Warehouse 13 Season Four Episode Sixteen “Runaway” TV REVIEW
Episode 4.16
Writers: Ian D Maddox and Marque Franklin
Director: Matthew Hastings
THE ONE WHERE Pete and Myka solve a molten prison break, Jinks has a run-in with an ex and Beethoven sends Artie deaf.
VERDICT Warehouse 13 has a tendency to top it’s episodes with a slice of cheese, but the Cherie Currie/Claudia duet at the end of “Runaway” piles on the cheddar so thick it practically drowns your entire living room in whiffy dairy product.
Cringe-inducing final sequence aside, “Runaway” is far from a bad episode, but it is one lacking the inventive spark of last week’s gem (and HG, obviously). The highlight is Steve and Liam’s awkward reunion. We learn plenty about Jinks this episode, particularly how being a human lie-detector has its drawbacks, even when you think you’ve found The One. Actor Charlie Weber (Liam) may have a barrel chest and a seductive southern drawl, but his wooden charisma never really sells the idea Jinks was wrong to let him go. Who wouldn’t run away to hunt magical Artifacts across the globe when all you’ve got at home is Mr Boring?
The mission of the week is solid, but uninspired. We know whodunit almost from the start, it’s the whydunnit that is a mystery, one that doesn’t have a particularly satisfying conclusion. They aim for the heart, but with so little set up before the big reveal (Joe is just trying to protect his son, Kyle, from getting embroiled with a local gang) the emotional payoff is almost non-existent. And the “cop execution” idea feels out of place in this show.
At the opposite end of the spectrum the Claudia and Artie plot finishes with the pair chasing a buffoon so cartoonish he feels too silly for a show featuring a clock (which once belonged to Beethoven) sending a character deaf. We presume that was the point (otherwise, why the moronic t-shirt?) but it still takes you out of the show when Allison Scaliotti and Saul Rubinek are doing such sterling work.
IT’S WOSSISNAME Actor Chalie Weber (Steve’s ex Liam) is best know in genre circles as the mortal prison for Glory, Ben, in Buffy season five. Cutting his hair short was the best decision he ever made.
LMAO Pete and Myka acting over-protective of Steve when they discover Liam is his ex. “Do you need us to hate him? Because we can hate him.”
INDUSTRIAL SHITE AND MAGIC We’ve learned to accept a certain level of standards when it comes to the special effects in Warehouse 13 (low budget, short production schedules, etc) but the “sea of lava” effects in this episode are so shonky they rob the sequence of almost all its drama.
MIA No Abigail this week. Probably for the best.
IN-JOKE The line:
Lia m : “Is your life always this crazy?”
Steve : “It's about right for a Monday.”
Is a reference to the fact Warehouse 13 now airs on a Monday on Syfy.
TRIVIA David Boreanz was originally sought for the role of Liam, as the makers wanted someone who resembled Pete as closely as possible. Actor Eddie McClintock has said he is frequently mistaken for the former Angel.
REFRENCE Pete (mis)quotes Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive when he says: "Search every gas station, resident, warehouse, outhouse, and doghouse." The original line is: "What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area."
KEY ARTIFIACTS
• Pompeii Amphora – Molten lava pours out when the lid is opened.
• Beethoven’s Clock – Causes anyone who disturbs it to hear all Beethoven’s symphonies in sequence and eventually go deaf.
• Jerry Garcia’s Blackbulb – Emits a blacklight which turns any work of art into a psychedelic neon trip.
BEST LINE
My ka : You know, Pete thinks it's a giant lava monster, escaped from the Earth's core.
Artie : He thinks that, or he's hoping?
