In Doctor Who, there is a constant debate about whether or not The Doctor’s TARDIS takes him where he wants to go or takes him where he needs to go. I’ve always erred on the side of “needs” because it seems to not just fit with the theme of the show, but also adds a bit of romanticism to each plot thread.
The Dr Who connection to Fringe’s episode ‘Enemy of My Enemy’ is Peter. By the end of the episode it seems that perhaps Peter’s arrival in this Universe was not a happenstance after all, but rather fate.
David Robert Jones is quickly becoming my favorite antagonist in this fourth season of Fringe. His almost pious pontification as he watches his “creation” suffer and die in front of his own eyes and by his own hand was brilliantly done. Bolivia and Blincoln’s reactions were spot on as well.
Then came a bit of dialogue that completely wrecked the awesomeness that preceded it. I never liked the whole Super-villainy move of “If I would do that to something I liked, imagine what I’ll do to you”. It always reeked of desperation and immaturity and quite frankly lazy writing. Watching Broyles then interrogate Jones, knowing this side’s Broyles is a mole and possible shapeshifter, should have been tense and dramatic, but I was still trying to squelch my disgust at that bit of business.
The saving grace is when Peter confronts Jones. The changing look on Jones’ face paralleled by the confidence in Peter’s was really interesting to see. It really made the whole plot theme leap well past just Peter trying to get home and added a new dimension to Peter’s current storyline and Universe.
Then came the revelation that E.R. Jones apparently has moles all over the country (possibly the world) and one activates an aerosol bomb in an active E.R. complete with kids and worried adults. They don’t just die. That would be humane compared to what we saw. We didn’t see any dead eyes, nor hear any bodies thump really. There were some screams and then an E.R. door’s window pane. A hand slaps against it, smears to the side and huge chunk of palm slides off with it. It was gruesome, disgusting, and fantastic.
Walter was in great form in ‘Enemy of My Enemy’ as well. The interaction between Elizabeth (Walternate’s wife) and Walter was heartbreaking. Even though he knew she was the Other Side, it really has to be hard on someone with an already incredibly fractured psyche to see not only another version of his dead son walking about, but also having a version of his dead wife pleading with him to help said son 3.0 out.
The big spoiler (although I don’t know how big of a spoiler it really is when you look at the other episodes all together) was that David Robert Jones (love typing that name) isn’t leading this all on his own. Good ole Nina Sharpe is by his side (via instant messaging) and also Olivia seems to be involved, or at least that is what is implied. “We’re working on her. She’ll be ready soon,” is what Nina types back to David Robert Jones. This could mean Olivia (probably does), or it could mean Bolivia, or even mean Astrid for all we know.
David Robert Jones’ ugly as sin visage is making me think he’s a distant relative of John Bly. Some of the dialogue back and forth is a bit hokey and really does kind of take away from the immensity of the villain and his plot, which is strange because his character completely lends itself to being over the top, but in a way that is almost a nod to it, accepting and reveling in it. Hopefully as Olivia’s place in David Robert Jones’ scheme comes to fruition and more secrets are revealed, the writing will catch up with the potential.
– James Zappie
