Fringe is back from its hiatus! The story continues and the plot thickens with new layers of understanding as Walternate (John Noble) and Alt!Brandon (Ryan MacDonald) start experimenting on Olivia (Anna Torv) to figure out how she can cross over on her own. More ethical lines are crossed in this episode, which makes the alternate universe less black and white and more grey – what do you know, just like our universe. Even the show’s archvillain, Walternate, is showing some interesting signs of ‘greying’.
On this week’s episode, entitled “Amber 31422”, we head back to the alternate universe where Fringe Division is investigating a particularly unique sort of robbery; someone has broken into a quarantined area and has taken someone out of the amber he had been stuck in for four years.
It soon turns out that one of my previous hunches, shared with many Fringe fans and discussed a couple of times on The Fringe Report, was right: people stuck in amber are still alive, disturbingly enough. As Walternate explains it, they are stuck in a form of suspended animation and unfortunately, cutting them out would affect its structural integrity.
It’s information like this, sprinkled throughout the episode, that delighted me, what with the extra layers of sophistication added to both the alternate universe and, most importantly, to the character of Walternate. This season really seems to be about exploring shades of grey.
Another constant source of delight are the various cute little things sprinkled throughout the episode that made me smile, including Lee’s reference to the Nixon Parkway. The Glyphs are always intriguing, and this episodes’ spelled “EVENT”. Finding the Observer has become something of an automatic reflex; he was this time behind Lee and Scarlie when they notice Olivia’s car parked behind the bank, near the end of the episode.
While as always, there are those who complain that the storyline is advancing way too slowly, there is a growing number of Fringe fans who are starting to appreciate the storytelling technique used. The plot was an intricate mix of monster-of-the-week (even though there really wasn’t a monster involved this time) and mythology.
Four years ago, Joshua Rose’s twin brother got caught in amber while breaking into a bank vault. A professional bank robber, Joshua had developed a technique to get into these bank vaults that would create an instability in the fabric between the two universes; and so, any place he’d hit would get quarantined.
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Article comments
1 - Karen
Once again thank you for a fantastic review.
I am, like you, somewhat disturbed by the fact that Walternate is fully aware of the fact that those stuck in amber are alive, yet he is doing nothing about it. The fact that he considers it “collateral damage” is also somewhat alarming. What is even more disturbing is that his powers of manipulation and lack of “getting his hands dirty” are somewhat reminiscent of “dictatorship”. Once under your thumb most people will believe anything if it is told with conviction. His stepping back and allowing Alt!Brandon to do the work, also allows him, in his mind, to keep a somewhat clear conscience. IF he personally had no hand in it then the blame does not fall on him, and he can plead innocence.
I do believe that Walter, on the other hand, is starting to see the consequences of his actions. Although he tries to explain it away as best as he can, like Walternate he is not always willing to acknowledge his hand in the results. But unlike Walternate, he is willing to use that knowledge to aid in the correction of some of his past mistakes by helping out the FBI.
What is also worrisome is that now the Walter has full ownership of MD, to what extent will he go to get the results that he needs. He has better toys in a larger sandbox. Having had William Bell remove parts of his brain “because of what he was becoming” kept him from becoming Walternate-ish. Will that change now? Will he become as dangerous as Walternate?
As for Olivia, I do believe that she is carrying around three sets of memories. I do not believe that John Scott’s memories are completely gone. The interesting part of this is that when/if she finally returns home, how will that affect how she deals with “home”. She is a changed person now. She has lived on the other side. She has worked with the Alt’s and has seen first hand how they live and work, and their relationships with each other. How will all of this play into future episodes?
I love how this show is progressing. There is a great deal of information thrown at you in the 45 minutes or so of actual viewing. I believe that if they were to move the storytelling any quicker we would miss the tiny details that make the show what it is. It is complex, detail oriented, and missing even the tiniest of details feels that we have missed a large chunk of what had happened.
I enjoyed this episode. The differences between the two universes are beginning to play out in a very interesting way.
Let the nail biting, furniture pounding, and theorizing continue.