Fringe: The Box

'The Box' is the name of the new episode for Fringe airing September, 30, 2010. I so want to make pornographic reference jokes about this, but I wont. Instead I'll point you to the relevant 'pedia for the synopsis. (Has 'pedia become a thing now? Like the verbification of google?)

In addition to some plot progression in the 'this universe' part of the cosmos (as denoted by the return of the silver/gray titles*), this episode was all about character nuance. I love it when that happens.


If that ain't nuance I dont know what is, right? Ok so no, this isnt very subtle. But give me some credit, I held back with the porno references. I have a thing for chicks in wife beaters so you get this fabulous pic!

Ahem...


Walter is skittish as ever. But where you or I might work off nervous energy with baking or sex or gaming, Walter sets out to make cows actually produce chocolate milk. You have to love a show that creates a Walter. He's done horrible, wretched and actual world shattering things yet still manages to make us feel more sorry for him than a puppy left out in the rain. He can't stop his work because it will endanger the one he loves the most and yet it is this very work that has him (and the rest of us) in such peril. He's a tortured soul who gets the best lines:

stepping onto the street in front of a crime scene: 'I used to get a massage at a place just down the street. I used to get off right here....'

Peter has too many hamsters on the wheel to see the snake looming in the corner. He's worried about becoming the pawn in a game that leads to destruction, dealing with his living in a world in which he doesn't belong, trying to find pieces of a doomsday device, and deflecting Walter's apologetic attempts at the explanation of events past. All the while he can tell something is just not quite right with "Olivia", but lets himself get swept up in their supposed new relationship energy to fully explore the wonkiness. Poor guy is just destined for heartache no matter what he does.

Olivia.. well we dont know what was going on with 'our Olivia' in this episode. Presumably she is succumbing to the memory drugs and being assimilated into the Walternate Universe Collective. The Fauxlivia** that's here in silver title land is hard at work being a bad girl. Reading up on pop culture ('Who is BOno?') to try and fit into this world, getting her tat lasered off and stuffing bodies into her bathroom. Anna Torv is a facial acting genius. She makes the slightest little nuances to let us know which 'livia we are dealing with. Olivia has an alluring seriousness about her. Fauxlivia has an eery lightness to her. She smiles more and just slightly askew, she does the suspicious sideways glance thing but does it without making a big deal about it. As Vincent Vega would say, 'Its the little things.'

Nina and Broyles continue to do their 'lets look real serious and take long pauses when speaking' thing. I don't mean that flippantly, they are both quite effective at coming off as aloof and intriguing. But you never quite know WHY they are being aloof. I get the feeling that often even the characters dont even know. I'll never be able to look at that bell without picturing Spock and Molly Brown 'Under the Tuscan Sun'. To tell you the truth, it kinda gives me the shivers. I better stop now before I start making Terminator hand job jokes.

So after hour 2 of season 3 we now know really only about 10 minutes worth of information than we did last week. But the characters made it an hour that makes us want to keep watching. Well that and midgets with exploding heads. You don't even get that on Mythbusters, how can you not keep watching?

~kim

*apparently the sexy red title sequence from last week means we are in the Walternate universe? I still miss the limited commercials and the 'Fringe will return in 90 seconds' messages of the first season.
** I like Fauxlivia better than Bolivia as a name. Plus its alliterative with Fringe. 'Hey do you know Fauxlivia from Fringe?' Yeah this is better, it stays.