Fringe
Season One
Episode Eleven
'Bound' - 8.5
 |
| 'So comfy right now... What's a spinal tap again?' |
Olivia's capture and escape sequence was beautiful and painful. I was impressed how Anna Torv showed her anguish as the men in their creepy-ass masks performed a freaking spinal tap, cause you know, of course. The sets and the fast, jolting camera work were almost nauseating - in a good way - and they definitely made the entire ordeal seem more realistically strange (oxymoron? maybe). I was a bit irritated at the bogus way she got off the bed, I mean if I were a kidnapper I'd never untie my prisoner, even if they begged me for a glass of water. You've only had her for like an hour mate, she isn't gonna die of dehydration on you. Don't you have like an IV or something anyway? Regardless of ignorant mercenaries, once she was free her beat down on a whole mess of bad guys was pretty fun, and it made the fight scene from 'the Equation' seem tame. There were guns, surgical trays, the old push-'em-into-the-table-from-behind routine, it was terrific and I loved it, even if it was only two or three minutes long.
Another positive of this whole escape-thing was that it actually made Olivia seem like a competent and very active agent; she thinks fast, takes some evidence and hides it. Often in cases like these on other shows, the characters will always get really dumb, mostly so that the writers can add more conflict and make it harder for the characters later. Luckily, Agent Dunham doesn't appear to be as useless as most television law enforcement professionals. In the end, however, she still got tasered again, though this time she ended up in the hospital. I actually thought that twist was fantastic, I swear my heart skipped a beat when the other agents pulled a gun on her.
I'm not one to usually enjoy the romantic storylines in shows like these, but I really did enjoy Walter's numerous and obvious attempts to set up his son with Olivia. Being aware of where this will lead in the not-too-far-distant-future, it is kinda fun to see the beginnings come about here.
What was kinda surprising, was how quickly Olivia turned from stoic and recovering FBI agent to loving and doting aunt. I'll admit it was sweet to see her being genuinely happy for once, but I'm not sure I completely believed how easy it was for her to forget what was going on and act the way she did. Of course, this is Olivia Dunham, she's not the most emotionally capable character of all time. Anyhow, her sister and niece are very nice and very clichéd, with their own problems being absolutely miniscule and completely uninteresting when compared with the epidemiologist who was killed when a slug scampered up and out of his oesophagus.
Did I fail to mention that? Ah, well, this slug grew in this guy’s stomach - while he was teaching a class at University - then totally just climbing out of his throat right in front of everyone. Hooray children! Diseases! Don't get them! Walter discovers later that it is a giant version of the common cold, which is a horrendously creepy thought, but also illogical. I thought viruses were non-living, as in not organisms and therefore incapable of movement? Either way, the virus came from eggs planted in the guy's water, and these eggs turn out to be what Olivia stole from the guys who took her. See, the cases did end up linking! In all though, apart from when it happens to a second epidemiologist in the FBI interrogation room, this storyline didn't amount to much and was far less interesting than Olivia's kidnapping. To be honest I don't know why a good part of the episode was devoted to it.
A great moment was when Olivia - who had recognised Loeb's shoe from when she was taken - goes to his home to investigate further. His wife happened to be there though, so Olivia did the old 'Can I use the bathroom' routine then went about ransacking the place for evidence condemning the rouge FBI agent. Meanwhile, Mrs Loeb contacted her husband, simultaneously alerting Peter and Charlie to the new plot to kill Olivia before she left the house. I love these suspenseful scenes, and I thought from that moment to when Mrs Loeb ended up with a hole in her head was some of the best stuff we've gotten from Fringe. I was pretty much on the edge of my seat, even though I knew they weren't gonna kill off Olivia.
I didn't really like Loeb himself much, he was very military, everything was orderly and precise, he had a little army and they didn't know anything much about their mission; it felt a bit clichéd, so I am happy to see him off the main scene, by the looks of things. Sure he's not dead, but I'm sadistic enough to be happier with incarceration, it's just a more long-term punishment. I thought the end of his story couldn't have been more satisfactory - he's caught, so hopefully we'll get some information out of him, and his wife is dead. Everything worked out for the best here.
However, with the loss of Loeb we get a new, different kind of villain. This one may not threaten the lives of our agents, rather he threatens Fringe Division itself. Mr Sanford Harris has some bureaucratic job that involves doing reviews, commandeering entire departments of the FBI and acting like an utter douchebag. He's a sex offender in some way or another, and that always means evil on television - there never seems to be some sort of reprieve for those guilty of sexual crimes on TV. It's just too naughty. In any case, he didn't get up to too much mischief in 'Bound', but it does look like he may just be around for a while to shake things up, and oddly, I'm looking forward to it. Bring it on, bitch.
'Bound' is just as good as the episode preceding it, managing to continue the plot at an incredible pace, while also adding new elements to the story and keeping us on our well-worn toes. Keep it up, Fringe, because it's just been getting better and better.
No comments:
Post a Comment