Recap / Eureka Force Quit

Jack's life in Beverly's hands. What could go wrong?

Fargo: Guys... We're trapped in the matrix!
Allison: We know!
Fargo: ...You could have told me in your message.

Beverly Barlowe shows up in the real Eureka to help Carter, Henry and Jo get the Astreus crew back. Senator Wen is suspicious, and tragic news awaits Fargo as he searches for Holly.

Tropes

• Alone with the Psycho: Grace is cornered by NPC!Henry in the garage. Bluffing him out doesn't work and she's about to be "retired" when Carter bursts in to rescue her.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Carter rescues Grace from NPC!Henry when she's about to be "retired" for knowing she's in a simulation.
  • Jo arrives just in time to save Zane from Dekker, who's about to shoot him after he escapes the matrix.
• Call-Back:
  • Beverly admits Carter was always good at his job, presumably referencing him identifying her in Omega Girls.
  • Zane escapes the matrix by getting Allison to defibrillate him, remembering what happened when he was electrocuted in Lost.
  • At the end, Andy wonders why the returned Astreus crew are avoiding him.
• Did Not Think This Through: Carter's idea to remember what he has to do to blow up the Astreus? Write it on his hand. Which will not come with him into the simulation.
  Jo: You know what to do?
  Carter: Yeah. Wrote it on my hand.
  Jo: Carter, just think about that for a second.
  Carter: Right. Well, I'll memorize it.
• Distracted by the Sexy: NPC!Jo surprises Carter at their house, while Fargo is there too.
  Fargo: [Appears with a device] Okay, now we can... [Spots Jo] ... take our own sweet time! [Carter drags him away] Such amazing detail!
  Carter: Stop staring! [Shoves him towards the door]
  Fargo: Well, it's hard not to!
• The Dog Bites Back: After Senator Wen killed Holly against Beverly's protests, Beverly helps Team Eureka to free the crew.
• Dumped via Text Message: The explanation Fargo's been given for Holly's disappearance.
  Fargo: Holly dumped me. By memo!
  Zane: Oh, even I wouldn't do that.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Beverly approaches Carter to help rescue the Astreus crew because of Holly's murder.
  Beverly: I just wanted their ideas, not their lives.
• Faith in the Foe: When forced to choose between trusting Beverly or trusting Wen, Henry chooses Beverly.
• Game-Breaking Bug: In-Universe example. Blowing up the matrix version of the Astreus causes a cascade failure that will swallow up the entire matrix and anyone inside it unless they leave in time.
• A Glitch in the Matrix: The simulation continues to glitch despite only having twenty minds to support now. Zane's suspicions are aroused when he sees a bird get "stuck" on a rock, then when he tries to show Carter, Carter's form glitches.
• Godzilla Threshold: Electrocuting Zane with defibrillators is not a good idea, but with the matrix collapsing around them, it's worth trying anything to get him out so he can try and revive the others.
• Karma Houdini: Beverly gets away while Carter is coming around from the matrix and Henry and Wen's team are unconscious from the grenade Henry set off.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Beverly puts Senator Wen in a little version of the matrix, containing only the sheriff's office.
• Leave No Witnesses: Beverly tells Carter and Henry that Wen intends to murder the Astreus crew rather than risk them remembering enough to expose her, hence her own defection.
• Malaproper: Jack, when trying to explain The Plan to Zane without the help of his hand notes.
  Zane: We're gonna try to blow up the Astraeus? That's not gonna be easy. That ship was made to take a pounding.
  Carter: I know, but that's why I wrote on... [Looks at his palm. There's nothing there] Oh, I wrote...
  Zane: Great.
  Carter: This is a virtual hand now.
  Zane: Mm-hmm.
  Carter: [Tries to remember] It's... ironic.
  Zane: Mm-mm.
  Carter: I got this. That means it's a different word. It's... bionic.
  Zane: [Shakes head]
  Carter: It's... [Remembers] ionic!
  Zane: Resonator! Ionic resonator!

• Oh, Crap!: A Tearjerker when Jo invites Fargo to take a walk with her so she can tell him about Holly. His face changes as he realises what she's about to tell him.
• Properly Paranoid: Played With. Carter and Henry are understandably leery of trusting Beverly. She does help them rescue the crew of the Astreus, but escapes.
  Beverly: I came to you, is the cell really necessary?
  Carter: Oh, let me think... YES!
• Pun: Henry makes the obvious one before Jack enters the matrix.
  Henry: We're ready to jack you in... Jack.
  Carter: Nice.
• Race for Your Love: Fargo tries to run after Holly, leading him to realise he's in a simulation as he can't leave Eureka.
• Second-Person Attack: Used when Carter arrives in the matrix in the middle of the forest outside town, only to see Zane coming at him with a determined expression and a big stick.
• Shout-Out:
  • The simulation starts being referred to as The Matrix.
  • Allison references Titanic (1997) when she tells Carter, "Jack, don't let go."
• Something Only They Would Say: Carter enters the matrix and replaces his NPC doppelganger just in time to be clobbered over the head by Zane, who NPC!Carter just tried to kill. Held up with his own gun, Carter has some fast talking to do to convince Zane he's on his side.
  Carter: What we have to do is build a thing to blow up the ship, and then there's gonna be a heat spike, and then Henry, he can trace it with Jo in the real world.
  Zane: Yeah. [Lowers gun] No computer version of you could have come up with something that incoherent.
  Carter: You were holding a gun at my face!
  Zane: You were trying to kill me!
• Spotting the Thread: Fargo realises he's in a simulation when he tries to leave Eureka to look for Holly and drives past the "Leaving Eureka" sign for the third time. He does a fast bootleg turn, moving too fast for the rendering to keep up with and sees the background filling in.
• Technobabble: Carter, predictably, has some trouble with this.
  Carter: My body's actually in Henry's garage. He had to... to jack me to get at my mp3s.
  Zane: NPC.
  Carter: Yes.
• That Came Out Wrong: After Jo's Big Damn Heroes moment, Zane asks for help getting up as he feels "limp" after coming around from the matrix. Jo has some fun at his expense over the phrasing.
• Villainous Respect: Carter and Jo, having worked out Beverly's involvement, walk into the Sheriff's office discussing how to track her down... only to find her waiting there for them, clearly annoyed that they're already onto her. She irritably tells Carter that "You always were good at your job."
• Your Mind Makes It Real: Beverly warns Carter before he enters the matrix that he won't have extra lives. At the end, everyone is in danger when a cascade failure threatens to destroy the matrix and everyone still in it.
  Beverly: If you die in the program...
  Carter: You die here, yeah I got it.