Eureka: Show Me the Mummy (Episode 305)

Queen of the Undead

Alright, so this week’s title might be a groaner, but the episode turned out to be a good one.  Aunt Lexie’s still hanging around the smart-house, listening to BSG-style zither music and doing yoga – don’t worry, it’s not harmful to the baby.  Baby daddy is still half-way around the world.  Lex has been making changes, such as feng shui-ing S.A.R.A.H. and soy milk – ooh, brave new world.  Luckily a call from G.D. gets Carter out of there.  In the Dr. Nathan Stark Memorial Hallway, Fargo is obsessing over every last detail, while Henry is forced to endure him.  Carter’s looking for Thorne who is in Section 3, where today’s big unveiling of a tomb has caused some hubbub.  This town sure loves big unveilings (as evident in just about every episode this season).  You’d think they’d have learned their lesson by now. 

There is a man who has chained himself to the lab – Dr. Wilding, Eureka’s Egyptologist.  Basically, the man loves the pyramids.  This has angered Thorne and Dr. Sebastian Marx, a pompous ass filling the void left by the late Dr. Stark.  The tomb in question belonged to a Queen Niota, and the message over the tomb says crucial words like “danger” and “death.”  This tomb, by the way, was flown from Egypt to Eureka (using fancy-shmancy airbags) so it could be opened in a safe and controlled environment.  But most tombs come with a legend or a lore or just bad mojo – this doomed queen will rise again.  Quick, hide Abbott and Costello!  Carter talks down Wilding who submits, but says that he warned them.  Of course he did. 

Allison is in her office when Carter comes to visit.  It seems that Allison has been away for a few weeks at an undisclosed location, taking time to grieve.  Carter wants to make sure she’s ready to come back, and of course she says she is.  That a girl!  Carter makes good on his promise to Nathan to give Allison the necklace wedding-present, and she is simply taken aback by the beauty of the diamond.  She puts on the necklace and has herself a little cry. 

Back in Section 3, a high-tech “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” laser is used to open the tomb doors.  Dr. Marx and his camerawoman enter the tomb and suddenly Marx is spotting a pretty lousy British accent!  Crickey!  They shoot a bit of footage and call it a day.  Fargo, however, is still at work.  Alone in the Stark Hallway, he is finding the best spot to hang a portrait of said-Dr. Stark.  He tries a number of locations, but no luck.  Suddenly, he thinks he hears something!  Nope, nothing.  Just the wind through some hanging plastic (the hall is still under construction).  Again, a noise.  Paranoia, or the damned queen rising from her tomb?  Let’s ask the boney, diseased hand that’s just tapped Fargo on the neck.  Mummy!

Fargo has gone to fetch Carter and they’re going to explore the tomb.  Carter mutters an “any mummy home?” that rivals the title for bad pun of the night.  Dr. Marx is found on the ground – he’s alive.  But Queen Niota’s sarcophagus is empty.  Someone’s taken her.  Allison is in her office again, and as she’s shutting down for the night, she turns off the lights and HOLY UNDEAD SPIRIT, Batman, it’s Nathan!  “I will always love you.”  The lights come on and he’s gone.  Wowzers. 

I see dead people.

Marx has been moved to the hospital area where it is under the assumption that he’s dehydrated – he’s been in the desert a while.  Marx didn’t take the mummy because he said he left and came back to find it missing.  He naturally accuses Wilding of taking it.  There’s a lot of accusing that goes on in Eureka.  Fargo still thinks it was the mummy.  Wilding is brought to the sheriff’s office and assures Carter he didn’t take the queen.  He respects the Egyptians too much to do so – he says that they were the first scientists.  In fact, Carter shouldn’t belief Marx’s story – his real name is Paco Lopez and it turns out he’s got a pretty long wrap sheet, including smuggling antiquities and tomb raiding.  He can be found at Café Diem for his book signing…you guessed it…entitled “Show Me the Mummy”!  Oh, and Diem’s having Pharaoh-palooza.  Classy. 

It’s a regular party at Diem.  Carter still can’t get a normal cup of coffee, and is losing his appetite when Fargo comes in with a thirst that must be quenched and some crystallized herring blood – he found it in the tomb, and basically says that it was able to regenerate somehow, most likely from the laser rays that opened the tomb.  Enter Lexie carrying a portable boom box blasting her zen music.  We learn that Lexie is the composer of it, and it is supposed to help reduce stress.  She makes sure to give a copy to her big brother.  Carter and Jo head over to Beverly’s old bed and breakfast to see Marx. 

Henry is still at work on carving Nathan’s memorial when Thorne pays him a visit.  He is starting to dread these.  She hands him another “project.”  This time, it’s a cryptex, a highly-intricate combination lock of sorts, that usually contains symbols as markers.  Henry doesn’t recognize the symbols, and when he asks where this came from, Thorne says it came from an undisclosed location that would be an alternate site for her “hotel.”  Henry doesn’t like the sound of this, and says he won’t help unless he knows what’s really going on.  Too bad it’s “classified.”  Henry’s not interested. 

At the B&B, Marx is locked in his room.  Jo picks it and they see a puddle coming from the bathroom.  The bathroom is filled with steam and Marx’s dead (and completely dehydrated) body is in the bathtub.  Dehydrated and in water…now that’s a mystery. 

G.D.’s finest quarantine the area and Henry’s leading the team.  Most likey an infection killed Marx.  His body was completely drained of fluid…yuck.  Also, it’s probable that it can only be conducted through contact, so it isn’t airborne.  Who else had contact with the tomb?  Camerawoman Eileen Michaels, that’s who!  Allison needs a moment to herself so she seeks sanctuary in her car.  She adjusts her rear-view mirror and holy crap, Nathan’s in the back!  Thorne taps on the glass and startles her, and Nathan is gone.  Thorne is here to show that she isn’t an emotionless robot, and we learn that her husband died years ago.  She says it’s possible to get past what has happened, but not get over it.  Very powerful words.  She makes Allison know that she’s not alone. 

Zane and Carter are looking through G.D.’s files to investigate Eileen.  According to security, she never left the building last night.  Oh, and some of the hieroglyphics on the tomb mention suspicious words like “plague.”  Carter finds Fargo and he thinks that it was Eileen who scared him last night, not Queen Niota.  He’s right – Eileen’s body is found in the fountain, drained as well.  All G.D. employees are going to have to be tested to see if they’re carrying the infection.  Are there symptoms?  One, so far – the infected seem to need massive amounts of water.  And what’s Fargo doing in the background?  Why he’s destroying a water fountain and sucking on the hose.  Carter and Allison put it best.  “Oh no.” 

Fargo’s in the hospital with a jug of water.  Thorne, Allison, Carter, Wilding, and Zane are all on the case.  Henry is off doing the autopsy of Eileen.  There’s a big problem though – her body has completely disintegrated in the body bag.  It’s strange, because Marx’s body didn’t turn to dust, but there were some strange growths inside of him.  Zane’s still trying to decode the hieroglyphics with Wilding, but he’s confident – he’s a “puzzle guy.”  They can figure out most of the hieroglyphics, but one – one that looks like a bunch of clouds – is a mystery.  But it seems as if Queen Niota didn’t die from the plague.  Instead, her priests killed her and locked her in the tomb.  Carter has a brainstorm and realizes that no one stole the mummy body, it’s still in the chamber.  Correct, Sheriff Carter!  Her body has turned to dust, just like Eileen’s. 

Everyone is still trying to save Fargo, but even keeping him hydrated isn’t working.  In fact, it’s making him weaker.  Allison shows Carter a sample of his blood and tells him that this is some kind of disease they’ve never seen.  Carter steps up to the plate and knocks another one out of the park.  What if this isn’t a disease, but microscopic insects?  The crystallized fish blood and these insects might share similar properties.  Essentially, the bugs were freeze-dried, and much like sea monkeys, are thriving off of the water in Fargo’s body.  In fact, hydrating Fargo this much might speed up their metamorphosis.  In the quarantine tent, Henry checks out the fish blood, then sets it down and leaves.  The blood begins to bubble over, as do the growths inside the deceased Dr. Marx.  Henry assures Carter that microscopic organisms can’t get out of the tent, but he’s afraid of something bigger.  Dr. Marx’s chest bursts open and out fly hundreds upon hundred of bugs!  “Why couldn’t it have been butterflies?” wonders Carter. 

The swarm of insects are going to infest human after human, reproduce, and kill them, unless something is done fast.  Café Diem is in full lockdown and the power goes out, except for Lexie’s battery powered boom box (still playing her tunes).  It’s too loud over the phone so Carter has Zoe tell Lex to turn the music off.  Hey, what do you know, the bugs stop swarming outside of Diem.  Carter has them turn the music on, and the bugs are back.  Harmonic frequencies, you cheeky little monkey you! 

Tests come back and the water in the fountain contained nothing out of the ordinary that would cause Eileen to disintegrate, as opposed to Marx’s body which was preserved.  However, the fountain water was cold and Marx’s body was found in hot water.  Can cold kill the bugs?  “Save the Fargo, save the town.”  Very slick, NBC Universal, parent company of SciFi Channel.  Fargo goes into the cryo-freeze, but they must be gentle – his body is very weak from the bugs.  They manage to freeze him and the bugs stop moving.  Is it that they are frozen or dead?  They defrost Fargo but his heart isn’t beating.  After a few moments, it kicks in, and the bugs are definitely dead.  Allison claims she almost lost it for a moment, and then to really push her over the edge, there’s Ghost Nathan again!  And Carter and Henry can see him too!  What?!  Oh, Allison, you know that giant logic diamond you have around your neck?  Well, every time you put your hand over it and remove it, there’s Nathan.  Sneaky son-of-a-gun left a holographic recording for her, much like how Princess Leia made one for Obi-Wan Kenobi.  As Fargo’s coming out of his deep freeze, he sees the Nathan hologram and thinks not only that he himself has died, but he must be in heaven.  Hero worship must be a beautiful thing. 

Look what you did, Fargo.

Ok, back to the bugs.  They can’t freeze the town, but they can get all of the bugs into one very cold spot all at once.  Carter’s car is outfitted with a badass sound system and a fresh copy of Lex’s mood music.  Carter plays the Pied Piper and leads the bugs to Diem, where he throws a boom box into Vincent’s freezer.  -273 degrees Kelvin ought to do the little suckers in.  But they’re tough – they start pounding on the inside of the freezer door, leaving many freaky indentations in the door.  But the bugs fall dead and that’s the end of that chapter. 

Zane’s still at work at the tomb when Thorne comes in.  She offers him the same cryptex she offered Henry.  Zane, being a self-proclaimed “puzzle guy” is more than willing to accept.  He asks no questions, and is just happy to be given such a challenge.  Well, challenge might not be the right word – he did crack his dad’s safe at age 5.  Thorne is pleased. 

Allison tells Carter that she should probably be alone to view Nathan’s whole message.  He understands and lets her be alone.  She places the diamond into the box, which activates the message.  Nathan appears and gives a very heartfelt speech about how he imprinted a bit of himself into this diamond much like how Allison had imprinted herself in his heart.  He owns up for his past mistakes, and promises that he will always love her, and will never leave her.  Allison fully breaks down.  We end on “Goodbye, Nathan.” 

That, folks, is some damn fine television.  Next week – superheroes!  I can’t wait.  Feel free to post questions and comments, and I’ll see you next time.