“When the Warehouse was destroyed, the world lost Hope.”
Last season Warehouse 13 ended with a bang… literally. The Warehouse was decimated when Sykes, bent on retrieving the artifact that corrupted him and seeking his revenge, set a bomb off. On top of that, H.G. Wells gives the ultimate sacrifice to save Pete, Myka and Artie while Mrs. Frederick shrivels up and disappears at the Warehouse’s end before Claudia and Leena even know what happened.
‘A New Hope’ starts where last season left off and follows the team as they desperately try to figure out a way to save the Warehouse, and the world, in a 23-hour timeframe.
As it turns out, and by no big surprise, the Warehouse held Pandora’s box, so when the warehouse was destroyed, Pandora’s box was opened, releasing despair and turmoil on the world. So not only is the warehouse gone, but the world is plummeting in a downward spiral of depression and desperation. Luckily, there’s an artifact for that: Artie’s watch.
Following clues on the watch the team travels first to France and then to the Vatican to piece together the fail-safe, Magellan’s Astrolabe, that will reverse time twenty-four hours to before Sykes’ bomb explodes. They meet with some problems along the way because of the despairing, chaotic world around them, and the Brotherhood of the Black Diamonds trying to keep the fail-safe, well, safe.
Each step of the way a member of the team meets with trouble and must be left behind, or is lost, but Artie eventually gets the Astrolabe together and in working order and reverses time, saving the warehouse, H.G. Wells and Mrs. Frederick. But not before being warned that anyone he tells about it will be in grave danger and that using the Astrolabe will create an evil that Artie must live with for the rest of his days.
It’s great to see the team back together and back in action, albeit fractured by the loss of Claudia’s friend and former partner, Steve. This episode hit the mark yet again with some great Myka/Pete and Claudia/Artie banter keeping a serious situation somewhat lighter. Also, Pete’s plan to “hit the big one” was priceless. Who doesn’t love that plan? And who hasn’t wondered how the warehouse got its information on artifacts around the world. Of course, the football isn’t just a football, but an artifact tracker! Good to know.
By the end of ‘A New Hope’, everything is restored to normal and everyone is back where he or she belongs, even if Mrs. Frederick is a bit grayer than normal and aware that something happened, everything is restored. The regents even grant H.G. Wells her freedom after Artie’s adamant recommendation of her rehabilitation. So that leaves one final question: what is the evil that was created when Artie used the Astrolabe to save the warehouse?
In the final moments of the episode, Claudia leaves Leena’s in the middle of the night as Artie has a nightmare of her trying to kill him. Does this mean Claudia is the evil Artie must live with? Or is it something or someone else yet unknown to the team and the warehouse? Only time will tell. I for one, can’t wait to see what happens… and I’m definitely rooting for Claudia to bring Steve back.