This week picked up right where we left off a Monday ago on Eureka, with the members of the Astraeus crew completely unaware that they are trapped in a virtual Eureka working for Beverly Barlow.

With that secret out, "The Real Thing" allowed us to see how things are going in the real Eureka a month after the launch as Henry, Jack and the town continue to look for the Astraeus.

Right off the bat, I have to give kudos to Colin Ferguson for his awesome portrayal of Jack in the real world and Carter in the virtual one. There were so many subtle things he did to make the two character the same but also slightly different. I found it easier to keep them straight as "Jack" and "Carter" in my head, given that Henry called him "Jack" and Allison was calling him "Carter" I wonder if it was intentional. 

Of course, one of the differences between Jack and Carter was Carter's homicidal nature of “retiring” anyone who realized the truth. Such as the very sad case of Dr. Holly Marten, whose sexy-geek nature put together the glitches she was seeing with the idea of being stuck in a virtual construct. While her instincts resulted in her death, it also contributed to some of the best Eureka quotes this week as well. 

In the five-season run of this show, Jamie Paglia and his team have only killed off two other major recurring characters (that I remember): Nathan Stark, the original head of GD and Allison's ex-husband; and Kim Anderson, who was Henry’s first love, killed in a lab accident. Ironically, both characters made return trips to Eureka for episodes after they passed beyond the mortal realm of Eureka. 

I would love for this to be the case with Dr. Marten, that Felicia Day would be able to make a visit in some form of dream, digital image, etc. Sadly, knowing that this is the last season and Day has been promoting her appearance on Supernatural, I’m guessing it won’t be the case this time.

If Holly's death wasn't a big enough shocker, how about the revelation that Senator Wen was the traitor behind the launch malfunction AND was the one who pulled the plug on Dr. Marten?!? I always knew she had an agenda, I just didn’t see her working with Beverly as part of it.

Speaking of Beverly, I still think she needs to pay for her continued meddling in the affairs of Eureka. However, she has continued to value life and argued against retiring Marten, so she earned a little reprieve from my hate. However, Senator Wen needs to be dropped into an active volcano!  

Finally, now that Jack, Henry and the rest of Eureka knows that the crew of the Astraeus are on Earth, I don’t expect this storyline to extend very much more. I know many fans were wondering if it was going to encompass the whole season, I'm pretty sure it won't and I'll be glad when it’s over and Jack and Allison can be together again.  

What do you think? Think Allison and Jack will be able to get past this once they are reunited? 

Jim G. is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.