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Molten Lava Fizzles. Review: Warehouse 13 – “Runaway”

Season 4.5, Episode 16

Air date: Monday, June 10, 2013 10/9c on Syfy

Rating ★★★★★

 

You would think a case involving volcanic ash and molten lava would really sizzle but sadly, this episode just fizzles. As Pete (Eddie McClintock), Myka (Joanne Kelly), and surprise, Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore) aka Jinks, head out to an Arkansas state prison to investigate an unusual prison break, no doubt the result of a strange and ancient artifact, Artie (Saul Rubinek) enlists Claudia’s (Allison Scagliotti) help to stop Beethoven’s entire works from ringing in his ears before he goes deaf.

 

Observations:

 

Jinks gets an unexpected surprise when his ex-Liam, a U.S. Marshal shows up to help with the prison break.

The interesting twist in “Runaway” is Jinks going along with Pete and Myka, when normally he would have gone with/partnered up with Claudia. We also get another piece of Jinks’ back story when local U.S. Marshall Liam Napier (guest star Charlie Weber), Jinks’ ex-boyfriend, joins the investigation into the peculiar prison break. Despite this episode being a tad on the boring side, I have to hand it to McClintock for bringing his A game every single time he delivers some of his cheesy lines. I particularly love Pete’s response when Jinks says Liam dumped him: “OK, wait a minute; he dumped you? Why would anyone do that? I mean, look at you—looks, brains, good taste, a deep knowledge of guns and blowing things up—what’s not to love?”  Gosh, Pete, didn’t know you noticed!

 

I immediately pegged the prison break via lava to an artifact from Pompeii, Italy. After all, the city was buried under lava so I simply put 2+2 together. So much more could have been done with this artifact but instead, the convict who uses it is killing people to save his son. What? If you want to teach your son life lessons, killing people with molten lava probably isn’t a good example. Just saying.

 

Claudia helps Artie find the missing piece to the Beethoven clock artifact before he goes deaf

Artie has a slight faux paux in the warehouse and is now the victim of Beethoven’s clock. He only hears Beethoven ringing in his ears and it continuously gets louder and louder. He and Claudia must find the small statue that was sitting on top of the clock in order to save him from becoming permanently deaf a lá Beethoven. While the clock artifact is interesting, it fails to amuse me for long. And the big oaf whose aunt bought the statue is a really poor choice of adversary for the brilliant Claudia. I mean, brains beat brawn any day. Outsmarting someone is always the way to go; it also saves on you breaking a bone.

 

Car jumping in lava filled parking garage sounds pretty damn exciting, right? Sadly, it doesn’t play out well in “Runaway.” I guess I was hoping for more near misses than there actually were. Heightening the fear factor ups the stakes when you are trying to make viewers believe these people are really surrounded by hot, liquid magma.

 

Claudia’s 21st Birthday surprise – singing with Cherie Currie of The Runaways. Score!

Claudia is turning 21 and gets a big surprise from Artie when he invites Cherie Currie of The Runaways to sing on stage at a local dive bar and she, in turn, invites Claudia to join her. Can’t beat that for a 21st birthday, right? And I think Scagliotti loves any excuse in which her character is able to showcase her musical talents both instrumentally and vocally. It’s a quaint little party but I always wonder if the local townsfolk wonder about who our beloved warehouse team really is. I mean, how often are they frequenting the local bars and eateries?

 

Funny lines:

 

Pete to Myka about tagging along with Jinks to avoid Liam: “We’re gonna go toss Barton and Davis’ (the convicts) cells far away from Mr. Hunky Ex.”

 

Jinks: “He’s not that hunky.”

 

Pete: “Oh, he’s hunky, ok. He’s me. I knew I was your type.”

 

Jinks: “Can it get any worse?”

 

I won’t comment on that. At any rate, I didn’t love “Runaway,” but I also didn’t hate it. I think this is more of a filler episode that leaves you wanting a lot more than you get. There isn’t any real set up for future episodes other than the fact that the warehouse is still experiencing tremors. Of course, that can only lead to more artifacts running amok or causing mayhem. Now that’s something I’d love to see!

 

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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, and Saul Rubinek.

Like Warehouse 13 on Facebook.

 

Photos © 2013 Syfy, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. 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.