Fringe: “Os” – review

Look, up in the air! Is it a bird, a plane, or perhaps a frog that the Fringe teams spots? No, they’re checking the skies instead for thieves who have figured out how to foil the laws of gravity to commit their nefarious crimes. And you thought that pigeons were bad….In this episode, “Os,” Walter also attempts to delay the damage he’s caused to the fabric of the universe by having kidnapped Walternate’s son, Peter, and raising him as his own son, who died. Oh, and the FBI agents behind them? They are obviously non-sky-watching slackers.

What can cause two of the Earth’s heaviest elements to cause people to become lighter-than-air when they are combined together to form a new molecule? Is it chance, luck, a miracle perhaps–or, does it have more to do with the possibility that Walter has caused the laws of physics to become merely suggestions because of his trips between the universes, which then caused rifts, vortexes, and Fringe Events to occur? “Os,” like many other Fringe episodes, continues the theme of how a father’s love for his son can cause the father to go to extreme, often obsessive lengths to keep his son and their relationship alive, no matter what the costs may be, or how many other lives might be destroyed as a result. But, what harm could developing an element that is lighter-than-air, and which might be also a promising treatment for muscular dystrophy, cause?

Osmium and Lutetium are, in “Os,” two of the Earth’s heaviest elements. A scientist, Dr. Blake, has discovered that when combined and injected into the bones of people (“os” meaning bone), it makes their bodies become lighter-than-air. The effect is only temporary, though further treatments show great potential as a treatment for muscular dystrophy, to help enable wheelchair-bound people to walk. The drawback? The treatment will eventually result in the death of whomever is injected, though Blake is desperately trying to perfect his idea, with the ultimate goal of using it on his son, Michael, who has muscular dystrophy. Blake may have a brilliant intellect like many other “mad scientist” villains have had in other Fringe episodes, with ideas that could–if perfected–help countless suffering people, but he, like they, are also criminals and murderers, whose activities draw the Fringe Team to them like moths to a flame.

Highlights/Quotable Quotes

1.) Disclosure: I, shockingly, woke up from a nap after this episode had been on for maybe a minute–I’m not really sure–so I missed the very first scene, I think. But, from the first part of the episode, I found memorable Walter’s quote about his fondly remembering and I think wanting to regain a time in his past “when there were no limitations–back when anything was possible!”

This is not a good sign. Walter has had portions of his brain removed, supposedly because he’s requested William Bell (“Belly”) to do so, to prevent him from becoming more like Walternate. Whether or not he’s actually asked Belly to do this, he resents that his mental facilities have become impaired, and he believes that he needs to regain what he’s lost in order to better combat Walternate and prevent any rifts from eventually occurring here, as they have in the alt-universe. But if this ever does happen, will the result help save our Earth, or lead to its destruction?

2.) I really liked the idea that people could achieve the dream of becoming lighter-than-air, or of flying under their own power. The drawback besides eventually dying because of the treatments is that, unless the people always wore weighted shoes and were tethered to someone/something else, they would float away like a child’s lost balloon. That’s why I chose the above photo–I thought it was pretty cool.

3.) Victims Or Accomplices?

What’s different between the victims of this episode’s “mad scientist” du jour and those of some of the other past episodes (though not all of them involving “mad scientists”) is that the supposed victims are also seemingly willing accomplices in Blake’s plans. I don’t believe they necessarily knew that Blake ultimately wanted to use the unorthodox “research” to help his own son, Michael, but they did want the treatments continued on themselves. In order to accomplish this, they agreed to become criminals themselves, and steal Osmium and Lutetium from wherever both rare elements might be found (including in meteorites in Boston’s Museum of Science).

4.) Soul Magnets

Soul magnets were one of Belly’s wildest theories. I don’t understand everything behind this concept, and quite possibly didn’t hear or write down everything exactly correctly, but from the little I understand, certain things can act as types of magnets to attract a person’s soul to the body of another, to–in effect–allow someone’s soul to enter the body of someone else who is alive, to allow a person’s soul to possess someone else. Walter’s conversations about this research with Nina Sharp sound, at first, to be crazy, and hearing them made me think Walter’s losing it because he’s so interested in one of Belly’s wildest theories. But, just because a theory may be on the edges, or fringes, of science doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s also crazy….

5.) Even Fuller Disclosure

The romance continues between Olivia and Peter. Peter tells Olivia that he doesn’t want to keep any more secrets from her, and lets her in on his research, aided by Nina’s providing him with mysterious files. In a past episode, we’ve learned that Peter is not above killing others, even if he can possibly justify the murders to himself by intellectually reasoning that shape-shifters aren’t really humans and that they deserve to die. He’s collected memory discs from them, and lets Olivia in on the research he’s done using them and related to the Doomsday Machine. What will the result of Peter’s research be? He, like Walter, is extremely intelligent; but will their choices in later episodes be wise ones? Which side will he choose? What do you think? Please leave your comments below!

6.) The scene where one of Blake’s victims dies, and bleeds from his eyes, is a memorable one for me, also. I admit I’m a sucker for gory and/or visually shocking scenes in Fringe, and other shows–oh, well; that’s what they’re there for, to attract our attention, right? Sure, these types of scenes appeal to one’s baser instincts, and on a purely logical level, I know they are the equivalent of the desire to watch a train wreck or “rubber neck” when we pass by a car crash–they are also usually pretty cool, though, also!

7.) Whoever plays the main victim, Vincent, that some key scenes of “Os” are focused on, does a great acting job. We can sympathize with Vincent, when Blake approaches him while he’s watching a wheelchair basketball game, and offers Vince the dream of being able to walk once again. The highlight I liked most involving Vincent is when he’s inside Boston’s Museum of Science, and Blake leaves him to try to save his own skin. Vincent starts to float off, and grabs hold of a NASA astronaut suit suspended in the air to prevent himself from floating even higher. Peter dramatically leaps off of a balcony, grabs Vincent, and they both crash to the floor.

8.) Is There Life Beyond Death? Oh, Yes!

I’ll conclude with my recap of this episode’s Highlights/Quotable Quotes with mention of one of the strangest, most twisted plot elements of any Fringe episode (and that’s saying a lot). Yes, I’m referring to Walter’s discovery that the bell that William Bell left Nina sharp in his will is something much more than an ordinary bell–it is also his key to returning to life in another body. Walter strikes the bell, and at first believes by Nina’s temporary silence that Belly has taken over her body, but no–his choice is, instead, Olivia Dunham! How messed up is that? And, how will it effect future episodes, and potentially, Peter’s feelings for Olivia?

Keep the strangeness coming, it’s what feeds the hunger of Fringe’s fans, including moi! Will the season finales of past seasons be matched, or surpassed, by whatever this third season’s finale has in store? I can’t wait to find out! What are your opinions about this episode? On a scale of 1 to 10, how high or low would you rate “Os”? Also, if you have a favorite highlight or quote that I left out, please let me know about that below! I’ll be looking forward to reading your thoughts!