There's little point hashing this episode to any great extent, as it's been sat on the shelf for over a year and has no relevance to any continuing plot-strands. The story itself was very "X Filesian", as Fringe Division eventually deduced that a Navy seaman called Andrew Rusk (Chazz Menendez) had managed to "possess" Lisa at the moment of his own death. There were some allusions to demonic possession thanks to the involvement of a priest and the Donovan's faith, but that potentially exciting clash of science and religion didn't spark, so the confusingly-titled "Unearthed" just went about its by-the-numbers plotting.
It was fun to see dead Charlie (Kirk Acevedo) involved in events, which no doubt confused many viewers unaware this was an unaired episode from '09, and the performance of Alice Kremelberg was suitably spooky whenever Rusk's spirit took control of her body to exact revenge from beyond the grave, but this story didn't have much depth to keep you glued. There was one good scene between Walter (John Noble) and a dismissive priest (Sean Dugan) in a hospital corridor, but my mind was mainly wandering throughout and none of it surprised me. Overall, I couldn't help feeling "Unearthed" should have been a bonus extra in the season 1 box-set.~
Back to season 2 proper, "Johari Window" was a solid standalone story that developed and sustained its story well, although anybody who knows what a Johari's Window is will guess a crucial twist in the tale. To be honest, it's not difficult to work out when the obvious is eliminated, but writer Josh Singer kept everything moving very well and it was particularly great to see Astrid (Jasika Nicole) out in the field. I sometimes grow tired of seeing Olivia (Anna Torv) and Peter (Joshua Jackson) handling the investigations, with Walter and Astrid stuck in the lab at Harvard, so it's always fun when the foursome go out together and split into duos.
"Johari Window" concerned a young boy called Teddy (Liam James), who's found walking along a road at night by a state trooper. When Teddy's taken back to the station, his face suddenly takes on a grotesque appearance, which the cops believe is proof of a local legend about "shape-shifters" living in the area. Teddy is swiftly sprung from custody by two armed men with similar deformities to him, who burst into the station and shoot the night shift cops dead, thus prompting an investigation by Fringe Division into the slaughter.
Like the out-of-season "Unearthed", this episode had definite similarities to many old X Files episodes, which often tackled similar stories involving remote smalltown communities hiding paranormal activity in its history, with a supposedly benevolent Sheriff who knows more than he's letting on. True, Fringe will never escape being compared to its '90s forebearer, so while this episode played things straight down the line and often felt overfamiliar, I still found it enjoyable and its mystery was maintained for a decent length of time. Are the deformed people shapeshifters? Are they just a disfigured clique being mistaken for supernatural creatures by locals? Or are they something else?Overall, it goes without saying that John Noble was again very good -- as it often feels like the writers have no idea how to make Peter or Olivia anything more than functional, whereas Walter feels like a proper, rounded human being. Astrid's also been blossoming recently thanks to her "father/daughter"-like relationship with Walter. Johari's Window won't prove to be a memorable episode or very rewatchable, but it was neatly done and filled its hour well.
11 & 14 January 2010
Fox, 9/8c
written by: David H. Goodman & Andrew Kreisberg (2.11) & Josh Singer & Jeff Vlaming (2.12) directed by: Frederick E.O Toye (2.11) & Deran Sarafian (2.12) starring: Amy Carlson (Maureen Donovan), Alice Kremelberg (Lisa Donovan), Annie Parisse (Teresa Rusk), Scott William Winters (Jake Selleg), Sean Dugan (Priest), Demetrius Cornell (EM), Mark Dobies (Will Turlough), Tibor Feldman (Dr. Halperin), Deepti Gupta (Dr. Newell), Chazz Menendez (Andrew Rusk), Laura Mennell (Rose Falls), Sean Rogerson (Glen Brown) / Kewsi Ameyaw (Agent Frug), Jacob Blair (Trooper Jerry), Martin Cummins (Joe Falls), Teach Grant (Trooper Bobby), J.J Makaro (Deputy Bill), Liam James (Teddy Falls), Tracy McMahon (Officer), Laura Mennell (Rose Falls), Michael O'Neill (Sheriff Velchik), David Orth (Trooper Pekarski), David Richmond-Peck (CSI Detective Kassel) & Sean Rogerson (Glen Brown)
