Television Breakdown: Hearts So Red

This week covering: Fringe, The Chicago Code, Glee, How I Met Your Mother

Fringe: Immortality

I'm going to go ahead and call this Fringe's Valentine's Day episode, because it surprisingly dealt with romance in the foreground. Of course this still is an episode focusing on a case of extinct insects burrowing their way out of their victims before dying shortly afterwords. I'm with Charlie on this one. Those bugs really grossed me the hell out, and I'm glad Fringe hasn't forgotten how to do that. At the base of it, this episode was about the fallout in the alternate universe, much like Marionette was the fallout in our universe. Things don't go as expected, and they go wrong in the most perfect way imaginable.

As mentioned before, this works as a wonderful Valentine's Day episode for the show that edges on the horror genre occasionally. Charlie has a sweet and awkward little moment with the girl who apparently treated his outbreak of arachnids. That borders on one of the most unbearably funny moments of this series, right up there with Vagenda. I hope that she comes back into the fold later on. Another nice and awkward romantic moment came when Walternate was getting cozy and intimate with his Asian mistress. It was kind of funny to tell you the truth, because I got our Walter in my head for a moment. I would've been balling on the floor laughing if that actually happened to our Walter.

All joking aside, we saw the human side of Walternate this week, as he refused to cross the line and experiment on children, mostly due to his past with Peter. We caught him opening up to his mistress about his regrets in letting Peter return home, and it was a bit sad to tell you the truth, and it makes sense that a great politician like him would have a mistress he could open up to. My question now is what is going on with him and his wife? I need an answer on that one. Don't take my musings to mean that I'm suddenly backing the other side. Take it as what you should, which is the writers making the emotionally dividing show they always intended.

Speaking of which, the other Olivia got back to the man she's madly in love with, Frank, this week. I know he kind of came into the show out of nowhere at the end of last year, but I kind of have a man crush for the guy. He's so crazy about Olivia after all they've been through, so it was a bit weird to see him as Peter's competition. He wins in my book, because he proposed to Olivia in a wonderfully sweet way. I have to say that it caught me off guard, and I cried a bit. Then he found out that she was pregnant with Peter's baby and broke up with her, and I cried even more. Never question the potential of this series to make you cry like a baby boy. Speaking of babies, does the other Olivia's pregancy instantly mean that they can get Peter back on their side? Walternate sure thinks so, and enter that creep smile of his.

On a few final extraneous notes, Brad Anderson did a marvelous job directing this episode. Each episode he's had his name on this season has been spectacular, and I love it. The writing was better than initially expected, and definitely a step up from last week's clunky execution. Did I mention how gross those freakin' bugs were? Yowza! Also, the villain of this week, Dr. Silva, was so damn brilliant. He's not out for some emotional reason, but instead looking for fame amongst the greatest scientists. A man like Walter once was, looking for a legacy, or a sense of immortality if you will. He was frightening in his resolve, and it worked. This was the best episode of Fringe since they started this year, so if I may make one more note, is Astrid now going to try hooking up with Frank, or am I just shooting blind? Please give the robot a heart!

9.6 out of 10

Chicago Code: Pilot

FOX's schedule is becoming rapidly filled for next season, and I can say that if Fringe and Glee are guaranteed to come back next season, then I'd say that Chicago Code has a similarly bright future ahead of it. I'm not usually one to buy into these sorts of cop shows, but I found this one alluring by the promise of tackling a world of corruption. It initially read to me as a long term and more realistic version of The Dark Knight, and I cannot stop drawing parallels to Nolan's film since I revisited it last week. There's also a trace of The Departed in the mix of this series, and the pilot episode made the level of tension abundantly clear. Despite a few hiccups, I thought this was a good beginning to a hopefully great series.

8.5 out of 10

Glee: Silly Love Songs

After the fairly over-the-top episode that premiered after the super bowl, we got a bit of old fashioned Glee to put us back in line. Finn sets up a kissing booth in hopes of ensnaring another kiss with Quinn. Rachel tries to finally get over Finn. Kurt panics for the affection of Blaine, who is "in love" with somebody else. Puck swoons over Lauren Zizies, and I'm still not sure why. All in all, it's a crazy mess of love and stuff, with some humor thrown in. If I feel uncomfortable elaborating much, it's because there isn't much to elaborate on. What you see is what you get, and it was fine, but not much more.

8.3 out of 10

How I Met Your Mother: Oh Honey

Anybody familiar with How I Met Your Mother will know how the Zoey storyline has seemed to hinder the success of the show. After a while, I started questioning the purpose of her character. It was inevitable that Ted would hook up with the girl at some point, but it was satisfying to know how it actually happened. Marshall is still in Minesota grieving over his father's death, and I think we're all there with him. So the story of what happens when Zoey sets Ted up with her hot sister Honey, playfully fortrayed by Katy Perry, is told to him over the phone by way of Robin, Ted, Barney, Lily, and eventually Honey herself. I have to say that the way this episode unfolded was actually rather enjoyable. Katy Perry was overshadowed, but she did have some funny moments, most notably with Barney. In a series about different interpretations of specific stories, I found myself somewhat believing Barney's side of the story a bit more. I can't exactly say why. It was a fun episode to bring about a specific romance.

9.0 out of 10