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- TV Series: Fringe
- Episode: The Box
- Starring: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Jasika Nicole, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown
- Written By: Josh Singer, Graham Roland
- Directed By: Jeffrey Hunt
- Network: Fox
- Series: Fringe
Fringe: The Box Review
What's in the Box? By Kurt Anthony Krug
October 01, 2010
The Fringe Review
© Fox/Bob Trate
The creators of Fringe are firing away on all cylinders this season and it’s only the second episode! That’s not a bad thing. Far from it. Every even-numbered episode for this season will focus on the main reality, whereas every odd-numbered will focus on the alternate universe, a.k.a. Over There.
At the beginning of this episode, a mysterious box is dug up in Milton, Mass. Upon opening it, it kills people almost instantly. Blood leaks from their noses and mouths and their eyes turn opaque. Very X-Files-esque.
Turns out that Thomas Jerome Newton (Sebastian Roche), last season’s primary antagonist who comes from Over There, wants that box. He enlists Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) – who is really the Olivia from Over There, alias “Bolivia” – to get it back. The creators aren’t wasting any time bringing back the enigmatic Newton. From a story perspective, however, it makes sense that he’d be in cahoots with Bolivia.
To the creators’ credit, you’d assume that you wouldn’t find out what’s in this mysterious box for perhaps a good chunk of the season, leaving the audience to guess that it’s either supernatural or technological in nature. However, you find out midway through the episode that the box releases some kind of ultra-sonic frequency, something that is “silent but deadly,” according to Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), who then advises Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Astrid (Jasika Nicole) to step back a few feet while on that subject. The thief at the beginning who is immune to the box’s powers turns out to be deaf. Quite brilliant in its simplicity, really.
It doesn’t stop there, though. Peter realizes that it’s part of the doomsday device his real father Walternate (also Noble) was working on in last season’s two-part finale… the same doomsday device in which Peter would serve as the human interface to power it in order to destroy the main reality. What’s it doing in this reality is anybody’s guess. But, hey – there has to be some mystery here. The way Peter disarms the component is ingenious. Bolivia fires her gun next to his ears, rendering him temporarily deaf so he can get to work.
There’s plenty of good character moments in this episode. Walter tries to have a heart-to-heart with Peter about why he took him from Over There. Peter isn’t emotionally prepared to listen to it and leaves for Olivia’s place. Peter doesn’t seem to hate Walter like he did upon finding out his true origins last season, but that’s not to say there isn’t some unresolved tension.
Walter and Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) attend the reading of the last will and testament of William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), who died last season when he used the energy from his body to power the device to enable Peter, Olivia (really Bolivia), and Walter to return to their reality. It’s revealed that Bell left Walter in charge of Massive Dynamic, making him the sole shareholder. The directions that can go in!
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Walter as head of massive dynamic...a mad depressed scientist as the main share holder of a multinational corporation, who only wants his son to love him....no way this can go wrong..no none at all. It is going to be great fun watching what he does with the company and watching fringe likely haveing to stop him. Looking forward to it! I love this show so much...great stuff!