Warehouse 13 has a cluttered Chekhov’s closet, but good character development makes up for it.
Warehouse 13 continues its “A-to-Z” organization arc with this week’s adventure. “Insatiable” also presents a potential problem with the series. It doesn’t hinder the episode, but it may cause some occasional awkward storytelling moments down the line.
In any case, this week’s story has Myka (Joanne Kelly) and Pete (Eddie McClintock) trying to track down a “zombifying” artifact while Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) deals with her emotional issues by surviving “Final Destination” moments. Fate’s got it out for our loveable redhead. Does she survive? Well, this is a whimsical show.
Warehouse 13 handles the whole “zombie” twist in a surprisingly innovative way. The episode makes you think, “oh they are going to stop a zombie apocalypse,” when they really are just stopping some variation of freezer-burn that gives you cannibalistic munchies. Not only is this idea somewhat inventive, it also provides us with an interesting role-switch between Myka and Pete. Pete shows visible weakness and Myka (the strong character this time around) still ends up with a zombie infection. It’s a refreshing twist to see the character with big pecs panic for his life. The only downside is that classic zombies actually do make sense in the world of Warehouse 13. The show tries desperately to play with zombie tropes and it sometimes feels forced.
Another facet that complicates this episode, and series in general, is the artifacts in general. The scene where Claudia receives her first warning from the fortune telling machine feels convenient when juxtaposed against her complaining about life. I can understand this creative choice; the close encounters made her realize that her problems are a matter of perspective. However, it all feels a little to “god in the machine.” There are so many artifacts in this “Chekhov’s closet” that one wonders how the writers balances using all of them. How do you juggle things with strange power? It isn’t like the X-men where you can just change the roster.
These items are stored for a lifetime. Everything seems convenient. Again, this episode avoids those pitfalls by focusing on the drama of Claudia, but the potential is there. I hope the writers consider it. The trials presented toward Claudia fit her character and seeing a gal pal-gay man friendship emphasized more than the stereotypical romance is another sip of refreshing TV-ade. Seeing Jinks (Aaron Ashmore) again provides some great foreshadowing for future conflicts, however, as a fan of him, it makes me sad to see him tempted by the dark side.
Overall, this is another inventive episode that reminds Syfy channel watchers why they are Syfy watchers. Here’s to a potential showdown with the “A-to-Z” organization.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.