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Warehouse 13 Season Four Episode Eighteen “Lost And Found” TV REVIEW
Episode 4.20
Writer: Drew Z Greenberg
Director: Jack Kenny
THE ONE WHERE Paracelsus seizes control of the Warehouse, Myka has surgery to assess her cancer and Claudia discovers a dark secret.
VERDICT Blimey, it’s a good job Warehouse 13 has a fifth (and final) season on the way because Paracelsus and Claudia’s Artifact-slingers at dawn in the Warehouse Corral routine would have been a hugely frustrating way to end the series. Not because it’s bad, far from it. Because I can’t wait to see what happens next!
In a season which saw cliffhangers escalate to such absurd scales that they lost all sense of peril, one of the season four finale’s greatest achievements is its ending. Not only does it keep the action contained to the Warehouse (rather than some empty global threat), but it has the kind of personal stakes Warehouse 13 should take advantage of more often given the affection for its characters.
Intercutting with Myka in surgery didn’t quite work for me (she’s only having a routine biopsy to see how bad the cancer is), but every other element of the ending was a triumph. The Warehouse has had plenty of contenders to the throne, but the battle for control has never looked so hopeless, with Mrs Frederic likely out for good and Claudia the only thing that stands between Paracelsus and total control. Given the kind of show Warehouse 13 is you can probably guess what’s going to happen next (Claudia whups Paracelsus’ posterior and becomes the next caretaker), but it remains pulse-racing stuff.
It’s a surprisingly talky finale too. In fact, you can count the number of “action” scenes on three fingers and still have a free finger. This turns out to be no bad thing because the script from former Buffy / Firefly writer Drew Z Greenberg is loaded with entertaining exchanges and playful one-liners. Even though scenes seem to go on for far longer than necessary on occasion (the “petrified wood” chatter over the Farnsworths is a prime example) you can forgive it because the dialogue is better than it has been all season.
And when it does jump into action it fails to impress, with one weirdly static confrontation outside Coit Tower and a comatose chase through the streets of San Francisco. The story also suffers from prime “characters acting a bit dumb” syndrome. Pete’s dubious decision to bring Paracelsus a bunch of Artifacts he'll obviously use to break out is forgivable given his state of mind, but did Pete and Myka believe for a second that the Artifact-loaded alchemist was in that morgue? And how did Sutton manage to miss Paracelsus twice despite shooting at point blank range? Plus Nicky and Jinks may as well have taken the week off given how much of an impact they have on this week’s episode.
After the generally disappointing fourth season (first and second half) it’s a pleasant surprise to be going into the show’s final six episodes feeling optimistic again. Roll on season five!
SPECULATION Claudia’s sister Claire is an “incredibly dangerous woman”, eh? What’s betting she’s season five’s big bad?
THE BIG C I’m still not totally sold on Myka’s cancer subplot, but a lot is presumably being left for the final season. Let’s hope it’s handled as delicately as it is this week, with Pete as happy cracking jokes as breaking down in tears, while Myka puts on a brave face.
LMAO
Bennett (Ned) Sutton: “My shoulder! It’s not healing! And it really hurts! I was right the first time, this is dreadful!”
HORROR SHOW “The Truth Hurts” contains its fair share of duff beats, but none more so than Leena’s spirit suddenly appearing behind Artie to “comfort” him before his big confession, which is just a bit too cheesy to achieve the desired effect.
KEY ARTIFACTS
• John Logie Baird’s scanning disk – can transfer electromagnetic energy through any medium.
• Ear Trumpet – like an old timey walkie talkie that works over great distances.
• Philosopher’s Stone – when used in proximity to the heart of the Warehouse, the caretaker’s link to the Warehouse is increased exponentially.
BEST LINES
Claudia: “Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here..”
Pete : “What? That's a lot of "here's." I like that, it means there's something here.”
Read all our Warehouse 13 Season 4 Reviews so far here.
