(tv) Fringe: quantum cat is looking askance at Walter Bishop

[rose_griffes]

TV post. If you're rewaching SCC, here's the 1X04 rewatch post. (Hah, stupid LJ didn't let me know about the comments there. Looks like I have some replies to make.)

More Fringe. Spoilers through episode 17 of season one, in particular 14-17. I think I have mental whiplash over the huge variation in quality in these four episodes (as experienced by me). Episode 14, "Ability" brings back creepy escaped-from-prison British guy (Mister Jones), who seems to have quite the Olivia obsession. Oh, and Walter apparently wrote a whole manifesto about the problematic existence of alternate universes. But he doesn't remember doing so.

It was cool! Possibly Olivia turned off lights with her mind! Possibly not! Peter looked pretty! And Walter didn't annoy me excessively! Mister Jones may now be Batman, who knows!

Episode 15, "Inner Child" didn't inspire lots of exclamation marks. More of a shrug. Mysterious pale kid, possibly psychic. Gruesome crime. Ick. I'm glad this is so far the only CSI-style crime the show has used. (By CSI-style, I mean the fetishized female victims. This sounds rather pathetic, but it's true: the way it was filmed and portrayed was less fetishized than I've learned to expect from network TV. So... yay? *sadface*)

It wasn't bad, but a bit of a letdown after 14. Also, though I like the idea that Broyles has a heart, I was still surprised that he helped spirit away the kid at the end. It seemed very unlike him. Hm.

Episode 16, "Unleashed." I'm not sure what specific moment triggered it, but I was feeling quite ragey about Walter's actions by the end. And wow, they've completely made Peter the father in that relationship, haven't they? Aw, Peter.

Also, there was so much handwaving at the science that my body now aches. (Not literally, obviously.) The completely implausible hybrid monster that impregnates victims via... porcupine quill? Really?

Getting a bit closer to what bothered me about Walter: he's busy feeling guilty for the hybrid monster that he did not, in fact, create. Why is he feeling guilty? Because he could have created something like it. What irks is the apparent lack of guilt for what he actually did. A woman died in his lab. This was an accident, yes, but in general Walter's sense of morality is just appalling. Most of the time I can ignore that, but not all of the time.

I may be pretending this episode doesn't exist.

Episode 17, "Bad Dreams" goes back into Olivia's backstory. Young "Olive" had a childhood pal in those drug studies. And here we are again: Walter participated in those trials on children. *sigh* Grrr, Walter!

It was an interesting episode, though not a favorite. Felt like it might have been trying to appeal to the fanbase by including Olivia-as-Nick kissing the stripper. At least I had less handwaving to do to believe in the idea of emotional infection than to believe in the hybrid monster from the last episode.

Okay, this week I need to rewatch BSG's "The Plan" one more time (and take notes) so I can send that disk back to Netflix and be ready to start on season two of Fringe as soon as I'm done watching season one on the WB's website.

Hm. I need a Fringe icon. Either Olivia Dunham or one of those cool black-and-white organic thingy pics they do at commercial breaks.

Comments

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Peter looked pretty! And Walter didn't annoy me excessively!
Hee! You and I are like day and night. Not about this episode. But I spent most of season 1 thinking, "Walter is adorable! And Peter, please don't annoy me excessively with your smugness!"

If Olivia didn't turn off lights with her mind, then how else could they have been turned off?

What irks is the apparent lack of guilt for what he actually did.
I think along with Walter's swiss cheese memory went guilt. It's hard to feel guilty when you can't remember all of what or why you did things that you did. I fear you'll never like Walter, though. I think he's sweet. :-) Now, anyway. He's not that man anymore.

People seem to love Olivia-as-Nick the stripper. I don't get it. So Olivia's body kissed a woman. It wasn't Olivia. I was trying so hard to get to know Olivia at the time so I was so confused about peoples' reaction to this.

I don't get the apple seed embryos. No one has been able to explain that one to me. The logo designers think it looks cool? That one creeps me out.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

I can answer the Olivia kissing a stripper thing, somewhat. It gave the femslashers some much needed acknowledgment/legitimization or something.

Then again, when I finally saw it, I had massive issues because, well, Olivia wasn't in control/etc., and it's a wee bit squicky.

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

Yeah... that wasn't Olivia, and her 'participating' in the kiss wasn't her choice. (Unless you count the choice to be hypnotized in the first place. Which is fine, but I agree on the kinda squicky factor. I'm glad Anna Torv works for me as an actress, because she helped make the scene less squicky by how she acted it.)

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

It gave the femslashers some much needed acknowledgment/legitimization or something.
Except that wasn't really real, either. So far Olivia hasn't indicated being a lesbian or bi. I guess it doesn't matter to other people. Just bothers me a little because it wasn't really her.

I'm glad it bothers others a bit too!

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

Hee! You and I are like day and night. Not about this episode. But I spent most of season 1 thinking, "Walter is adorable! And Peter, please don't annoy me excessively with your smugness!"

Yes, that occurred to me as I was typing this up. You predictably prefer the emotive characters (Walter) and I generally prefer the clammed-up characters (Olivia). Kara Thrace and Lee Adama are obvious exceptions to my usual character likes, since I loved Kara and rode an emotional roller coaster with Lee.

I think along with Walter's swiss cheese memory went guilt. It's hard to feel guilty when you can't remember all of what or why you did things that you did. I fear you'll never like Walter, though. I think he's sweet. :-) Now, anyway. He's not that man anymore.

I think I'll always have mixed feelings about him. And that's okay. But a lot of his choices before being institutionalized were... really quite morally reprehensible. And I fear that he doesn't get it at all, which makes him dangerous now.

People seem to love Olivia-as-Nick the stripper. I don't get it. So Olivia's body kissed a woman. It wasn't Olivia. I was trying so hard to get to know Olivia at the time so I was so confused about peoples' reaction to this.

lyssie's explanation (in reply to your comment, which I don't know if you saw because LJ is not so helpful with that lately) makes sense--that it's a sort of validation for femslashers. But I totally agree that it wasn't Olivia.

Though I'll admit--part of my "meh, fanservice" reaction came from having seen the kiss out of context in a fanvid first*. Putting it back into context made it less, uh, fanservice-y. Though the strip club itself just annoys. If I never have to see another scene in a strip club, I'd be happy. (At least it was only one stripper, instead of rows of them showing off for the camera, which is what CSI always does.)

*This brings up the question: if a fanvid is meant to show us "Look how awesome Olivia Dunham is!" and includes that footage, is it more fanservice-y than the show itself? Fanvids lose that context, after all.

I don't get the apple seed embryos. No one has been able to explain that one to me. The logo designers think it looks cool? That one creeps me out.

Are we supposed to "get" the logo thingies? I don't get any of them, other than them being things in nature. And I have no idea what's up with the white dot/flare of light thingy in each of them. The logo thingies are pretty, though. The apple one creeps you out? Why?

If Olivia didn't turn off lights with her mind, then how else could they have been turned off?

If I try and think in show context, I can buy that Olivia turned them off. Except for how I'm wondering if Mr. Jones wasn't playing more mind games. That should be easy enough to check, though--Peter could look at the wiring and tell, right? Since he did the trick with the light box in the lab.

Outside of show context? Hahahahahahaha....

eta: huh, I never looked that closely at the apple pic. Still doesn't freak me out, though. It's just weird. That's Fringe for ya.

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

I don't always like emotive actors. But I do admit in general, life is subtle enough for me. On TV I want to see it. It's a place where things can be larger than life and I really want it to be that way. I don't want everything spelled out, no. But I also don't want to spend a two and a half seasons not knowing for sure who the main character really is, you know?

I have exceptions too. Hmm, not from shows you watch, though. Xena and Madeline from LFN were pretty stoic.

And I fear that he doesn't get it at all, which makes him dangerous now.
I'll be curious what you think about him as you make your way though season 2. Assuming you continue watching, that is.

instead of rows of them showing off for the camera, which is what CSI always does.
That's different because it's Vegas, baby. Showgirls and strippers are part of the landscape. It's like skyscrapers in NY or the woods in Vancouver. :-) I don't think the Miami version of CSI shows as many strippers but I don't watch it so I don't know.

is it more fanservice-y than the show itself?
To me, yes. But I'm in a glass house because I make AU vids all the time. But if the vid is a canon character study, I'd think it would show scenes of the real Olivia. But again, I can't throw stones. And Olivia is . . . complicated. (Can't say more.)

The apple one creeps you out? Why?
I thought they were real apple seeds for a long while. Now every time I bite into an apple, I think, embryos! Okay, no I don't. :-) But it still creeps me out! I may have no good reason. Just, yes, it's weird!

That should be easy enough to check, though--Peter could look at the wiring and tell, right? Since he did the trick with the light box in the lab.
They never checked, though. And we, the viewers, got distracted by other things later in the season.

Outside of show context? Hahahahahahaha....
Why is it funny? You don't believe in telekinesis?

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

I'll be curious what you think about him as you make your way though season 2. Assuming you continue watching, that is.

Well, just watched another epi and we're back to solid ground again, so... but AUGH, the gore factor. Not enough BLEH in the world! (Just now it was exposed spinal columns.)

To me, yes. [...] if the vid is a canon character study, I'd think it would show scenes of the real Olivia. But again, I can't throw stones. And Olivia is . . . complicated.

Interesting. Because that was my thought as well. The vid (from what I can recall, I watched it ages ago before watching any episodes of Fringe) was meant to showcase Olivia's general awesomeness, but knowing the context of the scene now, the vid feels misleading. (I'm not rooting for femslashiness since I don't have any emotional connection to it, but after that vid I sort of expected at least a bit of it on the show. And the scene was nothing like that. Of course, if we're showcasing Anna Torv as an actress rather than Olivia, it's a different thing. Though I'm not sure how one could make that distinction in a fanvid based solely on her performance in one show.)

Why is it funny? You don't believe in telekinesis?
Nope, though I quite enjoy psychic powers and teleportation and all that in fiction.

They never checked, though. And we, the viewers, got distracted by other things later in the season.
Heh. Oh well. Thanks to the episode downloading thingy at Amazon.com, I now know Mr. Jones comes back, so who knows what kind of mind games he'll play next?!

(The WB's website went back to having the first half of season one online, and I didn't want to wait for the disk from Netflix.)

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Fringe is so gross sometimes, ugh. It continues to be so you are fair warned.

Vids are misleading. When you just clips certain scenes that fit in with your POV, yeah, it's not exactly canon. Or it's like canon but BETTER! No commericals and all MY AWESOME PERSON. Hee. :-)

Maybe what people really want is a main character on a TV show to be lesbian or bisexual. But I hope not because it would be 'cool' but because there is a gap on TV with characters of differing sexualities. I'm not really sure, though.

Nope, though I quite enjoy psychic powers and teleportation and all that in fiction.
You are such an interesting mix of absolute faith about some things and absolute skepticism about other things. You know me. I can't pick and choose. No gray with me. I believe everything is at least possible or nothing is possible. In this case, it's everything. It's why I really liked Mulder on the X-Files. He was willing to believe in everything and so am I. You, you're like season 1 Scully!

What ep are you up to?

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

I just watched episode 18 of season one. Two more episodes left in the season.

You are such an interesting mix of absolute faith about some things and absolute skepticism about other things. You know me. I can't pick and choose. No gray with me. I believe everything is at least possible or nothing is possible. In this case, it's everything. It's why I really liked Mulder on the X-Files. He was willing to believe in everything and so am I. You, you're like season 1 Scully!

Heh. I had a whole caveat to my comment up there about my belief in miracles/divine intervention, but I deleted it. I think God nearly always lets us work things out ourselves within the realm of actually possible things. (Most miracles are what I would call everyday miracles resulting from a change in us as individuals.)

Possibly this dichotomy comes from being raised by a devout mother and an atheist/agnostic scientist father. Um. In fact, probably this is the case.

I firmly believe that someday when we do know everything, there won't be a conflict between science and religion.
And I'm betting that there won't be telekinesis. Just for the record. ;-D

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Possibly this dichotomy comes from being raised by a devout mother and an atheist/agnostic scientist father. Um. In fact, probably this is the case.
Hee. You seem to have yourself figured out there. ;-)

I firmly believe that someday when we do know everything, there won't be a conflict between science and religion.
You believe someday we'll know everything? How . . . boring for us someday. I like a little mystery. ;-)

I'm betting that there won't be telekinesis. Just for the record. ;-D
Too bad ;-) I'm kinda liking the possibility for now. ;-)