'Fringe': Deformities abound in the city of Edina
Thursday's episode of "Fringe" did what Monday's didn't: continue the arc of the current season -- but not to the intensity it should have.
The Case: A trooper is driving down the road in Edina, a town in upstate New York. Acting in good conscience, he gives Teddy, a young boy walking on the side of the road, a lift. As they leave Edina, a mishapened face stares back. He takes Teddy to the station and files a report, but before he finishes, two people with similar deformities storm in, killing everyone and taking the boy.
The team -- minus Astrid -- scour the station for clues after Broyles briefs them and come across numerous reports of similar instances spanning the last 30 years. Broyles warns Olivia that "these people" have hid themselves well and will do anything to keep it that way; basically warning her not to get killed. Olivia, Peter and Walter arrive in downtown Edina and hear buzzing, which prompts Walter to break into what the town's sheriff says is the Edina hymn (it's later revealed that the hymn was a mnemonic Walter created in his early life as a scientist). As they get more information, a man sees them talking and exits the diner to tell his wife; they are presumably Teddy's parents.
Later, Olivia and Peter get deep into conversation in the car (again) -- this time with a sleeping Walter in the backseat -- but quickly thereafter, a car narrowly crashes into theirs, causing Olivia to swerve violently into the bushes. Peter, the only conscious one and acting as the reluctant hero, does his best to fire at the shadowy figure. At the most inopportune time, Walter wakes up and childishly asks, "Are we there yet?," which doesn't help Peter's sanity as he tries to shoot "it" but sees "it" managing to drive off.
As the police investigate, Walter leads the team (unknowingly) to the body of Teddy's father, the man in the diner. This means he somehow had metamorphic abilities in order to have changed back to a normal human being, and that Peter made his first official kill. Instead of using this pivotal moment to add another layer to Peter's character, he brushes it off in the next scene, when the body is transported to Walter's lab. Information comes through that some Edina townspeople were part of something called Project Elephant. We know Walter must have some connection to it but he doesn't think he does just yet. When Walter figures out the town hymn's mnemonic, it leads him to a dusty box in the law library with old files from Project Elephant and pivotal information to solving the mystery.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Peter study Edina's census numbers and he thinks something fishy is going on. They only change when people die or are born. The sheriff tells Olivia to meet him -- and you know by the eerie, darkened station that he has something to do with this investigation. Afterwards, he walks outside to a large crowd and speaks to the Edina people, reassuring them that "they" (aka people like Olivia, Peter and Walter) won't find out. By this point, it's clear Edina is a town filled with people who have some connection to Project Elephant and that they have hidden deformities.
Walter explains to Astrid (and the viewers) that Project Elephant was a military experiment that looked for a way to camoflauge soldiers from the naked eye, but what the scientists didn't account for was that the experiments led to an incurable genetic disorder (aka the deformities). They stop at the "Welcome to Edina" sign and Walter uses the butterfly he found post-car crash to show Astrid that once someone is within range of the pulse (aka the buzzing noise), their perception changes, which explains how the moth stays a moth while Astrid is by the car but once she enters the Edina city limits it changes into a beautiful butterfly.
While Peter and Olivia unravel what viewers have already concluded, they realize that people in Edina simply don't move. Which could only mean one thing: everyone in Edina is "one of them"! When they arrive to meet the sheriff, he and his men go on a rampage. Bullets fly and as the sheriff corners Olivia and Peter, it's Teddy's mother (the deceased man's wife) who takes the killshot. Meanwhile, Walter finds the machine that is responsible for the pulse in Teddy's house and the boy's mother confirms what we already know. Shockingly, she is willing to uncover everything, including the history of Project Elephant, to the rest of the world. Now that Walter knows what hides everyone's true physical selves in Edina, will he out them?
Broyles allows Edina to keep their secret, after Walter defends their right to live as much of a "normal" life as possible. However romantic Walter's defense is, the dilemma Edina faces isn't one to sneeze at. Physical truth vs. desired normalcy? I guess desired normalcy takes the crown this time.
Conclusion: The only clue that this was a continuance of Season 2 was in the beginning, with Peter and Walter in the parking lot of a big box store. They mention Walter's kidnapper and his fear that he is everywhere. Understandable, considering Walter almost died, but aside from that, there weren't many clues indicating this was anything but a run-of-the-mill, monster of the week showcase.
The Bishop Bond: As much as this episode somewhat forwarded the season along, the familial bond between Walter and Peter has been growing steadily. The most poignant moment between father and son, or rather the reverse, was at the end when Peter expressed how proud he was of his dad. Had this been a season ago, I doubt he would even have had those words cross his mind. They have a unique relationship and as much as Peter is a guy's guy, he has grown to like taking on the caretaker role. What will be interesting to see will be Peter's potential downfall and the shift in his relationship with his father (and everyone else, for that matter) when he finds out he doesn't belong in this universe.
What are your thoughts on this case? Did you think there could have been more mythology in this episode?
Philiana - in regards to your question - I think it should've been mythology-related, such as Project Elephant was an earlier attempt or alternative attempt to the shapeshifters - such as The Other Side has shapeshifting technology, as This Side had Project Elephant as an attempt to counter with the same intention. Every show should be mythology-tied and abandoned these stand-alones (aka Monster-of-the-Week) to give the viewers an idea about the involvement and protracted length the two sides have been engaged in the long war. It was a solid, straight-up the middle show.
I honestly don't care quite so much about the case of the week as I used to, simply because of the ever-growing dynamic between Walter and Peter, as well as Walter's fondness of Astrid. Walter Bishop is one of the greatest tragi-comic characters to have been written in the past decade, at least, and the complexity that John Noble brings to his portrayal makes even the most cringe-worthy episodes of Fringe well worth the time.
So the story's been done before (namely on two different episodes of The X-Files)? As with many great shows, it is the characters that make Fringe a joy to watch. My only problem with the episode this week was that the actor playing the sheriff ALWAYS seems to be playing a sheriff. Time for him to mix up his resume a bit, maybe as a cross-dresser or something.
HUM! It's the Edina hum -- not hymn. Walter's song is not something the whole town knows -- it was only something he made up to remind him of where he'd hidden the files of the project. He remembered the song when he heard the hum. It's all part of Walter's tendency to associate and be able to remember things when exposed to sounds or sights that he associates with that particular event.
Other than that, great review. I quite enjoyed this episode. Even if it was a "stand alone" it was still very well done and I was hooked the whole time. I loved the perception theme running through it.
This was my favorite episode of the season! It didn't advance the season story arch, sure, but it was entertaining and very well done. With Fringe's ratings, they should be doing more like this so it doesn't turn-off new viewers. A+ from me.
Good recap Philiana. Well done.
I agree that it was a better than average stand alone or case of the week.
And Aaron R made a great observation: the actor who played the sheriff has probably been on most every cop procedural show on TV, especially over on CBS, playing either a sheriff, deputy, officer, etc. He must be the go-to guy for these roles.
'As the police investigate, Walter leads the team (unknowingly) to the body of Teddy's father, the man in the diner. This means he somehow had metamorphic abilities in order to have changed back to a normal human being, and that Peter made his first official kill. Instead of using this pivotal moment to add another layer to Peter's character, he brushes it off in the next scene, when the body is transported to Walter's lab. Information comes through that some Edina townspeople were part of something called Project Elephant. We know Walter must have some connection to it but he doesn't think he does just yet. When Walter figures out the town hymn's mnemonic, it leads him to a dusty box in the law library with old files from Project Elephant and pivotal information to solving the mystery.'
Good recap, didn't quite catch the intricacies during that part of the episode.
Recap error? In the 2nd paragraph... 'As they approach Edina' should have read 'as they leave Edina, a misshapened face stares back.
I agree with Samuel's comment above. There should be more tying together of this "Pattern" mythology in subsequent eps. We are now well into season 2, so the writers have already laid the groundwork and have introduced us to Wm. Bell through Olivia's trip to the "other side". Now they need to find some way to throw us(the viewers) some scraps, as it were. Perhaps the "Observer(s)" could help speed things along. Olivia's still crucial, but her irregular visits with Wm. Bell only have provided answers in the form of riddles. Maybe Wm. Bell should nudge Olivia a bit harder, so she realizes her potential.