Adam Morgan is a writer for both the page and screen in Chicago, and blogs daily on writing, film, pop culture, and strange news at Mount Helicon.I wish I could write glowing reviews for every episode of Fringe, reviews like the one I wrote last week. Bound showed us just how great this story can be when everything clicks into place. The No-Brainer wasn't bad, but it was certainly a step backwards. Obviously, the task of writing even one full season of television is a daunting one, and the kind of brilliance we saw in Bound can't be constantly sustained over twenty-something hours. And production-wise, The No-Brainer was still top-notch. But the script left me underwhelmed.
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Should've Used Norton Antivirus
The cold open was the creepiest yet. I liked the spooky cyber-hand, despite the fact that in reality it would only look three-dimensional from the victim's eyeline. This week's mystery probably asked for the most suspension of disbelief thus far on Fringe: a web video that liquefies brains. And the video's 657 megabytes, nonetheless (what kind of compression rate is that, I wonder?). I was content to accept this potentially cheesy plotline, so long as it justified itself.
But for the first time on the show, the mystery had no overt ties to the Pattern. The villain was just a criminal with his own agenda. Which bothered me, because it's considerably less compelling from a narrative standpoint. Why should the audience care about a bitter, deadbeat Dad? From a logical standpoint, if he's angry at a few people, there are ways to seek revenge more efficient than designing an impossible virus to liquefy their loved ones' brains. I just didn't buy it. I kept hoping the picture would get bigger, and it never did.
Family Matters
Ari Graynor was great once again as Dunham's sister, and little Ella impressed me too. The three actresses feel like a family, but their role on the show also disconcerted me here. Making Ella a target felt like a heavy-handed attempt at incorporating her and Rachel into the main storyline. Obviously the writers introduced them for a reason, but why would this week's villain target Ella? He didn't have a vendetta against Olivia, unless he was angry about her investigation. But even in that case, targeting someone close to her would only further compel Olivia to find the culprit.
Speaking of, I was shocked at Olivia's lack of conviction after Ella's incident. From what we know about her, she should've been furious and hellbent on finding whoever threatened to harm one of her own. Instead, she was calm and inquisitive in the following scene. Wouldn't the natural response be anger? Paranoia? Especially given the way Olivia's emotions have driven her in the past.
The Other Kind of Chemistry
Is it just me, or was everyone googly-eyed in this episode? Peter and Rachel. Walter and Jessica Warren. Maybe even Peter and Astrid. After Walter made his comment on male-female relations, Astrid's eyes went straight to Peter. But maybe she was just intrigued by the letter. I'm hoping her character gets fleshed out by the end of the season; right now she's just a plot device who conveniently has a degree in whatever the script calls for.
Non-chemistry also abounded in The No-Brainer. Peter and Olivia had their first fight, and it just didn't come across as authentic to me. I saw no reason for Olivia to push Peter on the subject of his father, and I saw no reason for Peter to get defensive. As a result, their quibble (and their reconciliation) felt forced and flat, like most of the inter-character drama in The No-Brainer. I could almost hear the writers: "We need to drive a wedge between Peter and Olivia. We need to involve Olivia's family directly." The results were a little tedious and predictable, like that whole spiel at the end with Walter and Warren.
And please, please get rid of Sanford Harris soon. An antagonist should be a natural obstacle, but his one-note villainy seems to exist solely to frustrate Olivia ("We need an obstacle for Olivia..."). It was nice to hear Broyles tell him off, though. I got the impression Philip's more powerful than he lets on.
So in the end, not much to theorize about this week. The story was self-contained, as far as I can tell, with no new insights into character or mythology. I understand that Fringe isn't a completely serialized drama like Lost; it's a procedural hybrid. That's fine when it works, but frustrating when an episode feels like it's stalling. Or maybe that's not the problem. I'd still enjoy a completely stand-alone episode if the mystery was believable and the drama compelling, but The No-Brainer didn't quite work for this fan. Luckily, next week's outing, The Transformation, looks gripping!
So what do you think? Does Fringe work as a procedural, or as a serialized drama? Do you want to see any more non-Pattern mysteries? Do you buy the introduction of Olivia's family? Sanford Harris? Let your voice be heard in the comments.
Stray Observations
- Best Line of the Night: "I hope she doesn't notice the $2,000 for the baboon seminal fluid I ordered."
- Worst Lines of the Night: "Why would he protect a murderer?" "Because it's his father."
- Am I the only one who enjoyed Peter's visit to Akim? I wouldn't mind seeing him again, in a tech-advisor role. Maybe I'm just that desperate for information on Peter's past.
- What was with all of the pop music? It didn't sit well with me. You've got one of the world's most talented composers on staff. Use him. The Killers and Beyonce dilute the show's tension and sincerity.
- Chuck fans: Did the virus video remind you of Chuck's first encounter with the Intersect database?
- I counted at least two of those unexplained lens flares.
- John Polson did a great job in the director's chair. I loved all the long tracking shots, and Olivia just looks great when they shoot her at a low frame-rate.
- Speaking of Polson, he was the chopper pilot in Mission Impossible: II.
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