Lower Decks

The second episode of Syfy’s Warehouse 13 aired this past Tuesday (July 14th). I suppose technically it was the third episode given that the pilot was two hours long. Anyway, promotional spots for the episode seemed to focus heavily on guest star Tricia Helfer, better known for playing a variety of Cylons — Model #6 — on Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica. She did an adequate job but the character, an F.B.I. agent, was hardly involved in the story, which probably would have worked without her entirely.

In “Resonance,” Artie sends Myka and Pete to Chicago to figure out why banks are being robbed and, more importantly, how. No one inside remembers anything about the robberies due to a mysterious piece of music played by the robbers. Myke and Pete figure out that the music was written by some semi-famous musician (who is in bad shape and obviously not the culprit) and eventually, with some help from Artie, figure out which bank will be hit next. It turns out the musician’s sound mixer (?) and his daughter are pulling off the heists in an attempt to raise enough money to buy back the musician’s musical catalog.

So the story was an adequate one. The “artifact of the week,” as I think I’ll call it, was a unique record containing the music that apparently causes anyone who hears it to fall into a happy little trance. Pete and the the F.B.I. agent both get a full dose and get the giggles. I didn’t like the quirks we’re seeing with Pete. He’s a laid-back funnyman, that’s not cliched. Plus, he’s immature. After Myka explains that she knows one of the robbers is a woman because she felt her, Pete replies “You touched her boobies.”

There was a minor subplot involving Artie trying to trace whoever hacked into Warehouse 13. He’s led to Myka and Pete’s boss (whose name I can’t remember) but it was a fake out. Artie has some sort of vision after playing around with the boss’s computer. I didn’t catch the significance of the vision but I’m sure we’ll see more of it eventually. Perhaps the most important part of the episode was Pete’s decision not to turn over the robbers to the F.B.I. After all, Warehouse 13 just safeguards the world from dangerous artifacts. They don’t worry about criminals.

Whether or not Myka will always agree with this could lead to interesting conflicts. She’s already been depicted as a more by-the-books agent than Pete. They do seem to be getting along fine, although there was one brief scene when the two were sitting and discussing their next move that was a little too cutesy. Myka is on the phone with someone discussing her father (whom she hasn’t seen in years). Pete gets off the phone with their boss and returns to their table.

He suggests that she should go see her father and Myka quickly changes the topic. That’s a little too personal. So, Pete explains that they should have the F.B.I.’s cooperation now (“Well, Belski just got spanked. So let’s go strike while the butt is still hot”). He then drums his hands on the table. In response, Myka does some weird clapping motion with her hands and gives Pete a quirky smile. I guess they’re supposed be learning how to operate on the same wavelength?

There’s still a lot of room for improvement, especially with regard to the main characters, their identities and their relationship. But two episodes in things are starting to come together. A little bit.