#122: 'Unearthed' (bonus episode)
Wr: Andrew Kriesberg & David H. Goodman
Dr: Frederick E.O. Toye
Synopsis: A teenage girl awakens after an incident leaves her brain-dead... but she now starts reciting submarine launch codes in Russian.
Review: Well. What WAS the point, eh? Exactly what were the network bosses thinking when they decided to air this previously canned reject from season one without really explaining to anyone that no, it doesn't form the latest part of the series' ongoing canon? Sure, it was broadcast on an unusual day, effectively as a 'bonus', but that doesn't automatically make Joe Public, who doesn't really care to check the intricacies of the online Fringe forums on a regular basis, think that it isn't supposed to be taken as the logical follow-on from #210. Of course, there areplenty of signs. Walter and Peter's disregard for each other, for one (well, compared to where they are currently at). Astrid's hair for another. Oh and there's the small matter of Charlie Francis hanging around the crime scene, despite being chronologically dead. Naturally though, the lack of clarity has led to all sorts of outlandish theories, the most interesting of which is that this hour is told from the perspective of the parallel universe which would be a somewhat neat idea if it weren't for the fact that, well, Peter doesn't actually exist in this reality. Ho hum. But anyway, kudos to whomever came up with that one... Abrams and co., you really should take note. It's something of a lovely idea.
Putting aside the absurdity inherent in even airing this without any clarity (and also the issue of exactly why it was omitted from the season one schedule to begin with), one still has to question why they even bothered. It's hardly as if 'Unearthed' is anything particularly special. This is a bog-standard independent hour, bereft of any relevance to the arc plot, from Fringe's early days when the 'curiosities of the week' weren't up to all that much, really. Admittedly, there is a neat little idea at the episode's core and the plot moves along at a steady enough pace to ensure that the viewer isn't necessarily fully aware of what is going on eons before the rest of the characters, but the execution, in places, is hopelessly hamfisted. For starters, the pseudo-science mumbo-jumbo is off the chart here, with Bishop offering patently ridiculous and half-arsed explanations as to how the guy with the ridiculous name's consciousness is able to transfer into the poor young girl's head. Oh sure, Fringe has gone far beyond the plausible by now but we could do without having any 'scientific' explanation at all. It just cheapens the narrative. Call it science-fiction, for God's sake! And then we have the small matter of the teenage girl lapsing into her 'deep man voice' every time the military guy takes over. The actress just can't pull it off and instead of being Excorist-spooky, it's Jeepers Creepers-laughable. And what exactly is the logic behind this anyway? If this happens to her automatically, as a result of the guy taking over, then how is he able to disguise his voice in order to convince Peter that he's her? (A horribly predictable turn of events, by the way). It's something of a niggle, sure, but coupled with the actress' hopelessness, it really grates. When she confronts the woman who had 'her' executed at episode's end, the delivery is horribly awkward and the direction seems to waver in conjunction, as if Frederick Toye's heart just wasn't in it.
Sadly, due to the relatively underwhelming stand-alone nature of the plot, it's rather difficult to overlook these problems. 'Unearthed' may have been a fairly decent bonus for the discerning viewer had the crew cast a better leading guest star, or Kreisberg and Goodman explored something a little more refreshing in their script. As it is, it's disappointingly average. 6.1
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