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'Fringe' Recap - 'The Human Kind'

The final five 'Fringe' Fridays kicks off with the end of one arc and the start of another.

By Ryan McGee Friday, Dec 7, 2012 10:57 PM

Anna Torv of "Fringe".

Credit: FOX

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There are times in which shows inadvertently demonstrate their own shortcomings onscreen. And there are other times in which those shortcomings are in fact part of the show’s design, meant to highlight intentional faults in order to reveal truths. For most of tonight’s “Fringe”, I worried the former was the case on display in “The Human Kind”. But by the final scene, those worries were dissipated. That doesn’t mean the episode as a whole worked. But tonight served to close off the second act of this final season and reset things for the final overall act of the series. Meet the new Peter. Same as the old Peter. And with all his hair intact, to boot.

Having our remaining core four split off from one other so late in the game was a risky proposition, albeit necessary at this stage of the narrative game. Peter’s gradual transformation from the man we’ve known into the Observer-esque entity he has being turning into necessitates isolation from those around him. Quite often, that isolation took literal form, with him stalking Windmark in New York City. But that solitude also turned metaphorical when it came time to have Walter stitch him up after a teleportation-laden thrown down with Windmark.* Peter didn’t feel pain at his wounds, nor did he feel affection for his father, as Walter stitched him up. Peter simply detected a weakness in his mainframe and sought the necessary solution in order to complete the task at hand.

* That throwdown? Incredibly bad-ass. Simple, effective, and creatively choreographed. On one end of the show’s fighting spectrum, you have last season’s unfortunate fight between an Olivia-influenced Peter vs. David Robert Jones. On the other, you have tonight’s spectacular Peter vs. Windmark tussle.

While Peter tried to get Windmark back “on track” to a timeline that would achieve mathematical certainty of the latter’s death, Walter and Astrid stayed behind in the lab in order to analyze the piece of tech currently rewiring Peter. Obtained through Anil via Olivia, the pair discovered that the tech effected “controlled evolution”, heightening intellect at the expense of emotion through a reworking of the brain’s overall infrastructure. I’m not sure we truly needed an explanation for how it worked, since we’ve clearly seen the effects of the device on Peter’s personality and biology. Still, I understand Walter’s impulse to try and reverse engineer the process. After all, this tech isn’t like The Force: it’s something tangible, therefore figuring out how it worked isn’t as farfetched. But it wasn’t particularly dramatic, either.

Still, it was probably better than Olivia’s unfortunate trip to a Fitchburg junkyard, where a woman named Simone (played by singer/actress Jill Scott) had been waiting twenty-plus years for someone to collect a large magnet that is part of The Great And Neverending And Increasingly Cnvulted Plot To Defeat The Observers. This is the second time this season that “Fringe” has explored a subculture on the outskirts of major metropolitan areas in this post-apocalyptic world, and it’s the second time that it’s failed to make the sojourn either interesting from a sociological or dramatic standpoint. Ostensibly, this is a fairly-well populated enclave that has decades of history involving living day-to-day, making morally difficult decisions, and trying to maintain humanity in the face of temptations such as the “Reward Wire”. Yet all we really saw were two adults and one child that barely had any interaction with each other. Budgetary reasons, coupled with a shortened season, defanged a potentially potent idea.

But what really stopped things dead was Simone playing a version of The Oracle in “The Matrix” trilogy. There’s a good argument to be made for throwing out a “science” versus “faith” discussion at this part of the show, especially involving Olivia who is herself at a crossroads. Without Peter to lean on after Etta’s death, she has largely given up on anything resembling a divine plan at the outset of the hour. The problem is, I didn’t really understand that until the episode gave Olivia long passages in which she described her mindset. And that’s a problem.

Exposition in favor of action is never a good thing, no matter what show and no matter what character. Having Olivia express to Walter that she’s going “out of [her] skin” as a reason for her traveling to Fitchburg in the first place is sound motivation. But that didn’t provide the context for the semi-nihilistic viewpoint expressed once there. To be clear: it’s not the viewpoint I take issue with here. It’s the way that the show took a writing shortcut to take both Olivia and us to that point. Throw the show’s typically clunky exposition on top of this, and there was little even actresses as talented as Scott and Anna Torv could do to save their crucial scene together.

By the time Olivia left Fitchburg without heeding Simone’s warning, only walk into a trap that all but had a huge “AMBUSH” sign above it, and I was ready to throw in the towel on both this episode and potentially hope that Olivia might be redeemed as a character in this final season. But then she MacGyver’ed her way out of a ransom situation* and used the bullet once lodged in her own brain to free Peter’s own brain from the pervasive power of the Observer tech. I thought Peter’s transition would last longer than this week, but frankly I’m glad this was a relatively short arc in the final season.

* I’m not sure if her Rube Goldberg-esque trap was more or less badass than Peter’s fight with Windmark. But both were capital-A Awesome.

Olivia’s decision to fight for Peter would have meant infinitely more had we ever seen their initial split after Etta’s disappearance, but that’s just a casualty of the show’s low ratings and shortened final season. Not much that can be done about that. Despite all those shortcomings, that final scene between the two worked, with Olivia assuming agency in a way that has been severely lacking this season. She didn’t have to flex her muscles to save Peter’s soul. She simply had to reach out and jog his memory by activating what little emotional areas still existed in his brain.* As one who has been waiting for Olivia to step into an active, central role in this last season, that final encounter was an extremely welcome one.

* Between the magnet, the “science” versus “faith”, and the memory flashes, this was the most “Lost” of any “Fringe” episode yet, no? Come to think of it, Locke was bald, wasn’t he? Hmmm.

Having Olivia replace the Observer tech with “the bullet that saved the world” worked as both a strong image but also a hopeful metaphor for the show’s storytelling over these final five hours. Watching Peter and Windmark run futures on each other was interesting, but hardly engaging. It was like watching two computer programs play chess with each other. You can admire the complexity without having any real stake in the outcome. While Walter’s insanely elaborate scavenger hunt still remains intact, that’s an acceptable part of the show so long as it stays subservient to the characters. Getting Peter back as “himself” is a big step in the right direction for the show heading into its final stretch. I’ll take imperfect, messy emotional moments over coldly calculated plot any and every day of the week.

A few more thoughts about tonight’s episode…

I’ll confess to being completely unclear who is putting up all the Etta signs. I’m surmising the show will eventually explain this (maybe September’s been in a Kinko’s all season?), but it’s also possible that I missed something obvious. It’s strange that Olivia just accepts these signs all over the place as something normal, right?

“Truth churches” sound like an interesting concept, albeit one I’m not sure I need further explained onscreen. How can Observers not read people? Or is a moral agreement?

Olivia describes the Observers’ power to Simone at point as non-magical. “They are just better at math than we are,” she explains. If that’s the case, I went to school with a ton of Observers. I am terrible at math.

If Peter knew Windmark would be in Etta’s apartment at 5:42 pm, that seems like a good time to set a trap and kill him right then and there. Correct? Or am I thinking about this too much? Also, have I mentioned I’m glad I’m not watching two computers play stealth games with each other any more? Because that was hurting my brain.

Thank you, Anil, for making Astrid seem well-utilized by comparison. You just show up with weapons and a dead-sexy accent a few times per episode and then get out of the way. Mazel tov, buddy.

Maybe Olivia’s MacGyver skills will come in handy when it comes time to assemble the various pieces of the scavenger hunt into…whatever it’s supposed to become. At this point, I wonder if the “Fringe” finale will feature a Voltron-esque monstrosity fighting an army of Observers. If so, this will be, by default, the greatest finale in television history.

I don’t necessarily need Nina to come back, but I’ll be mad if Broyles doesn’t show up in the next four Fridays. (There are two more episodes this month, then two Fridays in January, the latter of which will feature a two-hour finale.)

What did you think about tonight’s episode? Did you anticipate Peter’s arc as an Observer would end so quickly? Did Olivia finally get something interesting to do this season? Are you still interested in the scavenger hunt to defeat The Observers? What do you hope to see in the final five hours? Sound off below!

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toonsterwu

For most of this episode, I kept thinking, shame that it's a shortened season (and yes, I understand how fortunate it was to get one, so I'm not complaining). They have a lot of fascinating ideas to throw out there, but not enough time to do it.

They also don't seem to have enough time to do full arcs, which is a shame. This was an abrupt end to the Peter as Observer arc, IMO, but it was understandable with so few hours left.

The lack of Broyles (and others) is maddening. They've really underutilized Lance Reddick all these years.

The fight scene was good. Sometimes, simple can be excellent, and that was the case this time around.
December 8, 2012 at 12:24AM EST Reply to Comment
- toonsterwu Oh, as a side note, I am disappointed that we won't see Peter's epic killing of Widmark. It's a shame they couldn't have shown that in some respect, perhaps show Peter mapping out the future and killing him.
  
  December 8, 2012 at 12:43AM EST
Sandy

LOVED seeing more Olivia focus. I was fascinated by all her scenes with Jill Scotts character.
I thought the last scene between Olivia and Peter was so Fringe and so beautiful. Of course, Peter would give up the tech for Olivia. That is so Fringe. That's what I love about it
December 8, 2012 at 12:38AM EST Reply to Comment
Krag

This episode felt complete and balanced since Olivia got her Dunhamator arc and Peter had his Observer arc... Simone as a guest star was awesome. In the end he gave up the tech for her and it truly was a marvellous scene. I must say that Joshua Jackson has matured a lot as an actor since the S1 of Fringe (I haven't seen him on the other shows so I can't tell how he was before Fringe). His Observer mannerisms were spot on and he played the very last scene excellently. Anna was great as well, not to mention Walter and Astrid. however, the Observer Peter arc did end rather abruptly, but it is understandable seeing how short this season is. I loved the promo for the next episode. Apparently, Fringe Family is going to visit a Wonderful Wizard of Oz in his Castle. :) Hold on tight, Fringies!
December 8, 2012 at 1:32AM EST Reply to Comment
- Potbounce He acted in the mighty ducks. Might want to compare him there. Definitely matured as an actor since then!
  December 8, 2012 at 8:57AM EST
Thom

I think this was a case of Fringe showing those shortcomings on purpose to highlight intentional faults in order to reveal truths, but that doesn't mean it worked. It didn't for me for the most part, but there were a couple of scenes I liked. The last one wasn't one of them. The acting was fine, but the writing was a little wonky.
December 8, 2012 at 2:45AM EST Reply to Comment
Ken from Chicago

Yep, first thot was if Peter knew Widmark was coming to Etta's apartment, why the frell didn't Peter set the trap there?

Or SHOW Peter writing stuff then having him be confused about something (ie, tilt his head while staring) then looking up, cut to a wall then having the Observers appear, pan back to Peter--or at least the board Peter was at. An Observer tells Widmark they "just" missed Peter, signs were that he was there recently, with Widmark stares at "You are here". CUT TO: Peter walking briskly to the streetlamp then turning around to see shadows in Etta's window. OPENING TITLE SEQUENCE.

Um, the Faith vs Science and Logic vs Feeling arguments, ... been there, bored now--especially since the depictions were deeply flawed.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicVersusScience
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StrawVulcan

Would it kill the show to actually feature Astrid as a person? They have all these long still shots, maybe they could show her having concerns and feeling and hopes and desires. Has she even mentioned her father?

And speaking of a person of color, yeah, the scene with Simone also had ANOTHER unfortunate, unintended, undertone:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicalNegro

As good as it is to have "Peter" Peter back, I was hoping for Neo Peter and Phoenix Olivia vs Agent Smi-er Widmark & The Observers showdown. Sure, you think Peter got rid of Widmark only to discover other Widmarks--or someone worse--waiting in the wings.

-- Ken from Chicago

P.S. It would be hilarious if one of the videocassette began with Dr. Marvin Candle only to have Walter having recorded over it.
December 8, 2012 at 7:49AM EST Reply to Comment
garyc

Think the idea of the 5:42 pm scene was that Peter was getting better at reading the futures but was still not as quick as Widmark. He realized Widmark would be at Etta's apartment a couple of minutes before they reached it.

Thought the Olivia/Peter ending very well done.
December 8, 2012 at 8:38AM EST Reply to Comment
Razorback

I gave this episode a 61 out of 100 in my review and expected Ryan, who is pretty much the only person still reviewing this show (apart from myself) who isn't an apologist fanboy for the show. In the end, Ryan and I may not have completely agreed but I think we are of a similar mind in general.
December 8, 2012 at 11:11AM EST Reply to Comment
- Trucutru Why 61 out of 100 and not 62 out of 100? This is getting ridiculous.
  December 10, 2012 at 12:56AM EST
PS

"Budgetary reasons, coupled with a shortened season, defanged a potentially potent idea."

Bingo. Best line from a great recap. This whole season feels like a bold sci-fi epic watered down by a cheap Vancouver filming budget. The writers have utterly failed these characters and their fans. Knowing their shoestring budget, they should have lowered the stakes or scope of the story. It's hard to film a post-apocalyptic world on a community theatre budget.
December 8, 2012 at 12:58PM EST Reply to Comment
- bitchstolemyremote I would counter this by saying that although a higher budget would be nice, I'm glad that the show moved forward with their proposed vision for the final season. If you're going to cast stones, through it at FOX which clearly didn't give them as much to work with
  December 8, 2012 at 1:03PM EST
- bitchstolemyremote Damm*t - "throw it at FOX"
  December 8, 2012 at 1:03PM EST
bitchstolemyremote

It seemed clear that Peter didn't know Windmark would arrive at Etta's apartment until a few seconds beforehand, though it did seem like an opportune time to rig an explosive device!

Had an issue with the conflation of faith and religion, especially when we're meant to distrust Simone for the better part of the encounter. With that said, the final scene was perfectly done: a reminder of the emotional reasons WE tune into Fringe - the connection between these characters.

Our take: http://wp.me/p2MfmI-1R3
December 8, 2012 at 1:01PM EST Reply to Comment
cooper

"Olivia’s decision to fight for Peter would have meant infinitely more had we ever seen their initial split after Etta’s disappearance." YES, THIS. JH Wyman said early on that this season wasn't about flashbacks (on twitter) which I think is a huge mistake.

What purpose did Peter becoming an Observer serve?

Unlike many, I wasn't moved by the final scene and cringed at the obvious looped in dialog of the second 'I love you.'

Peter and Olivia or rather Torv and Jackson haven't been able to find the groove they created together in season 3. I put this down to 60% bad writing, 40% their acting.
December 8, 2012 at 1:35PM EST Reply to Comment
mesa

My favorite episode of the season after In Absentia. If the rest of the season is like this I will be happy.

BTW looks like someone stole Ryan's convoluted "O"s. Maybe Dr Krick?
December 9, 2012 at 1:37AM EST Reply to Comment
briguyx

I thought this episode was setting up a finale where the mysterious machine knocks out the Observer tech, taking out the Observers but killing Peter in the process. I'm glad he now has a chance to make it out alive!
December 9, 2012 at 4:16AM EST Reply to Comment
VernonHardapple

I was convinced Peter was going to become September and have everything loop in. Very glad that isn't the case.
December 11, 2012 at 5:01PM EST Reply to Comment

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Recapping Television's Hottest Shows with Monkeys as Critics