Fringe 4x10 Review

Forced Perspective

This week on Fringe we get a break from the epic season arc and go back to a procedural episode about a Fringe event. It was very season one, and I for one enjoyed it. We meet Emily, a girl who can see how people are going to die. I liked a lot that it was done differently from the X-Files episode called "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose". In that episode, Clyde Bruckman is a psychic you sees how people will die, but really does nothing to stop it. In this episode, Emily believes she can't stop it anyway, but still wants to let them know in the hopes that these people will use their final moments to say goodbye to their loved ones. It's a nice idea, but handing someone a picture, and then running away is still a little cryptic. She gets an A for effort.

Meanwhile, Olivia is still freaked out from being told she's going to die by our old friend September. We are reminded that in this timeline they have had no contact with, and know nothing about the Observers. Since September didn't pull Peter and Walter out of the lake they never made contact and thus have remained in the background.

Olivia uses this opportunity with a dead smelling girl to see if she can find out how she dies. Not that she would want that, knowing Olivia she would rather not know if she had the ability to know. I loved that later in the episode she told Broyles that she can't go through her life thinking every moment will be it for her. When you think about it, we all could think that way if we wanted to. Everyday we all could die in a hundred ways, but it's not until someone tells you "you're going to die" until you actually would start thinking about that kind of thing.

I was surprised that Walter didn't know he could hypnotize a person to help them reach memories. I always thought that was something he had perfected earlier in his career, possibly in the Cortexifan Trials. Like always though, Walter's way with children is amazing. It's not hard to see why all those kids trusted him back in those days. Nina though is different. We now know that she is working with Jones, and that they are planning something with Olivia. When her and Olivia behave all mother/daughter it really gives me the creeps, and I can only think of hat future moment when Olivia finds out that Nina has been preparing her all these years for something big.

Peter once again is the guy who realizes that small piece of info that ends up saving the day. Did Peter always do that? I mean I know he's a smart guy, but this is becoming a little silly. Don't get me wrong, I love Peter, but the idea that no one else thought of changing all the radios to the bomb frequency was a little annoying. I mean if that is possible, and as easy as they made it seem wouldn't that kind of thing be taught in bomb defusing school? Wouldn't that be on day one?

Some final thoughts are that, while I understand why the parents lied, did they really think that would work? I mean if they tracked her to that building based on almost no information wouldn't he think that they would be able to watch the building, or at least find her elsewhere?

Many people will call this a "filler" episode, and it is. But that's okay. Not every episode can be as intense and powerful as last week.  I do have high hopes that next week will be back to the craziness.  It's Astrid Centric apparently!