It may be a mistake to remove the romance from Warehouse 13; for one thing my wife will probably stop watching it with me, which always makes a show more difficult to keep up with.
However, it’s also an important dynamic to the development of the characters, and while simply bringing in another girl to replace the one that left is sometimes too obvious as a plot device, perhaps now was not the time to completely remove romance from among the protagonists.
The relationship between the two protagonists of Warehouse 13, a show about secret agents (in a division of the Secret Service) who spend their days searching for dangerous artifacts which have become imbued with strange powers due to proximity to great people or events, was just about to blossom into something more.
Pete’s relationship with the veterinarian was coming to a close at the end of the last season, and it seemed like Myka was beginning to open up to him emotionally.
Perhaps that is one reason why her character has been removed from the show.
We’ve all learned over the years that TV writers prefer potential romance over real romance, due to the opportunities for drama and awkward humor.
Perhaps the characters were too close, and need to be given time. Maybe Myka is only leaving the organization for a short time. No word on that, of course.
Either way, I fully expected news of Joanne Kelly’s replacement on the show to contain the name of another leggy actress. She would portray an agent who takes her job more seriously that Myka ever did, and present a tough outer shell for Pete to crack, perhaps by saving her life a few times.
That seems to be the formulae for these things, and I didn’t think Warehouse 13 would break this longstanding tradition of creating sexual tension between the Protagonists in a show of this style by announcing a male actor, Aaron Ashmore, to play the part of the new agent.
Of course they could be taking a cue from Torchwood, and introducing a gay or bisexual character to the team. That would certainly give the writers plenty of opportunity for awkward situational humor.
However, I doubt that the network execs would feel that American audiences are ready for such a character.
More likely, the show will shift the romantic focus over to a secondary character, the Warehouse technician, Claudia.
Last season saw her romance with a local boy, who seems to be in some trouble with organized crime, come to a rocky start (derailed briefly by the crossover with Eureka). It has some potential, but so far, it’s been treated mostly as a device to bring Artie and Claudia closer together, as she’s still young enough (apparently) to need a father figure of sorts to help her through the complexities of dating.
Artie himself is also a candidate for a romantic sub-plot, but it hasn’t been explored much, and it doesn’t feel like the writers really want to go anywhere with it.
The bottom line is that the dynamic in the field will change drastically for the protagonist agents.
Without sexual tension to create awkward and interesting situation for the characters to work through, it’s going to be a lot more challenging to make their relationship interesting. As always, we can only wait and see how they handle it.
Hopefully, it doesn’t kill the show, as it’s one of my favorites right now.
