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Talk Back: "Fringe" Returns

Was it just me or was last night's episode of Fringe ("Inner Child") absolutely fantastic?

(Hell, it was so good that it almost made the gargantuan wait between the installments bearable.)

You had the opportunity to read my advance review of the episode, which marked the first of six all-new episodes of Fringe for the remainder of the season, but I am curious to know what you thought of this week's installment, written by Brad Caleb Kane, and its reveal in the episode's final minutes about the nature of the mysterious and empathic child and The Observer himself.

Do you think that these two beings are, well, two of a kind? And does the government--or some shadowy element of it, anyway--have more of these beings in its possession? Was it essential that the child was kept underground, away from every stimulus, in order to gain his abilities, and at whose orders? Why did he bond so thoroughly with Olivia? Did The Observer undergo a similar treatment underground in order to gain his own abilities? Is this the last we've seen of the mysterious boy? Just what does Rachel need to tell Olivia? Will Astrid ever get something to do?

Talk back here.

Next week on Fringe ("Unleashed"), animal rights activists ransack a laboratory but one of the caged "animals" unleashes a ferocious appetite; Charlie is attacked by the creature, a genetically engineered beast with the body of a lion, claws of an eagle, fangs of a viper, skin of a rhinoceros and tail of a serpent; Walter must come face-to-face with both his past and the beast in order to save Charlie's life.

Comments

SamSee said…
Excellent episode! I think this was a perfect example of having a contained storyline within an episode (the murderer) while still continuing the overarching mythology (the boy being linked to The Observer). I think that someone who had never seen the show before would have enjoyed the weekly mystery while those of us who have stuck with the show since the beginning were rewarded with an added layer of mythology. This is how the show should be every week!
CL said…
The kid was excellent. He didn't have single line, but he was excellent.

Fringe has a lot of the magic that Lost has in that it asks more questions than it answers. I think the kid is an observer. Or perhaps there's a time travel thing going on and he is The Observer. To tell you the truth, I like that idea better. I don't want their to be more than one. Kinda takes away from the coolness of it. And anyway, it would explain his (The Observer's) affection/closeness to Walter - and also how he knows about the future. Yes...perhaps because he knows about the future, he can't do anything to intervene. All he can do is "observe". Hmm...

Unfortunately, this theory is probably shot because of what that CIA dude said on the phone: "Looks like we found another one..."

So...maybe there are others and this boy (our Observer) was the only one that got away and...and... Oh, my head hurts.

Another great, infuriatingly complex episode of Fringe. And next week, a chimera? I'm so there.
Alex said…
@Chris Definitely don't think that the kid and the Observer are the same person though that would be cool too. But the CIA guy definitely said that they found "another" one which means that someone is rounding up these Observers in the making and either doing tests on them or keeping them under lock and key.

Thought this ep was great and exactly what the show should be. Very X-Files in a good way and also pushed the plot along too. If Fox were smart they would be allowing them to follow the mythology stuff more and more now and have the cases tie into the Pattern and not just get wrapped up at the end every week. X-Files did a great job balancing the alien stuff with the weird FBI cases and Fringe should do the same.
Tom I. said…
Ooooh. Your preview for next week is interesting. The mention of "a genetically engineered beast with the body of a lion, claws of an eagle, fangs of a viper, skin of a rhinoceros and tail of a serpent" reminds me of the griffin tattoo on the shoulder of the Artist's victim (Becky from Roseanne). That would be an interesting "pattern" if intentional.
Jace Lacob said…
Tom I.,

Each episode of Fringe has to date contained a clue to the following installment. The tattoo of The Artist's victim is definitely the clue for next week's plot. :)
They're finally hitting their stride at making interesting episodes while maintaining the through line. It was so distracted before.

- your favorite twitter @bernardx
Brian said…
I agree that last night's episode was very good. After struggling to find its way for the first half of the season, it feels like the show has finally found its "voice" in the last few eps, and it's conveying a sense of confidence to the viewers, which makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.
Unknown said…
Stupid American Idol went long, so my DVR cut off with several minutes left. One more reason to hate that show.

The last thing I saw was Olivia going to the hospital and talking to the doctor.

Anyone care to share what happened after that?
Anonymous said…
Never mind, I found it on fox.com.

Some shows, like House, are not put up until 8 days after they air, and I didn't want to wait that long to see the ending. On a whim, I checked the website, and for Fringe apparently they put them up the next day.
Doug said…
@Anon You do realize there's such a thing as Hulu, right??? It's been up there since this am and always is the day after it airs. Earth to Anonymous??
Wes said…
BCK should write every ep. "Inner Child" was best ep of Fringe to date. I don't think the kid is the Observer but underwent same process that made him what he is as the Observer did. I'm really int. to see where this is going.
Unknown said…
Doug,

As I said, every Fox show I've looked for online (mainly House) is put up 8 days after it airs. This is true of fox.com AND hulu.

So, without checking, I assumed that was the case for Fringe too. After my post, I thought I would check just in case, and it was already up so I watched it.

But thanks for being so patronizing!
Doug said…
@Andy You clearly don't ever go to Hulu ever. Wow.
Unknown said…
And neither, apparently, do you, since even right now the main page for House says "New episodes are posted eight days after their initial TV broadcast." That is a direct quote, which is hard to get without "ever go[ing] to Hulu."

I wrongfully assumed that all Fox shows were on the same schedule. That was my mistake.

You wrongfully assumed that being a jerk makes you cool. That was your mistake.
Karen said…
It was a great comeback episode. Every time they show that mysterious bald guy it's good.

reelartsy.blogspot.com

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