Sunday, April 18, 2010

Fringe "White Tulip"


Image from the Fringe Files Gallery

Fringe has been a problematic show since its very beginning. I was extremely excited for a procedural show from some of the creators of Lost that had an overarching mythology. But season 1 was shaky, with runs of good episodes, runs of bad episodes, and some really great episodes. Season 2 seemed to up the quality some early on, but the cycle of Mythology-Monster of the Week-Monster of the Week-repeat got tiring. The seasons winter finale, Jacksonville, was a promise to the viewers that the spring segment of the season would be the best Fringe has to offer: episodes that masterfully blend the elements of the overarching mythology and self-contained stories that, combined, make the show something special. And with the three episodes after Jacksonville, that promise has not been broken. This weeks episode, White Tulip, was the high point.

The episode centers around a man named Alistair Peck, the only man to walk from a train car where fifteen people seem to have died suddenly. All the energy seems to have been sucked from the bodies and electronics on that car. Before the Fringe team is called to the scene, Walter writes a letter to his son telling him how and why he took him from the other universe. Peter knows Walter is distressed, and Olivia knows he plans to make the move soon.

Their investigation goes on to reveal that Peck is time traveling in order to stop his wife from dying in a car crash. Peck can travel back to points in his own timeline and essentially re-do them, at the cost of killing those around him at his landing point.

It's in the final act that this episode becomes a classic. In a conversation with Alistair, Walter discusses how he, too, took his knowledge too far. He admits to pushing the boundaries to dangerous extents and says he regrets his actions. John Noble's excellent portrayal of Dr. Bishop steals the show yet again, thanks to this scene. Early in the episode, he uses the child-like defense mechanism of the cold shoulder to avoid a confrontation with Peter. But Walter is no child. In his conversation with Alistair, Walter gives us an insight into the mind of Dr. Bishop and the immense moral struggle he is dealing with. His view on God and science therein is inspiring. And with his cautionary tale delivered, Walter is dragged away as Peck flashes back to the day of his wifes accident. The sound direction here is great. We hear next to nothing, but we see Peck rush to say his last "I Love You" to his wife before letting himself die in the car crash. The fulfillment of Walter's goal to prevent another man from threatening the health of the universe to save one person is his Karmic retribution for his theft of Peter. And Peck makes sure Walter knows this. After Walter burns this timelines copy of the letter to Peter, he finds the mail and a letter addressed to him containing a paper with a drawing of a tulip. The emotional range Noble covers in this small scene is astounding.

That's not to say the rest of the cast does a necessarily bad job. While I've seen others criticize Josh Jackson's Peter, I very much enjoy the character. Olivia, as portrayed by Anna Torv, continues to be decent enough to not bring the show down, but she's not helping a whole lot either. The same can be said for Lance Reddick's Broyles, who has been focused on less and less as this season has gone on. Jasika Nicole's Astrid begs for more screen time, but she fills her role now well enough that I am satisfied. As long as Noble has something to do, the rest of the cast can't drag the show through the mud.

As I discussed above, the sound design in this episode was perfectly impactful. The music was also wonderful. I've loved the score to Fringe all along. There are some exciting cues, but at the same time it's not too overbearing. The music doesn't beat us over the head with the reactions we're supposed to be having, but it clues us in.

"White Tulip" succeeds at being an example of what to expect in a grade-A episode of Fringe. There are elements of serial nature, where the show assumes ahead of time that we know what the cast is going through. But the procedural elements create a tightly-woven, self-contained, highly-emotional story using gripping science-fiction narrative devices that resonates with all television fans. As long as the program continues this balancing act, we can expect a quality show. Let us hope Fringe keeps walking the tightrope with precision.

9.5/10

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