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Warehouse 13 4.05 “No Pain, No Gain” REVIEW
THE ONE WHERE An obsessed fan goes full Kathy Bates, and Mrs Frederic lets Claudia in on the Warehouse’s biggest mystery.
VERDICT Is acknowledging an influence on your work what makes the difference between “homage” and “rip-off”? We’re not sure, but this week’s Warehouse 13 straddles a very fine line between paying its respects to one of horror’s finest yarns (Stephen King’s Misery ) and becoming hobbled by the comparison.
The case of the week – hockey player is kept from falling to bits by an infatuated fan – is bog standard fare for Warehouse 13 , at best, complete with a blunt-force love interest for Myka and token family drama. It’s hugely uninspiring, but just about entertaining enough to keep you from fiddling with your phone until something more interesting comes on the telly.
It gets the heart just right though. The will-they-won’t-they frisson between Pete and Myka has been all but absent in recent weeks, but here it’s made very clear that Pete sill has feelings for his partner, even if he isn’t willing to admit it exactly. Whether it’s brotherly love or the baby-making kind... we’ll leave you to fill in the blanks.
Aside from Artie and Jinks’ slight comic relief interludes, it’s the supporting players that make this episode truly memorable. For the first time we discover how an artifact is made; in the words of Mrs Frederic, “The creation of an artifact is simply the meeting of an object, a person... and a moment.” A surprisingly poetic explanation. Shame the event that gives birth to an artifact (a woman jumping in front of a baby) is so awkwardly staged it’s more likely to induce titters than have the intended emotional impact. Claudia is being put on the fast track to becoming the Warehouse’s new caretaker but expect a dark Claudia shaped bump in the road in future weeks.
DIRECT THIS This is the first episode of Warehouse 13 directed by Jay Chandrsekhar of Broken Lizard fame. He previously directed several episodes of Chuck and Community .
GOOD TIMING Thank goodness Myka’s sister didn’t phone her 30 seconds earlier during the pretitle sequence in Japan – that would have blown her cover. Isn’t is a bit daft to take your mobile on an uncover investigation?
BEHIND THE SCENES Allison Scagliotti really is playing the shamisen during the opening geisha scene.
FEATURED MUSIC “In The Deep” by Bird York, which can be heard during this episode’s final scene, was nominated for an Oscar in 2006 after featuring in the movie Crash .
KEY ARTIFACTS John Giltoy’s dog tags (allows the user to make wishes that affect the people they love); Metal Pinwheel (a burst of petals puts people to sleep); Hatfield and McCoy rifles (drawn to each other because of the famous feuding families. Start firing wildly when in proximity);
BEST LINE
Artie: “At Warehouse 13 anything is possible. Sometimes.”
Jordan Farley (@ JordanFarley )
Warehouse 13 season 4 will air in the UK on Syfy later this year.
Read more Warehouse 13 season 4 reviews .
