Quick Take: Fringe, "The Abducted"
"There is no more heinous crime than the theft of a child" - Walternate
Review: Fringe, "The Abducted"
(S0307) A kidnapper who secretes sugar from his skin steals a little boy, and it's the same guy who kidnapped Broyles' son before Olivia joined Fringe. In all his cases, the kids are gone two days and come back with compromised immune systems, cell degeneration and damaged organs, "like the life has been drained out of them." It seems the creep is stealing kids' youth.
Meanwhile, Olivia conscripts the cabbie from the first episode to help her get back into the lab where they made her think she was Fauxlivia so she can figure out how to get home. Welcome back Henry! Also in the meanwhile category, Walternate wants to get Olivia out of the field and says he's done with her. She makes it back to the lab before he gets to her, but her jump back doesn't take and now Walternate knows she knows who she is.
dun dun DUN!
This was a very good episode. Still quiet and low-key, but Olivia is doing what she needs to do and now Peter knows the truth: that dead-eyed stare as he heard the message is exactly the horrible revelation I've been both waiting for and dreading. And now, because of the holiday next week, I have to wait two whole weeks to get the next part, where Olivia (maybe, if it's not lying too much) finally manages to get home!
It's kind of impressive how the show can get so much done and still keep the whole tone quiet. Olivia is very empathetic, especially compared with how cold and calculating Fauxlivia is in the same role. And it makes her episodes different creatures to Fauxlivia's in the Blueniverse, warmer, nicer, more personal. Exactly the opposite of the brittle, detached episodes we get from Fauxlivia. And next ep, it looks like they'll collide and come back together.
I can hardly wait.
So here, before it happens, is what I'm rooting for: The Olivias face off, and they go back to their own universes, but now there's a personal vendetta. Fauxlivia takes Peter hostage and maybe Walter, too, and demands that they gather the rest of the machine pieces for her, but she gets stopped. The process of colliding the universes starts, but it isn't instant: it'd be much better if it's slow and we can watch things breaking down, the worlds overlapping and the parts taking each other's places. Peter is even more traumatized, but part if it is because he knew something was wrong and he didn't listen to himself. He comes out of it all back being closed off, but still loves Olivia and just has to find his way back to her-- the real her. This is a betrayal they have in common.
More thoughts on "The Abducted":
Video: Fringe, "The Abducted"
Watch the whole episode on Hulu, while available:
