Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Summer DVR Dump: Warehouse 13 5.05: “Cangku Shisi”

“Benedict Valda is going to steal the Warehouse.”
- Artie

We are nearing our journey, folks. This marks the last episode before the finale. We pick up right where we left off. Claudia busts into the room where Claire was being monitored and everything is gone, including the artifact keeping her in a coma. Artie whips out the crazy spectrometer rewind artifact (I gave a little cheer at the return of that one) we see Valda taking Claire. Back at the Warehouse the gang gathers to try and figure out what exactly Valda is planning. Pete is acting super weird around Myka since Kelly told him he was in love with his partner. He even makes Steve go with them when they realize Valda has been holed up in the dead agent’s vault which probably explains his knowledge of Claire.

Speaking of, Valda wakes up Claire and uses what looks like a Borg implant to control her with his mind. I have to say if they could modify that somehow, they might be able to keep her power in check. Unfortunately I don’t think that is his plan. He goes to the Regent’s vault and shoots a guy there. Myka figures out they are missing a safety deposit box key to said vault right around the same time. So they head off to find it but things go awry very quickly. Whatever Valda used to shoot the Regent unleashes a snowstorm and freeze Artie into a statue. Pete and Myka need an assist from Steve to get Artie unfrozen and neutralize the artifact. Meanwhile, Claudia is back at the Warehouse digging more into Valda’s room.

Our menace is now at a park in Rapid City. He’s putting on a demonstration for someone by using the record player that was keeping Claire in a coma to knock out the entire park. He’s going to sell artifacts and weaponries them. Yeah I really hope our heroes beat his British ass. As much as I am a fan of the actor, this character gets on my nerves. Steve arrives at Regent central with some handy artifacts, including a walking stick that creates earthquakes (I want to say that was from like season 1). In tandem, the two artifacts work. Artie is rather disoriented but Pete and Myka head off to Rapid City. Thanks to some quick thinking by Claudia, she brings the super underpants from the episode with Jewel Staite and Shawn Mahar and Myka kills the record player (which is now playing a record by a guy who broke the sound barrier). Unfortunately, despite that victory, Artie discovers Valda’s master plan. He’s going to steal the Warehouse.

Myka, Pete and Claudia are confused about why and why Valda would steal the Warehouse. Artie goes into a sort of long explanation about the various pieces that are needed to transfer the Warehouse from one location to the next. We know that Valda has at least two pieces and the third piece is located at a tavern in Boston. I have to say, having lived in Boston for going on five years, whatever stock shot they used wasn’t very convincing. Of course, while our trio heads off to Boston, Artie and Steve go to check on the last piece of the puzzle. Of course, Valda already nabbed it. And before you know it, Valda has started the relocation process. Definitely not a good thing but I have a feeling that it won’t last. Or then again, maybe it will but I can’t see them ending the show with the bad guy winning. That’s just not what this show is about.

The gang has to get out of the bottom of the tavern and thanks to Myka’s knowledge of history, they find a secret passage. But Claudia is getting bad vibes from the Warehouse move. Back at the Warehouse, the artifacts start to move and Artie and Steve race to find the compass and try to stop it. But spraying it with goo and silly string doesn’t do much. Claudia does some hacking magic and we learn that Valda is on his way to China. The gang takes a portal to the Chinese Olympic Stadium and think they’ve beaten Valda there but alas, he uses Claire’s power to pin them to a wall 9quite literally). And we learn that Claire is going to be the new Caretaker of the Warehouse. Oh and Mrs. Frederick had a sister who was the Caretaker until she died in 1893. Damn, Mrs. F. is old! I do have to say I’m enjoying all the references to past seasons and cases. It feels rather nostalgic.

Valda orders Claire to kill our heroes while Artie and Steve make a last ditch effort to mess up the compass. Luckily, Claudia gets through to Claire and they get the idea to reverse the mind control device so it channels all of Claire’s rage into Valda. At first blush it doesn’t sound like a good idea but Pete tackles Valda and steals the tuning fork that allowed him to cross into our reality and neutralizes it. So Valda and the energy go poof. I knew they’d have a happy ending to that storyline! Oh and did I mention we got a cameo from Trailer. This really is a great nostalgic episode. It would have been a little better if Kate Mulgrew had made a cameo as Pete’s mom. Then again we have one more episode so it could happen. And maybe Joshua, too.

Things are looking up for our team of agents. Claudia and Claire are happily reunited and looking forward to much sisterly bonding. And Pete admits to Steve that he’s in love with Myka. You know, as much as I’ve said this season that I see them as brother and sister, I can respect them being endgame and that the writers waited this long to even bring it up. But that may all be unimportant as the series finale looms because just as Myka and Artie return the Warehouse moving artifacts, the compass activates again. Mrs. Frederick gets on the Farnsworth and warns that Valda’s actions may have set things in motion to actually move the Warehouse and she may not be able to stop it.

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