Recap / Eureka Bad To The Drone

Those red lights are exactly as menacing as they look.

Eva Thorne: You and your team went behind my back and undercut my direct order.
Stark: Some of us went in front of your back.

The D.O.D. has sent in a business shark to perform an evaluation of Global Dynamics' viability, and everything that could possibly go wrong, does. Including a drone, whose boosted AI turns it into a killing machine.

Tropes

• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Zig-Zagged. Martha is a learning computer AI, but has advanced "from toddler to teenager overnight." The result is an angry, unpredictable young consciousness lashing out at attempts to control her.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Martha takes a liking to Zoe because Zoe opened a port in Vincent's fusion reactor so Martha could recharge. This proves key to figuring out what's eating the killer drone and de-escalating the situation.
• Cardboard Prison: Every cell is one when you're armed with missiles.
  Jo: We rule.
  [Martha blows a hole in the wall and escapes]
  Carter: We so don't rule.
• Empathic Weapon: Martha breaks into the Carters' house intending to free Zoe after she's grounded, because she views them as kindred spirits. It's this action that gives Carter the idea to deal with Martha; stand down, lower the EM barrier and quit trying to control her so she doesn't feel like she needs to escape.
• Fluffy the Terrible: A rogue AI drone with a cloaking device and laser weapons mated to a lethally accurate targeting computer named Martha.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Doubling as Foreshadowing. Martha has a heads-up display that shows the various vital statistics of the people in Eureka. When Martha sees Eva Thorne, Thorne's age is listed as "Classified."
• Gambit Pileup: Mina Edison increased Martha's learning curve to give her a chance against the Viper system. Larry hacked Martha to make his work appear better. Martha shook off the hack and was pissed at all the people trying to control her.
• Ironic Echo: When Eva Thorne brings him up on his risky plan to stop Martha, Jack throws the thesis of her own book at her.
  Carter: Great rewards require great risk.
  Thorne: Big reader, are you sheriff?
  Carter: I heard it somewhere.
• Ridiculously Human Robot: Not in appearance, but Martha basically behaves like an angry teenager.
• Robo Cam: Martha has it.
• Running Gag: Martha destroys the Jeep's windows with her sonic blast.
• Shout-Out:
  • Zoe refers to the walk-in fridge at Café Diem as Narnia.
  • She also calls Martha "the Cylon shuttle thing."
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Carter and Stark, naturally.
  Carter: So this is somehow my fault?
  Stark: Numbers don't lie.
  Carter: I don't cause the problems around here!
  Allison: Okay, can the two of you get along for five minutes?
  Carter & Stark: Not likely.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: Introduction of "Fixer" Eva Thorne whose plans for Eureka don't seem to bode well for anyone.

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