We have been saying for the past few weeks that Fringe is the best show on television today. I know the show hasn’t had the best track record in keeping up a solid stream of episodes, but this season, Fringe seems to have finally broken out of that. For the third week in a row, it has delivered a solid narrative, advancing the overall plotline while focusing on the case of the week. Like I said in my recap last week, the show has been excelling in one department that other shows would kill to do as well. It’s keeping the viewers intrigued and anxious to find out what is going to happen next.
This week’s episode ‘The Plateau’took us back to the other side. The opening sequence was rather disconcerting because a guy set up a chain of events that culminated in a young woman getting killed when she was run over by a bus. All that happened because of a ballpoint pen falling on the ground. An accident just like that had already happened the day before, killing a man. The Fringe team gets called in and it’s Olivia’s first day back. In fact, my theory after the premiere was wrong and she really does think she is Fauxlivia, has all her memories and is living her life without a care in the world.
When she arrives at Fringe Division, FauxBroyles and Walternate observe her and the Secretary finally reveals what he needs her for. He reveals to FauxBroyles that Olivia has the ability to cross universes without any damage to herself and that’s what he needs to study. If they manage to understand how she does that, they will be able to use it to their advantage. However, she needs to reach ‘the plateau’, which is when Fauxlivia’s memories will become permanent in her brain. That way they’ll have her full cooperation for the research.
Unaware of their scheming, Olivia rolls into the scene of the accident with FauxCharlie and Lincoln, who is still recovering from the severe burns he suffered in the Season 2 finale. They interview everyone and ID the victim. Her name is Jillian Foster and she was 32 years old. The bus driver is completely distraught after killing her and says he was distracted by a commotion on the sidewalk: a guy in a bike crashed into a fruit stand, trying to avoid hitting another man who had bent down to pick up something. Because of that, he never saw Jillian crossing the street in front of the bus.
Meanwhile, Lincoln finds what must have piqued the man’s attention on the sidewalk. He picks up the ballpoint pen and is completely shocked at seeing one of those. Since the other universe is so much more advanced technologically than ours, pens are a thing of the past. They hadn’t seen one probably since they were in pre-school. Lincoln suggests that this pen might have cause a chain reaction that eventually caused the accident. While he is telling them his theory, Olivia spots Peter on the other side of the street. She is a little shocked, but before she can think it through, he disappears.
Still not sure if they should consider this accident a Fringe event, they retreat to headquarters to examine better the facts. Once there, FauxCharlie asks Lincoln what he thought of Olivia’s first day back. Lincoln thinks she is doing alright, but FauxCharlie has reservations. He comments on how Olivia kept going on about how this wasn’t her life and that they were trying to make her think she was someone else. What if she was right? What if she really was the other Olivia? After all, they are identical and people wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
Lincoln interrupts him when he catches something on the video of the previous accident. Another ballpoint pen is present at the scene and they conclude that just can’t be a freaky coincidence. They take these facts to FauxAstrid and she says the probability of that happening is 0.0%. I kind of like this computer/robot Astrid. Even though she can be a little disturbing at times, I really enjoy her scenes and wonder how the hell she got like that. Olivia, Lincoln and FauxCharlie insist that she is wrong and when she is telling them she is not, another accident happens and the team gets called in again.
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