Small Glass Screen: Hesitations On The Apocalypse

Fringe: The Abducted

I wasn't able to put one of these up last week, so this is the only show that has only one episode to review this week. I'm always a little saddened by a week without Fringe, and this episode doesn't make the wait any easier. While the alternate universe episodes have mostly focused on Olivia and her journey, they have had episodes that shined light on the new characters. Plateau gave us a closer look at Alt-Charlie and Lincoln Lee, and Amber 31422 gave more light on Walternate than we've seen thus far. This time, we get to look at the character of Colonel Broyles, who is by far my favorite of the alternates thus far.

This week's case focused on an old case where Broyles' son was kidnapped by a mask wearing fiend called the Candyman, so named because he secreted sucrose through his sweat. The villain is now back, and while Broyles fears for his son Chris' childhood too much to reopen those memories, Olivia always cares about putting things right, no matter which world it is. She knows who she is now, but she's not about to sabotage the inner workings of Fringe Division and thus hurt the alternate universe. It does offer one of the sweetest moments of this season, where Olivia is sitting and having a nice conversation with Christopher Broyles. It brings back memories of Dunham and her niece Ella.

The case gets really intense as it barrels towards the end, and that's not something we're used to with a run of the mill Fringe standalone. However, this isn't really a standalone episode at all, is it? We were led to believe that this would be the one where Olivia finally returns home. In actual fact, it was the one where Olivia finally attempted to return home, bringing back cab driver Henry for a nice cameo this week. As we moved towards the end of the episode, we began to wonder whether she'd actually make it back or not, and it turned out to be the latter. She's been found out, and it seems like next week will be the one where things really happen. Early reviews have coined it as the best episode of Fringe ever. Lets hope they don't disappoint.

8.9 out of 10

Glee: The Substitute and Furt

This is probably the most varying two episodes of Glee in terms of quality, because last week was so spectacular, and this week was so... not as spectacular. But lets start from the beginning, with the absolutely perfect episode from last week called The Substitute. It was really what the show needed at that point in their history, and it offered what is probably the most successful cameo that any star has done on the show. Gwyneth Paltrow was sublime as Holly Holiday, who was everything that we really wanted out of a teacher. Will Schuester has been grating on us so much because of his bizarre behavior lately, so Holiday was a nice reprieve.

There were several hilarious comedic moments to be had, mostly from the anything-goes teacher, but occasionally from Kurt, Mercedes, and of course Sue Sylvester. The music was spectacular, and it really let go of trying to be taken seriously, and was just sold on a good time. My favorite, obviously, was the Singing in the Rain/Umbrella mash-up. It was just so brilliantly fused together, and the water effects were just awe inspiring. I was definitely impressed by this one, and it seemed like the show was on an up tick.

Then Furt came around the corner, and did what it could to disappoint. I'm not going to hide my feelings on the matter. This episode just didn't work for me. I liked the idea of a Glee wedding, but there was far too much focus on Kurt and his plight, and I felt like it should have been held off until later. On top of that, it just didn't feel like any of them were acting within character. Finn has always been kind of stupid, but he's never really been that selfish. I love Kurt, but he is losing a lot of the character flaws that made him intriguing in the first place. The one saving grace of the episode was Just The Way You Are, because that song is just beautiful.

9.6 (The Substitute) and 7.2 (Furt) out of 10

The Walking Dead: Tell it to the Frogs and Vatos

This is the perfect example of a new series coming into its own groove, and becoming something truly worthwhile. While this season of The Walking Dead seems short, it kind of functions as a long extended film. These two episodes show that best, with the third episode bringing emotional resonance to this tale, and reuniting Rick Grimes with his family. We got a chance to look at the survivor camp, and how fragile things are for them. Shane has been living behind a lie, though an honest lie that he had every reason to believe. I understand why he did the things he did, but sleeping with your best friend's wife is still breaking the bro code.

Shane has also proven himself something of a loose cannon, and he's really capable of doing anything. He proves this by beating Ed to a pulp before a crowd of onlookers. Rick has taken something of an ensemble presence, but he's still the star of the show, taking a noble stance to return to Atlanta for Merle and the guns. The end of the third episode really leaves us with an indelible image to sink our teeth into. It's a bit shocking, but a dynamic image nonetheless. The next episode takes a more action packed look at things, and amplifies the dangers the survivors face every day.

They're definitely living under heavy emotional conditions, with death being literally all around them. Jim seems to collapse under the stress, but it really may be more than it seems. The voyage into Atlanta offers a bit of surprise with a gang of thugs turning out to be protectors of a nursing home, and it's kind of nice how brave they all are. It definitely begs the question of how sacred life is in these troubled times. However, the moment most will talk about is that ending attack on the camp. It was definitely a pit-of-your-gut shock as we saw our first casualties on the show, including the beloved Amy. Tension rises as the episode closes, and we wait in desperate dread for Amy's corpse to reanimate. It's definitely something that will resonate through the final two episodes of the season.

9 (Tell it to the Frogs) and 9.4 (Vatos) out of 10