My favourite type of Fringe episode are ones where rogue scientists are trying to succeed in an inexplicable scientific mission, with Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter (John Noble) left to figure out exactly what they're up to and how to stop it. It's become something of a formula for the show now -- which "Grey Matters" was guilty of following devotedly -- but it's a template that hasn't outstayed its welcome yet, provided the science is suitably outlandish and the twists sufficiently gripping.This episode was a key part of Fringe's mytharc, too, in that the scientists racing around stealing segments of brain matter were shape-changers from the alternate universe -- now led by their resurrected leader Thomas Jerome Newton (Sebastian Roché), who had his decapitated frozen head reattached to his body in the coda to "Momentum Deferred". It transpired that Newton's gang were collecting portions of brain that belonged to someone else, which were grafted into other people's brains to keep them "alive" -- a transplant that turned the hosts insane/obsessive until the foreign matter was removed. Adding a juicy layer of drama to everything was Peter's discovery that the pieces of brain being scavenged belonged to his father, who is summarily kidnapped by Newton's team in order to be reconnected with his stolen memories, which contain knowledge of how to create a "door" between their universes...
"Grey Matters" was another deliciously odd episode with a brilliantly twisted idea at its core, let down by the fact it was overly similar to season 1's episode "Safe" (where iniquitous scientists were collecting components Walter had hidden and forgotten about, to create a teleporter.) This was basically a biological version of the same idea, for a different purpose. The team are even led by another smooth Englishman whose middle-name needs mentioning, although Sebastian Roché is no Jared Harris.
Still, for all its broad similarities to an earlier gem, this was another wonderful showcase for John Noble --magnificent when asked to play Walter as a fragile, scared man. But I particularly liked it when Walter was reconnected with his old brain fragments, appeared to temporarily regain his sanity, and growled at Newton's impudence. It was a brief look at the kind of plain-speaking bulldog Walter possibly was before his mental problems took over, and gave us a quick glimpse at the sort of man a sane Walter Bishop actually is (i.e. arrogant and scary.) Joshua Jackson also got a few nice moments of guilt when he was reminded he'd never once visited his father in the 17 years he was sectioned, although it's easier to understand why now we've seen the pre-asylum Walter.
Overall, "Grey Matters" was very entertaining and imparted some intriguing pieces of information, too. Newton mentioned that much of the plant life in his dimension has been destroyed by something referred to as "The Blight" (giving us a sense of why his people want to merge the two dimensions, to erase the problems caused by their scientific mistakes?), and there was a superb denouement which revealed that the doctor who removed portions of Walter's brain his lab partner "Billy" Bell (Leonard Nimoy). Does this mean we can trust Bell, as he apparently removed Walter's memories to prevent his inter-dimensional breakthrough ever getting out? Perhaps. But then, why not just trust Walter to keep quiet, or destroy the brain fragments if you don't want its information spread? It's all very... well, grey.Fringe will resume its second season on 14 January in the US, so it will most likely return on 17 January in the UK. So far, I've found season 2 to be pretty entertaining, but the standalone episodes have been weaker (or good, but similarly constructed) -- and, while the mytharc's still the most interesting aspect of the show, it's less enthralling these days because I feel they've revealed too much of the puzzle and we're just learning details. What do you think? Has Fringe built on its late-season 1 promise, or is it struggling to feel as revelatory and fun?
13 December 2009
Sky1, 10pm
written by: Zack Stentz & Ashley Miller directed by: Jeannot Szwarc starring: Anna Torv (Olivia), Joshua Jackson (Peter), John Noble (Walter), Lance Reddick (Broyles), Jasika Nicole (Astrid), Leonard Nimoy (Dr. William Bell), Jeannetta Arnette (Dr. West), Daniel Boileau (Thin Man), Roger R. Cross (Smith), Jeff Perry (Joseph Slater) & Sebastian Roché (Thomas Jerome Newton)
