Spoiler-y Ramblings on the latest Defiance & Warehouse 13 epis.
Warehouse 13
This is the kind of episode that keeps me coming back and yet frustrates me. I love it because the writers are hitting on some of the more serious themes in the show: that weird relationship that HG Wells and Myka have and Claudia's final destiny. It frustrates me because both of these arcs deserve to be an “A” plot in an episode and running them concurrently feels like whatever the opposite of synergy is.
First, I'm glad HG and Myka got some resolution on their relationship. There was a lot of subtext in their dialogue that I'm not certain I could adequately unpack, but both actresses did a phenonemal job of expressing it.
Secondly, how great was Claudia in this episode? I was expecting her to freak out over the lightning because of her previous time in the psychiatric ward. Nope, instead she thinks the Warehouse is pissed at her (anyone else getting a Dr-Who-TARDIS-vibe?) and she really wants to be friends with it. She comes across as having pretty strong rejection/abandonment issues so it makes sense that she'd keep her desires under wraps just in case the universe found a way to mess with her. Plus, Claudia looked badass with the bazooka over her shoulder and grinning like a champ. Win.
Defiance
First off, I called the nanite bit after the shopkeeper shot Sukar, so I'm feeling pretty good about that.
Secondly, I'm conflicted on this episode. On the one hand, I understand that Irisa is supposed to be conflicted about her Irathiant nature vs her human upbringing. On the other hand, she really came across as a teenage girl acting out against her parents. She's seen a man rise from the dead (after a fashion) and has visions, and I can understand how that would shake your world-view. However, letting Sukar run around town smashing people up without explaining himself, all based on “faith”, just seems out of character for someone who was initially presented as suspicious of everyone. I feel like the writers expected me to root for her, but honestly, no matter how I parse it I keep coming down on Nolan's side of things. Irisa really came across as a petulant child, which, I guess might make a little bit of sense for her character but I found it jarring and reall off-putting. The writers bungled the values-clash dynamic of the show pretty badly this episode. There have to be better ways of dealing with culture shock.