Warehouse 13 4.09 REVIEW
Episode 4.09
Writer: Nell Scovell
Director: Howie Deutch
THE ONE WHERE It’s revealed Artie is Tyler Durden Brother Adrian while the rest of the team solve separate aritifact-related problems.
VERDICT After almost an entire season of stinkers, Warehouse 13 finally pulls off an episode which reminds us just how good it can be. “The Ones You Love” has heart, excitement and a killer ending. Quite literally.
The big news is that Artie is Adrian and Adrian is Artie, a twist that seems so obvious in retrospect, but we must admit we didn’t see coming. While hardly original it’s a genuine shock to think of lovable ol’ Artie as the cause of this season’s strife, and almost justifies quite how boring Brother Adrian’s presence on the show has been to date. Leena has been an utterly unnecessary part of the cast for three years now, so it’s not half as surprising to see her life hanging in the balance by the end of the episode, but that doesn’t make it any less of a kick in the teeth, and sets up Artie as potentially the Warehouse’s greatest threat.
Of the other four strands, Pete’s is the strongest. Jeri Ryan returns as his ex, Amanda, for a swift sketch that wrings a surprising amount of emotion out of such a simple setup. Amanda’s “I never stopped loving you” line is a genuine lump in the throat moment, and though you never doubt Pete will make it out intact things get very intense inside that bunker. Good job Farnsworths work through thick concrete!
Myka’s strand forgoes emotion in favour of fun. Amy Acker is a pleasure to watch, as ever, as Myka’s psycho-sis Tracy, while Joanne Kelly’s goofy turn proves she’s just as adept at physical comedy as Eddie McClintock is at nailing cheeky one-liners. Not sure Pete really needed to turn up at the end, but otherwise it’s another effective, entertaining, bite-sized case.
Claudia’s conundrum – how to break her brother out of amber – is very slight in comparison. As is Mrs Frederic’s and Jinks’ investigation into the missing Brotherhood members, but both are primarily pieces to help explain this episode’s big reveal, and both do their job well.
For the first time this year it feels like Warehouse 13 is back on track. Fingers crossed the mid-season finale delivers on the potential.
SEXY TIME Pete seems to be spending more time without his shirt on this season than with. Wonder if it’s part of Eddie McClintock’s contract?
REFERENCE A man cased in amber – is someone at Warehouse 13 a Fringe fan?
IT’S WOSSERNAME Amy Acker plays Myka’s schizophrenic sister Tracy, but if you didn’t know that get yourself to an Angel boxset, stat!
KEY ARTIFACTS Ignaty Gryniewietsky's Tattoo Box (transfers a cat tattoo from skin to skin, turns the bearer into a nuclear bomb); Mehmed II's Silken Cord (invokes murderous sibling rivalry after contact); Pliny the Elder's Amber Scroll (encases anyone who touches it in amber); Rembrandt van Rijn's Painting Frame (the frame, carved from they Egyptian Tree Of Life, traps anyone who touches it within the painting); Thomas Jeffries' Boomerang (locks on to its target and doesn’t stop until it’s caught, or the target is killed); D.B. Cooper's Ripcord (potentially allows Artie/Adrian to infiltrate the Warehouse)
BEST LINE
Pete: “Myka, please don't let my last words be ‘I should have done yoga.’”
Jordan Farley (@ JordanFarley )
Warehouse 13 currently airs on Syfy in the UK
Read our previous Warehouse 13 reviews
