Jumping right into the crazy, this week Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) were literally sent to prison to find out why so many inmates were committing suicide. In a nice twist, the mystery of the week actually did not involve an artifact per se, but rather ended up being the quartz from which the prison was built. Thus, a benign artifact was simply needed to neutralize the effect of quartz – which turned out to be a cross. It was a total switch from what we have been trained to watch for.
So it was not really a story focused on what was causing the problem, but rather in dealing with the hallucinations that the quartz invoked. For when the quartz mingled with a storm it acted like a lightening rod and the electrical charge had an amped up effect that brought out hallucinations of people’s greatest fears. As Pete nicely summed it up, “The entire building acts like one gigantic tuning fork and Mother Nature is just banging away.”
Unfortunately, for Pete and Myka, they were not exempt from the fear-induced hallucinations and Pete was confronted the ghost of his father and Myka had to deal with Sam, her ex-partner and lover. Forced to relive the worst days of their lives, and subsequently their worst nightmares, it was a struggle to retain their sanity and to face their fears. But Pete withstood the challenge understanding that his father’s death was not something he could have prevented. Myka struggled harder against the insinuations and, after a guilt-ridden confrontation with the ghost of Sam, she too ultimately conquered her fear. It is an astute observation that resonated throughout the episode, that “the cruelest prison is the one we build out of fear and regret.”
Shadowing their journey was the Reverend John Hill (Joe Morton of ‘Eureka’), the self-proclaimed messiah of Riverton Penitentiary. His message was simple, “Some demand that we consume ourselves with remorse for our supposed sin. Ouroboros reminds us to transcend the cycle and walk the path of enlightenment – no remorse. To feel remorse is to shame God.” But, while the Reverend was remorseless, he was also purposeless. He had nothing left to learn or gain as he had abandoned his burden. Thus, for him, there was but one thing left in his life: he wanted to have his sins washed away by sacrifice. He felt that “man cannot be saved from sacrifice” and that it was finally his turn. As he lay dying, he did not want his mortal body to be saved, for he felt that “he’s chosen me for sacrifice.” This was the purpose he so desperately craved. He wanted his life to have had meaning.
What Worked
In a nice comedic counter-balance to Pete and Myka and all the heavy theoretical stuff, Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) and Artie (Saul Rubinek) were having adventures of another kind at the Warehouse. In a seriously impaired brain-storm, Claudia took it upon herself to change a light bulb. Addressing the age-old question of “how many geniuses does it take to change a light bulb?” We watched two geniuses try to figure that out when Claudia decided to try using Alessandro Volta’s magnetized lab coat, mittens and goggles to play Spiderman and climb up a steel beam. Alas, her glee-filled foray into the super-power world was short-lived as she discovered the downside of such an ability. For what one never sees in the “X-Men” films is that being Magneto has its drawbacks, such as everything metal may just come flying right at you if you send out too strong of a magnetic-signal and you could get stuck three stories above ground if your magnetized mittens do not un-stick.
Thus, it was priceless when Claudia said, “Just bottom line this for me,” and Artie responded, “Worst case scenario . . . the entire warehouse buckles in on us crushing us to death.” Claudia rapidly backpedaled by saying, “Okay, yeah, I’ve changed my mind, sugarcoat it.”
Another fun quotation of the night was Pete observing, “Maybe this is what Mrs. Frederic meant by endless freaking wonder.” Surely, she did not mean all the freaky, horrible stuff that gets thrown at them each week — but perhaps in her mind, all of that stuff is freaking wonderful.
In a nice touch of sentimental support, it was nice to have Pete reach out to hug Myka after she managed to regain her control and banish the ghost of Sam. It felt like a moment of genuine concern and warmth which added to the realism of her difficult ordeal. There was nothing comedic or awkward about it. It also felt good to see Myka finally toss that blasted investigative report into the fire at the end. Let the past remain in the past, dead and buried.
What Didn’t Work
It would have been nice to further explore the meaning behind the Ouroboros philosophy that Reverend Hill espoused. With the foreshadowing of “The Path” manuscript, one would have thought there would have been more to explore with that part of the storyline.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
‘Regrets’ was written by Tamara Becher and directed by Michael Watkins. ‘Warehouse 13’ stars Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek, Genelle Williams and Allison Scagliotti. ‘Warehouse 13’ airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Syfy.
