“Age Before Beauty” is episode four of season two of Warehouse 13.
This episode opens in Milan at a fashion show. An elderly lady enters and accosts one of the models, repeating the same phrase over and over before collapsing in the arms of the security guards. Myka and Pete are in Cardiff and Pete is on the ground whilst Myka is engaging in a swordfight with someone. She is doing well but isn’t winning and, when she gets knocked to the ground, she is going to get sliced. Pete tosses something to her – an artefact presumably – which makes the sword pass through Myka without damage. Apparently the rock that prevented Myka from being sliced wasn’t what they were after, but the sword. Supposedly it’s Excalibur. Artie wants them to go to Italy on the way back. Even though it’s not on the way back.
The old woman died of old age and had no identification. Although she did have breast implants. The phrase she was repeating before she died was in Russian and meant ‘They stole me.’ Breast implants have serial numbers which means they can identify the body. Supposedly the implants were used on a Russian model – aged 19. Who has been reported missing. The model has aged very, very rapidly. She’s not the only missing fashion model and, now that they know what to look for, in the same cities that models went missing in and unidentified woman dead of old age was found.
In Manhattan it’s fashion week and Pete and Myka are heading there. Pete gets a little tongue-tied around beautiful models. Then one ages in front of him. They only have three days to solve it before fashion weekends. So Pete has an idea. He says Myka won’t like it. The idea is for Myka to go undercover as a fashion model. She isn’t that happy. Pete is going as her assistant. Ordering him around – that, she likes. One of the other models does not like a new model moving in. She’s the obvious suspect, so probably too obvious. However, Myka winds up being a target of whoever is aging the models. So, can the process be reversed?
In the previous episode, “Beyond Our Control”, Claudia met someone called Todd at the hardware shop. Who keeps sending her text messages. Artie starts offering her some, very awkward, advice. Claudia does agree to meet Todd for a non-date. Which also goes a bit awkwardly.