Mark Watches ‘Fringe’: S03E12 – Concentrate and Ask Again

In the twelfth episode of the third season of Fringe, the Fringe division quickly tries to find out why men are being killed by a chemical that makes their bones disappear. They utilize an unregistered Cortexiphan subject who can read minds in the process, but it creates a damning result. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Fringe.

Do you know how it feels to be burdened with something that makes it impossible for you to relate to another person, that makes you feel completely alone in the world?

It’s not a new theme for me to discuss in my reviews and I’ll try to avoid repeating myself here. There’s a reason so many of are obsessed with this show, are clinging to the hope that posting about it on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, trying to spread the word about how fantastic it is. We want it to stay alive so genuinely. And while people are certainly welcome and encouraged to take what they want from Fringe, I am taking something very specific from this show.

I feel that there is not a show on television that is addressing such subtle and bleak themes as Fringe is. The opening scenes of “Concentrate and Ask Again” are heartbreaking, as Olivia opens up to Nina Sharp about what has happened between her and Peter, and how that makes her feel as a person who is left. It’s not often that we see the writers of a show take risks with their main lead character, to speak openly about depression and loneliness, to take the love of their life away and not do so in a way that is overly distracting. The way Olivia has been written post-“Entrada” assumes an intelligence in the audience, that we can handle a difficult, disheartening situation, knowing that we prefer this over a show that’s purely sci-fi or purely soap-opera drama. It’s a fine line between the two and I’m sure the writers are aware of it.

I was worried from last week’s previews that “Concentrate and Ask Again” would be a monster-of-the-week style episode, since the idea of a blue chemical and a regular investigation suggested that, but I’ve got to remember that the writers of this show have been doing this since the last third of season two. The way they can still blend in weird, terrifying science with the show’s greater mythology is impressive, even if the main plot is merely an impetus to bring up other issues.

But let’s talk about about Olivia and that loneliness she feels. By bringing in Simon Phillips, we’re reminded once again of what Walter did to those Cortexiphan subjects. I was worried before that the show would never acknowledge how awful and fucked up it was what Walter and William Bell did to those children, but “Jacksonville” provided that cathartic damnation, via Olivia. I appreciate that the writers are also not prepared to fully forgive Walter either, and I felt there was a subtext beyond the story device Simon Phillips created that the writers intended here: Walter must always be reminded of the lives he ruined, of the burden he gave a bunch of children, in the name of science. This show is unabashedly sci-fi, but is, thankfully, unafraid to criticize what science has done to people, especially without their consent.

Simon Phillips can read minds. It’s not a trope that’s unfamiliar in sci-fi, and neither is the idea that reading minds is painful and traumatic. But for Olivia, it’s a reminder as well, just like it is for Walter. It’s a reminder of her childhood, of how she’s grown to be someone who has a hard time trusting others, who feels so desperately separated from the rest of the world. It’s an even more horrifying parallel to what she’s still going through with Fauxlivia, who stole her life and reminded her that there was a chance she could have turned out better, that she could have been quicker to smile, easier to love, more friendly, more adjusted.

This show is not about me, obviously, and I don’t want to make this entirely about what I feel, but, as I spoke about during my review of Doctor Who’s “Doomsday,” it’s always been a challenge of mine to articulate my relationship with loneliness and social anxiety. In that sense, “Concentrate and Ask Again” resonated powerfully inside me. I don’t think I’ve seen many examples of any mainstream television show spelling out how I feel, in so many words, about my loneliness or the separation I feel from the people around me, how my traumatic past seems inescapable and ever-present.

Fringe is not necessarily the best show I’ve ever seen, and the first season has a lot of faults. It’s why I had a hard time getting into it and I know it’s why there aren’t more than two million people watching this every week. But the writers have crafted a delicate, heartbreaking show with a fascinating mythology, and, if anything, “Concentrate and Ask Again” is a perfect example of while I’ll be in for the long run.

THOUGHTS

• Ok, let’s get to some more of the details. It’s strange (and a great testament to what a fantastic set of writers this show has) that I know really like Nina Sharp. Remember when we hated her, feared her? That opening scene with her and Olivia was touching and genuine and I can’t wait until we get a Nina-centric episode.
• JESUS CHRIST MORE ASTRID. FOREVER.
• Simon Phillps was SUPER HOT. What.
• Man, the Peter/Olivia relationship got so close to being repaired in some way and then WHAT THE FUCK, THE ENVELOPE. I yelled at the television, like I always do. My god, THIS SHOW.
• Olivia dunhammed the shit out of those two dudes at the party. God, she is such a badass I LOVE HER FOREVER.
• So the doomsday device was specifically built for Peter and specifically built to address these two parallel universes. I’m intrigued as to how they’re going to explain this: Who built the machine? Why Peter? How’d they know he would have to choose between both Olivias? I think this all but outright confirms that Walternate knows what the device is and knows how it works.
• SAM WEISS. OH MY GOD, HE’S BACK, NINA FIGURED IT OUT. How did he write the book? Is he millions of years old? OH MY GOD THAT WAS AMAZING.
• They kind of dropped the Project Jellyfish thing, didn’t they? So what exactly was it for?
• In “Over There, Part 2,” the chalkboard behind Walter is an anagram that says, “Don’t Trust Sam Weiss.” UGH. WHY NOT.
• Oh my god next week is going to make our head explodes, isn’t it