Fringe – Season three could be the most entertaining yet

Another very busy episode with lots of reveals. I’m a little shocked someone hasn’t figured out Fauxlivia is the mole already. We’re back with Anna Torv playing Fauxlivia trying to impersonate Olivia, and she’s doing a smashing job. She’s also playing it realistically. Faux has no memory injection to help her fool Olivia’s cohorts, and she’s actually resorting to flipping through notes and files to try to figure her out. Olivia’s photographic memory must have come from the work Walter and William did on her, because wouldn’t her alter-self have the same if she was born with it? Faux’s reaction was great: “How and I going to fake THAT?”  She also has some other help from her sponsor (I don’t know what else to call him). It’s hard to remember that she knows nothing about our world, things we take for granted like pop culture.

What’s funny is that Fauxlivia really seems to like our culture, pop references and all, far more than Olivia ever let on. Peter notices something is different when she says she loves music and even asks him to dance, but Faux is fast on her feet. Everything Peter throws at her, she’s able to dodge and play it off. I had serious doubts when she suggested a specific mode of distraction for Peter. Can you imagine Olivia EVER straddling Peter on the couch and snogging on him? I can’t. I guess Peter is just so happy to be in play that he’s willing to overlook these behavioral changes. It’s also possible he’s sidetracked by the possibilities of the machine driven by his very person, or concerned about how to deal with the man who raised him. All are good reasons to be a little off when it comes to the ladies.

We also receive word that William Bell died. As they tend to do these days, we soon find out our episode title, “The Box,” likely has little to do with the box featured in the Fringe Division case. I love that Walter has put such faith into Astrid. It really brings her character into the story, and they have a very sweet relationship. When Walter goes to the safety deposit box left to him by Bell, what he finds drives him to Astrid’s apartment. She’s his rock and he needs her when his son is so far away.

Apparently Nina Sharp got a little statue enclosed in glass and Walter got the grand prize; he is the sole shareholder of Massive Dynamic. Walking through the Massive Dynamic halls showcased some pretty cool happenings, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the parts Walternate is seeking for his Peter-driven universe killer are hidden in there. The other “box” was hidden here and needed for the gizmo, so I don’t think think it’s a far fetched idea. Anything to get us behind the mysterious doors of Massive Dynamic!

Fauxlivia loves music, likes to dance, enjoys making out, can kill a deaf man without a second thought, isn’t afraid to work a case without telling anyone and is reporting back to Walternate (that’s my assumption; who else would be on the other end of the Selectric?). There is good and bad in Fauxlivia, and a lot more life than we have seen in Olivia. I wonder if Peter will eventually be faced with choosing between the two, if not romantically, then for his allegiance. Already we know Faux is willing to put her life on the line for Peter’s. It could be a part of her mission to protect him, or she could be feeling something for the very people she is supposed to be manipulating. I think it may be a little of both. Either way, we have two episodes that kicked ass and the cast holding both worlds together. Great start to season three!

Bits n Bobs:

• You gotta love Walter trying to get the cow to produce chocolate milk.
• “Nostradamus was said to have died standing up, but I hardly think someone who predicted his own death wouldn’t have laid down.” – Walter
• “Silent, but deadly.” Speaking of which, I need to take a step away.” – Walter
  “Delightful.” – Peter
• I loved Walter singing (to the tune of Figaro) “Look at my brain waves on the monitor-o.”

Clacked by Carissa Pavlica
on Oct 01, 2010 @ 08:30 EST5EDT