Review - Warehouse 13 Season 3 Episode 6 Don't Hate the Player

Video games is just one of those things that television writers can't seem to get a hold of. They seem to be stuck in the video game paradigm from 20-30 years ago when earning points, high scores, funky sound effects, and dreams of virtual reality were the norm. Little do they know that games, especially RPGs, have progressed far beyond that point in terms of plot, characters, dialogue, and game play. I guess this is just one of those things that writers are behind on, like when they throw in references to Twitter years after it's become popular. OK, gripe finished.

"Don't Hate the Player" is definitely one of the coolest episodes of the entire series, with an entire virtual world for the characters to explore. The attention to detail is simply stunning, and the writers made full use of the video game setting. We see Artie, Leena, and Claudia virtualized into their own unique characters, as well as the characters who enter into the game. The plot and artifact weren't important, but it didn't matter since most viewers were probably thinking how fucking awesome everything looked and how the episode was.

The B plot, consisting of Artie and Steve meeting Agent Sikowski, was mostly filler and was very straightforward. There's a painting that causes people to die, so Artie and Steve try to replace it which they do. The plot did have a greater implication for future episodes, however, as Sikowski again managed to fool everyone. She embeds bugs into the painting which go loose throughout the Warehouse. I'm beginning to wonder whether Steve may be helping her. He seems innocent enough, but his amazing truth-telling abilities fail only when it comes to Sikowski. Either she's supremely good at lying, has an artifact that helps her lie, or Jinx is in on the scheme.

Score: 9.3/10

Loved the usage of the music from the classic Star Trek fight scene from "Amok Time."