Recap / Eureka Maneater

The sexual harassment seminar went really well.

Nathan: Well, Dr. Young, you're supposed to be our expert on this. What do you think?
Dr. Young: I think my reputation is in ruins because I just Frenched the Sheriff in front of my boss!

Eureka's utilities systems are going wrong in dramatic fashion, with everything from air conditioning going on the fritz to toilets exploding. Turns out the guy in charge of maintaining the system has gone missing.

Carter's investigation runs into a serious roadblock when something makes him irresistible to women. As attraction turns into violence, he must find a solution soon as his life is in danger.

Tropes

• Cat Fight: Allison and Dr Young get into a fight over Carter, with him in the middle frantically trying to break it up. Stark, meanwhile, watches from the sidelines.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Taggart. This time he's getting waaay too into his attempts at getting Siberian Tundra Wolves to breed.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Just after the spores are released into Eureka, Carter realises that Henry has been exposed more than he has, and yet Allison isn't reacting to him standing next to her at all. Turns out Henry's anti-asthma spray bonds with any particles that get near him, which can be distributed through the air conditioning to immunise the whole town.
• Forceful Kiss: First Jo, then Dr Young kiss Jack. The latter leads to a catfight with Allison.
• Gilligan Cut: Carter needs to move around and do his job while avoiding women, and wants to do it discreetly. Cut to Fargo preceding him through the corridors of GD, yelling at random women to back up.
• I'll Be in My Bunk: Dr Young asks Carter for "another sample" to analyse his condition. Thinking she means blood, he loosens a sleeve, but she awkwardly explains that she needs a, uh, different sample. Fargo hands Carter a cup and asks if he'd like a magazine.
• Irony: The episode opens with a sexual harassment seminar led by Dr Young. Later, she kisses Jack while under the influence of the spores.
• Living Aphrodisiac: A subverted example. Carter accidentally becomes one, and attraction is accompanied by violent impulses. Dr Stone was imprisoned in his bedroom by his wife, and is disappointed to learn it wasn't just "the spark coming back."
• My God, What Have I Done?: Allison and Dr Young are both humiliated by their behaviour towards Jack. Dr Young especially, given that she leads sexual harassment seminars.
• Naked People Are Funny: To test if Carter was somehow affected by interacting with Taggart's wolves, Stark has Taggart stand in the middle of the GD lobby in his boxers so the female employees can walk past him and see if he's infected.
  Stark: You, in the gray skirt! How do you feel?
  Female GD Employee: Really uncomfortable. Didn't we just do a seminar on this?
• No Endor Holocaust: The characters seem pretty sure the spores didn't spread to any nearby populations. Considering the spores had a head start on the asthma spray used to neutralise them, that seems unlikely.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Taggart calls Carter to tell him that the female wolf has eaten the male, and that he needs to be careful. This news comes just in time for Carter, Fargo and Dr Stone to avoid being torn apart by a mob of women.
  Taggart: Wilma ate Fred!
  • Having just realised that Carter was infected with spores in the tunnels under Eureka, the characters hear the air conditioning come back on, meaning the spores are being distributed to the whole town.
• Running Gag: The windshield of Carter's Jeep is smashed with a golf club when a gang of women come for Carter and Dr. Stone.
• Shout-Out:
  • Taggart's wolves are called Fred and Wilma.
  • Allison's "This town needs an enema" line is from Batman (1989).
• Toilet Humor: Methane buildups in the utility systems, causing toilets to explode.
  Jo: [Running in from the bathroom] She's gonna blow!
  [The toilet explodes. Shards fly into the office, including most of a toilet bowl.]
  Carter: What did you eat??