Warehouse 13 5x01 - "Endless Terror" / 5x02 - "Secret Services"
Warehouse 13 5x01 - "Endless Terror" / 5x02 - "Secret Services"
I don't have much to say about the season 5 premiere, but since I'm writing a bit about episode 2, I feel like I should at least lead in with a few notes on episode 1. Okay, given that the season 4 finale was written before they knew if they were going to be renewed (and given the multiple cliffhangers, I wonder if the writers even had any idea when they wrote the finale that the show was in trouble?), I'm not surprised that so many things from the S4 finale were essentially wrapped up in just the one episode.
I'm reasonably happy with how things went with Paracelsus, although I would've liked to have more of a focus on Claudia being her daring, badass, beloved-of-the-warehouse self before Paracelsus took control of her on a technicality. (And I was pretty uncomfortable with her being put through having him soak up all of her knowledge, especially since he didn't overtly even wind up doing much with it; arguably her tech knowledge gave him a huge edge when starting to turn the warehouse into a temple to science and tech, but that wasn't really gone into. Although as I'm saying that, I wonder if--if that's the case--that gave her an edge in communicating with the AU warehouse's systems, if Paracelsus' knowledge was fundamentally rooted in hers?)
I'm much less happy that Myka's cancer was simply written away. In S4 it sure didn't sound like they were doing exploratory surgery to see how bad things were. Again, I assume it's a sacrifice to the time constraints, but given that I know at least one person who flat-out stopped watching when Myka was diagnosed, I'm extra displeased.
I don't know what to make of the giant bird that they were using in the past. O_O It was...very random.
And...I think that's about it for that episode. It was fine, given where they were starting from and given their limitations.
On to 5x02!
Well...okay, the two story arcs in this episode were very distinct. Starting with Pete and Myka's arc...I felt anxious about it from the "previously on", because I anti-ship the two of them (like, recoil at the thought of it, because they're so not built up in a way that makes it seem like even a remote possibility). And then having Mrs. Frederic talking to Myka about babies and such struck me as out of the blue, even though I guess conversations like that aren't actually that unusual on the heels of a health scare.
I've only seen the first three episodes of the show once, back when
scruloose and I first tried it out, so I have no recollection of if we've actually seen either or both of those other two Secret Service agents before. But Myka and Pete didn't work together long at all before going to the warehouse, did they? Like...one situation? O_o
And between Pete being my least-favorite character on the show, even if I'm fond of him now, and my being much, much more invested in Claudia's arc, most of the rest of his storyline with Myka fell out of my head as it went by, because Claudia. *coughs* So otherwise, I'm just gonna say that unless and until the show explicitly contradicts this, I choose to assume that Pete's awkward talk with Myka at the end meant that he would be an ear for her and would, indeed, gladly be a one million percent non-sexual sperm donor if she decides she wants a baby. Because NO.
Oh, and hey, Mrs. F can still vanish! Maybe it's a Mrs. Frederic thing, not a Caretaker thing? (Too bad--I do so enjoy the mental picture of Claudia pulling that trick on Artie for the rest of his mortal life.)
(Between-storylines note: oh, hello there, TTC bus in the background!)
I have mixed feelings about Claudia's storyline. They're mostly positive, though, once we factor in the fact that springing a previously-never-heard-of not!dead sister on us is annoying as all hell (like...even if she'd simply been mentioned in Claudia's first episode as having died with her parents, even though that episode is such a continuity track wreck), and the infinitely-avoidable fact that the episode didn't so much as nod at Joshua's existence, never mind actually mention him usefully. *facepalm* (Seriously, how hard would it have been to say something like "and now a neighbor will come stay with this bereaved little girl until her brother gets back"?)
Other than that...I liked the balance between Claudia and Artie, with her justified skepticism about his sincerity in offering to take her to Claire contrasted with her describing him to Steve as her only father figure. I love that not only did Claudia use Steve blatantly as a lie detector but Steve cheerfully kept it up as they went on.
The show continues its track record of casting child!Claudia well. I bought that little girl as being Claudia.
Claud's focus on whether or not she destroyed the artifact and caused Claire's permanent problem felt excessive, but not unbelievably so. Of course she's a total mess over the whole thing! (And oh, her face when she watched her parents die. ;_;)
And from here, I mostly have a few notes I wrote down as I was watching:
Claudia spends a lot of time in her loved ones' heads, doesn't she? Calling Steve back from death, calling Artie back from trying to escape his memory of killing Leena, and now...literally into Artie's memory.
And also, let's say this again: dear warehouse staff, you repeatedly said you had to keep an eye on this "very special little girl"...so naturally, after her brother (remember him?) disappeared (partly because Artie pushed his experiment along!) she wound up with foster placements so bad that she ran away and lived on the streets and then had herself institutionalized. GOOD JOB, TEAM. >.<
I respect Artie in many ways, and I absolutely believe he loves Claudia with all his heart and is doing what he regards as his best for her--now, anyway. But oh my gosh, is she ever in the right on this one.
Good man, Steve. I love you so dearly, and even though your nickname is wildly inappropriate for our Jinksy!kitten in practice (despite being a fantastic kitten name taken in isolation), I'm glad we named him for you. For lo, you are a tremendously awesome best friend, and yes, of course you'll be the one to take Claudia's hand and walk into someone else's mind with her. It's practically old hat for you.
Artie, in what possible universe could you imagine for a moment that Claudia would leave Claire in that coma without at least trying something herself, whether or not she ultimately concedes defeat? You have MET Claudia, yes? You have a shred of a concept of how she works? The girl who literally walked between universes to save her brother and then essentially walked into death to get Steve back, after killing someone to get the ability to do so? THAT Claudia? If you believe she'll let this go, Artie, I can only hide my face in embarrassment for you.
Originally posted at http://umadoshi.dreamwidth.org/517731.html. Comment here if you like, or comment there using OpenID. Comments at DW:
I don't have much to say about the season 5 premiere, but since I'm writing a bit about episode 2, I feel like I should at least lead in with a few notes on episode 1. Okay, given that the season 4 finale was written before they knew if they were going to be renewed (and given the multiple cliffhangers, I wonder if the writers even had any idea when they wrote the finale that the show was in trouble?), I'm not surprised that so many things from the S4 finale were essentially wrapped up in just the one episode.
I'm reasonably happy with how things went with Paracelsus, although I would've liked to have more of a focus on Claudia being her daring, badass, beloved-of-the-warehouse self before Paracelsus took control of her on a technicality. (And I was pretty uncomfortable with her being put through having him soak up all of her knowledge, especially since he didn't overtly even wind up doing much with it; arguably her tech knowledge gave him a huge edge when starting to turn the warehouse into a temple to science and tech, but that wasn't really gone into. Although as I'm saying that, I wonder if--if that's the case--that gave her an edge in communicating with the AU warehouse's systems, if Paracelsus' knowledge was fundamentally rooted in hers?)
I'm much less happy that Myka's cancer was simply written away. In S4 it sure didn't sound like they were doing exploratory surgery to see how bad things were. Again, I assume it's a sacrifice to the time constraints, but given that I know at least one person who flat-out stopped watching when Myka was diagnosed, I'm extra displeased.
I don't know what to make of the giant bird that they were using in the past. O_O It was...very random.
And...I think that's about it for that episode. It was fine, given where they were starting from and given their limitations.
On to 5x02!
Well...okay, the two story arcs in this episode were very distinct. Starting with Pete and Myka's arc...I felt anxious about it from the "previously on", because I anti-ship the two of them (like, recoil at the thought of it, because they're so not built up in a way that makes it seem like even a remote possibility). And then having Mrs. Frederic talking to Myka about babies and such struck me as out of the blue, even though I guess conversations like that aren't actually that unusual on the heels of a health scare.
I've only seen the first three episodes of the show once, back when
scruloose and I first tried it out, so I have no recollection of if we've actually seen either or both of those other two Secret Service agents before. But Myka and Pete didn't work together long at all before going to the warehouse, did they? Like...one situation? O_o
And between Pete being my least-favorite character on the show, even if I'm fond of him now, and my being much, much more invested in Claudia's arc, most of the rest of his storyline with Myka fell out of my head as it went by, because Claudia. *coughs* So otherwise, I'm just gonna say that unless and until the show explicitly contradicts this, I choose to assume that Pete's awkward talk with Myka at the end meant that he would be an ear for her and would, indeed, gladly be a one million percent non-sexual sperm donor if she decides she wants a baby. Because NO.
Oh, and hey, Mrs. F can still vanish! Maybe it's a Mrs. Frederic thing, not a Caretaker thing? (Too bad--I do so enjoy the mental picture of Claudia pulling that trick on Artie for the rest of his mortal life.)
(Between-storylines note: oh, hello there, TTC bus in the background!)
I have mixed feelings about Claudia's storyline. They're mostly positive, though, once we factor in the fact that springing a previously-never-heard-of not!dead sister on us is annoying as all hell (like...even if she'd simply been mentioned in Claudia's first episode as having died with her parents, even though that episode is such a continuity track wreck), and the infinitely-avoidable fact that the episode didn't so much as nod at Joshua's existence, never mind actually mention him usefully. *facepalm* (Seriously, how hard would it have been to say something like "and now a neighbor will come stay with this bereaved little girl until her brother gets back"?)
Other than that...I liked the balance between Claudia and Artie, with her justified skepticism about his sincerity in offering to take her to Claire contrasted with her describing him to Steve as her only father figure. I love that not only did Claudia use Steve blatantly as a lie detector but Steve cheerfully kept it up as they went on.
The show continues its track record of casting child!Claudia well. I bought that little girl as being Claudia.
Claud's focus on whether or not she destroyed the artifact and caused Claire's permanent problem felt excessive, but not unbelievably so. Of course she's a total mess over the whole thing! (And oh, her face when she watched her parents die. ;_;)
And from here, I mostly have a few notes I wrote down as I was watching:
Claudia spends a lot of time in her loved ones' heads, doesn't she? Calling Steve back from death, calling Artie back from trying to escape his memory of killing Leena, and now...literally into Artie's memory.
And also, let's say this again: dear warehouse staff, you repeatedly said you had to keep an eye on this "very special little girl"...so naturally, after her brother (remember him?) disappeared (partly because Artie pushed his experiment along!) she wound up with foster placements so bad that she ran away and lived on the streets and then had herself institutionalized. GOOD JOB, TEAM. >.<
I respect Artie in many ways, and I absolutely believe he loves Claudia with all his heart and is doing what he regards as his best for her--now, anyway. But oh my gosh, is she ever in the right on this one.
Good man, Steve. I love you so dearly, and even though your nickname is wildly inappropriate for our Jinksy!kitten in practice (despite being a fantastic kitten name taken in isolation), I'm glad we named him for you. For lo, you are a tremendously awesome best friend, and yes, of course you'll be the one to take Claudia's hand and walk into someone else's mind with her. It's practically old hat for you.
Artie, in what possible universe could you imagine for a moment that Claudia would leave Claire in that coma without at least trying something herself, whether or not she ultimately concedes defeat? You have MET Claudia, yes? You have a shred of a concept of how she works? The girl who literally walked between universes to save her brother and then essentially walked into death to get Steve back, after killing someone to get the ability to do so? THAT Claudia? If you believe she'll let this go, Artie, I can only hide my face in embarrassment for you.
Originally posted at http://umadoshi.dreamwidth.org/517731.html. Comment here if you like, or comment there using OpenID. Comments at DW: