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Five Thoughts on Fringe‘s “The Dreamscape”

By | August 9th, 2020
Posted in Television | % Comments

Welcome to Multiversity Comics’ Summer Binge of Fringe, a series that Parks and Recreation’s own Ben Wyatt once called “airtight.” “The Dreamscape” is a solid step forward for the show that builds mythology and character in big, clear ways. It’s title is definitely mumbo jumbo that’s only sort of related to the story though.

1. Call Me a Classicist…
…because I’m a sucker for mythology. With its ninth episode, Fringe delivers exactly what I was asking for last week- some real forward momentum for the season arc and a deeper exploration of it mythos. The whole thing is far from a one and done- it deals with Massive Dynamic’s role in the pattern, even more John Scott material, and builds up whatever is going on with Peter. Its quality isn’t uniquely high relative to what we’ve seen so far and it definitely isn’t on the level of “The Arrival” but it does address some things that really needed to be addressed which is a win in my book.

2. The Worst Trip Ever
The case of the week picks up when a Massive Dynamic executive falls out of a skyscraper window after being attacked by a bunch of butterflies with razor sharp wings. At first, it’s more than a little silly; as weird as this show has gotten before, killer butterflies would definitely be a bridge too far. The actual explanation, that there’s a psychedelic that makes people produce physical reactions to fear-based hallucinations is pretty awesome. Seeing cuts appear without anything happening is a great, deeply memorable visual (that come to a particularly memorable head when we see a throat slit by nothing toward the end of the episode) and they make for a really interesting crime. This is exactly the type of weird that sci-fi crime should be.

3. Baby Got Backstory
We finally learn a bit more about Peter and his past this week and while it’s a smidge too vague for my liking but certainly a step in the right direction. He meets with Tessa, his ex(?) who has an abusive boyfriend and a connection to some mysterious “they” that she says can find Peter. Again, it’s very vague. Peter goes and attacks the aforementioned abusive boyfriend who, win turn, meets up with another bad-looking dude and they set out to confront Peter sometime in the future. It felt a bit like a monkey paw moment that finally getting some real substance for Peter was also mostly vague setup but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers. Here’s to Joshua Jackson getting to flex some real acting muscles (and normal muscles) when the other shoe drops.

4. Olivia and John Re-re-redux
As much as she’s haunted by it, Olivia also seems somewhat exasperated at the John Scott ghost appearing at this point. It definitely makes sense given that he makes her life very hard and sad and only gives cryptic clues about the mysteries Olivia has to solve. In “The Dreamscape,” Olivia goes into his mind again to find out more about the Pattern and the people involved in it. While the actual investigating that happens in there is a bit predictable (and includes a cringe-inducing characterization of a latino character), it serves a great moment in which Olivia connects to John during a memory of one of their dates. Like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, John Scott is a milquetoast character who doesn’t actually evoke very much of anything but Olivia’s love for him (and really Anna Torv’s performance) makes his presence significantly more compelling. Also, the episode’s opening showing Olivia’s plans being cut off by her work was a really good touch. One of the best things about tv is the little things- the way that you’re able to know the minutes of character’s lives- and seeing things like Olivia getting ready to go out with her friend helps us know her more intimately. More and more, Olivia Dunham feels like someone you want to actively root for not just as a surrogate for conspiracy unraveling but as a character.

5. Newsflash: Massive Dynamic is Evil
The big revelation of “The Dreamscape” is that Massive Dynamic is actively the enemy. While we as an audience have known this since episode one and Nina Sharp and co. have been sketchy from the get go but Olivia has only just realized how much of a threat the whole company stands. For an ostensibly incredible federal agent, the investigative skills on display are shockingly weak but I’ll allow it for the sake of her confrontation with Nina Sharp. Anna Torv plays the scene with a great energy- clearly confrontational but still holding back- and it makes for really good stuff; moreover, it’s emblematic of a lot of the promise that this episode shows for the rest of the season. More like this is coming down the line and that, my friends, is incredibly exciting.


//TAGS | 2020 Summer TV Binge | Fringe

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