Fringe - "Novation"

Season 4, Episode 5

“Some things are not ours to tamper with.”

- William Bell

It shouldn’t come as a shock when I say that in its fourth season, Fringe has more or less become a rebooted version of its old self, as Peter’s exit and reentry into existence essentially meant that a good deal of things changed in EWOP, and the show had to take the time to highlight exactly what those changes are. In essence, watching the fourth season of Fringe became akin to watching an entirely brand new show; sure, we technically already knew these people, and there some things to be gleaned from the not all that subtle hints at Peter’s disappearance, but I think a newcomer could have started watching with “Neither Here Nor There”, and, apart from being blow away by the show’s blatant approach to its sci-fi elements, have with few problems understanding what was going one. “Novation” seems like yet another reboot of the show, and I think that’s what kept the episode from really cracking.

In theory, Peter’s return to existence should have been a coup for the show creatively; the four episodes preceding tonight felt like a really boring and unnecessary waiting game, and this shift should have meant that the actions was finally going to start kicking in. However, I think that the show has gotten in this rut of over-explanation, and I think it’s going to take a while for the show to get out of it. The show pulled a lot of maneuvers at the end of last season and that beginning of this one, and further this season goes along, the more it seems like all those writerly elements have gotten in the way of good storytelling.

Now, I don’t want to completely dismiss Peter’s return. It did give us some good moments of pathos with Walter, both in his interactions with Peter, and his breakdown in the lab with Nina, wherein he explains how he feels the universe is punishing him for killing both Peters, and how that informs her later decision not to trust Peter, who he recognizes as his son. This played off beautifully in an emotional sense, thanks in large part to John Noble’s awesome performance, but it doesn’t tell us much that we don’t already know. Much like his brief looks at Olivia, at lot of Peter’s interactions with those around him were fairly perfunctory, as they just reinforced what we already knew about the character relationships. While this may have been fun for those hypothetical new viewers (yeah, right), it’s fairly boring for us.

Unfortunately, the procedural side of tonight’s episode wasn't even as good as the fairly standard level at which the show usually delivers. While tonight’s episode was a step forward for the serialized arc – this new form of shape-shifters are apparently part of this season’s big bad, and the Fringe Division will have to face them again in the future – but the action for the most part was so removed from everything else that it felt very inconsequential. The amount of time that Olivia and Lincoln Lee spent in the field hunting down Nadine in comparison to the amount of time they were stuck in FBI HQ was very small to the point that it felt they weren’t really involved in the case at all.

Now, I think that part of this was supposed to be that we could focus on Dr. Malcom Truss, who was not only given another chance to work on his old research, which started as a totally admirable goal before it became bastardized my more selfish parties, but also had to learn about his ex-wife’s death when Nadine accidently shifted her form back to her. And yet all of this went by so fast – mostly the product of the show for once placing larger emphasis on the serialized plot as opposed to the Freak of the Week – that it didn’t really register on the emotional level that the episode was clearly aiming for.

There’s a chance that this could all turn around in the future – word on the street is that next week’s episode works like gangbusters – but tonight’s outing was another unfortunate stopgap to season that seems as if it’s always trying to improve.

Next Week: Time keeps on slippin’. 

Other Thoughts:

One of the few positives to come out of tonight’s rehashing of the plot was that I finally got a handle on Peter’s role in creating this new universe, and why he had to disappear, and why his reappearance is so problematic, even to him. It doesn’t make me like “The Day We Died” anymore, but I am glad I understand it better now.

So apparently nobody in this universe knows about the Observers. Odds are nigh that they’re working with this new breed of shape-shifters.

Oh, and that inter-dimensional typewriter seems to have become unchained from that desk in back of that shop. I wonder if that will free up the shifters and those that control them to have a more flexible/adaptable game plan.  

So Nina rescued Olivia right before she and her sister were supposed to go into foster care. You would think that would have made her a bit more compassionate.

Oddly, NOW is when Peter’s suddenly able to notice the subtle differences in Olivia. Way to go, champ.