fringe_rewatch | 1x06: The Cure

The first season of any show is bound to waver in matters of quality and storytelling, and Fringe is no different in that department: the events of the first few episodes are disjointed, linked together only because of the underlying themes of science pushed too far that classify these cases as part of the pattern, and by Walter's involvement. As it is to be expected, some of these episodes ring truer that others, manage to touch us, and it has been my experience that these episodes are often those that focus on the characters instead of the plot--it just seems more natural to me, to be allowed to get to know the people we're meant to follow and root for, before we're asked to invest in anything else. It is easier to ignore the fallacies of logic, and the fake science and the sometimes contrived plots if the men and women on screen are people we feel for, people whose burdens we understand.

After the pilot episode, Olivia seemed to fade into the background. Unable to ignore the growing doubts in her mind about her competence, her willingness to be blind in the face of her lover's betrayal, she armoured herself in the lonely figure of the determined investigator while quietly trying to cope with the losses of innocence and life. This episode brings her back to the forefront, allows us to understand her thinking, her motivations, the experiences that have driven her to where she now finds herself at.

It is the first we see of Olivia fighting the urge to hide behind her anger and let herself be vulnerable for the sake of connecting with someone else, if only because she understands the importance of inspiring trust in the people who depend on you, and on whom you may one day depend upon. We also learn the reasons (or at least the plot-related ones) for that anger.

If there is one thing I will always be thankful for in regards to Olivia's characterization, especially in season one, is that they let her be harsh and angry and uncompromising, and they never attempted to make her seem less worthy for it.

Also see: Exploding, Googly-eyed Papayas.

Writer: Felicia D. Henderson (hey, female writer!)
Brad Caleb Kane
Director: Bill Eagles.
Originally Aired: October 21, 2008

Synopsis:
When a young woman explodes inside a diner, the team works to determine the cause. They learn of a second woman who has been turned into a human weapon by an unscrupulous drug company executive and rush to save her before she can be shipped to "the client". Agent Dunham discloses critical information about her childhood to Peter Bishop.

Most Memorable Quote:
OLIVIA: (To Broyles) I understand that you think I acted too emotionally. And putting aside the fact that men always say that about women they work with, I’ll get straight to the point. I am emotional. I do bring it into my work. It’s what motivates me. It helps me to get into the headspace of our victims… See what they’ve seen. Even if I don’t want to, even if it horrifies me. And I think it makes me a better agent. If you have a problem with that, sorry. You can fire me. But I hope you don’t.

Links

Fringe Television Summer Rewatch
IGN
Polite Dissent

Fanfiction:

I'm pretty sure there is some out there, but I can't seem to remember where. Or what it was called. Drop by the comments if you happen to remember.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

wendelah1

Isn't the science on this show nearly always terrible? This is a quote from the comments in Polite Dissent, which I am so happy to have been introduced to by 'rith. "Critiquing the science on this show is like shooting fish in a barrel. I’ve taken to describing it as 'X-Files, only with worse science but a cool mad scientist'." Don't get me wrong, I love nitpicking science and every other element of every show I've ever watched, but bad science writing is the norm in TV science fiction.

I love that Peter doesn't think twice about owing Nina a favor... This is how Peter ends up owing money to a guy whose name is Big Eddie.

Ha ha! Excellent point! I love the idea of the Fringe Cook Book, too.

That's a very self-satisfied smile from Nina Sharp at the end, given that she's creating a monster in Olivia Dunham who will no doubt do the same thing to Nina if Nina ever steps out of line.

Dear Olivia: "Corporate espionage is massively illegal"? Um... no. Some corporate espionage is massively illegal, but most is legal and legitimately part of how business is done. Get off your damned FBI high horse.

Some corporate espionage is legal but most is not, using the commonly understood lay definition of the term. Stealing protected information, bribery, blackmail: all illegal. There is information gathering on rival companies, similar to what the intelligence community does, which is legal. But this is television writing; they're not big on nuance.

Anyway, Olivia isn't on a "damned FBI high horse." She's not a real FBI agent, working for a government agency with a long history of ignoring the civil rights of American citizens in the pursuit of "justice" and "ensuring domestic tranquility." She's a character on a television show. Maybe you could cut her a little slack here?

You think Olivia is or is becoming a monster? Could you define monster, please, and explain how she fits your definition. And how Nina is "creating her," too. Although discussion of the abuse of government power by the Department of Homeland Security and the Fringe investigations is most welcome, (also fanfiction and meta addressing same!), random dumping on Olivia is not.

I liked the scene where Olivia tells Peter about her stepfather. I like that Peter is so patient with her, ready to listen if she wants to listen but not forcing anything, but that he also doesn't let her trample all over him. And I love that Olivia already trusts him enough to share this with him, and not only to share the story but to share how she feels about the story. That seems so far already from where pilot Olivia was on trusting people.

That's probably my favorite scene in the series so far. She can't remember Peter yet, but there is already a bond forming between them. Yeah, trust is a huge issue for her, and Peter, too, which is expected given their childhoods, and their history with Walter Bishop. She's such a strong person. Everyone on the show is always saying that, but it's true. But that strength has come at a great personal cost.

From:

seekingferret

Well, sure, the science on the show is always inaccurate to real world science, but there's a difference between distracting bad science and nondistracting bad science. This will differ for different people, depending on their scientific background, but I found the bad science in this episode particularly distracting.

I'm sorry you think I was trashing Olivia. That was not the intention, but I do think her feelings about Massive Dynamic deserve a little more critical thought. She's crawling deeper and deeper into bed with this corporation that thus far has been involved in disturbing ways with a lot of amoral technology use, and I think it's weird that Olivia draws that line at having knowledge that Massive Dynamic has been engaged in routine investigation of its corporate competitors.

In this episode, ultimately, Nina Sharp uses Olivia as her stalking horse to take down a competitor- and Olivia is aware of this, and she willingly does it because Olivia is relentless in her pursuit of the truth and justice for the underdog. The bargain in this episode may be explicitly between Peter and Nina, but ultimately it's one more brick in the relationship between Olivia and Nina, and my whole point is that Nina has to know that for Olivia the partnership is always going to be secondary to her relentless pursuit of the truth and justice for the underdog. If Olivia ever tumbles to anything evil that she believes Nina has done, she won't stop until she's destroyed Nina, until she's taken Nina out in the same way she took out Esterbrook... That's the monster I'm talking about. With every move where Nina helps raise Olivia's personal stature within the Fringe Division, she's empowering the bulldog who will bring her down if Nina ever exposes herself and Massive Dynamic, with no thought given to any favors Nina may have done for her in the past.

Olivia values loyalty, but she values honesty and humanity more. Loyalty she will trample on, just look at poor Charlie Francis and all the things she's asked him to do.

From:

wendelah1

Okay, sorry. I misunderstood your meaning.

You may be right. I don't see it now but I'll keep watching for this dynamic. I think we agree Olivia is suspicious of Massive Dynamic, suspicious of Nina as well. But Nina Sharp's motives are unclear to me. Is she doing Olivia favors? She's a member of the--oversight committee or whatever it is--that oversees the investigation into the Pattern. She has a higher security clearance than Olivia does at the beginning of the series.

I don't know what's going on with season 1-3 Nina Sharp. Season 4 Nina I have a better handle on. In "The Same Old Story" she objects to Olivia being hired for Fringe. A few episodes later and Nina's trying to hire her for Massive Dynamic.

Olivia is incredibly tenacious, no doubt about it.

From:

casually_cruel

Don't get me wrong, I love nitpicking science and every other element of every show I've ever watched, but bad science writing is the norm in TV science fiction.

Shooting fish in a barrel is right, but I like that Fringe at least tangentially touches on real science. Autoimmune diseases are the 'who the heck knows what's going on' of diseases. They are often incurable, have big impacts on people's quality of life, and the treatments are less than satisfactory. So it makes sense that this patient population would be vulnerable to Evil Corporations. The cure itself is nonsense but I'm willing to accept it for the human aspect the bad-science brings.

From:

wendelah1

I like that Fringe touches tangentially on real science, too. I just wish they'd try a little harder to get it right when they do. I also wish that once in awhile we'd encounter a scientist who isn't crazy or evil--or both! This show is the opposite of The X-Files in that regard. Agent Scully used science to solve crimes and attempt to explain mysteries; in Fringe, most of the crimes are done by scientists. It's creepy.

From:

kerithwyn

in Fringe, most of the crimes are done by scientists. It's creepy.

True, but I always feel that the show is clear that science (or !SKIENCE!, as I like to call this show's version) will save us, too. Or at least, science tempered by human empathy.

From:

wendelah1

!SKIENCE!

Heh.

True, but I always feel that the show is clear that science (or !SKIENCE!, as I like to call this show's version) will save us, too. Or at least, science tempered by human empathy.

Does it though? Everything goes back to scientists making terrible choices. All of Walter's unprincipled experimentation. Crossing over to save Peter. Even the changes in the human genome that led to the Observers. It's all science--all bad--all the time. Olivia wouldn't keep having to save the world if the scientists didn't keep fucking up.

This quote from the pilot is what I think is the theme of the series:
"...suffice to say that we reached the point where science and technology have advanced at such an exponential rate for so long, it may be way beyond our ability to regulate and control them. You should know what you're getting into Agent Dunham. I would say this to my own daughter - be careful and good luck" - Nina Sharp

My husband thinks it's a battle between good and evil with science as the battlefield. He thinks Walter's mistakes were a result of hubris.

From:

estella_c

Well, as someone somewhere pointed out, Walter is IN FACT a mad scientist, as opposed to just a nefarious test-tube jockey. I have been accused of not believing in science (because I believe in God) but I do, like all sane people. I suspect, however, that it has reached that highly expensive technological point where it does as much harm as it eliminates.

But this is entertainment TV, and in the grand tradition of old English majors I prefer fantasy. Some of the crazy ideas in Fringe are indeed entertaining.

From:

estella_c

Did Olivia know Peter as a child? I didn't remember that.

I wish they had been consistent in making Peter a real badass with real badass issues. Somehow, hating his father for going into an asylum seemed kind of superficial. It was a very nice scene when he listens to Olivia's horrible history, but on the whole I would prefer him with a tougher carapace. Particularly as he's destined as the love interest.

Of course there's that whole not believing his parents are his parents issue, but does he remember that even?

Forgive my lapses. It's been awhile.

From:

wendelah1

Well, they didn't "know each other" know each other, but they met in this tulip field one time in "Subject 13." We won't get to that for quite awhile yet, 'cause it's in season three. OT: Three is my favorite season so I've watched it from start to finish at least three times already. It's the only season I own on both DVD and Bluray. My husband gave me the Bluray for my birthday because he knows I love it so much.