The week that people had been waiting for has come. After speculation began to mount a few weeks ago on the potentially head-scratching/mouth-watering (depending on your own personal opinion) plot that Fauxlivia may just be carrying Bishop Jr Jr. everyone was marking the return to Over There as the week that all would be revealed.
Aside from that particular plot point, I was really looking forward to heading over there as the last few weeks in our world had gotten a little disjointed and lacked the solid structure of the episodes we got before Christmas. A fresh change to let the definitive Sci-Fi of current TV re-adjust itself and begin to build some end-of-season momentum.
Therefore what can be said about Immortality? Any justice in the world would mean that people watching the episode could say that the show really is that good that it deserves Immortality, yet when the ratings emerged on Saturday, it sadly is merely mortal and as usual Fringe fans have more to fear from FOX executives over here than Olivia and co. have to fear from over there.
Regardless it was a hum-dinger of an episode...
OBSERVER ALERT:
...fast paced, original, gross, funny, thrilling, suspenseful and for the first time in a few weeks it was an episode with a strong, structured through-line, the story of the week craftily tying into the main mythology in such a way that without the spoilers having surfaced beforehand, it would have been a twist to match such genius as LOST so often pulled out of its hatch.
Focusing on the character of the week, we had Armaud Silva as the tragic anti-hero, a scientist so blinded by his attempts to help cure a deadly disease that he lost sight of the boundaries that morals put upon his science. You cannot even begin an argument to say that virtually every other scientist in the show thus far has followed the same path: Walter, Walternate, Bell, Brandon & Nina have all lost sight of what is good in the search for knowledge at some point. This cunning play by the writers to let us see someone we don't know as a villain whilst possessing the traits of many of our heroes was subtle and poignant; sadly the lack of Walter acknowledging this meant that some may have missed it, but I'm sure any die-hard fan will have applauded its simple complexity.
Of course a lack of Walter meant plenty of Walternate, and I continue to be disappointed and under-whelmed by John Noble's second creation; I find Walternate dull, nasty and to possess no likeable or interesting qualities. Because of this I feel that the Over There episodes miss Walter much more than they do Peter, and it's a problem that worries me as I often find the episodes over there lack the emotional pull that our here ones have.
Thankfully, the writers are learning about the two things a Walter-No-Show episode needs, humour and emotion, and they have found ways to bring it out alternatively.
Firstly the humour comes from the Lincoln, Fauxlivia and Charlie relationship, so light, natural and breezy to watch on screen that it always knocks my socks off. Lincoln is a work of genius and the more we're getting of him the better he becomes; the main question remaining is what the hell is he upto in our world? Charlie, as he always was for me is brilliant, adding dramatic depth and dark comedy to his scenes that the majority of season two suffered from in his absence.
Then we come to Fauxlivia, a character who has had me back and too all season, murdering the deaf brother in 'The Box' made me hate her, her 'Vagenda' to fool Peter at first appears manipulative and wicked but as time has gone on we've been given just as complex a character as Olivia is. I'm beginning to love her like I do Oliva. Last episode our Dunham called Fauxlivia a better version of herself but it is now plain to see Fauxlivia possesses many faults just as Olivia does. Anna Torv is fast emerging as the stand-out actor/actress of the entire series as she for me is the only one thus far to create great characters in both universes; Walternate is underwhelming, Alt-Brandon isn't a scratch on Brandon and Alt-Astrid is annoying when compared to ours. Broyles perhaps has been the only one to come close to grabbing me on both sides, in some respects Alt-Broyles had more emotional pull in the few episodes he had than Broyles has managed in three seasons.
But back to Fauxlivia, it became clear as the hour wore on that Frank (who has proven a worthy addition to the series) was not the man for her, and as the relationship continued through lies and covering the holes, it was obvious that it was going to break by hours end.
And break it did, the twist smacking us (and Frank) in the teeth, when Silva lied about injecting her with the killer-worms leading to the unveiling of the fact that Fauxlivia is soon to be a parent with Peter. I am of course, cautious to declare the plot-line an immediate success; there are many fears that this decision by the writers could be sloppy and also lead to no happy ending for Olivia and Peter being together. It's a dangerous move, but I'm excited to see how they tackle it, I feel there is a lot of darkness to come because of it before the season ends. I'm not sure that the baby will ever be born at all. A part of me feels that should Peter decline to destroy our world, Fauxlivia may sacrifice herself to avoid Walternate using her child for the same fate. Sure, it's dark stuff, but it would be epic nonetheless.
Other points from the episode I loved were the scene between Charlie and the Bug Girl who has a crush on him because of the spiders roaming around his bloodstream, another example of how Fringe takes things and just messes them up gloriously.
Also the return of the gore was great, it's been a while since we've had some Fringie-Blood and it added to the episodes eeriness, and of course the final battle scene as Lincoln founds himself trapped in a freezer and Fauxlivia tied to a chair was as suspenseful as Fringe has been in a long while.
All in all, the episode was a huge step up from the past few weeks, a strong plot, structured through-line, wickedly brilliant inter-plot connection and great character development for Fauxlivia and Lincoln; it felt so fresh and clever that most of the disappointments were forgotten.
That being said, Walternate continues to really damage the episodes he's in, I find myself bored watching him and this is the main reason why I can't quite call 'Immortality' perfect.
So we may be having a Fringe baby, the obvious questions emerging being what will happen with this new Peter/Fauxlivia creation, and perhaps more importantly, will FOX give us the chance to find out...
Oh, and to answer a Question asked earlier this season... Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep? I Doubt It, They Dream of Real Ones.
9/10
Adam
Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter: @AdDHarris
Facebook: Adam D.Harris
My Other Fringe Season 3 Reviews Are Here:
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
3.08 Entrada
3.09 Marionette
3.10 The Firefly
3.11 Reciprocity
3.12 Concentrate & Ask Again
3.13 Immortality
Agree, Disagree? What did you think of Immortality?
ReplyDelete8/10 !
ReplyDeleteDarthlocke: 100% Agree. I for one see it as way to branch out. There are some fans that dislike it because they think it's soap opera ish and I think they do not understand that people are science, because it is humanity's push for understand that leads to knowing more and more things. So what happens to people emotionally can have an effect on the world depending on whom has the ability to "change" it.
ReplyDeleteAnthropology and People are always at the helm of Abrams' works, so I don't know why people are so surprised that the show is now more about people. Not to say that I don't think the baby will also lead to other physical possibilities, I do, but that the lines of innovation are blurred because anything advanced is always in the eye of the beholder by comparison to any other time and/or space. There wouldn't be understanding or 'advancement' if there weren't beings who care about advancing it as awareness it the key to the whole point of everything, including the need to survive--some how, some way.
I really enjoyed last night's episode :D. That being said, for the first time ever, I find myself vehemently disagreeing with many of your assertions.
ReplyDeleteThe major cause has nothing to do with the pregnancy (which is something I enjoy). It stems from your apparent dislike of the Alt-Characters. I absolutely love ALL of the them, Walternate, Brandonate, and AltStrid included.
I'll tackle the easiest one first. Altstrid is, for me, one of the most interesting over there characters because she represents something none of the others do. What happens when your double is born with a genetic difference? Our Astrid is at her most interesting when her relationship with Walter is explored. Intelligent though she may be, she's also incredibly compassionate. Altstrid obviously finds herself somewhere on the autistic spectrum. There is a sore lack of functional characters representing people with different brain chemistry in primetime. It's usually the extremes that we're shown, like in that episode where those people had intense OCD because of parts of Walter's brain being stored in theirs. When she was asking after Broyles, my heart broke a little bit to know the truth and watch her become so agitated. I look forward to them exploring her character further.
As for Walternate, his character makes perfect sense. His son was kidnapped by his double (for altruistic purposes initially of course) and the result of this was the beginning of the destruction of his world. He was never in an institute. He never had part of his brain taken out. His fun times experimenting and doing drugs likely ended when his son was stolen. He is a hard man trying to save his world. This episode, we saw him show some measure of vulnerability. Ken Tucker on EW pointed out that, to some extent, this episode showed us that Walternate may be a better person than our Walter (who had no issues experimenting on children).
Finally, Brandonate also makes sense. Our Brandon, lest we forget, is fairly morally ambiguous in his position at Massive Dynamic. He's just happier because his world isn't ending. For now. Also, Walternate isn't his boss, Nina Sharp is and before her William Bell was. They've both shown us a measure of humour. His research on our side is likely less "SAVE THE WORLD BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY" and more "YAY SCIENCE!"
All of that being said, their lack of humour is, as you mentioned, more than made up for in the forms of Fauxlivia, Scarlie, and Lincoln. While their dynamic is fun, it seems like it may purposely exist to make up for the lack of our Walter.
Phew, *rant over*. Regardless of me disagreeing with you, great review :D!
Adam, after reading your review, I can say I agree with your assessment of the episode almost totally. It was a great, near-perfect episode. The aspect of the review that surprises me, however, is where we differ greatly about some of the individual alt-characters.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Walter and Walternate, I find the "over there" version to be just as broken as Walter. They're two sides of the same coin. Where Walter is a broken man due to having part of his brain being taken from him, Walternate is a broken man because of Peter being taken, thus having his heart ripped out. Walter is left being frazzled and overly emotional, caring so deeply about everything around him whereas Walternate, having his heart ripped out, is a cold, calculating, ruthless man unable to stir any genuine, unselfish emotion except when it comes to children. It's a fascinating comparison with each person being broken in completely opposite ways.
The other difference we have, albeit a minor one, is Alt-Astrid. I find the character's lack of social competence amusing. It's funny that she gets seemingly annoyed when anyone says something she finds improbable or illogical. Alt-Astrid seemingly has a fact-based computer-like response to every question or comment directed at her and it makes it all the more hilarious when she's left completely without response when Frank repeatedly flirts with her. I hope Fringe Division keeps requesting Frank's assistance so he can keep flirting with Astrid. It's damn funny.
Oh, as an addendum, I just want to say "How fantastic was the Scarlie/Bug Girl scene!?" They need to bring back Julie McNiven because that entire scene was golden. More please.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed last night's episode :D. That being said, for the first time ever, I find myself vehemently disagreeing with many of your assertions.
ReplyDeleteThe major cause has nothing to do with the pregnancy (which is something I enjoy). It stems from your apparent dislike of the Alt-Characters.
I absolutely love ALL of the them, Walternate, Brandonate, and Altstrid included.
I'll tackle the easiest one first. Altstrid is, for me, one of the most interesting over there characters because she represents something none of the others do. What happens when your double is born with a genetic difference? Our Astrid is at her most interesting when her relationship with Walter is explored. Intelligent though she may be, she's also incredibly compassionate and that is what makes her character interesting. Altstrid obviously finds herself somewhere on the autistic spectrum. There is a sore lack of functional characters representing people with different brain chemistry in primetime. It's usually the extremes that we're shown, like in that episode where those people had intense OCD because of parts of Walter's brain being stored in theirs. She represents both A) an interesting thematic puzzle and B) something more shows should explore. When she was asking after Broyles because he was missing, my heart broke a little bit to know the truth and watch her become so agitated. I look forward to them exploring her character further.
As for Brandonate, his character makes perfect sense. Our Brandon, lest we forget, is fairly morally ambiguous in his position at Massive Dynamic. He's just happier because his world isn't ending. For now. Also, Walternate isn't his boss, Nina Sharp is and before her William Bell was. They've both shown us a measure of humour. His research on our side is likely less "SAVE THE WORLD BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY" and more "YAY SCIENCE!"
Finally, Walternate also makes perfect sense. His son was kidnapped by his double (initially for altruistic purposes of course) and the result of this was the beginning of the destruction of his world. He was never in an institute. He never had part of his brain taken out. His fun times experimenting and doing drugs likely ended when his son was stolen. He is a hard man trying to save his world. This episode, we saw him show some measure of vulnerability. Ken Tucker on EW pointed out that, to some extent, this episode showed us that Walternate may be a better person than our Walter (who had no issues experimenting on children). While he may be "dull" or "rusty", I think he has a lot of depth to him. A depth I hope that they explore further.
All of that being said, their lack of humour is, as you mentioned, more than made up for in the forms of Fauxlivia, Scarlie, and Lincoln. I'm sure that, as a narrative device, the writers are more than acutely aware of the lack of humour and the intensity many of the over there characters bring compared to their over here counterparts. They likely use Scarlie/Lincoln/Fauxlivia to make up for a lack of our silly addle-brained Walter.
Phew, *rant over*. Regardless of me ranting, great review :D! It really got me thinking :P.
hahaha. I think character likes and dislikes is very, very subjective.
ReplyDeleteI just don't find Walternate, I guess the word is entertaining. Alt-Brandon too, their scenes are dull and lack the excitement and interest I have for both of Walter & Brandon.
I'll confess I find Alt-Astrid amusing but she isn't a patch on Astrid. Maybe it's more than I love the other versions of them so much more, whereas characters like Fauxlivia I feel more interesting and more emotional connection to her. It's a weird thing as I want to like the Walternates etc more, but I'm just not there yet. haha
It was Brill!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I completely agree with you in regards to Walternate, although I don't find him boring so munch as tiresome. At this point he lacks any of the depth or complexity our Walter has. As for Brandonate, well I have deeply murderous and admittedly irrational feelings towards him. I agree with your statement that he ain't got nothing on our Brandon. After this episode, I'm hopefully optimistic about the next two :)
ReplyDeleteTHIS.
ReplyDelete1st. I was a Deaf brother in the episode "the Box" 2nd. Silva's solution was not injected it was digested by fluid (drinks).
ReplyDeleteWhoops. haha
ReplyDeleteAlter Astrid is like that "computer like and not understanding the interactions and word play" because she is Autistic.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you address all your posts to Dartlocke? I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteYep, I know and it's still funny when Frank flirts with her.
ReplyDeleteAlexandra, I'm curious on you opinion: What if anything do you think happened to the baby when Feaux crossed worlds (if you remember she got three injections one in each palm and one in the back. Well, the back is offely close to the baby, do you think it effected the baby?)
ReplyDeleteI think Darthlocke uses a facebook account to post things, but for that reason, has no specific DISQUS profile. As such, Darthlocke starts all posts by saying that it is actually Darthlocke.
ReplyDeleteWhat Cadence says is correct :)
ReplyDeleteDarthlocke is one of the SpoilerTV Forum Fringe Show Experts :)
so that is the name of the poster, not who he or she is addressing?
ReplyDeleteAgree that this Olivia has stepped up. Definitely a top favourite on my list. The baby plot creates a whole lot of different possible scenarios.
ReplyDeleteWalternate has underestimate 'the girl' before. He's about to make another mistake if he thinks he can count on her loyalty. And that's just one possibility over on this universe.
Darthlocke:
ReplyDeleteYes. For whatever reason the DISQUS doesn't let me create an account...and my facebook won't let me post as myself either??
Sorry I didn't mean to confuse anyone. I probably should find someone to help me out with this. ^-^
WOW, what a fantastic episode. Fringe has really been killing it this year instead of descending into the second/third season mediocrity that kills so many shows, especially sci-fi shows, and especially after really great first seasons (I'm looking at you, V). As a DISH customer/employee I love watching this show in their crystal clear HD more than just about any other...some of the effects are really amazing for TV in HD. Can't wait for the next episode.
ReplyDelete"What we discovered was that the energy of Lincoln and Charlie and Bolivia made up for the lack of Walter," said Pinkner. "Obviously Walternate's John Noble was in the episodes, but energetically and rhythmically it made up for missing Walter, so rather than recognizing or discovering that, it became a creative challenge. The discovery for us that was really wonderful was that it was a joy to go to the other side, and it was really a joy to explore another version of our show with cases that affected everything happening on our side with characters that we, as writers, had come to love."
ReplyDeleteLol, see! The writers ARE aware of that!