FRINGE: 4.04 Subject 9 — REVIEW

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Could the much-hyped “Subject 9″ deliver enough overarching mythology and character development to satiate its most devoted followers? Read our review to find out.

THE GOOD

• Sub9 contained a nice blend of character and mythology development that continued overarching themes and brought the story to the next arc.

• Walter and Olivia deserve specific mention. They were great to watch and I found myself wanting to know more about their relationship in this altered state.

• Despite hints of budget constraints, the episode was wonderfully filmed without being overly forceful.

• Astrid’s “Really?”. Oh, Astro, all is forgiven!

• Always good to see Nina, and about time too. She didn’t just come with orange hair, she brought new character dynamics for this brave new timeline.

• Character motivations were a lot stronger in this episode. Crucially, I didn’t feel an overriding sense that the characters should be frying bigger fish. The fish was big enough, certainly it felt that way.

• The fully fledged return of Peter came earlier than necessary but it was very nicely done and contained Fringe-worthy symmetry.

• The cliffhanger. Not quite as cathartic as AITW, but the episode delivered two bounds of emotional payoff that will have ongoing importance.

THE BAD

• In many ways it felt like I had seen the meat of the episode already, so the element of discovery was less than it should have been. Peter’s return should not have been spilled since it was an indoor shoot. I point to Inception and any number of Bad Robot projects as how to effectively tease a mystery project without giving important plot details away. Oh, wait..

• I would have liked to have explored Olivia’s dream interactions with Peter a bit more to find out what that entailed. Peter’s return was well executed, but it seems a touch early. Just a touch.

• I thought the Cameron story was wrapped up a bit too neatly. It served a purpose but it was another case of “thanks for all the fish!” It just needed that extra step to make it completely satisfying ala Nick Lane or Milo.

• I’m still hankering for Walternate and the parallel universe/BBM. This episode itself didn’t call for it, but some updates on those elements would be nice.

THE OVEREVIEW

• Alone In The World ended on the rousing “We have to find him!”, so I was pleased to see this episode continue that line of thought, even though it wasn’t immediately obvious.

• That’s one of the good things about this episode, while there was an overriding sense that Peter was related to the Blue Orb of Energy (BOE), it wasn’t clear-cut (promo photos aside) in the way it was approached.

• And what a magnificent BOE it was! There are far worse things to wake up to at 6AM in the morning.

• Walter’s Matrix reference was a fun and informing moment, and Astrid looked hella cool in those shades.

• Walter thinking Oliva’s only visiting — it’s nice to watch the interactions between these two. The moments where they’re searching each other out are great.

• I liked Walter’s explanation for why only he could see Peter, conjuring the notion that elements of his subconscious mind still point in the direction of the OT.

• Interesting when considering Walter was the one who appeared to hold on to Peter the longest after he blinked out of existence.

• Walter’s Matrix idea was also pretty solid and I can envisage an episode where it would have been the thing that led them to finding Peter. Instead it was a theory that didn’t provide the answer within itself, and I kind of like that.

• I don’t call Olivia The Dunhamnator for nothing. Girl is a warrior. I can’t believe she kept her BOE mark to herself while Walter tapped into his inner Neo. Actually, I can. Girl is a warrior!

• I almost laughed out load when Olivia said that BOE made a “droning noise”. Is that what you REALLY think of Peter, Liv? A bit harsh to be fair, I mean, it’s not like he’s a vacuum cleaner.

• Some nice backstory details: “Walter, do you think that I’m causing this, like when I was a child and I set fire to the room?”

• So THAT still happened. Nice to know. Also, interesting that Olivia starts out questioning whether she is causing BOE, yet when later confronted with the suggestion she repels the notion. There’s also an underlying Walter thread here that I’ll pick at shortly.

• As for the plot device of the St. Claire’s letter? Let’s just say that not all plot devices are bad. Indeed, the PD has garnered a negative reputation over the years due to misuse and ‘easy-outs’, but overarching stories need well-crafted plot devices.

• This one was seamlessly integrated to the point where I thought: “Wow, this one is seamlessly integrated!”

• What did it do? What didn’t it do! It continued a thread from the previous episode, deepened my investment in Olivia and Walter’s NT relationship, gave Walter motivation to leave the Lab, made me want him to succeed on a personal level, and it came back into play at the end to deliver emotional pay-off that coincided with another moment of emotional magnitude.

• And it just doesn’t hurt that the PD was a letter. I mean, come on.

• Add to that the fact that there was a legit reason for Dunham to remove her letter-stuffed jacket and we pretty much have one of the outstanding PDs of the season so far.

• Ok, enough about the PD. But I will continue to comment on Walter’s motivation to leave the Lab. This desire to prove himself useful is a very interesting concept. He outlines the situation:

“We’re not family. If I should cease to be useful. If my behaviours are outweighing my value..”

• Walter doesn’t want to become obsolete, to serve his purpose. And he should know that sometimes fate can seem cruel. And yet, that same fate is a reminder of his own destiny. Intrinsic and Extrinsic forces combine to set him in motion.

• After channeling her inner William Bellivia, Olivia says that she’s only trying to do what’s best, thus giving herself a bit of an escape hatch in case things go a bit mental-asylum. Walter asks: “what’s best for whom?”

• Great question. A better one might have been “what’s best?”

• Nina sure didn’t waste any time leaving her mark on the episode. Not only does she present herself and Massive Dynamic as neutralists with an amoral bent, but she and Olivia share a drastically different relationship, almost mother-daughter-esque.

• Both great reveals that almost make up for the lack of Iron Maiden so far this season. It’s really quite something that she can come across cold, neutral, and compassionate in the space of a couple of minutes. It makes her infinitely interesting once again — foolish was I to doubt the enigma that is.

“We create technology, how it is used is not our concern..”

• She’s almost scolding her pupils, reminding them that Prometheus can steal fire whenever the fringe he wants – to hell with how mortals use it!

• Nature seeks to restore balance. Massive Dynamic seek to create neutral chaos. UNETHICAL.

• But coins have two sides for a reason. Perhaps Nina’s outlook is not so lamentable? Should they police science? Is it their responsibility to say what’s bad and good?

• It’s notable, however, that she’s not saying no-one should police it — just that it’s not their job to do it.

• Maybe she believes that massive scale control is futile. We’ve seen how events repeat themselves even when people do their best to take the needle off the record-player.

• Alternatively, perhaps she knows there are forces out there who are better placed to watch the watchmen? (I might be giving her too much credit.)

• That being said, it does seem rather irresponsible for an instigator not to establish safeguards for their science. It’s an interesting character/mythology marker and provides a useful comparison for OT MD and Walter’s guilt and attempted redemption.

• BOE’s appearances were fun to watch. He came with mixed connotations. The idea that he was trying to harm Olivia, protect her, and exact her deepest desires. All three hold up for me, given that we’re dealing with subconscious elements.

• I liked Cameron. He essentially played the James Heath role but more convincingly. He was also more sympathetic because he didn’t go around killing fellow Cortexiphan subjects.

• Aside for giving us more daddy issues, Cameron also had one of the coolest moments of the season as he Vs’d BOE in a battle of energizing proportions.

• Before that, we got another nice moment where he asks if Walter can understand what it’s like to be a “freak”. Walter can, only too well. Through his experiences he’s become his own subject. Subject Zero.

“You’re not at all like I remember you.”

• An ongoing theme — though the years have damaged Walter to the point of disrepair, they have also put him on the path to becoming a better man.

• ‘Bad’ and ‘good’ tropes are often bandied about. But people can be better, and this is where Walter is for me.

• In abstract, would he sacrifice his own sanity for such reward? It’s a question at the heart of his personal journey — what does he want from life? When the margins are squeezed, perhaps becoming a better man is not such a bad thing..

• And as we discover, it may yet yield more than that..a second chance, perhaps? Not necessarily intrinsic to this timeline, but what is a timeline but a concept for understanding the lines we cross for the things we want the most.

• BOE gives birth to boy wonder as Olivia’s scarred past also delivers unknowing reward. Who would have thought all that suffering would have been worth it. That’s the thing with lines, I guess. Sometimes they curve.

• (But will it be worth it?)

• The ever-deepening meaning attached Reiden Lake is a sublime overarching element, but I also appreciate the way the moment..     just..      held back on giving us Peter’s point of view.

• We barely got anything from his perspective, leaving us in suspended animation until the very end where his first words are, quite fittingly, issued to Olivia. Sometimes you need that narrative detail otherwise it can feel a bit cheaty, but given that Peter is not part of this timeline, it made perfect sense.

• You can imagine the less interesting alternative of seeing Peter being fished out of the lake and trying to explain who he is to characters we don’t give a toss about. Instead we get reintroduced to Peter through our glorious protagonist. It just works.

• I was relieved to see that December hasn’t time-locked ‘September’ in a glass prison after disobeying further instructions. It’s always reassuring to see the bald head of ambiguity.

• And I wonder..did a wee smile cross his lips? Careful September, you’ll soon be stealing the whole damn show. (DON’T TELL DUNHAM I SAID THAT).

• Walter tells Olivia that she acted irrationally. “When I do that people say I’m crazy. I guess I’ve learned that crazy is a lot more complicated than people think”. That’s Walter basically sealing the deal.

• Nice to have them share some more common ground, to understand each other a bit better. Last week the shared mind liberated Walter, this week it sets him free to a higher degree. Also nice for Olivia to do what feels right.

• I’ve already mentioned the stellar ending, so let’s not double cream, but it was very satisfying. Sure, Peter’s no longer BOE (RIP my sweet) but he has an electrifying new hairstyle and he claims to know all of them. WTF!? Who is this wonderous man with the fringe. WHAT. THE. FRINGE?

CASE NOTES

• “I believe the apparition may be out of phase with our reality. For that reason he may not be visible from all directions. Instead he is visible from one specific angle, which is why only I can see him…”

• “Multiple cameras taking pictures from multiple angles”.

• Good to see continuity with Walter’s bruised eye.

• “..your equipment, recorded the event before it occurred?” A very interesting premise that will perhaps prove useful in examining just how Walter managed to draw Peter’s consciousness forward on the day they died.

• Pulling back the lens and there’s an interesting concept with people reaching out to Olivia..the strong one. Her response, ultimately, was to help BOE, because it felt right. This works on several levels, but I like the lesser explored moral implications that this touches.

• Interesting to see that Walter’s guilt and the C-tex trials have followed him over the many lines that he’s crossed. To be expected, yet only by exploring it that can we investigate the true meaning of what he did and where it has taken the story. There are lines and then there are lines, in every sense.

• On a character note I found it interesting the way he rode his guilt to reassure Olivia that she was always the strongest..”the favorite”. Ok, give me one and that’s curious, but throw in the word “favorite” and that’s really interesting in this context.

• Both from Walter’s POV, as he seems to be ingratiating himself to Olivia, almost highlighting her strength as a reason for experimenting on her.

• And also from Olivia’s POV, to hear that she was popular, loved. She treats it as though it’s a foreign memory.

• “We just own the patents”. Small line. Fantastic line.

• I enjoyed the way Walter and Nina’s very different relationship is explored at a distance.

• Walter looks almost proud as Olivia reels off a list of Cortexiphan achievements. Not so when he hears Astrid’s shock. He ends his remote observation.

• “You need me. Without me, you can do nothing”.

• It was helpful to see life outside the lab from Walter’s perspective.

• The scene where Olivia is tending to Walter’s self-infliction provided nice insight into their NT relationship, and one of their sweetest moments to date.

• “She liked that about me. I liked everything about her.”

• Walter’s glad that Elizabeth never knew him like this, which is a bit of a weird thing to say given that she committed suicide. I don’t think he means it in the way it can be read (he’s probably taking the ‘best’ from the situation) but it’s interesting how language can rest on the precipice of human emotions.

• That being said, it does tap into the wish fulfilment theme and one wonders if on some subconscious level his very relief is having an impact elsewhere. I mean, if hope is as powerful as the story has illustrated, then where does Walter’s peace of mind regarding his wife’s death rest? A difficult question but the story allows such consideration.

• “until I realized, I was doing it to myself.” The mind creates reality, reality creates the mind. Would you like a chicken or egg with that?

• I’ve spoken many times about the concept of Fringe is largely about “self-help”. This episode is a decent example of that.

• Curious that Cam should ask Olivia whether Walter would tell her if she was responsible for BOE. This seems to connect with what I suggested earlier about Walter needing Olivia to see the positive results of the trials so that she doesn’t send him to St. Claire’s.

• BOE and a bare nekkid Peter? Ok Fringe, now you’re spoiling me.

• (incidentally, why was Peter nekkid? Naughty, Olivia. Very, very naughty..)

• And you have to love how Peter had to go one better and get his own mahoosive B&P Tank. (minus the B&P, of course).

• How interesting that we may get to explore last season’s identity themes from a wider perspective. Back then Peter didn’t know his Olivias from his Altlivias — now she doesn’t know him. So much talk has been about whether Olivia will remember how much she loves Peter, but let’s not ignore the question of whether Peter can love an Olivia who doesn’t share his memories.

• I mean yes, of course he will given the way things have gone. But at the moment there’s a missing piece — how will he reconcile that, especially if it continues in the long-run?

• Cameron’s “make him forget about me” was another curious line. It’s unclear whether he was forgiving Walter or just didn’t want the crazy SOB bothering him again. I kind of think the latter would make more sense, but I get a sense that it was the former. Indeed, the direction implies as much. Nice touch from Cam, definitely one of the more successfully realized C-texies.

• I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the moment Olivia makes a good choice regarding Walter, The Boy resurfaces. Both outcomes are emotionally linked.

•  Walter, just so you know..I would have ticked the same box as Olivia. You’re growing on me again. Let’s see if Petah’s return has any impact on our ..rekindled relationship.

ANSWERS

• The Cortexiphan trials took place in this timeline. Olivia remembers them. She was experimented on but ran away several years before they ended. Even so, she was always the strongest.

• As in the OT, William Bell helmed the Cortexiphan trials with Walter.

• Nina says the Cortexiphan files were sealed for 20 years and that some of the files were lost. Walter has reason to doubt her.

• To her knowledge, Cameron is the first Cortexidult that Olivia has met or heard about since childhood. It’s implied that Olivia’s is less familiar with her abilities (in adulthood) than she was in the OT.

• As suspected, Walter confirms that Elizabeth killed herself in this timeline. Though it’s (possibly) implied that she did so prior to Walter stealing the other Peter.

• Peter has been brought through to the new timeline courtesy of Olivia’s subconscious mind. He remembers his fellows and seems to believe they should remember him.

MYSTERIES

• Why specifically did young Olivia run away from the Cortexiphan trials?

• Who is Broyles’ boss?

• What is Peter’s perspective on events? Has he undergone any changes?

• Will there be any consequences following Peter’s return?

• What will the Observers do now that Peter’s back? Why didn’t the others PEM him if September wasn’t prepared to?

• December implied that bad things would happen if his friends find out the boy lived to be a man. What, exactly, will happen?

FINAL THOUGHTS

A high-quality instalment that followed through on character and mythology elements. Now that Peter’s back it’s good to have him. Sub9 is an episode that edges Fringe back towards the kind ‘event TV’ that we all know it could be on a weekly basis.

Best Moment: Tough one, there were several best moments but if you held Olivia’s gun to my head I’d plump for the sequence that led to Peter’s return through Reiden Lake.

Best Performance: Anna Torv.

Best Line: “Now I welcome his visitation”.

Takeaways: Olivia did what was best.

I don’t hand these out often: 9/10 Seriable Stars

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Tagged as: coretexiphan, Fringe, reviews, subject 9