“I feel like Helen Hunt in Twister…. Bill Paxton. I mean like Bill Paxton.” ~ Pete
Last week Warehouse 13 saw the long-awaited return of Agent Steve Jinks while Myka and Pete dealt with the night terror inducing silver key from H.P. Lovecraft and Artie received a visit from Brother Adrian of the Black Diamond Brotherhood heeding warnings about the evil that had been created with the use of Magellan’s Astrolabe.
‘Personal Effects’ did not disappoint and easily kept up with last week as the entire Warehouse 13 team headed to Devil’s Lake, North Dakota to bring an end to the Walter Sykes’ chapter and recover the last remaining artifacts of his collection.
After discovering that the artifacts from Sykes collection have been stolen, Pete and Myka go on a mission to track the thief, Jesse Ashton, while, Claudia, Steve, Artie and Leena track the artifacts that were sold after Jesse pawned them.
When Jesse pawned the artifacts, he discovered a pipe that controlled the weather in the mix. Using the pipe to his advantage, Jesse begins robbing banks and armored cars in the hopes of collecting more money. Pete and Myka track Jesse through town and soon discover that he’s attempting to collect the money for his sick brother who suffers from Myocarditis. Jesse takes the money to the hospital, but the money is irrelevant due to his brother’s advanced condition. Upset with the hospital for being unwilling to help, Jesse heads to the roof and starts a storm with the pipe threatening to destroy the hospital unless they help his brother.
After failed attempts to talk him down, Claudia suggests Pete use another artifact to gain the upper hand with Jesse. While Myka distracts Jesse, Pete uses John A. McCready’s sunglasses, which reflect light so well they make the wearer invisible to the human eye, to sneak up on him. Pete is caught in the act, but not before he’s close enough to tackle Jesse to the ground. While Pete and Jesse struggle, Myka pulls her gun on Jesse, making him stop and giving her a chance to explain that the only thing that could possibly save his brother is a heart transplant. Realizing that he is the only one that is a match, Jesse grabs the pipe and uses it one final time to strike himself with lightning and end his life, effectively providing a heart for his brother.
Meanwhile, Steve begins to suspect a possible physical connection between him and Claudia as they track down their half of the artifacts. After locating one at a lingerie store, Steve ends up clotheslining the guy with the artifact with his left arm to stop the guy from fleeing. Steve then notices that Claudia’s left arm is sore as well as his own, but chalks it up to mere coincidence. So they continue on to the next artifact: a birdcage that causes birds to attack. As they run from the birds, Claudia feels like she has been scratched by one despite showing no sign of injury. Steve thinks nothing of it, until he notices that he has a small cut on his neck where Claudia felt a scratch on hers making him wonder if she possibly felt his scratch.
Later on, his suspicions are amplified after everything is settled at the hospital and all the artifacts have been recovered when Claudia asks Myka if there is a mark on her neck because she still feels like she was scratched. This causes Steve to wonder about their connection even more, so he picks up a pin and pricks his finger. Claudia reacts in pain and looks at the same finger on her hand, confirming Steve’s suspicions.
While all this is happening, Artie nearly confesses his deep, dark secret to Leena when he grabs a golf-club artifact that causes a fit of rage. Leena knows something is up, but Artie ignores her questions and they continue on to track the other artifacts. After returning to the warehouse, however, Leena lets Artie know that she knows something is wrong because he has been different ever since Sykes’ attack. Though she wants Artie to tell her the truth, she leaves him alone wishing he wouldn’t have to carry his burden alone. After talking to Leena, Artie pulls out the file he has on the dagger that he thinks Claudia will eventually use to kill him and calls someone outside of the warehouse to have them find it…off the books.
There was a lot happening simultaneously in this episode that both offered some great moments and some interesting insights. It was great seeing Leena out in the field and her immediate reaction to seeing the artifacts strewn on the table. I love seeing a little of Leena do what she does, even if I have no idea what that is exactly. And the Pete/Myka moments offered the humor I’ve come to love and expect from the show.
Pete, as usual, had some of the best lines of the episode. From the moment he grabs a cinnamon roll and bites into it, stating Sykes really was evil for having plastic food to the way he says, “Oh great! A creepy basement.” His best line, however, was when he accidentally said he felt like Helen Hunt in Twister. That was, by far, my favorite line of the night.
And is it just me or is Pete rubbing off more and more on Myka? I can’t help but notice her lines and actions are less stiff and more carefree with every passing season. It hit me again in ‘Personal Effects’ when she came out from the collapsed building and joined Pete in declaring that Jesse Ashton “better be gone” in true Pete-like fashion. It was definitely a fun moment.
Best of all was one of the biggest two question-inducing revelations of this episode: Steve’s realization of a physical connection between Claudia and himself. What more is to come from Steve and Claudia’s connection? Does this mean she too is connected to the metronome? What other repercussions will come from bringing Steve back? I can’t wait to see how this is played out and what’s to come for these two, who are quickly becoming this season’s favorites.
And then there’s Artie. Artie with his secret. Artie who nearly confessed that deepest, darkest secret to Leena. He is obviously disturbed by what he’s done and the evil he’s possibly created. Keeping it a secret is wearing him down from the inside out. How long before he takes it out on someone proving himself to be the evil he fears? And then there is the ultimate question of the night, who exactly did he call to find the artifact off the books? H.G. Wells? Jane? Someone as of yet unknown to us? It should be interesting to discover whom it was and what will happen with the evil he created… and what he’ll do once he gets the dagger.
