To be honest, I was initially not looking forward to this episode of Warehouse 13. Usually I get more excited about WH13 episodes when they’re addressing a season-long arc, and it’s a sure bet they wouldn’t do that in their Christmas episode. However, I really did enjoy it! Though it didn’t dive into any sort of long story arc — and I know not every episode has to or should do that — it did an excellent job of fitting in the story of It’s A Wonderful Life into an artifact’s effects.
What I really liked about this episode was that, in the end, Artie and Pete were forced to have extreme faith and sacrifice themselves. For a show that leans heavily toward the silly and comedic, seeing Artie and Pete take action to die painfully in hopes that the Philip Van Doren Stern brush would turn things back to normal was sort of a surprise.
Seeing how some people (and artifacts) ended up (or didn’t end up) because of Pete’s lack of existence was really neat to see, and the call back all the way to the series premiere was even cooler. Part of me hoped to see Pete make other references to mistakes in his reality, ones that hadn’t happened in the Pete-less one, though none really came to mind. The Cecil B. DeMille riding crop and the Honjo Masamune sword from episodes past made appearances — again, cool call backs to the past. I also had forgotten that Artie knew Claudia before he’d met Pete.
Here I was not looking forward to Warehouse 13 tonight, and it brought me into the holiday spirit. How about that!
Some notable quotes:
“What do you want me to do?” – Claudia
“Break into a large depository filled with mystical artifacts located in the South Dakotan Badlands?” – Pete
“Warehouse 13? I’ve been trying to break into that place for years. One condition.” – Claudia
“Name it.” – Pete
“When we’re done, I get him. [Indicating Artie]” – Claudia
“Deal.” – Pete
“Hey!” – Artie
“Relax! She shocks you all the time. It’s your thing.” – Pete
“Claudia … I’m really sorry that your brother …” – Artie
“Not now, Grumps. I’m being awesome.” – Claudia
“Wait … That’s your ‘I’ve got a plan’ look. I love that look!” – Pete, to Myka
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Dec 06, 2011 @ 22:00 EST5EDT
I loved the episode. It was fresh and fun and Christmasy (sic) and totally played up the show’s core strengths. But I was wanting at the end for Pete to suggest they improve the storage for the brush – that artifact is way too powerful to be left on the shelf like that. Also, I think Artie and Mrs. Fredericks deserved to know the circumstances of Pete’s love-fest.
*POST AUTHOR*
Actually, I wonder what happened in the “real” timeline — was Pete just gone, or was there no timeline to begin with?
I’m wondering if they could use the brush on someone down the road. Throw it at them and POOF.
Go back in time with the watch, get the upholstery brush & toss it at Sykes to remove him from existence, perhaps, before he can wreak havoc w / Warehouse 13 in the present ?
Remember Artie once mentioned he’d complained many times to Mrs. Frederic about getting the funding to install mesh screens on all the shelves. I’d go with individual Neutralizer-lined electronic lockers for each and every artifact, but they don’t seem to have the budget for such things. Besides, the show wouldn’t be as much fun without the housekeeping accidents.
I think there was only a single timeline. The brush erased Pete’s past, but plopped him in the middle of the new timeline so he could experience it as a stranger, then changed the timeline back when he caught it again. No Mirror Universes required.
The Regents seem to have a principled aversion to killing anyone, which is why they resort to bronzing and memory wiping when executing villains could save many lives down the road. I doubt they’d ever intentionally use the brush on anyone.
It was a nice variation on ” It’s a Wonderful Life “, but last December’s WH 13 Christmas special was more interesting, It dealt more with a ” family ” theme ( The father / husband who was going to be erased by the faux Santa figure saved by his daughter & ex – wife, & Artie seeing his lovable if grumpy old dad again for the 1st time in years, for example ).
I did like seeing the alternate universe agents, Regents & associates of WH 13, & the alternate Leena, though.
As a whole, though, I LOVE THIS SERIES. It’s one of the few reasons I still watch the SyFy / Sci – Fi Channel !