Fringe - 3.07 - The Abducted Review by A.D.Harris

A lot had been leading to this moment. The final seconds of last week's episode left fans salivating at the mouth, the Peter in Olivia's head informing her that Walternate is done with her and that she isn't safe anymore. My reaction was something like this: "Holy S%&T!" Because of said reaction, 'The Abducted' was all set up to the point where I was (obviously) expecting some BIG shit to hit the fan, and so a part of me can't help but feel a little disappointed that in fact what we got was a little bit of a tease.

We were given a really good character developing story, but for the whole episode I was thinking to myself, "I love this, but give me the juicy stuff you promised me!" Part of this may be due to the promo Fox gave us which in fact contains a fair few scenes from episode eight, so I can't really blame the writers, but I was, sadly, a little underwhelmed by 'The Abducted.' But I am going to avoid the overarching story for a short while and focus on the meat and bones of this 'Broyles Centric' episode. If any of you remember my 'Pattern Theory' article (here) you could almost say we were due a bit of Broyles, as last years 'Earthling', which also was a load of Lance, as well as the only other episode to feature his 'ex-wife' and that episode placed just one episode earlier in the season.
I thought 'The Candyman' storyline was a very solid entry into the Fringe mythos, it had the fresh feel of a serial killer who was working outside of the grand storyline we have found ourself deep in over recent weeks. That being said, the writers are loving giving us some shout outs to times gone by; the Pineal Gland (which grants youth to those who drink it) I'm sure many of you remember featured in only the second episode ever, 'The Same Old Story' when the team discovered a scientist who had created a man who aged too quickly. Speaking of which, the scientist Dr. Penrose...

...has never returned and so surely is worth keeping his name in your memories :P It definitely was presented to us by the writers to think back to the episode, Olivia herself stating:
"OLIVIA: Well, aging has to do with the pituitary gland, right? Which can be accessed through the back of the neck.
LINCOLN LEE: Did you suddenly become a scientist when I was in the hospital? You trying to take my job?
OLIVIA: It was an old case that I worked before I joined Fringe Division. This guy was draining hormones from pituitary glands. Anyway, my point is that some of the victims mentioned there were two suspects, one old and one young, but they all said that they never saw the suspects at the same time."
If that isn't a "remember me" moment then I don't know what is.
Regardless, due to Broyles' personal connection to the case, his son having been previously taken by 'The Candyman' and left mentally and physically scarred in the process, it gave us some time to spend with 'Fringe-Boss-Regardless-Of-Universe', and see that unlike in our world, he is still married to Diane. Also, a difference is that he mentioned that he has two children in our world, yet in 'The Abducted' it was quite clear there was only the one. Whether this is of any importance in the long-standing mysterious-ness of our Broyles is yet to play out, but watch this space. Lance Reddick has only really been given a decent amount to do in an episode twice, once last year and then once so far this year, and it is testamount to his skills that both episodes are almost all you need to really understand the two men he plays.

I feel if I rewatch any Alt-Broyles in previous episodes I will love him all the more for knowing who the guy is now. Sadly, a part of me actually finds Alt-Broyles a more interesting character than our Broyles, but I'm excited to see where this version goes, as the episode was constantly saying to us that he is the man to help Olivia out of her tricky situation. I only wish the writers gave the man more meat and potatoes on a weekly basis, he really is important to the show and makes episodes he is the star of very powerful. He out-shone Anna Torv here, and I've had nothing but praise for her this year...
My biggest gripe with the storyline, is I felt once they had caught the younger 'Candyman', who we believed was making himself younger and was the 'Two People' Broyles' son talked about, that the story was finished sucessfully, and well positioned in the episode, leaving a solid ten minutes to watch 'Olivia Escape No.1'. But as it happened there was another man, the leader of the church group, and we had to deal with him too. I didn't like this, firstly because there being two men instead of one man who changed appearance is less exciting (This is Fringe afterall), and it meant that the 'Olivia Escape No.1' was far too short. The writers brought back Andre Royo for absolutely no reason, he got about two minutes worth...
OBSERVER ALERT:

...of screen-time and he didn't really add anything or do anything, which was pretty disappointing considering how great he was in the season premiere. Also, the lack of time left meant it looked far too easy for Olivia to get into the top government building. "Step One, swim from boat to shore. Step Two, climb rocks. Step Three, knock out guard. Step Four, run very, very fast inside using Keycard." Heck, I could have done that! I thought it was supposed to almost impossible. Thankfully, I did remember she had stolen the keycard a few episodes ago because for a second I was wondering how she had the access to the 'Tank Room.'
It was all a rushed disappointment, and I know now that episode eight is where it is all going to hit the fan, but I'm sure even the most passionate of fans has to admit that what we go in 'The Abducted' wasn't quite what they were hoping to see.
However, Peter now knows, and that is one heck of a big development. No more lovey-dovey with the doppelganger Olivia. Time for her to reap the rewards of her nasty actions. I loved the way he found out, the call from the cleaner was not something I expected before I started watching, and the look of Peter's face was priceless. I for one am a little excited for the next episode.
Another disappointment is that Walternate is becoming more and more un-interesting on a weekly basis, going from complex leader dealing with the ruling of his world as well as the loss of his child, to full on "I will wipe you all out because you to took my son, I don't care who I have to kill to do so." I miss Walter each week we don't get him, and considering, technically he is on screen, something ain't quite right.

Overall, I felt there were some strong parts of 'The Abducted', mostly revolving around 'Story of the Week', but the grand-mythos was not good enough for me. Still, it had some great Broyles and Olivia development, it did move the story forward right at the last second... and it's still a heck of a lot better than any other TV I'm watching right now!
So it's only one and a half thumbs up this week then, half a thumb is stuck in-between universes...


...but I'm sure that half a thumb will be back where it belongs soon enough.

7.5/10

Also, don't forget to check out all my other Fringe Reviews (if you missed them) here:
Fringe Season Three Reviews:
3.01 Olivia
3.02 The Box
3.03 The Plateau
3.04 Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?
3.05 Amber 31422
3.06 6995 kHz
3.07 The Abducted

Also, don't forget to vote your opinions on 'The Abducted' HERE.

Adam
http://twitter.com/#!/AdDHarris