EUReKA review Season 4 Episode 9 “I’ll Be Seeing You”

Okay, perhaps I was a bit harsh on the last episode, which aged a little better having 2 weeks to digest it. Allison and Carter’s romance doesn’t seem to be in danger of overstaying it’s welcome, as it wasn’t really the focal point of the show for these past 4 years - a la Ross and Rachel. Many of the events that were setup in the “Ex-Files” episode served as the foundation for this week’s “I’ll be seeing you”, making for one of the better finales Eureka has ever served up - though that is not saying much.

There was no compelling reason to undo the new timeline or even travel back, until Allison’s timely death this episode, which happened to occur moments before a time-travel jump that saw Carter and Grant go back to 1947. For the sake of convenience, these story conventions just have to be endured for the overall episode. Plus it’s trademark Eureka.

The Good: The alternate timeline is now the permanent timeline, which is great news. There was no reason to undo these changes - and a few predicted story arcs - like Allison having to lose her son, or Henry coping with the loss of his newly-gained wife, can now be put to bed. Jo just has to deal with the loss of Zane, but that seems to be remedied.

Dr. Grant. Callis shined again in this episode, despite the story he was dealt with. The moment when the jumper cables were not available for Allison, it all became clear Grant had a hand in this, and his expression was cold and a bit sinister - and no one does this better than James Callis. That cruel act was one of the most brain-frying moments I have ever seen on the show. All I could think was: Hey, Beverly Barlowe won’t be born, meaning her impact on Eureka will not occur! The consequences will send a huge ripple.…but then Allison still saved the day. Ah well.

Carter. This year it was more of a group effort with each crisis that occured, but this episode he was a determined guy set to make things right. After Allison’s death, his reaction was a bit intimidating and I thought he was going to draw his gun and start shooting people (I don’t think he ever draws his gun in this show - he is like Batman or something).

Henry and Jo for acknowledging what the audience is thinking: way to go Jack, only took you four years!

The Bad: Beverly Barlowe’s scheme to help rid the world of the atomic bomb by sending Grant back in time to help send her dad travel even further back in time to stop the Manhattan Project. You get that? So why not just send Grant - or even herself - back to the Manhattan Project directly? How was Grant key to all this?

It still smells like a retcon. The whole Barlowe dad thing feels like it really wasn’t thought out. His admission to keeping a low profile was a bit eye-rolling. There was also no clever moments that tied the finale to the season opener (things seen in the opener that are explained in the finale).

There was one scene that is puzzling beyond belief: When Grant and Carter suddenly ‘phased’ into the wardrobe they were wearing on their most recent time-travel adventure. BUT Carter prevented this trip from happening at the end. So what the heck are they doing wearing clothes from a prevented trip? Well turns out, those two who sent the recording in the past were yanked back to the present somehow. This wasn’t made clear. But still…the trip was prevented…what the heck. Bad writers bad. No treat.

Where did Grant find the time to invest in Johnson & Johnson? Or get an autographed Jackie Robinson baseball? Read previous paragraph.

The Awful: Nothing awful really happened this episode. Unless you start to think about time-travel paradoxes. Then your head will hurt, causing you to type blog entries in a really slow fashion. Ow ow ow.

Stray Observations: Carter’s scene where he raced down the road saying “I trust me…I trust me…I DON’T TRUST ME!” was hilarious, when you watch it the second time. Being told to drive into an open gorge would be hard to accept from a past self.

Glad to see Allison is promoting seat-belt safety, even if it is one of those story landmarks that viewers are supposed to latch onto. The practice went one-for-two in saving her life.Yay!

Did Beverly have to do the Star Trek Insurrection thing and cloak her lab just outside of town? Why not find a quiet corner of Montana and time-travel there? I think I missed a calling as a diabolical villain. I can scheme much better.

I predicted Grant would return to the past, or die in a selfless manner. Here is hoping he returns to the show in the future for a few episodes.

Grade: B- A nice finale that closes out a few story arcs, and hints at more to come. It could have been so much more if the writers thought out the whole season a little better. The time-travel gimmick only hindered the finale, but glad to see this timeline is being preserved.