operation. Pounder is fantastic, but a new boss could also be pretty cool.

     Wells proves herself a hero once and for all with a heroic self-sacrifice. Her survival could go either way. A planned spin-off is in the works for her. If said second series takes place in her past, when she was a Warehouse agent, than she can stay dead with no consequence, and fans won't mourn too heavily because they will still get their fix of a terrific character. but should the spin-off take place in the present day, she must be saved somehow. Either way, at least she dies a hero, redeeming her completely.

     Finally, Jane's (Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek: Voyager, NTSF:SD:SUV) ending is very open ended. It certainly seems like something more will happen there, but there aren't any clues as to what. Awesome!

     Warehouse 13 will present a special Christmas episode, likely outside of the current story arcs, like last year, and then will return for season four later in 2012.

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