A gang led by Sebastian Roché (24's Roger R. Cross) are stealing frozen heads from cryogenic laboratories across the state, apparently searching for one noggin in particular. After one of the thieves are gunned down during their latest robbery, Fringe Division get involved when the authorities report the body has bled silver. Walter (John Noble) corrects that evaluation, as the dead man is actually bleeding mercury -- apparently a key ingredient that keeps his bio-chemistry working correctly. The corpse is confirmed as being another shape-shifter of the kind that attacked Olivia (Anna Torv), an associate of which is still impersonating Agent Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo), but having difficulty sustaining his disguise because of a mercury deficiency.Walter hits upon a theory to detect other shape-shifters, by restaging an experiment he performed in the '70s on Rebecca Kibner (Theresa Russell), which resulted in her being able to psychically detect people who aren't from this dimension. Peter (Joshua Jackson) tracks down the now middle-aged Rebecca, who apparently had a close relationship with Walter and actually enjoyed the experiments performed on her. It seems Walter likes the type of girls who love being pumped full of psychedelics in his lab, and Rebecca's only too pleased to go through the same procedure again...
Elsewhere, having also found an intact version of the gadget that shape-shifters use to change their appearance, Olivia has Nina (Blair Brown) and Massive Dynamic investigate the hardware. They use it to uncover a three-dimensional image of the last person a damaged gadget was used to duplicate. It seems it's only a matter of time before Charlie is exposed as an imposter...
The real talking point of this episode occurs when Olivia collapses in Walter's lab during the experiment on Rebecca after a bell is tolled, apparently triggering repressed memories that come streaming back into her consciousness. In jittery flashbacks we finally see Olivia's meeting with William Bell in the alternate universe, inside his World Trade Center office. It's an offload of information pertinent to Fringe's mythology, which had the odd effect of making me feel less excited about this inter-dimensional war, in some ways...Apparently these shape-shifters are the "first wave" from "the other side" and are after the head of their leader for unspecified reasons, although it probably involves opening a "gate" between their worlds and causing the destruction of one entire universe in the process. Does anyone else wonder why this is in anyone's interest? Is there anything to benefit from erasing one dimension by combining two? Why don't these people just stick to their own damn reality? It would make more sense to me if their universe is in dire straits, which perhaps it is -- but I'd like some confirmation of this.
To be honest, Fringe's mythology feels a bit wooly to me. I think we've actually been given too much information, too soon, just to keep the audience watching through the dull parts of season 1. The idea of an inter-dimensional war is certainly stimulating, but I hope there are plausible reasons for why war has been declared, and exactly what William Bell's role in all this is.
Still, "Momentum Deferred" was undeniably gripping and full of those great sci-fi moments Fringe does so brilliantly. I've really enjoyed Acevedo's quirky performance as the ailing shape-shifter, and it's a shame the threat he posed has only lasted a handful of episodes.
Torv's face-off with Nimoy was also better than expected, as Olivia refused to blindly accept Bell at his word. It's nice to see Nimoy in this role, but I wish Fringe had crossed his table when he was a few years younger. He's definitely lacking the energy and conviction he once had with material like this, and I'm sure Bell's role would be much larger if Nimoy's age wasn't a factor. Still, I can't wait for lab partners Bell and Bishop to be reunited at some point.
There was also some excellent layering of the truth about Peter's existence; we know he's a duplicate from the alternate-Earth who replaced Walter's dead son, but he's blissfully unaware, so I loved how he revealed it was a childhood nightmare of his to be replaced by a "pod person" after watching Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers (which starred Nimoy -- coincidence?) Rebecca clearly detected Peter's not from this world after her drug trip but chose not to say anything. Her character proved rather redundant to this story in the end, but I think it's safe to say she'll be back and using her replenished abilities to help the Fringe team sniff out moles, and she makes for an interesting love-interest for Walter.Overall, this was a very important and entertaining episode for the most part, but I'm just a little uneasy about how the mythology is unspooling. A part of me preferred the sense of mystery Fringe had last year, but the show's become quite overt about its intentions lately, and should perhaps resume lurking behind the curtain again for awhile...
8 October 2009
Fox, 9/8c
written by: Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz directed by: Joe Chappelle starring: Anna Torv (Agent Olivia Dunham), John Noble (Dr. Walter Bishop), Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop), Jasika Cole (Astrid Farnsworth), Lance Reddick (Agent Phillip Broyles), Blair Brown (Nina Sharp), Leonard Nimoy (William Bell), Kirk Acevedo (Charlie Francis), Aaron Craven (Kurt Larsen), Roger R. Cross (Sebastian Roché), Theresa Russell (Rebecca Kibner), Ryan McDonald (Brandon, Anna Van Hooft (Nina's Assistant), James Michalopoulos (Security Guard), Andy Nez (Truck Driver) & Amitai Marmorstein (Store Clerk)
