Posted by SH
Back when Fringe started, J.J. Abrams promised each episode would be reasonably self-contained, so that it would be easy for newcomers to jump in. That meant the overall conspiracy plot would be peppered in periodically, but wouldn’t overwhelm any particular episode. The latest episode is the exception that so far proves the rule.
We start with a high-pressure business presentation at Massive Dynamic. It goes well for the guy, a stuffed shirt named Mark Young, until after the deal is done and everyone clears the room. He’s alone, except for the strange-looking butterfly flitting around. It’s a nice curiosity until its razor-like wings give him a big gash. Then more come flooding out, cutting him up like Thanksgiving turkey. Young’s only escape is out the high-rise window and onto a car window below.
This is bad for Olivia, who was finally just about to do something non-Pattern related when Broyles beckons her to New York. The case is going nowhere until Olivia gets an e-mail from her favorite ghost, John. He directs her to an underground storage area where she finds a box of frogs. But not just any frogs. Walter is able to find a toxin on their skin that causes intense fear that leads to hallucination. So, there weren’t really any butterflies cutting up Young’s skin, and using the old mind-over-matter idea, his skin started to open up on his own.
Olivia is thankful for the tip, but decides this John haunting her dreams business has to stop. So she persuades Walter to put her back in the sensory deprivation tank (in her underwear, of course) to bring up those repressed memories and purge them. But first she can walk through them awhile and maybe get some more clues, if her brain doesn’t get fried in the process. Walter is nervous about the procedure, but lightens up after he notices he has an erection. But he assures Olivia it has nothing to do with her “current state of undress.”
There’s a brief scene in a restaurant, which turns out to be of John and Olivia’s first date. She believes he sees her, but Walter says no way. Another scene leads her to a black-market transaction between John, “a black guy,” “a Latino guy” and Mark Young. After Latino Guy and Mark Young leave, John kills Black Guy, and Olivia gets the heck out of there. I’ll mention that the only reason to make the guy Latino was to give him an identifying trait that comes in handy later on. And while I’m all for diversity, they could’ve been far less clumsy about it and maybe still cast a Latino actor, but give him a scar. Black Guy getting killed right away also doesn’t help matters.
While this is going on, Peter is meeting an ex-girlfriend, one who seems to have been hurt by him in the past. She tells him he must leave Boston, and that, “if I can find you, they can.” Hmmm. The girl, Tessa, also has some bruises on her, which leads Peter to go beat up her boyfriend, threatening his life if he ever hurts her again. So, while it’s always nice to see an abuser get what he deserves, it sort of defangs the shadowy presence that is supposedly hunting Peter, since said boyfriend seems to be a part of it. If it’s as easy as slapping him around in the street, how dangerous can they be?
When they track down Latino Guy, he flees, only to be hit by a cab and laid up in the hospital. He spins a tale for Olivia about the Pattern being merely a smokescreen for Massive Dynamic to do whatever it wants. Olivia (sorta) confronts Nina Sharp about the idea, while Latino Guy is busy slashing his own throat. Apparently he was slipped some of that toxin, which caused him to picture John coming in and running a knife through him.
Olivia is more determined than ever to find out what’s going on, perhaps focusing more on that big ole corporation, where all her investigations ultimately lead. She wants Walter to put her back in the tank, but he refuses. Making matters worse, she gets another John e-mail, saying “I saw you in the restaurant.”
That’s about it, really. It’s hard to tell when this episode ends until the credits come up. It feels like the opener of a two-parter, which is a bit of a departure for Fringe. But shaking things up isn’t always bad. It’s not like we can look away now.
