Synopsis: Objects from the 1940s mysteriously materialize throughout town while Warehouse 13’s Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti) visits.
Review: Claudia Donovan on Eureka! How cool was that? No, really. How cool was it? I don’t watch Warehouse 13, so I have no idea if her appearance was supposed to be exciting or if it was just a gimmick. But speaking as a completely objective person with absolutely no allegiance to Warehouse 13, this cross over episode was tastefully done – Claudia’s presence in Eureka felt natural (even if she was a bit gabby) and because her arrival wasn’t the central focus of the episode, I wasn’t distracted by how gimmicky the whole thing may or may not have been. The bizarre chemistry she had with Fargo was enough to make me want to check out Warehouse 13, if only to find out how a self-possessed quipster like her could be attracted to a wormy supergeek like the Fargonator. Eureka’s writing staff, however, lose creativity points for titling this episode “Crossing Over.” I’m sure they thought that they were being clever – a cross over episode about objects “crossing over” from the past to the present called “Crossing Over” – but they were wrong.
While the Fargo-Claudia relationship probably won’t be examined any further (except on the episode of Warehouse 13 that Fargo appeared on), a few of the show’s other romances were explored. Last week, there was some minor but nonetheless adorable flirtation between Jo and Zane – watching their relationship grow from its acrimonious beginnings into something very cute for the second time is actually satisfying and not as boring or predictable as I thought it would be.
Henry’s tentative interaction with his wife, however, has been a little strange and uncomfortable – but I think that that’s intentional. Henry’s showing that he’s gentleman by not immediately partaking in some of the “privileges” that come with married life – he barely knew this woman before the time travel incident. Yet, as a man who has been unlucky in love in the past, I thought that he would enjoy this potentially romantic situation a little more. The writers are being very deliberate with this particular relationship – as the end of the episode showed, Henry is starting to warm up to his wife. When the season draws to a close, I’m fairly certain that the gang is going to have to make a decision to stay in this alterna-verse or return to their time-line. Allowing these relationships to develop slowly and believably will make that final decision carry more weight.
And finally there’s Allison and Dr. Grant. A romance between the two of them was hinted at in the season premiere but it wasn’t until this episode that that initial flirtation was revisited. Honestly, I’m kind of indifferent about this coupling but I’ll support it if it means that we’ll see more of James Callis. Even though his character has been featured in every episode, I feel like he’s being underutilized. As much as I adore Eureka, the show can be formulaic. Giving Callis a more prominent role would be a way to make things fresh. “Crossing Over” was the most enjoyable episode since the premiere, a fact that I attribute to how Dr. Grant-centric it was. Watching Grant adapt to the present/future, bounce around to 70s music, and make disparaging comments about smoothies was fun. Although most people probably wouldn’t describe Callis as a comedic actor, he really is. Maybe not in an obvious or conventional way but the few moments of humor on Battlestar Galactica came from him. Hopefully, Dr. Grant’s role will expand as the repercussions of the time traveling incident become more apparent.
