Recap / Eureka Momstrosity

EMO, causing trouble already.

Carter: Nothing like being chased by a giant killer robot to make you want your mom.

Robots all over town start acting strangely. As it turns out, SARAH gave every AI emotions so that she could start a relationship with Deputy Andy.

Tropes

• Ambiguous Situation: Did Kevin program EMO to film Jo in the shower, or did it just wander off?
• Call-Back:
  • Tiny is back. Carter refers to the time he tracked her down while trying to figure out why she's mad.
  • Grant brags about his "date" with Allison, which was more of a "thanks for saving my life" drink.
  • When Grant mentions that being a Fish out of Temporal Water is no fun, Carter points out that he has only himself to blame.
  • After SARAH confesses to tampering with Andy's programming so he could love her, Jo points out that she did try to kill him once.
• Continuity Nod: Grace brings Henry a care package after he moves out, mentioning that he didn't take his asthma medication and she was worried.
• Covert Pervert: Kevin uses his EMO to film Jo in the shower. Maybe.
• Cute Machines: The EMO, a little robot that is supposed to teach students how to take care of a vulnerable being.
• Did You Just Have Sex?: The episode ends with Carter and Jo being weirded out over breakfast when Andy exits a side room, adjusting his clothing as if he and SARAH just had a romantic evening.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • Deputy Andy runs a diagnostic on himself by plugging his finger into SARAH's port. Yeah...
  • When Fargo tries to leave his AI tent Buffy, it won't let him leave, insisting "I want you inside me!"
• Draw Aggro: Carter distracts Tiny so Kevin, Fargo and Grant can run for the car.
• Egg Sitting: Unsurprisingly, the Eureka version involves robots rather than eggs or bags of flour. The robots are cute and programmed to wander off, and Kevin's becomes the object of Tiny's obsession.
• Extended Disarming: Played for Laughs. When Carter insists all devices be boxed up for the trip, most people just put a phone in. Fargo puts device after device in the box from his vest pockets, giving Carter a mutinous Death Glare the whole time.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Carter and Grant nearly come to blows over Allison, tipping Kevin off that Carter's into his mother.
• Horrible Camping Trip: Carter just wants a nice camping trip with Fargo, Henry and Kevin. Then Henry bails out, Grant invites himself along, Kevin runs off, Fargo gets eaten by a tent and they get attacked by a giant robot.
• How We Got Here: The episode starts with Carter, Fargo and Kevin being chased in the dark. The rest of the episode is dedicated to show how they got there.
• Hypocritical Humor: Dr Grant looks down on his fellow campers for their insistence on using technology. Later, Carter catches him using a tracking device he tries to hide behind his back.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Kevin to Carter, once he's stopped being angry that Carter has feelings for Allison and reasons that "she could do worse."
• Irony: Carter blames Grant for Kevin running off, because he was bragging about a date with Allison. In fact, Kevin ran off because their argument made Kevin realise Carter had feelings for Allison.
• Mama Bear: Allison to Kevin. Her behaviour being echoed by Tiny makes Carter realise that Tiny is also a Mama Bear towards Kevin's EMO.
• Morton's Fork: Dr Grant invites himself on the camping trip, hoping to get to know Kevin as a way to Allison's heart. When Carter tries to bounce him, he cheerfully decides to spend the time with Allison instead.
• Red Herring: Henry volunteers for Grace's memory recall experiment, which suggests she's going to see his memories of time travel. Instead, he just tells her.
• Running Gag: Carter's Jeep is crushed by Tiny.
• Shout-Out:
  • Kevin's EMO looks a little like ET The Extraterrestrial and a little like WALL•E.
  • Fargo's AI is named Buffy.
  • Fargo yells, "Holy frak!"
    • The whole last act is a low-key shout-out to Battlestar Galactica, with deep darkness, shaky cam, percussion-driven musical style, and CGI that looks very similar to that used for BSG's Cylons.
  • During the car chase, Fargo says, "Come with me if you want to live," to Carter.
  • Allison goes Mama Bear when Tiny has Kevin pinned. Tiny reciprocates.
  Allison: Get away from him you bitch!
  Tiny: Get away from him you bitch!
• Stalker with a Crush: SARAH to Andy. The chaos starts when she lures him over so she can upgrade him to be able to return her feelings by copying the attachment subroutines from Kevin's EMO, which then spreads to other A.I.s around town.
• The Talk: Carter uses the camping trip as a chance to talk to Kevin about girls after he tried to film Jo in the shower. Kevin is not pleased.
• Your Mom: Carter walks into it with Dr Grant when they're arguing about why Kevin ran away.
  Carter: You were bragging about going on a date with his mom! If you bragged about a date with my mom I'd run off into the woods too.
  Grant: I'll be sure never to tell you about it.

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