The Warehouse 13 team prepares to share the highlights of their careers. Photo Credit: SyFy
I have very mixed feelings about the series finale of Warehouse 13. While I did enjoy the clips package feel of the episode, I did not enjoy certain aspects of the show at all. The show opened with Mrs. Frederic gathering the entire team around a large stone table to look at past agents’s career highlights as well as add their own. Due to the ritual being undertaken, Artie flips out because it historically signifies that the Warehouse will be moving. Of course, Artie isn’t the only person flipping out; Pete goes a bit crazy as well, losing his cool at Mrs. Frederick. Claudia stops him by being the first person to have their defining moment saved, and we the viewers are thrust into the first clip.
In that memory, the entire team has been affected by an artifact that forces them all to tap dance until there’s nothing left. Frankly, it felt a bit reminiscent of one of the most famous episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Once More with Feeling,” but the tap dancing showgirls were a nice touch. Allison Scaglioti did a fantastic job tapping, and for me, it was one of the highlights of the episode. However, the reveal post-memory is pretty interesting as well. The memory ends with the image of Claudia not looking happy, and back in the present, Mrs. Frederick comments that it must have been the moment when Claudia realized she didn’t want to be the future Caretaker of the Warehouse. The shock over Mrs. Frederick’s observation has Pete stomping away (as though he were a child), Myka following him, and Artie wanting to volunteer a specific memory to share with the Warehouse.
In Artie’s memory, we see him in an abandoned lot with a young man, waiting for a very specific time to hit in order to see the lot suddenly become a 1940s officer’s club. Once inside, Artie and the young man have 25 minutes to find an artifact that keeps the club locked in a time loop for eternity. The young man discovers the artifact, and moments before the final chime of the clock striking midnight, the artifact is bagged and the day is saved. However, that doesn’t shock the agents of Warehouse 13. What shocks them is the very end of the memory, in which the young agent calls Artie ‘Dad.’ Claudia freaks out at Artie, then follows in Pete’s footsteps and stomps off. Artie goes after her to explain the memory. His explanation is pretty simple; in order to stay sane, you have to be a little selfish. It’s revealed that Artie is still in touch with his son, Scott, and goes to Comic-Con with him every year, which was one of my favorite moments in the show. Claudia listens to what Artie says, and seems to appreciate when Artie says that parenting Scott has helped him to be a better father figure to her, and he wants her to be the Caretaker.
Meanwhile, Jinks and Mrs. Frederick have been bonding, and while they laugh over a shared joke, Myka returns to the table to share her memory. That memory shows her and Pete fighting and eventually defeating five suburban ninjas. It’s an amusing moment, and very lighthearted, but for one thing: Myka apparently is in love with Pete. Myka is stunned by this, and goes to find Pete. She ends up kissing him to distract him from trying to stop the compass artifact from spinning. I am absolutely not a fan of this, and frankly, seeing Pete and Myka put together as a romantic couple offended me as a fan of Warehouse 13. If ever there were a couple that seemed more like brother and sister than romantic pairing, Pete and Myka were it. This moment absolutely destroyed the Warehouse 13 finale for me. Thankfully, there were a couple other moments to help get past the bitter taste left in my mouth by the kiss.
The moment that split the Warehouse 13 fandom during the series finale. Photo Credit: SyFy
Pete and Myka meander back to the table, where Jinks has been doubting himself and his place as a member of Warehouse 13. When he puts his hand on the table, he sees a memory that helps him realize how much peace he’s been given by being a Warehouse agent. I loved this moment. Jinks has been through a lot, just like every other Warehouse agent, and it was wonderful to see him realize he truly is one of them.
Finally, it’s Pete’s turn to share his memories with the table, and to the surprise of everyone, no one single moment is selected for him. Instead, all of his memories are. Pete’s tenure as an agent has changed him for the better and also shaped the Warehouse. The moment felt a bit goofy to me, and I would rather have seen a specific moment chosen for Pete, as well, since I think he was equal to every other agent.
The moments of peace and togetherness between the agents don’t last long, as there is a ping about someone breathing fire in Poughkeepsie. The team heads out to save the world once again.
At the very end of the show, we see a new team (with a cameo from Jack Kenny) trying to figure out if President Obama’s basketball was used in a new ping. Lovely Caretaker Ms. Donovan appears behind them, and calms the new team. She also puts a stop to rumors of the Warehouse moving. Her line “If I had a nickel for every time the Warehouse might move…” makes the viewer realize that the Warehouse has not moved, and is, in fact, in the same place it was before, just with a new team taking care of it. She then vanishes the same way Mrs. Frederick once did.
As a whole, I felt that this episode of Warehouse 13 gave the show good closure. However, I was disappointed by the choice of the show’s writers to put Pete and Myka together. I felt that it cheapened promises that have been made for a long time that the leads of the show would not end up together. In my mind, it also cheapened the premise of the show – that a group of people who work together and love each other are a family. There was no need for a romance, and I worry that it’s going to taint my future viewings of the show.
How did you feel about the finale of Warehouse 13? Will you miss seeing the show? What’s your favorite memory from the show? Let us know in the comments.
