Fringe 3.07 : The Abducted

[themomentstealer]

Fringe was just AMAZING tonight. I fully absolve J.J. Abrams for the entire Lost debacle--it's in the past--because Fringe is honestly one of the most hair-raising and suspenseful shows I've ever watched (well, not last week's episode. That one was kind of a dud). More than any other show, this is the one I am itching to sit down to and watch next week.

Spoilers from this point onwards, so if you haven't seen this episode yet or are planning to pick up the show, run far away, Scar, and never come back. The plot twists are seriously worth being surprised for.

This week's episode was set in the alternate universe. I'd like to take a moment to discuss the show's format; this season splits the show between Olivia's home universe where Peter and the rest of the gang don't realize they took home the wrong Olivia and the parallel universe in which the real one has been stuck, and it seriously works.

During the episodes in the regular universe, it is positively frustrating to watch how easily Other!Olivia has insinuated herself into their lives with hardly a ripple. You want to reach into the screen and shake Peter for not realizing she isn't the same woman he fell in love with (on that note, oh god the delayed fulfillment of this romance is killing me! It's not as bad as it is on Bones, but it's getting there. You just know this Other!Olivia is going to screw things up between them)

And during the episodes set in the alternate universe, you get Olivia struggling to remember who she really is while kicking ass with the parallel world's Fringe division. It's exciting to explore this alternate universe because they're so much more technologically advanced and backward at the same time. I am also going to miss the alternate universe's Fringe division team. I've missed Charlie and his gung ho manly sweetness, and I am positively in love with Nick, and not just because he's probably the prettiest boy in this show (sorry Joshua Jackson, I love you but your lazy eye and Dawson's history cancels you out, and also you are sleeping with Other!Olivia. Bad.). Both of them are not around in Olivia's universe, which is a complete and utter shame. Also, Astrid is kind of a robot here, and that's awesome.

So, this week's episode? Not the best or cleverest title, but it works. Abrams went for creepy this time, which I approve of. Some asshole serial kidnapper known as "the Candy Man" is going around abducting kids and stealing their youth, leaving them severely ill and in some instances, with cancer. Ass. They weren't able to catch him years ago, but now he's back and it's up to the Fringe division to stop him.

Obviously, they do, and no one we care about dies. What I loved the most about this episode was Broyles. You know, we sort of underestimate him because he's playing the stern Fringe boss and that normally doesn't call for much range. He tends to get overshadowed by John Noble (who, let's face it, is probably the best actor in the show. The difference between his performances as Walter and Walternate seriously gives me the chills) and the rest, but here, I thought he gave the role a certain humanity that we hadn't previously seen in his character. Good for him.

And then we have the tail end of the show, where Olivia finally makes a break for her real home. Here, you're thinking "AT LAST! She's going back to bitchsmack that Other!Olivia for taking her man (not to mention her identity, y'know)" but NO. J.J. Abrams decides to whip the floor out from under you -- and still it works! I didn't think I was such a sucker for cliffhangers like these but I am so on board for the next episode.

Sidebar, I think the one thing about this show that I am not looking forward to is that when Olivia gets back to her universe, she's going to stop dyeing her hair brown. She looks washed out as a blonde, but she's gorgeous with brown hair.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I love this show so much. Olivia is so damn tough.

I agree that John Noble is the best actor in the show, but he sets a very high bar and there's a lot of room for excellent performances right under it. Olivia/Alt!livia's subtle differences are really amazing, and the show needs more Broyles. Apparently Jasika Nicole's sister is autistic, so she's using her observations of her sister to play an alternative Astrid - the way she doesn't look at people, sticks to her routines and gets anxious when broken out of them.

[themomentstealer]

Wow, I didn't know that about Jasika Nicole. She does a really convincing job with Other!Astrid. (I also heard she's got a comic book coming out, which compounds my love for her threefold.) And you're absolutely right about the differences between the two Olivias -- the imposter gives me chills and the real one kinda makes me jump up and down cheering, yet both are played by the same actress.

Too bad Alternate!Peter's dead. I would have loved to see him do a double performance.

(PS Where is Nina Sharp in the parallel universe? I forget)

[lilacsigil]

We don't know about Nina Sharp yet - I really want to see a totally different Nina, especially as we know the alternate William Bell died young, so she would might done something very different with her life with no Massive Dynamic.

[themomentstealer]

She still would've been in MIT, so she probably knew Walternate. Fingers crossed she's the leader of a radical underground group fighting to usurp his power -- except I can't really see her firing guns and being the physical kind of badass. That's waaay too alternate universe. She's more of the sassy, elegant badass.