Concentrate and Ask Again

You know a show has become more than a simple televisual production when you begin to dream about it. It's exactly what could happen to you after watching this 12th installment of Fringe. The softness of her milky skin. The trembling beauty of her whispering lips. The magnetic curves of her golden hair. Olivia Dunham's profile has reached a rare complexity where the boundaries between fiction and reality seem to have vanished. The last time I was so moved by a performance was probably after watching Smallville's Idol and Hostage starring – out of memory – as Lois Lane. When I thought Anna Torv would never make me forget about Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully this episode finally unveiled the tremendous potential of the triangle between Fauxlivia, Peter Bishop and Olivia. Far from the Manichaean connections we can't relate to the writers have nourished the character development with mature concepts that can only wild the intellect and senses. But Fringe wouldn't be so praised by its audience if it only featured disturbing scenes and heartbreaking moments. Among all its undisputable qualities the wavy writing keeps dazzling the viewers. One episode after the other the dream team behind the show delivers entertaining, smart and amber fluid stories. When the freak of the week is not pure evil it shakes your emotions. It's specially controversial when you know Walter generally gave birth to these tormented creatures. Concentrate and Ask Again's one was in the same vein as the others but with a double-edged twist that should make you care for it even more. The performer was perfect for the job, from its figure to talent. Add the weekly dose of wicked ingredients from body horror to cult references and you get an other pray before your TV UFO. You'll probably consider my brain has French fried but only the ending slightly disappointed me because I think they shouldn't have shown the note Olivia had in her hands. A delicate close-up on her figure would have been more considerate. Otherwise it's only a minor issue and Torv would definitely make a fine Bond girl !

While there is really no such thing as a stand alone episode in this series because, obviously, the characters continue to act on impulses learned from all their experiences. In this one, a CEO gets a package in the mail after attending his office birthday party. When he opens it, a simple rag doll emits a blue powder that invades his bone structure, disintegrating his skeleton. It turns out that there is a single event in a guy's life that led him to seek revenge against anyone who was involved in the making of a chemical substance. Since there were three victims, they have joined to kill anyone associated with this stuff. Walter seeks out a man who was part of an experiment to achieve mind reading. When the plug was pulled on this, a man was left to hear the thoughts of any people within a certain radius. It has left him incapacitated, but they need his help to seek out the culprits. This all plays out in an entertaining way, but, once again, one of Walter's experiments on children has had horrible consequences.

Nina glancing over a Dr. Spock book in William Bell's belongings... Everyone coming here for this, I see you.

When a scientist is killed by a blue dust that grinds his bones up, the Fringe Division investigates the case and suspects a biological attack. The investigation leads them to a former marine that flees but is hit by a car. In coma, Walter recalls his Cortexiphan patient Simon Phillips that is capable to read mind. Olivia, Peter and Walter try to convince Simon, who leaves in a desert area, to help them to locate the terrorists, but he is sensitive to other people since he cannot control his ability. Simon agrees to help and also disclose Peter's real feelings for her.

"Concentrate and Ask Again" is another engaging episode of "Fringe". The lead story of Simon Phillips and his telepathic ability is great, but the subplot about Olivia and Peter feelings is also promising especially after the discovery of Nina. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Concentrate and Ask Again"