Eureka: Games People Play

The plot of this episode is a bit easy to get ahead of, if only by process of elimination. It's also a bit of a cheat - just the very nature of it, the episode is essentially a variation on the "it was all a dream!" variety. Luckily, the fact that it's all in Carter's head is not the big climactic reveal, and instead the show wisely chooses an emotional moment to close on.

Even knowing the basics of what's going on, it's fun to watch Carter try and get ahead of the game and get answers before the next person he talks to disappears. There's an undeniable poignancy to how the episode deals with Jack's fear of losing Zoe. He's a man who is good at his job, but that job happens to take up an awful lot of his time. He's not always clear on what's going on in Zoe's life, often being a few steps behind on what is the latest development in her life. However, he knows that being in Eureka has been good for her, probably the best thing that's happened to her. What he won't admit is that it's also the best thing for him.

The fact that Jack won't "fight for Zoe" is not something born out of pride or an inability to be open with his emotions - it's out of doubt that he could really be what's best for Zoe. The journey that Jack takes with the help of Beverly's therapy device is one in which he learns to trust not just his ability as a Sheriff, but his worth as a father. It's something that he has to learn, but Zoe already knows it. When she looks down at Jack in the hospital bed she refuses to move - saying, "He wouldn't leave me, and I'm not leaving him." It's one of those moments where I know another gear has clicked into place on the show and this very important core relationship between these two characters is now that much stronger, lending a greater resonance to stories to come.

Meanwhile, Henry is closing in on what Beverly was doing in Kim's lab and settling in to his job at Global Dynamics. Beverly is of course conspicuous in her absence and remains a bit of an ominous presence without ever being…present. The show is doing a fine job of developing this continuing story and laying the seeds of whatever Henry is up to and how that may collide with whatever it is the Consortium is up to.