Fringe: Amber 31422
I hate the long gaps between these segments of Fringe, and while the first four episodes of this season were all phenomenal, we knew it could only go so far. However, if this is Fringe's example of a bad episode of this season, I'm perfectly fine with that. On any scale, this was still pretty good, and it hit home emotionally which is where it counts. In this rather clinically named episode, we saw the alternate universe become further fleshed out as we delved into the ethics and morals behind locking human beings in a state of suspended animation. The people trapped in amber are alive, and trapped both physically and mentally in their last horrific thoughts.
The episode's main crux was that it simply had too much going on, yet not at a fast enough pace, and that's where most of my complaints begin and end. The writers of this episode were the two worst writers on the show, Josh Singer and Ethan Gross, but the sheer quality of the story kept me interested throughout. Walternate begins to test Olivia in order to extract her ability to cross over to the other side, and that leads to two trips in the tank. The first results in little to nothing, as we confirm that she can indeed cross between worlds. However, the road she goes on through the rest of the episode leads her to travel back into the tank. I will add that the snow globe smashing whenever Olivia crossed universes was a nice touch.
Shawn and Aaron Ashmore guest star in this episode as twins, one of which has been trapped in amber for the past four years after trying to stop his brother from robbing a bank. The other, a former criminal who has spent the past four years pretending to be his brother, finally breaks his brother out of amber, and begins a desperate attempt to escape before it's too late. It's really emotional towards the end, thanks to the talent of the actors and some stellar direction by David Straiton, director of last year's hour long masterpiece Peter. It's a little difficult to trace the actions of the two brothers, as they keep switching like in The Parent Trap. I actually like to compare this more to the actions of the brothers in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige.
We knew the time would come when Olivia began to revert back to her normal self, and it seems that time is now. Hallucination-Peter has a steady presence throughout the episode, and that last piece with him was rather inspired writing in my opinion. Olivia's final tank trip is perhaps the most important part of the episode, as it's the point when Olivia finally realizes who she is. On top of that, her supposed failure in reaching the other side may impact Walternate to believe she's no longer necessary, and even if it doesn't, he'll soon find out that the ability to travel between universes has to be applied at a young age through Cortexiphan. Either way, we're on the edge of the truth, and our next adventure in the alternate universe (two weeks from now) will see the return of Andre Royo as taxi cab driver Henry! Consider me excited!
8.4 out of 10
The episode's main crux was that it simply had too much going on, yet not at a fast enough pace, and that's where most of my complaints begin and end. The writers of this episode were the two worst writers on the show, Josh Singer and Ethan Gross, but the sheer quality of the story kept me interested throughout. Walternate begins to test Olivia in order to extract her ability to cross over to the other side, and that leads to two trips in the tank. The first results in little to nothing, as we confirm that she can indeed cross between worlds. However, the road she goes on through the rest of the episode leads her to travel back into the tank. I will add that the snow globe smashing whenever Olivia crossed universes was a nice touch.
Shawn and Aaron Ashmore guest star in this episode as twins, one of which has been trapped in amber for the past four years after trying to stop his brother from robbing a bank. The other, a former criminal who has spent the past four years pretending to be his brother, finally breaks his brother out of amber, and begins a desperate attempt to escape before it's too late. It's really emotional towards the end, thanks to the talent of the actors and some stellar direction by David Straiton, director of last year's hour long masterpiece Peter. It's a little difficult to trace the actions of the two brothers, as they keep switching like in The Parent Trap. I actually like to compare this more to the actions of the brothers in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige.
We knew the time would come when Olivia began to revert back to her normal self, and it seems that time is now. Hallucination-Peter has a steady presence throughout the episode, and that last piece with him was rather inspired writing in my opinion. Olivia's final tank trip is perhaps the most important part of the episode, as it's the point when Olivia finally realizes who she is. On top of that, her supposed failure in reaching the other side may impact Walternate to believe she's no longer necessary, and even if it doesn't, he'll soon find out that the ability to travel between universes has to be applied at a young age through Cortexiphan. Either way, we're on the edge of the truth, and our next adventure in the alternate universe (two weeks from now) will see the return of Andre Royo as taxi cab driver Henry! Consider me excited!
8.4 out of 10
Undercovers: Assassin
I think this is the first time a J.J. Abrams show has been canned before the end of its first season. It's a shame, because the series was finally getting good, particularly in this episode. Right from the beginning they were setting up an intense premise that had Stephen poised in a position to kill an important political figure. Over the course of the episode the tension built up as we learned more about Sam's idolization of the targeted president, making so many more questions prop up about whether or not Stephen was actually thinking logically. In the end, I think this episode might have stayed a little too much on the safe side, and I could tell who the villain was by the end, but it was still one of the most entertaining hours this show has given us so far. They have at least three more episodes set to air before officially leaving the airways, and depending on how good the ratings are, NBC may air the final three episodes of the series sometime next year. I'd like to say that I still have hope for the series, but lets be realistic.
8.8 out of 10
8.8 out of 10
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