As I didn't write a Fringe review for last seasons flashback bonanza episode 'Peter' I want to start by saying just how awesome the title credits are for the episodes where we head back into the past. It's a genius touch that really gets you into the mindset for the episode and definitely makes it feel more of an event than usual episodes are. Also, these episodes are very cleverly shot to appear quite hazy, almost as if the test of time has made some things a little unclear and distant.
As for the retro music, that adds classic 80's suspense to the scenes and is another touch of genius; It's music you just don't hear any more on screen and so the fact that Fringe is brave enough and smart enough to throw it at you is refreshing and a lot of fun.
'Subject 13' was always going to be compared with 'Peter,' its events so closely following on from that episode and its need to rely on John Noble to reign you into an episode that features no other main cast. 'Subject 13' in fact went one step further as there was no bookends to present time like 'Peter' offered and so we were given our first ever Anna Torv free Fringe hour. I can't explain enough how brave a TV show has to be to have an episode with only one of its regulars featuring; even LOST never ventured so dangerously close to scaring away its fans in that respect. ( believe it went as low as two, LOST fanatics correct me if you can :P)
There is one man who just made that danger disappear completely and his name is John Noble; whilst he didn't have to carry the whole episode himself (thanks largely to a fantastic supporting performance by Orla Brady) he totally nailed both Walter and Walternate to heights even he hadn't reached before. He gave Walter the real emotion that his ultimate decision to keep Peter on our side needed by showing his troubles coming to terms with the fact he couldn't return him like he had promised Alt-Elizabeth.
More impressive however was his portrayal as Walternate, at last I got the part of the story I felt Walternate needed to humanise him; I had been waiting for it as I felt that it was crucial to see the transition of this man from father to almost machine. Noble's performance was one that deserves to be rewarded with every supporting award that 2011 has to offer and if he doesn't even get a nomination I feel Fringe fans should demand an explanation as to what more an actor could do on the small screen. (Join @ANobleEmmy on Twitter to show your Support)
The opening scene was something. Creepy, dramatic, tense and scary it provided the quiet distress that pulled the whole episode forwards. I never really fully recovered my heart rate from that moment and it made everything that followed pack more of a punch because you really knew what was driving Peter and Elizabeth for the entirety of the episode. I thought Orla Brady and Chandler Canterbury did a fantastic job; we almost need to see nothing more of Elizabeth Bishop on our side to fully understand her character. Her slope to suicide from here on was defined by the lie she told when she finally managed to convince Peter he was her son. That truly was the moment that Peter was never going to go back home.
On a side note, was that plane the exact same one Kate in LOST used to love and cherish. I'm all for shoutouts to the island but it felt far too much like copy and paste from one Abrams show to another there and I didn't like it. Surely the Fringe writers would know that Kate flashbacks were often the most boring anyhow, so reminding us of them is not a wise move.
Also in the episode we got a good dose of Cortexiphan Trials; it was also really great to see some of the time Olivia spent with her nasty step father that was first mentioned back in season one. It gave much more of an understanding as to the character Olivia is today; broken and damaged through abuse and broken memories. We know that she forgot her time on the cortexiphan trials, she even said last season that she had "no recollection" of the nursery in Jacksonville, and it was clear to see just why. The dark irony that runs throughout the series is that Walter, for all his attempts to do and find the good in the world has caused many of the main characters actions and personalities through his earlier life.
One thing that disappoints me, and has done for some time is William Bell. I'm sure that casting Leonard Nimoy was a very exciting offer the producers couldn't pass on but from a storyline perspective it has robbed us of important understanding to his character. I remember that Walter even stated that the Cortexiphan Trials where Bell's ideas that they worked on together, yet he was barely mentioned and not seen in the episode that showed us the trials. A less-close-to-retirement-actor would have shown his face in 'Subject 13' without a doubt in my mind and so to lose one of the key characters to the past because Nimoy doesn't want to work as much is a loss for the fans. I can't count on both hands the numbers of times I have thought to myself, Bell should have been in this episode. But he isn't. As a result it made Walter look bad; one of the main reasoning I saw behind Walter's sorrow in conducting the trials in the present day was because he and Bellie were trying to save the world. Now it appears he alone was just trying to find a way to send Peter home and it lacks less emotional punch; regardless it's something I can live with.
Looking at the trials themselves, it was fascinating to see them practice, the transitional move Walter had to take to try to find a way to activate Olivia was cleverly done, the script written to show Walter's difficulty in pushing the boundaries of science to achieve his results. That being said, the experiment where Olivia went all pyro was some dark stuff. Fake-dead-Nick-Lane is one hell of a sickening plan to put into practice. Interesting parallels could be drawn up also from the fact that Nick survived a fire explosion much like the one that has supposedly killed him in last seasons finale. Could he still be alive somewhere?
Turning to over there, we learnt that Walternate, much like our Elizabeth has taken to the drinks as a way of dealing with Peter-Issues.
Could this be a subtle foreshadowing of Walternates future; perhaps, but it is too early to tell. A clever twist in some sense could be that Walter and Alternate Elizabeth dealt with Peter in a more positive way and Walternate and Elizabeth both found themselves almost cut off from reality. Regardless, I finally felt like I understood Walternate as I knew how he began to deal with Peters disappearance and so the path he took to becoming the 'monster' he is today felt more believable and clear. Maybe now I can begin to actually like the present day Walternate more; this still remains to be seen.
Then the most important moments in the episode, revolving all around Olivia and her first few trips to the other side. The first one in her home was a little disappointing. Whilst initially being very cool to see her jumping from her home to a field was cool, but the whole blimp = alternate universe concept is boring me now. Surely a Fringe fan who has got this far has enough brain cells to work out where she is without being spoon fed. Or is it that there has to be blimps around to cross over :P? It's a bit too same old, same old and they need to freshen that concept up.
More interesting concept wise was the white tulips in the field, harkening back to the time bending love story that was the episode 'White Tulip.' The thoughts were clearly that Peter disappeared and that was because he went to find Olivia in a field of white tulips. This was the point where Peter began to accept he belongs over here. Regardless of the fact Walter doesn't know this, we as an audience can symbolise that with Walter when he got the white tulip in the mail and how because of that Walter believed that Peter could forgive him and once again accept that he belongs here. Olivia in the season two finale even says "you belong with me." It's perhaps some subliminal messaging from the writers telling us that everything will be okay and that Peter will always belong with us. We can only hope.
Turning my attention back to the second Olivia trip to the other side, it was a moment of classic Fringe, perhaps my favourite singular moment of the entire series. It fooled me, leaving me stunned and in awe of the film-making and script writing. Olivia runs to talk to Walter about her step father, dashing into his office with her sketch book explaining that she crossed over when he hit her. What first appears as Walters amazement that she crossed over is then flipped around when our Walter walks into the room and we discover that Olivia has told Walternate about other universes. It was so, so awesomely done that it just made me applaud (and rewatch it a few times). Walternate opens the sketch book and sees an image of her and Peter in the field of white tulips; the father now knows where his son is. And he now knows who has him. Genius. Utter genius.
A funny shoutout was the 'Bishop Dynamic' which was...
OBSERVER ALERT:
...set up in an attempt to find Peter, and its clear symbolism to 'Massive Dynamic' may hint at what sort of practises goes on inside such a building.
Also was that a rocket through his office window?
Knowing Fringe as well as I do, I'm calling first dibs on the Observers landing on earth for the first time on it.
There I said it. The great thing about Fringe is, You never know...
9/10
Adam
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