Fringe 3.05 "Amber 31422" Review

Finally, it’s starting to happen. It’s only been five short episodes (and only three in the alternate universe), but we’re starting to see the set-up of Olivia’s triumphant return to our universe from her semi-imprisonment Over There. At least, I hope it’ll be triumphant — that’s certainly how I was feeling at the end of this episode. The rest of the time? Well, I loved that too.

The title “Amber 31422” is a reference to the chemical that Walternate created to seal in “breaches” in the space-time-continuum of the other side. What causes those breaches isn’t really sure, though my guess is that it’s some sort of fallout from the events of the episode “Peter.” The Amber chemical is the gas we were first introduced to in episode three of the first season, “The Ghost Network.” Remember that bus?

Speaking of throwbacks, there are certainly a lot of them this year. There was the amber throwback, of course, but there was also a reference to the episode “Safe,” tonight, as used by Mitchell Loeb in season one to break into bank vaults. Of course, last time, it didn’t end so cleanly — you may remember that unlucky fellow who was halfway through the wall when it re-solidified. Ouch. These throwbacks to the first season really make the series seem very planned, even though specifics like this probably weren’t. These writers are good people. As a matter of fact, they’re brilliant.

I’ll tell you who else was brilliant in this episode: Shawn and Aaron Ashmore. You probably recognize Shawn more than Aaron: Shawn played Iceman in all three main X-Men films (not counting the Wolverine Origins one). Aaron, however, is recognizable to TV fans for his longtime role on the CW’s Smallville. Of course, as the episode so clearly pointed out, they look the same. They’re twins.

The one thing I will say I didn’t care for about the episode was the heavy-handedness of the analogy between Olivia and the twins. Perhaps I’ve been watching cable TV for way too long (where things like that are simply left for the viewer to discover by himself), but when Peter explained to Olivia that she saw herself in the twins, I groaned. There was just a tad bit of condescension in that explanation. (Otherwise, Peter was just great! I like how the writers have worked him into every episode this season.)

The episode, despite that minor quibble, was utterly fantastic. The final amber sequence in the bank was absolutely brilliant. Maybe it was their similar appearance, but I had flashbacks to Charlie’s death on LOST while watching that scene, especially with Giacchino’s haunting score. Was it as emotionally devastating? Of course not. But it made me feel for that character’s death just a hell of a lot more.

Fringe just keeps getting better and better, I swear. It’s the smartest show on network television, and perhaps next to The Walking Dead, it’s the best show currently on the air. This episode did nothing but prove that. A