Quick Take: Fringe, “Forced Perspective”
“I guess if they knew they were going to die, they could say ‘I love you’ to someone.” – Emily
Review: Fringe, “Forced Perspective”
(S0410) Episode ten – the intended winter premiere for the frightening and fantastic Fringe... Except that was two weeks ago. You can tell when a show is deliberately structured around a normal schedule, relying on a recurring audience to supply the foundation for building a bigger fan base through. Two weeks ago, any newcomers to Fringe were likely left feeling dazed, if not mentally violated, when it was really this week when they should have been tuning in.
“Forced Perspective” comes off as a lottery of Fringe’s defining moments from the past few seasons, evoking a nostalgia I didn’t think I could have for Fringe, yet. Even before the opening credits, fans should recognize the similarities from episodes past – a man with a support beam through his chest, and an artist with inexplicably accurate foresight for such tragedies. When Fringe is called in to investigate, Olivia slows down her investigation into the Observers, and immediately takes to the defence of the young girl, Emily, who is being hounded across the country by researchers at Massive Dynamic.
Olivia, who apparently still suffered an unfortunate childhood (whether under her step-father, Walter, or both, is not clear), cannot believe that Nina Sharp would subject another girl to such intense harassment. She has little time to pry into Nina’s motives, however, as Emily calls Olivia to show her the picture she drew of an impending disaster.
The similarities to seasons past aren’t lost on Peter, either. He notices Olivia’s blossoming interest in the Observers, and offers some foreboding insight into how they experience all of time at once, but there’s little time to dwell on it. Harkening back to one of his very first Fringe investigations, Peter guides Walter as he guides a hypnotized Emily through the recollection of the moment of her disastrous vision. Emily, navigating her memory, helps the Fringe team move in on what is revealed to be a bomb threat, which leaves her and her family vulnerable to the goons sent to retrieve her. Even though Peter thinks to jam the bomber’s remote detonator, it’s up to Olivia to look past the Observer’s warning and talk down the bomber, who’s also strapped with an explosive vest.
We soon discover that the van in front of Emily’s house was just a red herring, and what turns out to be an arguably greater tragedy is already unfolding. Emily herself is the subject of her final drawing, and after a childhood of being forced to bear witness to disaster, finally sees the purpose in the ability which ultimately overloads her brain.
Though known better for showing heart strings instead of tugging on them, Fringe continues to exhibit its full potential, even with Fox’s unintended sabotaging of the schedule. “Forced Perspective” immediately ranks itself among such episodes as “White Tulip” and “Firefly” for the emotional depth developed and invested into one-time characters.
