Note: The following review contains spoilers for all aired episodes of Eureka, including the most recent, “A New World.”

“A New World” picks up precisely where “Founders’ Day” left off and does so brilliantly, further expanding upon the new timeline established in the previous episode and demonstrating just how much some things have changed in our little burgh of Eureka and how much other things have remained exactly the same.  As alluded to last week, most changes have been minor.  Henry explains that the more major alterations would most likely be centered upon the six people who time travelled and that the further one gets away from Eureka and them, the less changes there would be.  The bigger problem is revealed at the end of the episode–due to military protocol, were any of them to reveal to anyone else that they had time traveled, their lives could be at risk, and so they have to carry on with the facade of normalcy, living in a world very familiar to their own but with fundamental personal changes.  Jack has to consider allowing Tess, a woman he spent an entire year realizing isn’t right for him, to move in with him.  Jo has to deal with her almost-fiancee not even liking her.  Henry has to learn about a wife he knew only very casually in the past but who seems to know him very, very well.  The only two people who are unequivocally better off for now are Allison and Fargo.

Beginning with Allison, I have always found her a fascinating character, particularly because she is so protective of her son that she is willing to put others at risk to either ensure his safety or even connect with him.  From her end, her relationship with Kevin has always been very frustrating.  She loves him with all of her heart but has the spent the majority of his life unable to communicate with him due to his autism, and in spite of herself, she has often wished that he could be different.  Back in Season 2, Stark installed a machine in the Blake home that allowed Allison to experience shared dreams with Kevin, and even though it ended up causing others’ dreams to intersect as well, she hid the truth for a while, because she didn’t want her ability to interact with her son to end.  At the end of that season, she again broke protocol in order to protect him and found herself truly torn when the discovery that the Akashic field, which had allowed Kevin to again communicate with her almost like a normal boy (albeit an unparalleled genius “normal” boy), might kill him if the Artifact weren’t separated from him.  On the one hand, of course, she wanted her son to live, but she knew that again, he would be closed off from her, which gave her pause.

It is easy to see, then, why remaining in this reality is in her best interest, even if it might not be in anyone else’s, and also why she is briefly a potential suspect when the bridge device is destroyed.  And, yes, her motivations are very understandable.  At the same time, however, she is clearly being selfish, wanting this timeline to remain in effect for her own benefit.  It isn’t even necessarily in Kevin’s best interest, as this non-autistic Kevin may very well not be the same son that Allison has wanted to be able to speak with all these years–not that he is literally a different child but that we, as people, are shaped by our circumstances, and a Kevin who had never been autistic may not even have the same thoughts, hopes, desires, personality even as a Kevin who is.  It is to Eureka‘s immense credit that it is fun-spirited, seemingly light sci-fi that doesn’t shy away from these darker implications.  None of this, however, makes Allison wrong or bad.  It makes her human.

Interestingly, she wouldn’t be the only character on the show who considered changing reality itself for a person she loves.  Henry sent his mind back in time at the end of the first season to bring his love, Kim, back to life.  And while Eureka doesn’t directly reference that event in this episode, it is certainly hinted at, by Carter and Henry.  The reason they are worried that this alternate timeline might cause a ripple effect that could tear apart the space-time continuum is that this almost happened to them in the past–a past, incidentally, that may not have ever happened now.  Returning to Kevin for a moment, I also find it interesting that Carter asks Henry if it’s possible that Kevin had purposely gone about this in order to cure himself of his autism.  Another thing I love about Eureka is that the characters are intelligent–even the non-geniuses like Carter–and they often ask questions before the audience has a chance to, or at least at the same time.

Moving onto Fargo, the other luckiest person in Eureka, how wonderful is the revelation that he is now the head of GD and that the sycophantic Larry is now his sycophant?!  Although we don’t yet know how this event came to pass, I’m going to guess, based on the history of the show, that it all has to do with the Fargo genes.  To wit, in the second season episode, “Family Reunion,” it was discovered that Fargo’s grandfather, Pierre, could have been known as “Eureka’s Einstein” had his research not been stolen by Andre Sandrov, who became a billionaire off of Pierre’s ideas after the poor Fargo was shoved inside a cryo-chamber.  But what if, in this timeline, Pierre never ended up frozen?  What if, instead of the Fargo name being synonymous with “loser,” Pierre had become the billionaire savior of the town?  Wouldn’t his grandson, then, be due for some major nepotism, the world–and GD–at his fingertips, should he want it?  So, yeah, that’s my Dougie the Vampire Slayer Douglas Fargo, Head of GD theory.

Granted, it’s possible that I’m wrong or that the writers didn’t think of it, but at the same time, the episode displays such a phenomenal use of continuity that I wouldn’t be surprised at all.  One such great surprise?  The return of Andy, the robot sheriff who temporarily replaced Jack in the third season, now Jack’s deputy, while Jo has the prestigious title of head of security at GD.  Speaking of which, the scene in which Jack congratulates her on her job is sweet and heartwarming in all of the right ways, which says such a great deal about his respect and love for her.

And then there is Dr. Grant, who continues to give off the same jovial, golly-gee, harmless air as in “Founders’ Day,” but with a vaguely menacing vibe underlying his friendly exterior.  This is a man who just willingly admitted to the fact that he purposely took Carter’s phone, with the full knowledge that he might have been sacrificing this man he didn’t know, just so that he could see the future.  And while his overwhelming impulse to do so is understandable, his actions are those of someone who might value science over people and who might do whatever it takes in order to reach the ends he wants or requires.  Is there a chance that he wasn’t as innocent as he claimed from the start?  We’ll have to wait and see.  In the meantime, he is a compelling, enigmatic character played to perfection by Callis, and one whose secrets it will be most fascinating to learn.

Other Nifty Things of Note/Questions:

• I really like how casually the show is revealing Carter’s close friendship with Kevin.  Kevin confides in Carter, waltzes into his house and grabs some food, asks him why his mom’s being so weird.  It leads one–as well as Jack, I’m sure–to wonder how this relationship between them developed in the first place.  Did Zoe babysit him when he was younger, perhaps?
• It’s very interesting how Allison masquerading as a nurse in the previous episode foreshadows her being the chief medical officer in this timeline.
• Indoor positron storm. Very cool.
• But are we absolutely sure the storm is in fact what destroyed the device, or is it possible that there is a more human culprit?

Next week: Wil Wheaton ZOMG!

All Eureka Episodes

Related posts:

1. Eureka 4.01: “Founders’ Day”
2. Very, Very Weird Science: Eureka
3. “Weird Science”: Unnatural History

Published Date: 07/18/2010
SECTION: Entertainment | REGION: Burlington, VT
SOURCE: rob will review...

Category: TV, TVTV: Eureka, TV: EurekaEureka, Eureka