Fringe is one of those TV shows that I really like, but rarely watch. Everyone has those shows, for whatever reason, and Fringe is mine. I meant to watch the first season when it came out, but only caught 1 or 2 episodes. So my first real experience with the show was when the first season came out on Blu-Ray. That is both a blessing and a curse. Serialized shows like Fringe work MUCH better on disk than watched when aired. But, that does not help its ratings…which if I’m not mistaken were relatively mediocre.
For Season 2, I fully intended on watching it every week. Fringe was available on Hulu so while I couldn’t really watch it live I could watch it there the next day (I don’t generally torrent TV shows). But, for reasons I can’t remember I watched the first 2-3 episodes; then missed a couple and never really got back to it. And when I did finally get back to it, it was during the season finale which blew my mind but really left me wondering…wtf was going on here?
Season 3 starts in a manner very similar structurally to Season 2. It’s designed to introduce its premise to new viewers; and keeps the show’s tradition of including very compelling secondary characters (the cab driver was awesome). As a premier this works very well and it certainly helped me transition and keep up with things. Ironically, Fringe’s premise is inherently more complex and easier to misunderstand that, say Chuck’s, but this episode handles the re-introduction quite elegantly.
As a show about parallel universes, Fringe really succeeds is making the alternate universe very compelling. It’s not too fantastical—it’s similar enough to be recognizable and relatable, while at the same time being different enough to make it interesting. And the season premier is set almost entirely in the alternate-universe. So that helps quite a bit.
So, Season 3 starts with the Fringe-Team making an expedition to the alternate-universe to ‘rescue’ Peter. Peter had discovered that he was actually from the alternate-universe. Walter had, in fact, kidnapped him from that alternate universe when he was a young man. Peter had understandably freaked out about this, and when given the opportunity to return to his ‘real’ home and family he understandably takes it.
However, the Observers had warned Walter that Peter could never return home. And that if he did so Bad Things would happen. So Fringe risks a mission to the alternate Universe using several cortexaphan (sp)? children (Olivia being one of them). Their mission succeeds, but leaves Olivia trapped on the other side and Alt-Olivia now assuming her identity as an agent infiltrating the Fringe team. Peter is safe, for the moment, but is now aware that his real father wants to use him with technology that will allow him to destroy their Universe.
So the premier happens almost entirely on the alt-universe. Olivia is now a prisoner. She’s being subjected to psychological torture, and creepy experiments which we learn are designed to overwrite her own memories in favor of Alt-Olivia’s. Walternate is aware that Olivia has the inherent ability to travel between universes safely; and he wants to not only take advantage of that but learn how to do that. Now, I’m not entirely sure how rewriting her mind will accomplish this, but while the treatments don’t seem to be working at first it becomes quite apparent as the episode goes on that it is actually working.
So Olivia escapes and managed to flee into the city. She takes a cab driver hostage; and trying to work her way back home by returning to the same location that she originally arrived at (a ‘soft spot’ I guess). However, that location is quarantined in amber, leaving it off-limits. William Bell is nowhere to be found (and Massive Dynamic never existed there). Leaving her with no real options to get back, but as she continues searching, her efforts continue to lead the Alt-Fringe team to her location. They have not in turn been told that Olivia is from the ‘other side’…they’ve only been told that she suffered some form of psychotic break. So instead of seeking to harm her, Charlie and the others are trying to bring her in safely (and have no idea of Walternate’s dark plans).
As Olivia’s situation slowly grows worse, her grasp on her own mind is also slowly slipping. Her memories are being overwritten by another woman’s identify and as her situation grows worse she loses more and more of herself. Everything culminates at Olivia’s mother’s house; where the shock of seeing her mother alive eventually causes her to loose herself completely. The episode ends with Olivia’s mind seemingly overwritten; and Alt-Olivia making her move on Peter.
So there is a lot of like about this episode. Unlike a lot of TV shows, Fringe doesn’t pull its punches here. It doesn’t make any attempt to return to the status quo by putting Olivia in a seemingly impossible situation only to have it resolved by the end of the episode. Instead, Olivia remains trapped; Alt-Olivia still remains embedded. And a new status-quo emerges that only resembles the old one on the surface.
At this point it’s impossible to tell where the show is going. In some ways, it seems like the episodes will return to a more normal format. But in reality, this changes everything. Each new episode in alt-Fringe will continue to not only reveal their situation but their history and culture. And Olivia’s presence on the Alt-Fringe team is tempered with the fact that Broyles, and Walternate know exactly what she is. And if anything else, Charlie is back in some form (and that is a good thing).
We’ll get a better idea of what is happening on Fringe-Prime on this week’s episode. Maybe it will stick with a more normal format. But maybe they’ll turn that concept around as well. Now every episode is going to be more serialized…even the standalone episodes will be more heavily based on the larger overarching story. That is also a good thing.
The only downside is that it is two weeks before we’ll see the ramifications for Olivia’s memory-wipe.
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