{"id":155,"date":"2011-02-12T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2011-02-12T23:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=155"},"modified":"2011-05-05T16:44:53","modified_gmt":"2011-05-05T23:44:53","slug":"mark-watches-fringe-s03e13-immortality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/02\/mark-watches-fringe-s03e13-immortality\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Fringe’: S03E13 – Immortality"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the thirteenth episode of the third season of Fringe<\/em>, the alternate Fringe division investigates a fatal bug infestation that will have disastrous results for people in BOTH universes. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Fringe<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It seems that the writers of Fringe<\/em> are interested in drawing parallels, in taking this alternate world and building drama and tension that reflects in either identical or inverse ways.<\/p>\n

I have to keep reminding myself that this show will never escape its serial format; it seems virtually impossible at this point and the last two episodes are proof of that. Again, I worried about the monster-of-the-week format that we were shown at the end of last week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s episode, but I must start giving the writers credit: they are not ignoring all of the information and drama they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve dumped on us this season. If anything, they are rapidly<\/em> answering our questions in a way that I believe is going to leave us utterly unprepared for where the story will go in the season finale. I wonder if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re also worried about being cancelled, so they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re laying the groundwork just in case, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d rather not think about this fantastic show being taken off the air.<\/p>\n

For the first third of season three, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been trained to feel ire and distaste for Fauxlivia. In my case, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard not to: Fauxlivia stole our Olivia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life, ruined her chance at finding love again, and willingly helped Walternate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plan on DESTROYING ANOTHER UNIVERSE. (For the record, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t disagree that there are certainly things to like<\/em> about Fauxlivia, so STANS, I WON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T FIGHT YOU ON THAT ONE.) Walternate and Brandon are largely the more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153evil\u00e2\u20ac\u009d characters (to an extent) in the parallel world, while the other characters are much more subtle in their differences. (Astrid fits into neither of these descriptions, actually. That’s because she is FIERCE and THE BEST CHARACTER EVER) So, having said all that, this episode was so well-written that now I feel completely and utterly sorry for Fauxlivia. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily excuse or forgive her for what she did to those on our side, but that image of her in the hospital, clinging to her pillow as she cries, was one of the most heartbreaking things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in a long time. The irony here, which exists as a direct parallel to what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on with Olivia, is that the effects of what either Walter has done in their respective universes has left their respective Olivia feeling alone in the world. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Walter and his cortexiphan subjects, of which Olivia is one, and Walternate and his desperate plan to get Peter back on his side and to use the doomsday device. And now we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got two women who are broken and depressed because of their actions.<\/p>\n

What interests me about this relationship is how these two women, who are so similar now, will act out to those around them. How is Olivia going to deal with Peter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s feelings for Fauxlivia? How is Peter going to react to learning that Fauxlivia is pregnant? (I CALLED IT. I TOLD YOU.) Is Fauxlivia going to accept Walternate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crrepy, objectifying offer to take care of her and his grandson, knowing that she serves a means to an end for him?<\/p>\n

I have virtually no idea where this episode is headed.<\/p>\n

It was nice to have Scarlie and Lincoln back, especially since they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to have any creepy, ulterior motives. Well, accept for Lincoln\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inability to keep a secret, that is. But I feel less and less antagonism towards anyone but Brandon and Walternate, who continue to work towards synthesizing Cortexiphan and working on the doomsday device. (What does that extra piece do exactly?)<\/p>\n

Plotwise, it was hard not to think of The X-Files<\/em> while watching this. Take the humor out of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153War of the Coprophages\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and mix it with a heavy dose of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Leonard Betts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (no, seriously, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen that episode, this one is SO CLOSE TO THE SAME THING) and you get \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Immortality.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t interesting or well done. Bugs are creepy. Bugs that gestate inside your stomach and rip out of your body are horrifying. And having a scientist using human hosts to ironically create a method to cure avian flu and save millions? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nice touch, as it brings up a common dilemma: Do you sacrifice a few to save millions?<\/p>\n

We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily find out that answer, but in the episode\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s big shocker, Fauxlivia turns out not to be infested with Dr. Arman Silva\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s modified skelter beetles. He actually made himself<\/em> the final host and produced a pure specimen of the skelter beetle from his own neck<\/strong>. He whispers to Lincoln as he is dying: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Make sure they spell my name right.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Does he earn that immortality? Will he be lauded as a hero? Maybe we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find out in the future, but I found this twist to be completely disturbing and not only because of what happens inside the ambulance. Would a society accept a murderer as a savoir if his murders produced a viable, life-saving vaccine?<\/p>\n

I have no idea. My only complaint about this story line is that I loved it, but the events in the ambulance completely upstaged it. I MEAN, THAT IS PRETTY OK, RIGHT? FAUXLIVIA IS PREGNANT<\/strong>. Oh god, shit is so goddamn real guys<\/em>.<\/p>\n

THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n