Two plots take place with two very different outcomes. The android Kim is rapidly failing and drastic measures must be taken to save her data. Henry meanwhile is doing everything he can to save both android and data, but it doesn't look promising. At the same time, Carter must contend with an outbreak of drownings in unlikely places, including in a car found on the highway. Turns out folks are drowning from within, and only women are affected. The cause would seem to be a virus, at least at first. Carter;s gal pal Tess is one of those apparently exposed to whatever is causing these horrible deaths, and Carter is frantic to save her life and solve the mystery. The two plots dovetail nicely in the end. For any man who has ever ended up at a baby shower, as Carter does here, give this episode a look. The baby shower sequence is a real hoot.
4 Reviews
Soggy Soap Opera
GunnersMate22 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Shower the People finds the townsfolk of Eureka in the midst of Allison's baby shower and nearing delivery date, Global Dynamics trying to figure out how to harvest all of BioKim's data, and Henry seeing more and more of Kim in BioKim. There is plenty of humor surrounding the shower and Carter's reactions to Allison's condition, but melodrama in everything related to BioKim. Too much melodrama - which overshadows the sci-fi. Add to that a rash of drownings of people who are nowhere near a body of water and the episodic crisis is fully formed. While the crisis resolution is solid sci-fi, the melodrama chokes out everything else. It is sad and manipulative and when given the melodramatic-manipulator side story of Jack and how-much-longer-are-we-stuck-with-her-Tess, and the episode cracks under the weight. Could have been better.
This is why you hire a medical advisor...
MelliK9923 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Where to start with this episode? I'll start with what I thought was good which is the relationship between Henry and Kim 2.0. After initially wanting to avoid her and treat her like a "thing," Henry is unsurprisingly drawn to Kim 2.0 who shares so many similarities with the original Kim. Seeing his journey from bonding with her to losing her, and essentially having to deal with the grief of losing Kim all over again, felt very authentic and poignant and I thought both Joe Morton and Tamlyn Tomita's performances were great.
Now for the rest. If you're going to make medical problems a major part of an episode, you need more than a general scientific advisor, and this episode highlights that like no other. The crux of the storyline involving Tess and the women at the baby shower is that they've been exposed to altered compressed water that's now flooding their lungs and drowning/threatening to drown them. It's at this point that anyone with a medical background will wonder if Eureka is devoid of competent physicians, because this could have been managed easily and far more safely with existing technology rather than with untested half-assed experiments. Diuretics have existed for decades, as has dialysis/ultrafiltration, both of which could have safely drawn excess water off of Tess. And whose bright idea was it to stick her in a tub with a scuba mask when ventilators exist? And to make her be fully awake and deal with a sensation of drowning when sedation exists is downright unethical.
Eureka ran into this problem nearly every time an episode centered around a medical issue, but this episode was more egregious than most. I know consultants cost money, but it boggles my mind why they paid a scientific advisor who couldn't adequately advise them on these types of episodes rather than literally any competent physician who could have prevented them from looking so foolish.
Now for the rest. If you're going to make medical problems a major part of an episode, you need more than a general scientific advisor, and this episode highlights that like no other. The crux of the storyline involving Tess and the women at the baby shower is that they've been exposed to altered compressed water that's now flooding their lungs and drowning/threatening to drown them. It's at this point that anyone with a medical background will wonder if Eureka is devoid of competent physicians, because this could have been managed easily and far more safely with existing technology rather than with untested half-assed experiments. Diuretics have existed for decades, as has dialysis/ultrafiltration, both of which could have safely drawn excess water off of Tess. And whose bright idea was it to stick her in a tub with a scuba mask when ventilators exist? And to make her be fully awake and deal with a sensation of drowning when sedation exists is downright unethical.
Eureka ran into this problem nearly every time an episode centered around a medical issue, but this episode was more egregious than most. I know consultants cost money, but it boggles my mind why they paid a scientific advisor who couldn't adequately advise them on these types of episodes rather than literally any competent physician who could have prevented them from looking so foolish.
Inhuman and ludicrous
Harry-114-56692627 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The cavalier and callous way the scientists talk about killing a sentient and unique being (resurrected Kim) is just unbelievable. This not just stretches credibility but makes everyone but Henry monstrously unlikable.
The resurrected Kim storyline was ridiculous as it was but the complete lack of even a sliver of humanity make this a terribly written episode.
The secondary plot about the on-land drownings is scientifically equally ludicrous but at least the drama is sound.
And to be clear: the science is almost always wacky and plane wrong in Eureka. But as long as the characters act in a believable way it's entertaining.
This episode fails across the board.
The resurrected Kim storyline was ridiculous as it was but the complete lack of even a sliver of humanity make this a terribly written episode.
The secondary plot about the on-land drownings is scientifically equally ludicrous but at least the drama is sound.
And to be clear: the science is almost always wacky and plane wrong in Eureka. But as long as the characters act in a believable way it's entertaining.
This episode fails across the board.
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