With such an obvious reference to Philip K. Dick's masterpiece, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Fringe's 4th episode had to be bluedy good or else a horde of angry fans would have tormented its genitors. But after The Plateau I had no doubt that the show had matured and on the verge of finding its equilibrium. Moreover beside hiring experienced directors it seems J. J. Abrams and his gang excel in pairing writers, a winning recipes applied to productions like Smallville and Spartacus : Blood and Sand for example. From top to bottom this installment was a total success. I recall the first season 1 episodes and the appearance of a shapeshifter. That ingredient is as confusing as time travel because it often bring its lot of inaccuracies and twisted arcs. But apparently they have learned to master these morphing creatures. Indeed the writers exploited them to separate the humans from the machines. From emotions to identity the contents was rich and diverse. In The Box Fauxlivia realized how hard it was to shape into someone's body and mind. What define us ? The bond she has to fake with Peter Bishop is even harder to handle considering the history he has with Olivia. At times it almost felt like if she couldn't breath, like in her world. The brain damage is not far once the oxygen isn't flowing anymore. Their guessing game at the restaurant was also quite interesting and everybody should speak body language. Between sensual and heartbreaking scenes they also managed to pull out some fast and furious action scenes. As for the visuals I was slightly disappointed that they weren't as dark as in Blade Runner but the medical sets were well designed and I found the use of silver appropriate. Mixing the futuristic and cliché color with red could depict the penultimate before the beginning of the end, the inevitable war and collision between the universes. One shapeshifter, two shapeshifters, three shapeshifters
A thrilling oneiric experience.