This week we saw the making of another great guest character, only to watch him taken down by a bullet by the end of the episode. The episode focused heavily on the back-and-forth between Martin Odum and Kyle Dobson, played by actor Kirk Acevedo, who Fringe fans may remember as Charlie. Well skilled and well matched, the two characters played a game of cat and mouse throughout the episode, as Martin sought to keep Kyle in his custody in hopes Kyle could supply answers to his identity, and Kyle sought to ditch Martin.
The episode had a number of elements that make for a good, suspenseful episode. First there was an antagonist relationship. Even though they shared a past from Iraq, Martin doesn’t remember it, and as Kyle pointed out, they weren’t friends. Now they’re an FBI agent and a weapons smuggler.
Second, the clock was ticking. Martin was out in the wild in hostile territory with a draining phone battery and knowledge that Kyle had a locator on him, which meant it was only a matter of time before Kyle’s people caught up with them. Kyle was hoping for a rescue from his team, but as Martin pointed out, the longer Kyle stayed missing, the more likely he was to be seen by his people as a liability rather than an asset.
The episode also supplied answers – lots of them – as the cloudy mytharc began to take shape. We learned that Dobson’s employer, Verax, a private contractor in Iraq, sent snipers after US and British commanders to protect their secrets. We also got more flashback glimpses of Operation Raining Fire, described as feeling apocalyptic as explosions rained from the sky in Basra, killing over 100 innocent people. Martin wasn’t supposed to survive that night – shedding some light on why his identity is now a secret. Dobson also confirmed that there were too many bombs to be a mistake.
Back home, we saw that Sonya was, in fact, working with Gates, and that the two have been lying to Martin for 10 years. We also saw that the two seem to legitimately care about Martin and want to protect him, which makes this more interesting than the more predictable route of the two being the bad guys.
There’s a lot of room for speculation after this episode, so here’s a start at listing out some of the questions:
- A comment by Kyle upon learning that Martin was FBI – that the fact that he was a cop was the reason they couldn’t find him, leads me to think that Gates has been keeping Martin in one legend after the other to hide him from whoever seems to be cleaning up the survivers.
- Sonya told Gates she loved Martin, and that she only separated because she was worried about Aiden. The actor is actor who plays Aiden is supposed to be 14. So does that mean Sonya and Martin were together before Martin was sent to Iraq, and that Aiden is really his son? Or does that mean Aiden has a different father and Martin only believes Aiden is his son?
- From the picture we saw from Dennis Evans, it looked like Martin, McCombs and Evans all worked together in Iraq. Was their work legit? Were they dirty? Or was Martin an FBI agent even back then, and maybe undercover?
- What was the secret Verax was trying to cover up with all of this?
- And who are the other players? Who removed the memories from McCombs, Martin, and Evans – and why?
This show is starting to feel like it’s found its groove. The plot is moving forward at a good pace, and I like that the backstory is based on a piece of history that’s not so far in the past. What are you thoughts?
