|
|
| Friday, October 8, 2010 12:01 PM |
| On the Viewer - Fringe (Season 3, Episode 2 - "The Box") |
 by Fëanor |
As usual, beware spoilers.
These days, every episode of Fringe starts with the same question: which universe are we in now?
Nice of this guy to put on a Road Runner cartoon for his hostages.
Three guys, one of them apparently a bit slow, dig up a box in a random family's basement that leaves everyone in the house brain-dead - except the slow guy. Hmm.
Actually, I think I figured out the code to determining which universe we're going to spend the majority of time in in each episode - the background color of the opening credits. If it's red, we're in the alternate universe. If it's blue, we're in our universe. This time, it's blue. We're home!
alt-Olivia is meeting with Newton, who's giving her background info on everybody and everything so she can fit in. He's also removing her tattoo.
alt-Olivia is flipping through a book on popular culture and hits a page on Bono.
alt-Olivia: "Who's Boe-no?"
Newton: "It's Bah-no, actually. He's a musician."
alt-Olivia: "Is he any good?"
Newton: "One of the few I like on this side."
According to alt-Olivia, Newton works for her. That's interesting! I'm used to him being the guy in charge. Sounds like she asked him to get those guys to dig up that box. I'm guessing from the next scene, which involves Peter talking about Walternate's doomsday machine, that what's in the box is a missing piece of that machine. But if so, how did it get to this universe and end up in somebody's basement? Hmm.
Ha! Walter is trying to make the cow give chocolate milk. I love him so hard.
Alt-Olivia really is quite a bit different from our Olivia in all kinds of little ways, and it's showing already in the way she's interacting with Peter. I don't know how long she's going to be able to keep this up. Of course, if Peter likes this Olivia better than the old one, maybe he won't say anything!
Newton's plan all along was for the men he hired to acquire the box to die. Then Olivia would collect the box at the crime scene. He didn't plan on the third man being immune to its effects.
We cut to Walter splorking a brain out of a skull. Yay!
The reading of William Bell's will is a pretty powerful moment, complete with moving and awkward interaction between Nina and Walter. They each get an envelope, and the contents of both remain a secret. Walter doesn't even want to tell Peter what's in his. Hmm.
Alt-Olivia goes to the criminal's apartment alone, but has a good explanation for not involving Peter that seems to convince him. Still, she's skating on thin ice!
Interestingly, Walter does show Astrid the envelope he got from Bell. That really kind of underlines how his relationships with her and with Peter have changed recently.
Walter: "'Only those that risk going too far can possibly know how far they can go.' That's what Belly used to say."
Astrid: "So you were the cautious one?"
Ha!
Alt-Olivia doesn't have a photographic memory - but Olivia does! That'll be tricky.
Guy with the box just shows up at Olivia's door! That's handy.
Poor Walter. He's trying to talk everything out with Peter, but Peter's just not ready yet. I really like that all the huge things that happened at the end of last season aren't just going away - that what happened is having lasting effects on all the characters.
Damn. Alt-Olivia just whacked the poor deaf guy. I thought something would stop her - her conscience, someone interrupting. But no, she just cold murdered him. And now Peter's at the door! "Did I come at a bad time?" he asks. You could say that!
She's stowed the dead guy in the bathroom. Better hope Peter doesn't have to pee!
Peter: "Am I supposed to destroy worlds, too? Because I'll be honest with you, I don't really want to turn out like Walter."
Eeww - Peter almost had sex with alt-Olivia!
I don't know, could a guy really just leave a box on a train station platform in today's paranoid climate and nobody would think "bomb?" I mean, wouldn't even the little homeless dude have maybe thought to call the cops?
I like how Broyles can just say, "I want every subway station in Boston evacuated," and somebody just goes and does that for him.
Walter's mad science solution to protecting Peter's ears from the effects of the box? Have Olivia fire a gun off right next to his face! Ouch! Hardcore.
Oh man, the little dude blew up! That was crazy. And now the box won't close. That's bad.
Peter working against the clock to disarm the box, and then realizing a train is coming up right behind him, and then Olivia dashing in at the last second, with no thought for herself, to save him? That sequence was fantastic. Plus it says a lot about alt-Olivia, that despite everything, she'd risk herself to save Peter. Maybe the two Olivias aren't that different after all.
Walter figures a dental implant may have caused little dude's head to explode. Walter: "I've always hated dentists."
Peter: "At this point would anything really surprise you?"
Walter: "Bacon-flavored pudding. Well, that would surprise me."
Somebody's got to make some bacon-flavored pudding right now, man.
I thought something pretty mind-blowing was going to be in the safety deposit box that Bell left Walter the key to, but I didn't expect that. Walter owns Massive Dynamic!! That sure is going to change the show! He's going to go wild with all those toys to play with.
Argh. Maybe I misread alt-Olivia after all. She wanted to protect Peter in order to use him in her own evil schemes. The plan all along was to get the box to Peter. Everything's going the way the alternate universe gang wants. Now she's been instructed to "Begin work on Dr. Bishop." That sure sounds ominous.
Excellent episode! I'm really loving the way the season is progressing so far. Lots of big changes, lots of character development, lots of exciting twists. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jim Genzano's books on Goodreads
