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“…an evil of your own making…” Review: Warehouse 13, S4 “A New Hope”

Review: Warehouse 13, S4, Ep 401 – “A New Hope”

Air date: Monday, July 23, 2012 9/8c on Syfy

Rating ★★★★★

Warehouse 13 is one of my many favorite shows and it’s on one of my all-time favorite channels. I have been patiently (ok, impatiently) waiting for the return of the show and it’s finally here!

When last we left our beloved artifact-finding gang, they’d lost a few members – Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray), and Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder). Along with them, the warehouse also perished. But as Saul Rubinek, who plays the slightly neurotic, albeit charming, leader Artie, said in an interview at Comic-Con, “It’s not called giant crater in the ground 13.”

After Claudia is trapped inside the wall, (l-r) Pete (Eddie McClintock), Artie (Saul Rubinek) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) must continue to Italy without her

The ever present but seemingly benign antique gold watch Artie has on him at all times is a means to getting the warehouse back, but at what cost? So now it’s up to Artie, Pete (Eddie McClintock), Myka (Joanne Kelly) and Claudia (Allison Scagliotti), along with help of Leena (Genelle Williams) to go on a world-wide mission to find a way to save the warehouse. However, they encounter many obstacles along the way, including a secret brotherhood and an irate restaurant owner. I loved that the writers made this a complicated and sometimes complex mission. It would have been too simplistic had they found the warehouse restoring artifact in their own backyard or heck, even in the United States. To really up the ante – the team had to search for the artifact under a confined time limit. I really enjoyed the intensity of the globe hopping, time crunch, artifact hunt.

Who knew the warehouse was so powerful? The conversation below highlights the global devastation in the aftermath of the warehouse being destroyed. The chaos is so much so even Lester Holt (NBC Nightly News, Dateline) and Ed Shultz (The Ed Shultz Show) are reporting on the strange behavior taking place around the world.

Myka: “And in the bottom of Pandora’s Box, all that remained was hope.”

Claudia: “So when the warehouse was destroyed…”

Artie: “The world lost hope.”

Was the warehouse truly the remnants of Pandora’s Box? These little nuances in the story telling are what make Warehouse 13 so fascinating to me. I love how they mix history into the stories of the artifacts they find. In “A New Hope,” they use Ghandi’s dhoti to help defuse the hatred Walter Sykes (Anthony Michael Hall) imbued into the bomb that destroyed the warehouse in the first place. Yes, the warehouse gets restored, but will it be the same old warehouse as before? I’m not so sure.

Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) finds something hidden in the wall and Artie (Saul Rubinek) realizes its an astrolabe

The gold watch is the key to finding an artifact that will ultimately bring back the warehouse. The watch contains black diamonds along with the name “Barbosa” engraved; these clues lead the gang to several locations, including Richerenches, France and Rome, Italy. I love Pete’s response to Claudia’s comment after she realizes their search isn’t going to be local.

Claudia: “Oh, ok, so we have 23 hours to find this…whatever the hell it is and it’s anywhere in the world?”
Pete (Eddie McClintock): “I like beavers; I’ll take Canada.”

I still have to laugh out loud when I hear it again. The show mixes in this kind of goofy humor with science, English literature, science fiction, history, and a touch of drama, and that’s what makes it so much fun to watch! And, of course, the cast has such great chemistry together. I will say, during the round table press interviews at Comic-Con, McClintock was a riot. The things that flew out of his mouth were hysterical! During the panel he kept saying, “nipple rubs,” and when they were talking about the season three “Emily Lake” episode, he called it, “Welcome to Estrogen 13.” Haha!

Brent Spiner as Brother Adrian.

As Pete, Myka, Artie, and Claudia globe trot to France and Rome, they encounter a few more diversions before they can complete their mission. The mysterious leader of the brotherhood, Brother Adrian (guest star Brent Spiner), gives a dire warning to Artie about using the artifact to restore the warehouse, “If you do this, you can tell no one. Anyone you tell of your actions will be in grave danger…If you use the astrolabe, you will create an evil of your own making; an evil that will live with you the rest of your days.” Now that doesn’t sound ominous at all, right? I am not quite sure what to make of Brother Adrian. Is he good or is he bad? It does seem like he has his own agenda so I’m anxious to see how it all plays out. I wonder if he’ll remember himself dying before Artie used the astrolabe.

After battling the cryptic brotherhood and much bloodshed, Artie manages to restore the last 23 hours, putting him back into the warehouse moments before the bomb goes off. Of course, his knowledge of certain things raises eyebrows for everyone, including the very much alive Mrs. Frederic. It’s so nice to see her not so shriveled up. But Jinks was killed prior to the warehouse being blown to smithereens. And when Claudia slips out in the middle of the night, I think we all know where she’s going. She wants to use the metronome artifact to bring Jinks back. But now with this new “evil” that looms over the warehouse, is it safe to use the artifacts, even if it’s with good intentions? As stated in the movie, The Pet Cemetery, based on Stephen King’s book, “Sometimes dead is better.” What if she uses the metronome and it’s a little off because of what’s happened with the warehouse and Jinks comes back all wonky? I shudder to think.

And Artie having that nightmare about Claudia stabbing him…could that be the “evil of your own making” that the brotherhood leader spoke of? I can’t wait to find out.

Tune in to Warehouse 13, Mondays at 9/8c only on Syfy.

For more on the show, go to http://www.syfy.com/warehouse13/

Follow on Twitter: @Warehouse13

Follow these cast members on Twitter: Eddie McClintock, Allison Scagliotti, Saul Rubinek

Like Warehouse 13 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warehouse13

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Photos © 2012 Syfy, a Division of NBC Universal. All Rights Reserved.

 

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.