It Happened Last Night

Finalewatch '07: 'Eureka'

By Liz Pardue

   |  

October 2, 2007 8:05 PM

Eureka_240 Oh, man. I know I've been a little hard on Eureka lately, but it was only because I knew the show could be even better. And clearly, I was right. Tonight's episode, the second part of this season's finale, was fantastic! Twists, turns, and some fabulously quotable writing. I wasn't even annoyed that it was all about Artifact stuff! Luckily for us, Sci Fi has ordered 13 more episodes for next summer, so at least we have that to look forward to. (Spoilers ahead, so don't say I didn't warn you...)

Apparently, a Code Red biohazard at GD, such as the deadly bacteria that it appears Henry did NOT make up (contrary to my suspicions last week) activates a panic room protocol which turns the Director's office into an impenetrable bunker. Beverly and Henry act surprised, which indicates that this wasn't part of their plan. No, they're there to take Kevin someplace where the consortium that Beverly works with will exploit him and his connection to the Artifact while giving him "all the care and attention he needs." And Henry is totally Super-Evil Kidnapper Henry, agreeing that Allison and Kevin can't possibly control and protect all that power. Yikes.

While Allison is trying to convince them that kidnapping her son is probably not a good plan, Akashic field and all human knowledge or not, Stark, Carter and Taggart are trying to break through GD's defenses to get to the bunker. They're in a bit of a hurry, since DoD protocol is to do a "thermal cleansing" if an outbreak of this type can't be contained. The cleansing isn't exactly friendly to organic matter.

Zoe's party has become a command post, seeing as SARAH has a periscope with a backdoor electronic link to the GD system. Of course. Fargo and Zane fight over who gets to play hacker, which gives Jo her quote of the night: "Boys, there's plenty of backdoor access for everyone!" It's the delivery that really sells it. They help Carter and Stark (and Taggart, before he gets sidetracked playing Pied Piper/Jedi Knight to a bunch of lost GD employees) navigate the GD defense system, which seems to be a little aggressive. Like, cooking people with microwaves and shooting at them with lasers aggressive. I loved Carter's quote when Taggart and Stark decide that he should be the one to serve as human bait for the lasers: "Why do I always have to be the someone?!" So true, Carter. So true.

After discovering live, uninfected employees in the morgue (and making a funny zombie joke), Carter, Stark and Taggart realize that the bacterial infection was a ruse on Henry's part. I totally called it after all! After Taggart leaves, Carter and Stark have a little heart to heart. Much as Stark rubs me the wrong way, I do enjoy the generally good-natured dislike and rivalry that these two share. Carter asks why Allison went along with the whole "hiding Beverly and the evidence of her crimes" thing, and Stark responds, "Did you ever think she was trying to protect me?" Carter, with Colin Ferguson's perfect timing, answers, "Noooo...that's not it." Ha! So he figures out part of the connection to Kevin, and Stark fills in the rest, including what he's risked solely to protect Kevin. I'm hearing some death knells for the Allison/Carter ship, you guys.

Aaaat any rate, it seems that the Directors' bunker is also equipped with secret (untested) teleportation devices which read one's DNA and reconstruct it elsewhere, leaving an empty shell body behind. Of course. Henry and Beverly intend to use it to escape with Kevin, but Stark realizes that the device, which he helped to build, could safely separate Kevin from the Akashic field, if only the user had his pre-Artifact DNA code.

Eureka07_240 After a catfight in which Allison totally and completely kicks Beverly's evil butt, knocking her unconscious, Henry explains that he's not working with Beverly, and that he faked the bacteria thing so that they could use the teleportation device to separate Kevin from the field. WHAT?! Actually, no, that kind of makes sense. Except...why did he even bust Beverly out of prison? And how did he find out about the Kevin thing? And wasn't he being evil all season, what with the Carter-hating and all? Beverly wakes up and tries to convince Henry that they have "all the knowledge of the universe at their fingertips." When Henry refuses to help her, she tries to attack. Luckily, Carter and Stark get there just in time, and with the right information to separate Kevin from the field successfully. He seems good as new, so...yay!

Beverly escapes using the crazy teleportation thing (duh), so I guess we'll be seeing her next season. Stark, though, lies to DoD that she died, and Henry claims responsibility for the whole mess. Which, fair enough. At least for the latter part. They handcuff him and take him away, hopefully to be heard from again, since he's all Not-Evil Henry now. The season ends pretty much the polar opposite from how it began, with Allison, Kevin and Stark more of a family than ever. And possibly WAY more of a family, since Stark re-proposes to Allison. Aww, I kind of liked her chemistry with Carter. And that dry cleaning chick was nowhere to be seen in this episode, so nuts. So that's it for this season, and it'll be almost a year before you can get your Eureka on again. Sigh. On the plus side, it'll make Tuesdays at 9 a little easier on my DVR...

Did this season go out with a bang for you, too? Do you think we're finally done with the Artifact plotline? Do you have a few words to say in memorium for Allison/Carter?

For more TV recaps and commentary, visit Liz at Glowy Box.


11 Comments

Everyone gets to yell a yeppie since the Artifact plotline is now over, but I doubt it will be forgotten.

With Allison and Starl getting back together, I think this will allow Carter to seeing Callie, the dry cleaner, more seriously. I think he was holding back because of Allison.

Best Quote of the year has to be Jo's "Boys, there's plenty of backdoor access for everyone!" She sells teh line perfectly.

Can't wait for next year/ season to start.


The last episode was pretty good. Had a hard time fully appreciating it since I kept detracting with thoughts of how awesome Carter & Allison were from the 1st season. I really hope next season is more of a mixup in terms of Allison's feelings for both Carter & Stark. Seems only fair since season 1 went to Carter, and 2 went to Stark. And I REALLY hope they come up with better storylines & delivery for the middle episodes, 'cause this season's were....odd.


Was anyone else thinking, "there better not be a fly on that couch!" when the teleportation of Kevin began?

So glad there will be a season 3 next year!


Nice ending. I agree with "why did Henry bring Bev along if he wasn't evil" Why go to all the trouble of faking the biohazard and dropping a mile below GD. Easier to go to stark and say "hey I know about Kevin and remember that teleportation chamber I was building?"

What ever happened to Jo and Tag in last year's finale they were still together. Yet this year she's dating Zane and flirting with Fargo??


jbw I think the fling with Jo and Tag was just a one-time thing, and Jo realized Tag is too old for her. Her hugging Fargo was more of a thank you for helping out friendly hug.

I liked the season-finale a lot and I too miss the chemistry between Carter and Allison.


Yeah, I miss the Carter/Allison thing, too. I'm glad Allison didn't answer Stark right away, because now there's still hope. Jo & Fargo would be kinda cute, but I like Zane, too. Callie's cute, but I'm not sure I can see her with Carter for long...

Boy, Henry had my head spinning. I'll have to watch this again to get it figured out, but it certainly was a well-written episode. Lots of cool stuff happened this season. Can't wait for more!


Most of what everyone else has already said echoes my thoughts about the finale, so I won't repeat them. For me, the last scene probably was the best of both seasons, because it was quiet, it was sad with just a very small touch of the humor that's made Eureka such an incredible show...but most importantly, in my opinion, it cemented the friendship between Henry and Carter. If anyone else had arrested Henry, I think it would not have played as well. But for Carter (who is not native to Eureka) to say, "You're not alone. You have friends here," more than made up for any convoluted plots and twists regarding Henry (pun there, sorry, been waiting all season to say it--Harrison Ford movie, in case you don't know). Even though Carter goofs around a lot and has a basically-positive attitude about life, from recent episodes, we know that he has gone through a lot of pain and loss in his life. So, if anyone can understand what Henry is going through, it is Carter. Next season should show more of that friendship, as I'm sure Joe Morton will be back in some capacity. I'm glad Zoe has matured a lot this season, and she is only occasionally obnoxious (as opposed to season one, when it was endemic to her character). The supporting characters were also great, and I'm glad nobody died. Thirteen weeks has gone by so incredibly fast, and now we have to wait eight months for season three, which is the only problem with great summer shows. Ah, well, DVDs are a godsend, and now I can rewatch season one a few times, as well as other favorites. Can't wait for next summer!


Hey Dark Disciple, I just wanted to thank you for your thoughtful comments on this episode, and throughout this whole (unfortunately short, as you point out) season. I can always count on you to explore an angle I missed, or to point out something new and interesting!


Thank you very much for the compliment, Liz! :) I appreciate it, and I'm glad that so many people like this show as much as we do.


What I like about Eureka is the fact that they have keep a long story line going thru each episode, but still have the silly short one episode stuff that Carter has to deal with.

From having to deal with turning invisible , dealing with million year old horny dust, to dealing with liquid purifing gel in his lungs he still Carter still loves his job.

I think next season the writers should explore more of what makes Carter tick, how or why Jo got to Eureka, and of course, get a good triangle thing going with Allison, Callie and Carter.

Allison will go for the proposal that Stark gave her, but she will get second thoughts when she see Carter and Callie getting closer.

Fun to think of what comes next in Eureka, doesn't it.


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