"The Living and the Dead" is the eleventh episode of Season Four of SyFy's Warehouse 13, that aired on April 29, 2013.
It is the Season Four mid-season premiere.
Synopsis[]
Pete and Myka are left with 24 hours to save the entire world from the Sweating Sickness caused by the Chinese Orchid, while Steve and Claudia try to save Artie from his subconscious.
Plot[]
Click to show |
---|
Leena enters the lounge of the Bed and Breakfast where Artie is playing the piano, and accuses him of eating the last of the oatmeal scotchies. He half-heartedly denies it. The Warehouse agents return to base via helicopter, transporting a comatose Artie with the dagger in his chest. Once they land, the medics take Artie to his quarters while Claudia tells Mrs. Frederic of how Artie had reverted to his normal self just before she stabbed him. Mrs. Frederic then warns the agents that now the Chinese Orchid has released the Sweating Sickness, every person on Earth is now in danger. 16 Hours Until First Mortalities Myka, Pete, and Mrs. Frederick go over the files on the Chinese Orchid and discover that each time it releases the plague and disintegrates into ash. When it is subsequently found, a few centuries later, it is back in its original form. Myka figures that there is an artifact that can restore plants to life and starts searching the records. While they work, Peter wonders how any of them, including Artie himself, can come back from the fact that Artie killed Leena. Mrs. Frederic tells the agents that Artie and Leena would both want them to save the world and Pete sets aside his concerns for the moment. Myka finally finds a reference to the Count of Saint. Germain, an 18th century courtier and conman who claimed he could "magically" bring plants back to life. They figure that he used an artifact and start digging into his history. Jane brings out a clock that belonged to Sigmund Freud and tells the agents that it will let them enter Artie's subconscious and let them try and free him. Pete finds a book written by Professor Bennett Sutton of Columbia University that has a detailed history of St. Germain. Mrs. Frederic gives them Artie's bag of break-in artifacts and tells them to get to the university and find out what Sutton knows about St. Germain's power over plants. Claudia and Steve join hands and then touch Artie's hand, and they find themselves in his subconscious: a virtual reality representation of Warehouse 13. They figure that they need to go to the office, Artie's "nerve center," but a representation of Dr. Calder appears and orders them to go. The agents hear something moving in the difference and Steve climbs up the shelves to see what it is. Meanwhile, Dr. Calder tells Claudia that it's not safe and that Artie wants them to leave. From the shelves, Steve sees that a wave of darkness is sweeping through the warehouse as Artie's mind shuts down. Pete and Myka fly to New York and go to Sutton's office. The place appears to have been violently searched, but Sutton's assistant tells them that it always looks like that. The agents finally locate Sutton, buried beneath a pile of books and passed out drunk. They wake him up and he only pays attention to them when he sees Myka. Sutton passes out and Pete slaps him awake to get him back on track. The professior explains that St. Germain passed himself off as a sorcerer to endear himself to Marie Antoinette. He starts to confirm that St. Germain always wore a ring when performing his illusion, but then starts vomiting because of his hangover. Claudia tries to get through to Dr. Calder but she keeps repeating that Artie doesn't want them to die when his mind shuts down. Artie's artifact bag appears and Claudia figures that he's subconsciously trying to help them. However, she discovers that the bag is filled with poisonous snakes. She quickly backs away as Dr. Calder repeats her warning one last time and disappears. Steve climbs back down and they head off for the office. After Sutton cleans up, he tells the agents that St. Germain's things were buried with him in a mausoleum deep within the catacombs of Paris. Marie had him buried there and placed an impenetrable lock on the door. Myka realizes that they have Boudin's map of the Paris catacombs, but Sutton figures that they don't have the legend that goes with it. He offers to help if they'll put in a word for him with the IRS, and says that he can lead them to the woman who has the legend. As the warehouse shuts down behind them, Claudia complains that the warehouse keeps killing everyone she loves. When she points out that nothing they do will bring back Leena, Steve insists that they have to keep fighting even though evil is relentless, and that Leena died trying to help Artie. As they move on, a memory-representation of Mrs. Frederic appears in front of them and tosses William Hornaday's Cap on the floor. Webs spring out, trapping Steve and Claudia in cocoons. On the news, Dr. Calder tries to warn the world about the spread of the plague. 7 Hours Until First Mortalities The darkness closes in on Claudia and Steve, who are unable to break out of the cocoons. Steve finally notices a spear on the shelf above and, rocking back and forth, knocks it onto the cap. When it's destroyed, the cocoons disappear. As the agents continue on, a memory-representation of James appears, firing a Tesla, and they take cover among the shelves. Using Artie's equipment, Pete and Myka break into Charlotte's home and disable the alarm system. As they search for the legend, Myka realizes that Sutton still hasn't told them the whole truth, but he refuses to answer her questions. As James stalks the agents, he calls out that he represents the embodiment of evil to Artie's mind, so it sent him to stop them. Steve tells Claudia to get to the office and then runs off, drawing James after him. He doubles back and tackles James, knocking him into the darkness... and Steve snaps out of his trance. Jane wonders what happened and he tells her that Claudia is still inside Artie's subconscious. Sutton takes the agents to Charlotte's study and they start searching for the legend while Sutton checks the next room. Myka starts to weaken from the plague but focuses and notices a painting. She starts to tell Pete that they've missed something, but Charlotte interrupts them, leading Sutton in at gunpoint. When Claudia gets to the office, she discovers that the door is locked. She screams Artie's name as the darkness closes in, and the door lets her through. She finds herself at the Bed and Breakfast as Artie plays the piano. He tells Claudia that he doesn't want her there, and she realizes that he's hiding from the real world. Leena comes in and accuses him of eating the last of the oatmeal scotchies. Charlotte tells the agents that she couldn't get to Barcelona because all flights have been grounded. She tells them that the police are on their way, and Myka insists that they're not thieves. Charlotte then points out that Sutton stole some gold coins from her collection, and no one believes him when he claims he found them on the floor. Pete distracts Charlotte and Myka stuns her with the Tesla. Sutton congratulates them and a disgusted Myka punches him out. Claudia tries to convince Artie that his mind is shutting down, but he insists that things are perfect there and refuses to face reality. He says that he wants to disappear when the darkness sweeps over everything, and admits that if he wakes up then he'll have to face what he did to Leena. The memory-representation of Leena listens to them talk and Artie finally ignores Claudia and goes back to playing the piano. However, he realizes that he can't find his place. The plague continues to sweep the world as people are hospitalized in the thousands. 1 Hour Until First Mortalities The trio goes to the catacombs and head for the vault, and St. Germain explains that Marie left the corpse of her servant, Sebastian, in his place. When they arrive, Myka spots several vases mounted on the walls and realizes that it's a lock. They open it with the password decoder and go inside, and spot the ring on a stone hand at the far end of the vault. As Pete grabs the ring, St. Germain takes a diamond from the top of his tomb. The diamond is a trap and poisoned iron darts shoot out of the walls. As they head for the door, St. Germain throws himself in the way of a dart meant for Myka, saving her life. He collapses, dying, and tells them to save the world. As he dies, the agents place the ring on the Chinese Orchid and it starts to reconstitute itself. Across the world, the black cloud of the Sweating Sickness sweeps out of everyone infected and is drawn back into the Chinese Orchid. The agents realize that they've saved everyone except for St. Germain. In Artie's subconscious, Artie, Claudia, and the unreal Leena watch as the darkness closes in on them. Leena asks Artie what he did to the real Leena, and Claudia assures him that something made him to do it. Leena fades away and Claudia says that some part of Artie wants to leave. A door appears in the wall and Claudia tells Artie that he's not done fighting. When he refuses to go through, Claudia shoves him through the doorway... and they both wake up. Claudia apologizes but Artie turns away from her, heartbroken. When Pete and Myka return, they check on Artie and discover that he's left his room. Claudia refuses to talk to them and Steve explains that Artie won't talk to them. At the Bed and Breakfast, Artie is playing the piano when Mrs. Frederic appears out of nowhere, as usual. She tells him that he's not responsible, but Artie says that doesn't make a difference. All Mrs. Frederic can tell him is that he can fix himself if he wants, and Artie says that he does. Mrs. Frederic promises that they will all help him get through his crisis and asks him to play the piano. In the Paris catacombs, Charlotte enters the vault and talks about her servant Sebastian and how she left him there. When she checks on St. Germain, she discovers that his body is gone. |
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Eddie McClintock as Pete Lattimer
- Joanne Kelly as Myka Bering
- Saul Rubinek as Artie Nielsen
- Allison Scagliotti as Claudia Donovan
- Aaron Ashmore as Steve Jinks
Special Guest Star[]
- Polly Walker as Charlotte Dupres
- James Marsters as Bennett Sutton/The Count of St. Germain
Guest Starring[]
- Roger Rees as James MacPherson
- Kate Mulgrew as Jane Lattimer
- Thomas Roberts as Himself
- Lindsay Wagner as Vanessa Calder
- CCH Pounder as Mrs. Irene Frederic
Special Appearance by[]
- Genelle Williams as Leena
Co-Starring[]
- Katherine Trowell as Sutton's Assistant
- Ali Adatia as Helicopter Pilot
Artifacts and Gadgets Featured[]
- The Count of Saint Germain's Ring - Can restore dying or dead plants to life. It is the main artifact of the episode.
- Analog Password Decoder - A cylindrical crytographic device used to bypass electronic entry systems requiring a password or some type of alpha-numeric code for access.
- Chinese Orchid - When the blossom is torn off the flower, it wilts & the petals turn into ash, releasing a plague of sweating sickness. The plague can only be reversed by restoring the orchid to its full strength.
- Francesco Borgia's Dagger - Can separate good from evil when the user says "I cast you out!" and stabs the afflicted object or person. When used to exorcise a person the dagger doesn't hurt them physically, though they may still suffer guilt over actions they performed pre-exorcism.
- Philosopher's Stone - Somehow (the exact means are unexplained) stops the aging of the person, rendering the individual immortal for all intents and purposes. The stone is said to be "long gone", along with the alchemist who made it.
- Sigmund Freud's Mantle Clock - Lets the user(s) enter into another person's subconscious mind.
- The Schlage - It was used by Pete and Myka to unlock the Count of Saint Germain's Crypt lock. It's currently in Artie's Bag.
- William Hornaday's Cap - Appears in Artie's subconscious. Traps nearby people in web cocoons when thrown to the ground.
- Nicolas Baudin's Map & Legend - Together allow the user to navigate the catacombs of Paris.
- Pangman Mountie's Hat - Effect(s) unknown. Shelving tag seen behind Steve and Claudia while hiding from MacPherson.
Trivia[]
- Along with numerous 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' shout-outs involving guest star James Marsters, there are also clear and continous 'Indiana Jones' references during the treasure hunt, culminating in the weight-triggered dart trap on 'the Count's' sarcophagus.
- Back at the Warehouse, Jane Lattimer (Kate Mulgrew) said to Claudia and Steve, "You two, you're with me", a phrase often used by her Star Trek Voyager character, Captain Kathryn Janeway.
- As a Biblical quotation, the title is often rendered in English as "the quick and the dead".
- The series claims the Chinese Orchid was collected by agents of Warehouse 8 in 1551[1], when English Sweating Sickness disappeared in real history. However, Warehouse 8 ended in 1517[2], and it was instead Warehouse 9 that reigned by 1551.[3]
Warehouse 13 : Season 4 | |||
#01 "A New Hope" | #06 "Fractures" | #11 "The Living and the Dead" | #16 "Runaway" |
#02 "An Evil Within" | #07 "Endless Wonder" | #12 "Parks and Rehabilitation" | #17 "What Matters Most" |
#03 "Personal Effects" | #08 "Second Chance" | #13 "The Big Snag" | #18 "Lost & Found" |
#04 "There's Always a Downside" | #09 "The Ones You Love" | #14 "The Sky's the Limit" | #19 "All the Time in the World" |
#05 "No Pain, No Gain" | #10 "We All Fall Down" | #15 "Instinct" | #20 "The Truth Hurts" |