Once again, I’ve slipped on my Warehouse 13 analysis, but I wanted to touch base with the series before the two-part finale begins next week.

Again, my lack of posting on the series does not equate to its overall quality, because Warehouse 13 has been on a nice run all season with a slew of gimmicky episodes that are fun without being too goofy. Meanwhile, they’ve been slipping in more serious character moments throughout, which has added to the weight of the series in a simple, but effective way.

Most recent episodes have pushed H.G. Wells to the foreground, who has turned out not to be a villain, but actually a grieving mother that just wants to spend some time at the Warehouse because it’s the only thing that reminds her of a family. While I am glad that H.G. is around fairly regularly, I think there could have been more opportunities to present the more villainous side to her. I’m assuming that the build up of her as a face (pro wrestling term for good guy!) is only setting up Pete, Myka, Claudia and Artie to get screwed in the end. I find it hard to believe there’s nothing else going on, especially with next week’s “SOMEONE WILL DIE” threats.

Interestingly, there’s this weird trust triangle between Artie, Myka and H.G. that has been set up that will surely blow up in somebody’s face. A number of the episodes have focused on the budding relationships between both Artie and Myka and Myka and H.G. and now that Artie has changed his mind on H.G., it’s time for things to go wrong. There’s obviously a reason that Artie is so closed off personally and his decision to be more open is certainly a growing moment, but for there to be real relevance to H.G.’s story, someone needs to be hurt, methinks.

One other thing: I mentioned that the series has been doing gimmick episodes, but that’s a strength, a major one. Two weeks ago, they did a really great body switch episode and “Where and When” was a fine time travel episode that played beautifully with what we think H.G. Wells’ time machine would be. Sometimes, science fiction series take themselves way too seriously and get wrapped up in their mythology, but I appreciate that Warehouse 13 has no problem reveling in the goofiness but also the genre’s episode archetypes. They’re not always fantastic re-inventions, but they’re modified enough to be enjoyable.

And I don’t expect anything less from the finale.