503: 'The Recordist'
Written by Graham Roland
Directed by Jeff Bennett
Synopsis: The Fringe team meets with a group of humans who have taken refuge in
the forest and seek to preserve humanity's history any way they can.
Verdict: After the whizz-bam suckerpunches of the season's first two hours, you'd
be forgiven for thinking that 'The Recordist' is a bit of a
slow-burner. Graham Roland's script is, at times, more akin to one of
last year's 'case of the week as metaphor for the arc' episodes, wherein
a standalone menace (or, in this case, infection) ties into the
on-going narrative and moves it on a few paces, albeit cautiously. And
this isn't necessarily a bad thing: the tree people, as I'm going to
have to call them, are a pleasant touch, further establishing the extent
to which the Observers' invasion has decimated the planet and thereby
intensifying their credibility as a threat. The relationship between the
group's leader and his son is also rather touching (the kid, notably,
is excellent) and the knock-on impact this has on Olivia and Etta is
much welcome.
There are a few niggling plot points, however: it
seems a little implausible that the meticulous Observer horde would
overlook this particular area of woodland for so long, however remote it
is. The leader's sacrifice is also a little stilted and feels less akin
to his character than the moments in which he professes to being
scared. And then there's the risk of infection to the Fringe team which
rears its head for a minute or two to give us a nifty mid-episode
cliffhanger and is then effectively resolved, with no further mention
for the rest of the hour. With a little tightening of the script, these
problems could've been ironed out but as it is, they detract a little
from the overall quality of the episode. Still, by no means a bad effort
and quite possibly a breath of fresh air from the frenetic pace of the
rest of the season. (7)
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