Eureka 5×03 “Force Quit” – Recap/Review

The final season of SyFy’s hit original show Eureka is off and running. The third episode, titled “Force Quit”, which aired Monday night on the cable network, served to effectively wrap up the Astraeus mission, but it brought up just as many questions as it answered.

The main plot of the episode centered around Sheriff Jack Carter. Now aware of just what has happened to the crew of the lost spacecraft, and with a little help from old enemy Beverly Barlow, Sheriff Carter heads into the virtual reality in which the crew has been living for the last month, facing down killer NPCs, and attempting to rescue his friends before their captors realize what he’s up to.

Overall, I give the episode a 3.5/5. My full review after the jump.

 

WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS

 

Alright, if you’re reading this, that means you’ve either seen the episode, or you don’t care. Either way, you can no longer get mad at me for telling you what happens. Those are the rules.

My initial concern going into the episode was how they were going to deal with key events of the previous one, namely, how they were going to handle the death of Dr. Holly Martin (Felicia Day). Now, you’ll learn quickly if you read enough of my television reviews, that I come from the Joss Whedon school of television writing, wherein popular characters die regularly, quickly, and with great effect on the series as a whole. All too often I find myself losing interest in a show when their main characters never experience any real peril. If I’m not terrified that you’re about to kill my favorite character (unless that character’s name is in the title), then you’re not doing your job. That said, do not take lightly the fact that I like what the Eureka writers are doing with this one … so far. Though, to be fair, I’m impressed when characters from a SciFi show stay dead at all (re: Daniel Jackson in Stargate: SG-1).

While much of Monday’s episode involved Sheriff Carter trying to keep the news of Holly’s death from Fargo in order to keep him focused on getting out of “the matrix” as they referred to it, the final moments leave us wondering just how much of an effect her death will have on future episodes, and, most importantly, on Fargo’s character, or if the character is ever going to be given a break in the love department. Personally, I’d like to see him hold Beverly Barlow responsible in whatever future encounter they have with her.

Fargo: I couldn’t protect her.

Carter: Neither could I.

And, speaking of “the matrix”, I for one am very glad they wrapped that story up as quickly as they did, spending only the first three episodes, instead of the entire first half of the season, dealing with the crisis of the missing Astraeus crew. I thought the way they dealt with it, placing them in a virtual reality, while predictable, was interesting enough to round out the story, while still easy enough to write their way out of once it had served their purposes. This held my attention much more effectively than a drawn out “Lost in Space” type story ever could, and allows us to get back into the fun, quirky episodes that make Eureka so enjoyable.

All in all, the episode was a great ending to an extended plotline, though I don’t think we’ve even begun to realize the effect the events of the last three weeks will have on the characters. While I hate to see it go, and am a little concerned over where the sudden cancellation will leave us at the end, if the previews are any indication, I have no doubt that this final season of Eureka will be just as exciting, gut-wrenching, and gut-bursting as the last four.

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