'The Arrival' - Fringe, Season One

Fringe

Season One

Episode Four

'The Arrival' - 9.0

Cute. Boy or girl? 

'The Arrival' is really the first episode of Fringe that deals solely with the overall mythology of the series. While initially the show had seemed like a by-the-week procedural with continuously linking and building season-long elements, we are pretty explicitly told here that Fringe is going somewhere and it's taking us with it. Sure there is a 'beacon' that comes and goes over the course of this episode, but it leaves behind a thousand questions and moves the plot and the characters forward to an extent I didn't think we would see this early on.

There is little to call out over the forty or so minutes. It appears to me that the makers of the show have watched long-running sci-fi hit 'the X-Files', which Fringe resembles on paper, and weeded out exactly what made the 1990s cult classic so... last millennium. No, Fringe is modern, and it is going somewhere. The questions are obvious - what is the beacon? Who is the Observer? Who's the man trying to get the beacon? - but they don't feel like they will go unanswered, not yet. The way the plot devices are introduced, it at least seems like the writers have an idea of why they are important. Hopefully this won't turn into Lost.

Something that made the X-Files good was that it assumed its viewers were intelligent, capable of coming to their own conclusions while still providing us with some answers to the truck-loads of questions. In this regard Fringe is not overly different - for those who have yet to watch the next few seasons of the show, many questions are in fact answered - but Fringe also chooses to leave its episodes less open-ended, at least in my opinion. It lacks the infuriatingly vague story-telling style that plagued its predecessor.

'The Arrival' featured some terrific moments, outside of the beacon. That first scene is a worthy opener, and makes the entire episode a must-see for any TV fanatic; if only to see the Observer make and eat a disgusting hamburger to Willie Nelson's version of 'Crazy'. Lovely stuff.

Walter is at his finest tonight, managing, as usual, to be both utterly insane and the smartest person in the room. This entire episode is set over around about forty-eight hours, and in just that time he sedates Astrid, steals the beacon, meets with the observer, gets arrested by the FBI and gives us some surprising clues into one of the great mysteries of Fringe. It was thrilling to watch, most in part due to the captivating acting ability of John Noble. In fact, almost every actor in this episode does a fantastic job, especially during Walter's interrogation scene. Peter's impatience and anger are palpable, while Walter's typically insane ramblings are as believable as ever. The diner-based meeting between the Observer and Walter was also terrific, I was genuinely shocked when he simply sat down across the table. He is probably Fringe's greatest creation, that hairless man.

I'll also commend the episode's villain - apparently referred to as 'the Rouge', who did a great job humanising someone who appears to only feature tonight. His dialogues with his victims were surprisingly well written and acted, and I do hope that he can make another appearance in some form. Also, I loved the sounds and effects of his futuristic gun, it provided some epic stunt work and lots of sparks. Literally.

This was Astrid's first real acting job, not only was she drugged she also got to act unimpressed by her assailant's babbling apology. It may not sound like much, but it was the most she'd been given so far. The moment she got syringed by Walter was a nice twist, I didn't see it coming, and I love that she hands him the very syringe he sedates her with. Later, after the action’s over, he comes to admit his guilt and apologises for attacking her in one of the most well-scripted scenes the show has sent our way. I won't transcribe it, but it was perfect, if too short.

I can't give the episode a ten out of ten, not because it has flaws, but only because there could have been more. The bad guy and his great gun were too underused, he should have done more, shot more, killed more. There probably were slightly too many questions raised as well, I mean the Observer is freaking bewildering on his own, but the beacon? We aren't dumb, but don't overestimate our ability, like Boardwalk Empire or something. Nonetheless, I'm very happy to give 'the Arrival' my highest rating so far for the show as a whole.