Recap / Eureka Unpredictable

When hookups go wrong in Eureka, they go very wrong

SARAH: Today's forecast calls for heat, frost, rain, hail, gale-force winds and severe lightning.
Carter: I'll have Fargo give her a check-up.

Strange weather reports are strangely accurate as Eureka is beset by an "ice funnel of death."

Meanwhile, a visit by Jack's ex causes chaos in his personal life as Zoe learns some home truths.

Tropes

• Amicable Exes: Downplayed. Jack and Abby can be civil, but have clearly baggage, in particular Carter.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Jack and Abby, regarding Zoe's future. Abby is right that Jack's work often takes priority over his family and that he should have told Zoe about the custody situation. However, Jack is right that Zoe's behaviour has stabilised since coming to Eureka, and that dragging her across country again would disrupt that.
• Character Development: Shown with Zoe when she storms out the house after learning the Dark Secret. Abby freaks out, thinking she's run away, because she's imagining what the old Zoe would be up to. Jack, meanwhile, is unconcerned as she's only been gone an hour or so and she's probably with a friend. Sure enough, Zoe calls to yell at her dad for lying to her and tell him she's staying the night at Pilar's.
• Dark Secret: Jack didn't tell Zoe that his custody of her was only for a year, and then she goes back to her mother.
• Disability Alibi: Dr Whiticus, who was head of the team that developed the weather machine, is almost arrested on suspicion of causing the chaos before his wife proves he couldn't have done it, because he's blind. In fact, he was blinded by an accident when developing the machine, is sensitive to certain light frequencies and now can't go outside even at night.
• Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: Part of the villain's motive is that as a meteorologist, he gets very little respect in Eureka.
• Layman's Terms: Henry translates the Technobabble explanation of the weather machine for Jack.
  Carter: Why can't you people just say "ice funnel of death"?
• Literally Shattered Lives: The Victim of the Week was flash-frozen by the weather machine, and shatters after Jo accidentally knocks him over.
• Mama Bear: Allison is not happy that Kevin is being watched by the government without her knowledge, and even less happy that Nathan knew and didn't tell her. She forgives him when she realises he slipped her the file.
• Married to the Job: Abby's assessment of why her and Jack's marriage ended; he was always putting work first, and his rushing off to deal with weather-related madness isn't helping. She ends up coming along with him to investigate a lead so they can continue discussing Zoe.
• Mistaken for Pedophile: Jack is colluding with Zoe's best friend in high school about a surprise party they're throwing for Zoe. Sharing winks and secret smiles to communicate the plan is still on, Allison playfully jumps to the wrong conclusion.
  Allison: Oh, I'll remember this when you're being arrested on Dateline.
• Never My Fault: The weatherman insists it's not his fault someone was killed by his manipulating the weather; he didn't know anyone was there, so it's not his fault.
• Surprise Party: The subplot about Zoe's custody situation centres on a surprise party being planned for her sixteenth birthday.
• Taking the Kids: Discussion of a Downplayed variant. Abby is supposed to receive custody of Zoe per an agreement.
• Weather Manipulation: Mystery of the Week. Eureka's local weatherman (sorry, meteorologist) tries to advance his career by predicting elaborate and unlikely weather patterns, then creating them using a weather machine he helped develop so he looks like a superstar.