Fringe (TV Series) Amber 31422 (2010) User Reviews

The Quarantine and Crossing the Universes.

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 10 March 2017]

In the parallel universe, a man releases his twin brother from an area in quarantine, removing him from the amber. The Fringe Division investigates the case that is classified since The Secretary does not want that the population learns that the family and friends are alive enclosed in amber. Olivia interviews Matthew, who is the twin brother of Joshua, and suspects that he is lying. Meanwhile The Secretary lures Olivia and convinces her to be submitted to n experiment while she has daydreams with Peter.

"Amber 31422" is another engaging episode of "Fringe" where the viewer leans what happens in the quarantine. Olivia seems to be recovering her memory using the image of Peter and her ability to cross the universes. The conclusion is promising. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Amber 31422"

Magnetic amber ; inspiring and puzzling twins driven story ; nice visual effects, charismatic acting, intriguing character development and fascinating wicked nature

[igoatabase · 9/10 · 15 January 2011]

Lucky the ignorant. At the end of the season 3 premiere I had no idea what happened outside the building right before Olivia tried to enter. Amber, sweet Amber. Silly me, I thought it would be about a woman. But the amber is actually a technology invented by Walternate to prevent the parallel universe from collapsing on itself because of the fringe events. The people trapped in it almost looked like insects fossilized by an ageless tree resin. But things are not as natural as in Jurassic Park and the orange beauty had a secret of its own. Sadly they decided not to throw raptors in the mix even if it would have definitely been funny. However when the Fringe headquarters went red because of an anomaly my mind instantly jumped to Primeval. So fans of these productions should feel right at home.

Otherwise the show had wild cards of its own and playing its game was puzzling. Indeed what could be better than a bank robber with a twin brother ? Add wormholes, Olivia's ability to cross over and you get an other paranormal journey. Some scenes also featured well rendered visual effects even if it seems Peter's appearances will never get the creative treatment they deserve. They decided to film these scenes like if they were real. A deliberate decision I suppose but I can only regret it. However it's still a minor issue compared to the show numerous qualities. Acting is one of them and John Noble is quite convincing as Walternate. It was nice to see him back at the labs after what he said in The Plateau. So I'm glad they didn't do the same mistake as in Caprica where experiences were ran by a nerd while Daniel Graystone the evil genius was cooking diner. An other talent we can count on is Lance Reddick. His portrayal of Phillip Broyles, Fringe division head, is relatively inexpressive but definitely charismatic. It makes him even more enigmatic and blurs the lines we're supposed to draw. Is he really rooting for Walternate and his elaborate strategy ? When will he know that Olivia has doubts about her identity ? These questions were raised right when we learned about these plot lines and the writers were wise enough to leave some breadcrumbs regularly.

Last but not least one of the most fascinating dialog was probably between Walternate and his assistant. Nature is not about good and evil. It's defined by balance and imbalance. He sees Olivia as the key to close the door between the universes, to seal their fate for the greater good, even if it leads to the extinction of the Prime world. Amber, bitter Amber. What are your strengths and weaknesses so I can free you from yourself ?

How Can They Keep It Up

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 8 November 2023]

It thought for a bit that things were getting a little stale. That is, the situations were static. Not uninteresting; just not moving on. But the writing and scripting is so wonderful and this episode reveals the cruelty of this alternate universe. The secretary wants balance. Right. He wants to be the emperor of a whole new world. We are shown the horrors of being embedded in amber, a unique way of stabilizing an area. Imagine for a minute what it would be like to be stuck for an eternity with thoughts continuing in your mind. Mostly, the strength of this episode is the original Olivia facing her ghosts. Well played.

hoping this review never gets read...

[A_Different_Drummer · 10/10 · 8 September 2015]

... writing this review from the future, 2015, 5 years after this episode aired, where I am re-watching the whole series, in sequence.

Rapidly becoming one of my favorite series of all time. This episode hypnotized me beginning to end, beautifully playing the suspense of the doubles and the parallel universes.

which leads me to the point of the review. It is not easy doing a multi-year hit series -- even if your name is JJ Abrams and you are considered a god among your peers in tineseltown.

Actually (here is an experiment that even Walter would approve of!) I am re-watching three Abrams' series alternately and in sequence -- ALIAS, POI and FRINGE. (Don't ask -- you would need to talk to my shrink)

Here is what I have noticed. Even the big boys can get it wrong. Alias, in many ways the prototype for the Abrams formula that followed, was really just nuts. It was pretty, it was fun, crazy things happened but the development was all over the map. In other words, the viewer had to become a little crazy to enjoy it.

POI (still in production as I write this) had one of the strongest first years of any series I have ever seen but (explained in my reviews of POI which many fans don't like) the production team became self-conscious about their own formula and changed the whole arc mid-stream into some sort of Terminator AI thing. As I write this, the series is becoming a little unglued but, trust me, the fans will be the very last to find out.

Which brings me to Fringe. Could this be the one that got away? Could JJ have stumbled on the template that got it right -- write strong characters, my son, and the rest will follow, build it and they will come -- and then lost it? Just asking...

Olivia is a better Fauxlivia than Fauxlivia

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 28 April 2012]

She has regard for people, more than than Red-'Verse Fauxlivia. She cares about her partners, she actually cares about the two subjects of her investigation: Shawn and twin Aaron Ashmore as "Matthew and Joshua Rose." In the beginning of this Ep, two men are shown cutting a 3rd out of an Amber Block. It is soon revealed that one of the men is identical to the man frozen in Amber - And these two men escape while the 3rd man is trapped.

I never knew Bobby "Iceman" Drake from the X-Men franchise had a twin brother! This was a huge shocker to me, and ya can't really tell them apart here. But it is an interesting Parallel - "Iceman" can make blocks of Ice - Joshua Rose works with Blocks of Amber. Ice, Amber, Ice, Amber.

Basically, this episode is about Identities. As much as it is about Matthew and Joshua Rose - Joshua the Bank Robber and Matthew the married family man - This is about Olivia being Brainwashed by Walternate into believing she is Fauxlivia. Which is a way for Walternate to take advantage of the brainwashed Olivia in order to get her Cortexiphan Secret. And so as this case goes on, Walternate and Brandonate do tests on Olivia, they put her in the "Altered States" Tank and she crosses over, which initially seems like a unique experience until Peter starts appearing and telling her she had done it before.

Meanwhile, Olivia does Fauxlivia's job much better than Fauxlivia does it. The Fauxlivia in Seasons 2-3 had a mean streak until that was changed by the birth of Henry Bishop. The Fauxlivia in Season 4 never shot a guy in cold blood Like Fauxlivia does poor deaf Joe in "The Box" - At least this is never referred to or shown. But we have seen in just the short time Fauxlivia has been impersonating Olivia that she is not a nice person. But, she's a more accessible, more likable "Olivia" - If only Peter could see it, but she keeps deflecting him when he notices things that are way out of character.

And so Olivia-as-Fauxlivia is being Nagged by an internal "Peter" - To the point where she grabs a bottle of Pills. But that helps not much. It is actually Peter's internal invasions that assist Olivia in figuring out that the Rose Twins had Switched, then Switched back.

It had not been Joshua Rose that had been Trapped in Amber, but in fact his brother Matthew. And as we've seen that "People Trapped in Amber had been ruled Officially Legally Dead" - If this were to get out no peace would ever descend on Matthew Rose' Family.

We also see that Joshua Rose had technology similar to the machine that Mitchell Loeb used to steal Walter's "Transporter."- Does it seem to me that people in the Alternate Universe, are just smarter than people on this side? Maybe because they have more toys to play with.

We have these things all working to drive Olivia nuts - But in the end, she, as well as Joshua Rose - do the right thing.

This is the epitome of great Fringe writing - Always there are Parallels. The Rose Brothers - Olivia and Fauxlivia. Olivia ultimately has the same dilemma to solve as does Joshua Rose: And both ultimately, keep their secrets - For Now.