Fringe: Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver (2010)
Season 2, Episode 17
10/10
Walter, In the Kitchen, with Baked Hand
5 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
As I didn't review these excellent episodes back when they were run, it gives me an opportunity to give a better deconstruction of them, I can go back and review them. This one has some great things, not the least of which is the appearance of Diane Kruger (Joshua Jackson's GF of the time - Hope that stays that way as time passes).

Diane (Playing Miranda Greene) is talking to "Neil" (Omar Metwally from "Munich") - She agrees to help him, and he lightly touches her hand. As she is driving away, she makes reference to "Dr Gorlami" which was the fake name Brad Pitt used in "Inglorious Basterds." That placed her for me right away, as I had just seen that when I watched this Episode.

She starts sprouting carcinomas, first on her hand, then her neck, then all over, and she is a walking (or, sitting) pustule as a man walks up to her SUV to see why she ain't moving at a green stop light.

Eyech! One of the more gruesome teasers of Fringe. Other than the carcinomas, she was perfectly healthy, and as it appears that the cancer had spread from one area, Walter finds it odd, because Cancer is not contagious.

"Neil," who looked very ill when meeting with Miranda, now looks a lot better. He's buying all kinds of healthy food. But then he has to go out and puke. Before he left Miranda, he got a name from her, he was looking for "other people he went to school with, so he can see if any of them had gotten sick" - But in reality, he's searching out all of Olivia's classmates from The Cortexiphan Trials. His next target? Lloyd Becker (Jamie Switch), and while he was at it, he gets another name from Becker's Mom: "Nick Lane" who we met in S1E17.

Neil meets Becker: And before poor Lloyd falls prey to Neil's strange ability, he gives Neil one more name we all know: Olivia Dunham. This is where Walter notices that the cancer has spread from what appear to be 'fingerprints" - But in order to process the fingerprints, Walter has to bake poor Lloyd's Skin like a cake!

Olivia, stressed out, gets a surprise visit from "The Last Sam Weiss" who brings a game of "Clue" hence the title of this Ep. While they are playing, Olivia gets an insight into what is really going on and runs off.

They learn that all of the victims, were Cortexiphan kids: Walter says what Neil is dong is akin to "Tantric Sex" where there is literally an "exchange of energy"-The Victim's Health, for Neil's Illness.

When Olivia gets back to her apartment, Neil is there waiting - But by that time he has been identified as the culprit: He sees Olivia's Badge and tries to touch her. She gets in and is able to speed dial Peter's Cell. She gets Neil on the ground, where he sees the picture of his sister, which was the first victim: And it is at this point he breaks down, and tells Olivia exactly what had happened. He had been "Activated," probably by a leftover agent of Jones' and it didn't go right.

They cart him away, probably to the same place where Massive Dynamic is storing all of the rest of the known Cortexiphan Kids (The "Monkey House" as nick Lane will put it later). But this is not the last of Neil we will see.

Peter asks Olivia, why he was the first person she called, and she shrugs it off, saying, she did not think the Milkman or the Pizza Delivery guy would be much help-But it is plain, this is the first inkling of Olivia's attraction to Peter.
4 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed