Fringe - Season 5 Episode 3 - The Recordist - Recap and Review
To save a child or to save the world? Fringe takes a breather from it's harrowing narrative and offers an intimate conversation on challenging the definitions of heroism and motherhood. Whilst overly moralistic at certain points, Olivia's (Anna Torv) behavioural subtleties and thought process complexities bring a breath of fresh air to the elements of didacticism.
Check out the recap and review below:
"You Are Humanity's Last Hope"
Astrid (Jasika Nicole) and Walter (John Noble) work through the amber to retrieve the video tapes that will piece together a plan to defeat the Observers, but they are all disorganised, and the tape Walter thought should be Video Tape number 1 is actually the 3rd. The tape states directions to certain coordinates but static cuts the footage off just before Bishop states why they need to be there and what they will need. Finding themselves in the middle of nowhere of Northern Pennsylvania, everyone is just clueless as to what to find, what to do until a mysterious child with black scars is seen hiding behind a tree. They try to follow him as he dashes, and as they make their way through the dense woods, Etta (Georgina Haig) increasingly sheds her steely exterior to show her inner appreciation for her mother’s actions and guidance until they are ambushed by a group of snipers, all with black scars.
They direct them to hidden refuge full of people with the same skin texture and as they are being patted down for security, Walter and the original Fringe team are recognized by Edwin, who appears to be the head of the refuge. Walter hopes to find clues of his purpose at this site through him, and Edwin leads him to a nifty laboratory stocked with a database of information, including a concise collection of articles on the Fringe Division. He reveals that the camp is a safe house for refugees from the city, and their mission is to collect as much information in order to document the story and the existence of mankind’s presence for the future generations. When asked about their skin, Edwin explains that it is caused by some chemical discharge in the soil or water. Despite being advised to leave for safety and the prevention of this contamination, Walter insists that he must remain until he finds the answer. Edwin initiates a search in his database.
Edwin's son, River approaches Olivia, Peter and Etta with a set of comics he made devoted to the team. Asking them to sign it, he expresses his admiration, “You didn’t hide like we did. I wish I was in your time. When there were real heroes”. Olivia is initially flattered, but as she reflects on her association with the word 'hero', she begins to feel unsure. Back at the laboratory, Astrid goes through repeated cleaning of the videos and eventually establishes that his job at the camp is to find a mine that will create a large source of energy.
Whilst all of this is going on, Captain Windmark is not far behind as he is getting up-to-date notifications of the team’s whereabouts.
In the mine, Etta finds a deep pit, and finds a rope attached to something heavy. Believing that this may be the material they are looking for, they find a corpse tied to it instead. The corpse displays severe symptoms of calcification/asphyxiation (insert more of Bishop’s unidentifiable terms) and as a result, all its bones are completely brittle and black. Walter determines that the mine may be responsible for the chemical that is affecting the people at the camp and after his usual procedure of tests, concludes that it most likely links with whatever the Observers are injecting into the air. Peter notices the specific way the corpse is tied and remarks that it looks like he though he was trying to retrieve something.
Edwin informs Bishop of the discovery of an article in his database that may help Walter. It documents the capture of a man who was at a nearby secret camp, (not to be confused with the refuge), collecting rocks and waiting for a unnamed scientist, but is later taken by Observers suggesting that what he was about to do was obviously a threat to the future. As they discuss the possibilities behind his capture, Bishop develops the symptoms of the calcification and so does Olivia, but fortunately as they are just developing, they were still easy to excise. Bishop proposes to enter into the pit and asks for thick metals in order to build a protective suit. Etta gets a call from an undercover resistance officer (or if my eyes aren’t fooling me, a very much alive, not headless and functioning Simon who I thought was dead? Anyone can confirm? Simon unfortunately does have a bit of a forgettable blend-in type of look, so I have a hard time recognising him) that they Observers and the loyalists are on their way and that they have to leave. But wait, couldn’t the Observers just teleport and appear out of thin air? Guess they couldn't be bothered this time.
"It’s Not That I Can’t Remember, It’s That I Can’t Forget"
After the conversation with River, Olivia experiences increasing trials of guilt and regret as she ponders about the past and her absence in being a stable maternal figure for Etta. Olivia recalls the day that Henrietta went missing, which presumably continues on from the dream sequences in Episode 1 and 2. She admits that she lost hope in Etta too quickly and presumed her death too early, and laments about the sacrifices and time lost she had to experience in order to try to save the world. Feeling irresponsible, she questions if she was ever worthy of having a daughter. Peter reassures that even though Olivia may not have been physically present for Etta, it does not detract away or devalue the evident love and care she has for her.
Etta informs the team about the Observers’ nearing presence, which sends a wave of shock to the refugees as their wealth and collection of knowledge is under threat of being destroyed. The team insists that the secret behind the rocks is so close and that it would be waste not to carry through with it. River appears to be disappointed by his father's reluctance to help, and indicates that should move forward because has previously made contact with those in the pit, but persuades them that the team won’t be able to find their necessary answers in time. Peter acts as the mediator and reassures Edwin that Bishop is essentially one hell of a genius and he basically always finds the answer. Edwin soon comes to terms with the fact even though he’s got a lot to lose, he’s not afraid to die for a cause, in hopes to make history rather than just recording. Edwin confesses about his earlier actions to his son knowing that he may have seen him as a coward but makes it clear to him that his intention is to inspire his son. He emphasises that no matter what happens, he is willing to make sacrifices in order to do what needs to be done. River appears to understand, but Edwin understands that he won't anytime soon. "You don't, but you will understand. When you have children", beautifully mirroring Olivia's challenging experiences with motherhood. Edwin contacts the people at the camp and barters for metal resources, and they agree on an exchange for copper.
The loyalists track their routes, but it appears Etta has just as impressive technology, including an extreme night vision binocular. As the team and Edwin head off to the camp, Edwin makes a last minute decision not to and hands over the job solely to Olivia and Peter to retrieve the copper.Peter and Olivia are sent to a hidden location but fail to find it, and Peter guesses that that was Edwin’s intention. Edwin decides to take the task into his own hands and travel to the actual camp alone instead. Edwin lied about the availability copper to the team and decided to plunge into the toxic pit unprotected to retrieve the materials for Walter. Similar to the corpse, the toxic environment turns him into a statue of (pretty much) stone.
River takes over Edwin’s duties and records his feat in the database. As the team try to escape, they bump into the same truck the Fringe division drove. But it was driven by a random stranger, who basically stole the truck and still denies it. Now with the necessary resources, (which are still unclear what they are) to lead the team to the next step, they jet off into the distance for the next challenge that awaits.
Whilst I did appreciate the moral of heroism in this story, my main takeaway for this episode is Anna Torv. Anna Torv. Where do I begin with her? I hate to praise someone almost like a repeating recording machine, but she brought a unique depth to the story this week. She finds the way of balancing opposites such as confidence and doubt, determination and fear, through the slightest of gestures, emphasis on certain words and most notably, her signature eye expressions. When I realized at the end of Season 4 that Olivia was going to be a mother, I wasn't sure how that would affect her character, but I love the fact that she's essentially still the same as before. I realise that she has always had a maternal quality and nurturing instinct about her, even when she deals with tough crimes and grizzly dilemmas, and so nothing really changed when she had a child. She is going through the same questions she had before, the same processes of self-discovery and deep inside, she is still that little girl who was subject through cortexiphan trials who never stops to make sense of her existence, find answers and placing meaning to everything life throws at her. I really do appreciate how Fringe has crafted her whole character together. Meanwhile, Etta took a little bit of a backseat in this episode, which is good because I feel that she's understanding that she needs to offer her mother some space to adapt and soak the surroundings without pressure. Certainly I am interested to see how Etta's life without Olivia was, and how she grew up to the person she is. Perhaps that's a whole different story that cannot be fit into just one season, but one can dream! So far, I love that each episode this season has focused on the revelations and development of a certain character (Episode 1: Walter. Episode 2: Etta. Episode 3: Anna), and can I just ask if anyone give Jasika a deeper story, because she really deserves one.