Fringe 2.09 Snakehead

A friend recently suggested I try doing one of these new-fangled, commentative episode synopses. I thought I'd test run it on Fringe.

Fringe is one of Fox's sci-fi, horror, crime show hybrid. A lot like Bones, another of Fox's slow successes and another favorite of mine, Fringe is proving itself a scrappy little show although its middling ratings keep a prospective season 3 in limbo. Executive producer, Jeff Pinkner, recently likened the show to licorice: "not everybody likes licorice, but the people that like licorice, love it." Although science fiction and horror might not be everybody's cup of tea, the writing is pretty solid even if they do scavenge from other sci-fi shows (um, Doctor Who) and viewers can delight in the excellent cast. John Noble is just wonderful as the eccentric yet lovable mad scientist with food-fetishes and love of psychedelics---I need say no more. Jackson gives Peter just enough adolescent attitude and boy genius witticism to keep him fresh, along with a dash of bad-boy coolness and puppy-dog charm, while Torv gives us Olivia: a strong, independent, competent woman who can both stand-up for herself and show emotion without becoming either a bitch or emotive, blubbering wreck. The two have great chemistry, and while their may be some sexual tension between the two characters, the show does not live just for that meager storyline. What a breath of fresh air that is!

Anyway, the show revolves around some banter, creepy sci-fi science and conspiracy and some good old-fashioned gore. Season 2 Episode 9 is a pretty standard episode, although it does randomly introduce a new and classier wardrobe for Walter. Peter's superhuman ability to be competent and useful also continues to skyrocket.

Enjoy!

Fringe 2.09: Snakehead

Open on distressed, limping Asian man. The rhythmic drums of the soundtrack beat out his fast-approaching demise. "They're dead!" he tells a seemingly grandfatherly old man. Limping Asian Man then melts into a severe case of stomach cramps. The old man produces the appropriate creepy science villain implements. A tentacled green organism explodes from the dying man's mouth. It's actually pretty disgusting, even by Fringe standards.

The hallmark giant floating letters, which I actually love, tell us we are in Boston now. A plethora of Chinese corpses are strewn artfully around in the surf. What do you know, they all have really stomach-turning green tentacles protruding from their lifeless lips. Olivia, Peter and his endearingly furrowed brow are on the case. A surly Walter sporting an uncharacteristically dapper brown sweater-vest, grumps by. His frowny face ain't got nothing on Joshua Jackson's though.

While Peter makes his excellent snippy remarks, Walter takes the classic mad-scientist initiative they pay him for, pulling a 3ft tentacled worm from one of the deceased. "It might still be alive," Walter advises. And guess who gets to babysit it, Peter? The writers save Peter by throwing in the discovery of Token Disaster Survival Girl! Peter drags her helpful across the rocks, thanking his stars that this one doesn't have tentacles between her teeth. Or at least not yet!

Peter and Olivia swagger through the hospital exuding power couple badassness. It makes us want to be like them. Turns out Survival Girl is untainted by the giant worm infestation. Woo! Peter gets to show off his Chinese language skills. Olivia looks into his eyes, "I didn't know you spoke Cantonese!" Then to herself: why the hell did we arrange for a translator then? Joshua Jackson smolders at her and the story continues. Unfortunately for Survival Girl, sounds like her husband and daughter are going to be docking in a few days pumped full of worm outbreak-inducing seasickness pills. Close-up on the hospital-gowned woman's tear-streaked face as she clutches her family photograph. Power couple gaze at each other, realizing that this is going to be one of those episodes involving children, and that one of them will probably have to bond with a traumatized adolescent later on. "It better be you," Peter gripes during the commercial break, "I had my turn two episodes ago when I got mind-controlled by that angsty rich kid who almost made me shoot your boss." But Olivia is distracted by one of her constant urgent phone calls, though this one does not forward the plot.

Walter's PA Astrid or Asterisk, as he frequently calls her, waves some worms in front of the camera to gratify the props guys. Walter declares the worms a parasite, earning his genius stripes! We never would have got that otherwise. And just in case we missed that: "You mean the larva use the human body as some sort of incubator?!" Peter gives an explanatory wink to the audience. Olivia misses out on it as her cellular phone goes off, rudely interrupting their fringe sciencey pow-wow. Broyles has caught one of the traffickers who was smuggling the worm-carriers into the country! Quick, to the interrogation room!

Peter continues to make himself indispensable but revealing his expertise on identifying Chinese gang members. As he channels the trafficker's tattoos inner meaning, Broyles wonders how his department ever got anything done before this mass of oh-so-convenient expertise took human form and walked into his life. But Peter is too busy figuring out that the worms are being smuggled as some new form of illegal drugs to notice just how expendable he makes the rest of them seem. Except for eagle-eye Olivia who is the only one who can apparently see through the observation glass where the suspect is slitting his throat with a concealed razor blade. And gosh darn it, they don't get to him in time! Low marks in reaction-time all around! Power couple sigh, guess they won't be solving this 15 minutes in like they thought. Drat. Broyles cranes his spindly neck, making us a bit afraid he is an alien.

Back in the lab, Walter is all chipper now that he's got the news that he can get high off his new pet worms. Right on cue, the worm Asterisk is stabbing with a hypodermic starts eating his arm, plunging Walter into his preferred state of drug-induced euphoria. Broyles shakes his head at the both of them on his way to joins the Power Couple, who are divining from some official-looking papers the identity of the Stateside buyer for the tentacled worms that now munch away at the complicit Dr. Bishop. Olivia gets a vision: a hunky adolescent boy in a homey bungalow. Turns out he's got a mother, who really needs to learn to invest her money better! The sod explains that she thought she was investing in Chinese construction projects, and Peter strolls around her house making Meaningful Observation faces to the camera as he spies hand-sanitizer and hermetically-sealed windows and showing off his leather jacket. Olivia is too busy doing her job to notice this of course.

At the lab, father and son put two and two together, figuring out that the worms are not meant for recreational drug users but have been genetically engineered to boost the human immune system. In a burst of independence, Walter decides to investigate local Chinese herbalists on his own and tells Peter off for trying to go with him. So Asterisk gets dispatched to stalk him. Poor girl never gets time off. But Peter doesn't care about this, as he runs off to impress Olivia with his Meaningful Observations and subsequent conclusions. Power couple go off to grill the blonde adolescent. Peter realizes it's his turn to bond with the child, and Olivia sticks her tongue out at him until she has to stop to answer her phone. But because he is amazing at EVERYTHING, Peter successfully charms blondie into confessing that his mom ordered the worms to treat his immunodeficiency.

Meanwhile, Walter asks the heavens why he can't go grocery shopping without being supervised! Asterisk apologizes profusely, and they walk merrily, arm in arm through Chinatown right into the lair of the Evil Herbalist, where Walter conveniently wanders off. Asterisk freaks, and Super Peter makes one of his rare lapses of judgment, advising her not to sweat it. Walter is left lost and alone in Chinatown where he uses up his bus fare trying to call Peter, and our hearts actually break a little bit when he realizes he can't remember his son's phone number. We leave him crying at a bus stop and telling his woes kindly Chinese woman who doesn't speak English. Poor Asterisk makes her way back to the lab just to be knocked out by scary, muscled Chinese thugs who steal their pet worm.

The audience is relieved to find that the kindly Chinese woman figures out Peter's number, and because Super Peter speaks Cantonese he is able to rush to the rescue, although he might have reconsidered as we find Walter has donned a rather hideous blue kimono robe instead of sticking to his slimming navy blue waistcoat. Peter stuffs Walter into the car where father and son exchange information and figure out that the Evil Herbalist is evil, and probably smuggling the worm-carriers. Super Peter and Walter stake out the Herbalist, while Olivia raids a ship suspected of transporting the next batch of carriers (including Survival-Girl's family, remember?). But gosh darn it, Olivia is too late and Peter is not there to exchange glances with her. Olivia looks wistfully at a toy butterfly left behind, where are the carriers?

Oh, what do you know! They're traipsing by Stakeout Peter and Walter. Peter phones it in, before deciding to go in alone, forgetting that right now he's just Super Peter and not Power Couple, leaving Walter alone with his guilt over having been the one to blab the location of the worms to the Evil Herbalist and causing Asterisk's concussion.

As expected, Super Peter is not so super. End of episodes are like kryptonite to him. He sits among the blue-tinted corpses of the just-off-the-boat carriers, trying to stop the Evil Herbalist with the power of his frown. But he gets force-fed the worm larva anyway. A thug jams his mouth shut and Evil Herbalist adds hastily, "If you chew it, it will kill you. We forgot about that bit of exposition til now, sorry." Joshua Jackson scowls with all his might. "Swallow!" cackles Evil Herbalist. "Don't swallow!" we shout.

Power Couple member 2 senses his telepathic distress call and Olivia bursts in just as the suspense and lack of oxygen is about to kill him. Power Couple is back together!!! Some baddies get shot. Super Peter, with the stomach of steel, spits out the worm and the crowd erupts in a victorious roar!!!! Well, not really but we all mentally give a little cheer.

For some closure, Olivia returns to the hospital to give Survival Girl's daughter back her butterfly toy. Smiling, in a moment of reflection and softness, Olivia stares at the cherubic little girl who some one tells her is recovering from her de-worming. She stares some more. She continues to stare, and we wonder if Olivia is getting a bit broody now that she's approaching 30 or if it's just bad editing. Elsewhere, Peter and Walter have a heart to heart. It is actually quite touching as Walter explains he wants to be an independent man and not to be treated like a child. We are moved, and so is Peter, that is until Walter explains that he's solved their problem of him getting lost by implanting a tracking device in his neck. Walter gives his son the beeping transmitter and returns to peacefully to bed. Peter puts his head in his hands and we feel for him. But he's Super Peter, if he can't cope with it, no one can. Peter gives us a little smirk and we feel better.