Pandora, Pandora. The malicious box is so luscious that shows can't resist to have one of their own. Opening it should be your second step toward the long and wicked ending of season 3. With the blue pill in my belly I felt strong enough to follow Fauxlivia and her team. In the first four episodes of season 1 I saw Anna Torv as the blonde babe you throw in the mix to appeal the male audience. But with her new dual role her characters should change the very idea you had about her. I mean how can you objectively embrace her when you have grown up with Dana Scully under your pillow ? Torv is no Gillian Anderson but she deserves respect and a chance to become who she is. Moreover it's probably not a coincidence that Olivia's hair turned red in the alternate universe. It's stealthier than pink, though.
But let's go back to The Box, shall we. The very first minutes sneaking behind the Fringers felt different. Indeed we know that Olivia Dunham is not who the others think she is. The real one is losing it in the parallel universe. Watching his inevitable missteps is exciting because Fauxlivia has to learn who Olivia is. In fact it's a good thing but as often the coin has a backside. Indeed I think the writers approach is not subtle enough. They should have pushed the concept further by hiding the truth to the audience. We just didn't need to know that Fauxlivia wasn't Olivia. It would have made the scenes even more puzzling and the inevitable revelation jaw dropping. Of course the idea is probably inspired by Edward Norton's performances. Once done with the season we would have to watch it all over again to really comprehend what happened and finally notice all hints related to her true identity. They have chosen an other road, probably a more accessible one, but it still has potential.
My only worry was the episodic format. The investigations of the week in season 1 were monstrous compared to the cult The X-Files episodes. Not all of them were exceptional but its charismatic and complementary characters prevented anyone to skip the weekly paranormal adventure. In season 3 Fringe has finally found its marks thanks to the brand new parallel arcs. In fact I can't help comparing them to Lost even if the last editing was so mesmerizing that it gave the process a new dimension. But even if the red and blue concept is less original its execution is nonetheless promising. Indeed the parallel and episodic elements were mixed and the arcs should nourish each other. The story itself was decent but lacked spice. It was really just an other investigation with a magic box and without the surreal dose it almost could have seemed like a Castle episode. However I enjoyed its bleeding side effects and one gore scene actually reminded me of Street Trash. Kids, it's time to go to bed !
All in all it was almost an installment in the same vein as the premiere. Still it could have been way better and despite its many strengths the show has weaknesses that could repel the most demanding viewers. It's specially true for long time scifi fans but even with my little big background I still enjoyed it. Of course compared to Isaac Asimov brilliant writing the investigation felt slightly dry but I'm sure Fringe's Genitrix hasn't played its trump card yet. Last but not least it's sweet that Fauxlivia uses a type writer to report instead of some hyper technological device. And her bizarre relationship with Peter Bishop is definitely intriguing. However Joshua Jackson's portrayal is a little bland so I really hope he'll bring his A game in the next episodes because his face off with Torv could lead to some edgy moments.
