Let's be honest: there should be more TV series like the one on SYFY Warehouse 13The series ran for five seasons between 2009 and 2014, generally offering lighthearted and silly entertainment that combined science fiction and comedy into one rousing package as secret agents Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) pursued and secured an endless trove of relics and artifacts deemed too dangerous for the world to bear.
Equal parts thrilling, silly and at times downright unbelievable, Warehouse 13 was supported by an incredible cast of characters brought to life by some truly talented actors. Today, the show is still beloved by its many former fans, some of whom have always wondered what led to fan-favorite character Leena, the enigmatic owner of the Bed and Breakfast where the Warehouse agents lived, being written off the series in Season 4.
What is Warehouse 13?
One of the rare sci-fi/comedy mash-ups that actually works
Warehouse 13 was an American science fiction television series produced by the SYFY network and executive produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins. Initially launched as The X-Files meet Raiders of the Lost Ark AND Extra workThe series' unique mix of comedy, science fiction and drama is said to have also been inspired by the little-seen Canadian TV adaptation of Friday the 13th: The Series.
The premise of Warehouse 13 follows a team of special agents in the field who must seek out and recover a series of powerful artifacts that have been charged with a powerful and dangerous energyOnce the team recovers those items, they are stored in the holder Warehouse 13the latest in a long line of warehouses throughout history offering infinite storage capacity.
The series focused on American Secret Service agents Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer, who find themselves assigned to Warehouse 13, located in a barren landscape in South Dakota. Believing that they have been given this assignment as punishment, it takes a while for these two to understand the significance of their actions. Meanwhile, the backgrounds of other supporting characters pose compelling questions for the audience, none of whom have ever been as mysterious as the woman fans have come to know as Leena.
Who is Leena in Warehouse 13?
The most mysterious and potentially powerful team member
When the audience is introduced to Leena in Warehouse 13They are told nothing of her past. All they know is that she is the owner of Leena's Bed and Breakfast, where all the Warehouse agents live when they are not busy scouring the globe for artifacts. As played by Genelle Williams, Leena is primarily a consultant to the agents and someone who can use her powers to sense an object's aura to help them determine where it should be stored in the warehouse..
Given her abilities, Leena possesses intimate knowledge of the warehouse's many secrets. She uses this knowledge to assist field agents whenever she can, and oversees the maintenance of certain artifacts to prevent them from causing problems, such as when she found the perfect resting place for the Honjo Masamune samurai sword. Another benefit of Leena's aura-reading abilities is that they sometimes help capture hyperactive artifacts that try to escape the confines of Warehouse 13, such as Harry Houdini's wallet, which ended up under Myka's bed at the B&B.
AS Warehouse 13 continued to air, viewers gradually began to learn more about Leena. In the season three finale, “Stand,” it is implied that she has a previous relationship (of some sort) with Warehouse 13's caretaker, Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder). Additionally, her relationship with Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek) predates the arrival of Myka and Pete. While, like so much else about Leena, the exact nature of her relationship with Artie is unknown, it is clear that they value each other. Unfortunately, before Leena's many fans could get the answers to those questions, she was already gone.
What happened to Leena in season 4?
The moment came for a dramatic sacrifice
In the season four episode “Helena”, Artie comes into contact with an artifact known as Ferdinand Magellan's Astrolabe. He admits this to Leena and Mrs. Frederic, who at the time believed that he had done the right thing by using it. However, in the following episode, “The Ones You Love”, we finally learn the terrifying truth. It turns out that the Vatican agent known as Brother Adrian was a hallucination Artie had experienced caused by his contact with the Astrolabe.
Of course, everyone learns this shocking revelation too late. Mrs. Frederic warns Leena to get away from the warehouse as soon as possible to escape a possessed Artie. Instead of listening to her mentor, Leena tries to help Artie, only to die at his hands. Her friends do what they can to try to save her, but her death proves irreversible and leaves Artie tormented by guilt.
To many Warehouse 13 fans, Leena's death came pretty much out of nowhere. Many of them were hoping to learn more about this mysterious character's backstory, and all they got was another unanswered question: Why did Leena have to die? Well, when TV Guide Magazine posed that exact question to executive producer Jack Kenny, he responded,
“We needed to lose someone who meant something. It couldn't be a guest star, it had to be someone who meant something to our team.”
In other words, Leena was removed from Warehouse 13 Not because actress Genelle Williams asked for it or because the producers behind the series didn't know what to do with it. Instead, they used her death to create more drama and excitement for the second half of Season 4.Leena returns to Warehouse 13 later that season as a ghost, while still trying to help her friends in “We All Fall Down” and “The Truth Hurts”. In the latter, it is implied that she forgives Artie for killing her.
Fans saw Leena one last time when she appeared in the Warehouse 13 series finale, “Endless,” when Mrs. Frederic's memory of Leena's first day is shown on screen. In a fateful moment that brings things full circle, Leena reveals to Mrs. Frederic that she innately senses that this warehouse will prove to be her downfall. While Mrs. Frederic vows to do everything she can to prevent this from happening, Leena is more than willing to face her fate head on.
What did actress Genelle Williams do next?
This Canadian actress continues to appear in exciting genre projects
After his departure from Warehouse 13 main cast at the end of season 4, actress Genelle Williams continued her prolific television acting career that began for this native Canadian on the set of Degrassi: The Next GenerationAfter starring in leading roles in Canadian television productions such as Remedy AND BiteGenelle signed on for a notable five-episode guest role as Tilly Fagan on The Expanse.
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Genelle Williams has also contributed her considerable acting talent to horror films such as Orphan AND Spiral: From the book Sawwhere he starred alongside Chris RockMost recently, she appeared in the 2022 crime drama Delia is gone and became one of the main characters in the Canadian legal drama Family law as psychologist Lucy Svensson while occasionally landing roles in hit series like Clarice AND The Schitt StreamAll of this suggests that while Leena's dismissal from Warehouse 13 It came as a shock to everyone involved (especially her fans), but at least it didn't significantly damage Genelle Williams' career.