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Fringe: Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig




Originally aired: December 02, 2010

Liane Hentscher/FOX

You can shoot my hostage in the head anytime, Pacey.


Right. So. Pacey took that crazypants phone call from some strange woman claiming that Olivia was trapped in another universe and he was all WHAAAAAAA!!! before rolling over and looking at Fauxlivia and being all WHAAAAAAA!!! Fauxlivia asks who is calling at midnight, and he makes up a lame lie about it being a sales offer of some kind. After waiting a couple of hours to make sure Fauxlivia had returned to sleep, Pacey slips out of the bed and rummages around through the desk, looking for that Other Universe ID that she certainly must have left in a drawer somewhere. Finding only a strip of photo booth pictures of the two of them, he resorts to her computer but BLAST IT! it’s password protected because NODOY. Our government isn’t just going to leave sensitive classified information laying around for anyone to see. Come on.

Fauxlivia awakens and asks Pacey what he’s doing up in the middle of the night, and this time he comes up with a more interesting cover story: emailing a friend in Corinth. And like this imaginary Greek friend always says: “Na einai kalytero anthropo apo ton patera toy.” (Translation: “This is a test. I am testing you.”) Fauxlivia is like, “Gazuentite.” And then Pacey explains that the sentence actually means “Be a better man than your father,” and Fauxlivia is all, “OK, well going back to bed now and by ‘going back to bed’ I actually mean ‘grabbing my gun to point at you’,” because she realizes that she failed at his little test, because NODOY. Pacey reminds everyone that Olivia said it to him (as did his mother when he was younger) the first time she returned from Over There. And then as she trains her gun on Pacey, they ask each other a bunch of questions regarding motive and intention and bladdedy blah blah before Fauxlivia tosses Pacey a syringe full of paralysis, and encourages him to use it on himself lest she get all shooty. So he does and then she grabs her computer and leaves. G2G!

So then Fauxlivia hurries over to the typewriter shop to send a message Over There alerting them that her cover has been blown and she’d like to come now, K?

Col. Abaddon and Bishop and some EMTs are all over Pacey’s apartment mostly to establish that they all now know that Fauxlivia is Fauxlivia, Olivia is Over There and that Pacey and Fauxlivia were totally doing it. But! Good news! Fauxlivia took the wrong computer because all MacBooks look alike. True story.

Back at the typewriter store, creepy typewriter store owner has an angry at Fauxlivia that her people have been promising him something — presumably the reuse of his legs — for seven years now. And Fauxlivia has an angry that she took the wrong computer. BLAST IT!

Over There, Walternate and Head Imposternerd discuss the extraction process: instead of bringing a whole bridge this time around, they decide they can exchange the mass of Fauxlivia for the mass of Olivia. Clever! However, Head Imposternerd notes that it would be a shame to not do a little pre-extracting of Olivia’s magical bits and pieces and replace them Indiana Jones style with equal mass, before sending her back, amiright? Agreed! It’s harvest time! Col. Ababbogus enters Walternate’s office to be reminded for the upteenth time over a drink that they are at war, only one universe can survive, saber rattle saber rattle saber rattle. Oh, and Fauxlivia’s coming home. Cheers! But then as Col. Ababbogus leaves the facility, he has to walk by Olivia as she’s being dragged into her cell and that bums him out a little.

Back Over Here, the team meets at the lab where we learn that there’s nothing on Fauxlivia’s computer but information on the Fringe team itself and the cases they worked on together. In other bad news, Fauxlivia spent the time between paralyzing Pacey and wherever she is right now at a military aircraft hangar where they were keeping all the pieces to the Bowflex of Doom that they had dug up so far, and it seems as though she might have smuggled one of the pieces out in her blouse. So, that’s no good. Bishop rues Fauxlivia’s seductive wiles what with her malasadas for Bishop and her “vagenda” she wielded against Pacey. And it’s only then that these yahoos notice that the malasadas Fauxlivia has been bringing to Bishop are from a bakery in Da Bronx. NOW WAIT A MINUTE. Have we all decided to collectively forget that Harvard, which is where Bishop’s lab is, is in Boston and that Boston and New York ARE NOWHERE NEAR EACH OTHER? Harvard Square and Yankee Stadium are three hours and forty minutes from one another. That’s like if Bishop’s lab were in Dallas, and Fauxlivia was all, “Oh, hey, I swung by Shipley’s and picked up these kolaches for you this morning.” Except NOT because Dallas actually has a few Shipley’s. ANYWAY. YOU GET MY POINT. Fringe Team = Not so observant, akshully.

(Also, “vagenda” is awesome.)

So the team, AFTER DRIVING FOR FOUR HOURS, heads to the malasada bakery and finds the typewriter shop which is not a little anachronistic, but A LOT anachronistic which brings me to another digression: why is Typewriter Store Owner always so surprised when a shifter comes in? He’s always “How may I help you?” instead of recognizing that the only “people” that ever come into his shop only are there to use the super-secret room? How many people, really, does he have come in looking to buy a typewriter, or have a typewriter repaired? For laffs, type (ha) in “typewriter stores new york” or “typewriter repair new york” on google and see how many hits you get. Hint: not many. END DIGRESSION. Pacey shows Typewriter Store Owner a picture of Olivia. Or maybe it’s Fauxlivia. Who can say. Typewriter Store Owner denies ever having seen her before, but then Pacey spies his computer on the counter nearby and is all YA BURNT! (WAIT A MINUTE: Fauxlivia just left his computer there? She was all, “Pfft. Who needs it.” and walked away from a MacBook? And then after that happened, Typewriter Store Owner just left it there? For at least four hours? And wasn’t like, “Well, if you’re not going to use it, lady…” Because I’ve got news for you, Typewriter Store Owner: MacBooks? Are much better than typewriters. In many many ways. In short: this is dumb.) So, Typewriter Store Owner shows them the secret room, explaining for the dumber members of the audience that the shifters promised they’d restore the use of his legs. And Pacey, who is half-MacGuyver, pulls out the typewriter ribbon to see what the last thing typed was: …NEEDED. PENN STATION. NEWARK, NJ

Over There, Col. Ababbogus lives by the “it’s 5 p.m. somehwere” rule and is enjoying a little more drinky-drink at a bar where the patrons are watching a newscast noting that it’s the 20th anniversary of the East River Vortex. When he tries to pay, the bartender waves his money away, noting that Col. Ababbogus is a hero. This sends Col. Ababbogus back over to Liberty Island to visit with a beSharpied Olivia in her cell. He thanks her for not ratting him out and for saving his family. Is there anything he can do to make her more comfortable? And Olivia is all, “BISH, PLZ. You came here to make yourself more comfortable. See all these Sharpie marks on my face? They didn’t get here because I was the first of my sorority sisters to pass out after a game of beer pong. They’re going to cut out my brain and some other variety meats and then swamp me for your Fauxlivia.” Col. Ababbogus is all, “But! But! War!” And Olivia sighs heavily and is all “YOU PEOPLE. ENOUGH WITH THE WAR ALREADY. WE DON’T HATE YOU GUYS. BUT IF YOU KILL ME, WE WILL TOTALLY BUST YOU IN YOUR FACE, SRSLY. But! If you can get me to the lab upstairs, we’ll be totally square and we won’t attack you, pinky swear.” Col. Ababbogus, however, is all “O RLY?” and Olivia is all, “YA RLY.” But this doesn’t impress him, so he leaves, just as a nurse arrives with a bunch of terrifying needles to put in Olivia’s back. Interestingly, the nurse is 1. alone and 2. doesn’t have a bunch of burly soldiers to tie Olivia down, which, if you ask me, would seem like an error in judgment. But uncharacteristically and improbably, Olivia doesn’t seem to be putting up much of a fight (because plot!), so what do I know.

Col. Ababbogus decides that he should go on a walk with his wife, because I suppose it’s a Saturday or something, and is all, “On the one hand, we could destroy a universe filled with billions of innocent people. On the other hand, I could stop a war. HARD DECISIONS ARE HARD.” And Mrs. Ababbogus is like, “Yep. So get to it, already.”

So, Head Imposternerd puts a very drugged Olivia on a fancy operating table (complete with breast and butt clamps for some reason), and spins her over so as to begin carving her like a turkey. Now, why she needed to be lightly drugged and not completely sedated is beyond me (well, no, not really: plot!), but before Head Imposternerd can insert the circular saw into Olivia’s back, in comes Col. Ababadass to save the day. Which he does. After shooting Head Imposternerd with sleepytime drugs, Col. Ababbogus spins a sedated Olivia back over and immediately performs a Pulp Fiction on her so as to make her useful in her own escape. Running through the building, running through the building, running through the building, and the two get to the lab to find that Walternate has a new collection of Kortexiphan, somehow, and has drained the deprivation tank. Super. So Plan B is for Col. Ababbogus to take her to Walternate’s Harvard lab and use the deprivation tank that has to be there because plot! Also, so we all remember, Boston is nowhere near New York City. I just feel like I need to keep saying that.

Over Here, Fauxlivia meets up with a male shifter in Newark’s Penn Station, who takes her into the bathroom to inject her with … something. However, they are interrupted by a woman who finds the entire scene alarming to say the least. Meanwhile, Pacey and the FBI arrive at the station just as Fauxlivia and the shifter come sauntering out of the bathroom. Fauxlivia mischievously shoots her gun off into the air to encourage a little panic as she and the shifter dash back into the bathroom. After a bunch of SURROUND THE BUILDING! and TEAM ONE OVER HERE! TEAM TWO OVER THERE! Fauxlivia reemerges from the bathroom with a hostage: the lady who interrupted her earlier. And whose daughter is standing directly behind Pacey shrieking and carrying on and generally making the whole situation that much more shrill and tense. Pacey asks the hostage lady what her daughter’s name is, to which hostage lady says, “uhh … hmm … well … funny story …” and Pacey shoots her in the head because, obvs, she’s actually the shifter. Fauxlivia sighs heavily. AND HERE’S A QUESTION: So how does the FBI explain to the grieving daughter that her dead mother’s face is leaking mercury? What’s that conversation like? ADDITIONALLY, how many folks on the FBI are even privy to this whole alternate universe thing? I assume that since we tested everyone on Capitol Hill for mercury earlier, it’s something of an open secret, but I’m unclear on how many people know about this. Everyone? Do we all know about this? That there are shape-shifting robots amongst us, looking to steal our faces? And we’re not all shrieking through the streets by now?

Later, with Fauxlivia in handcuffs, Pacey tries to ask her about Olivia. Fauxlivia doesn’t know anything, except that she grew to care about Pacey, and he’s like, “LIKELY STORY.” But then, after she’s taken to the police van, some agent tells Pacey that he didn’t find the Bowflex of Doom piece on Fauxlivia, but that he did find that strip of photo booth pictures of the two of them, which I suppose is supposed to mean something. Whatever.

Over There, Olivia and Col. Ababbogus arrive at the Harvard lab where Olivia plops herself in the deprivation tank and shoots herself up with some Kortexiphan. As she’s trying to get her crossing-over on, the feds arrive and shout at Col. Ababbogus, which she can hear inside the tank. Sensory deprivation fail. SMELL YA LATER, OVER THERE!

SMELL YA NOW, OVER HERE! As AsteriskAstrid is tidying up around the lab, because that’s all she’s given to do, ever, there’s a loud bang from inside the deprivation chamber. O HAI, OLIVIA!

Bishop examines some little metal thingamabobs they found in Fauxlivia’s bag, but is unable to place them. Around this same time, the group receives word that Olivia has returned, and is now at a hospital, having suffered some sort of seizure. Just as Pacey is about to rush off to see her, Bishop suddenly realizes what the thingamabobs are: harmonic rods, used to transport between universes! And that’s when there’s some sort of commotion inside the police truck. Sure enough, when they open the door, Fauxlivia is gone, and a mangled and quite dead Col. Ababbogus is inside. Ta-da!

Over There, Fauxlivia is greeted by Jeremy Darling who shows off his scarless skin — like nothing ever happened. OH, IRONY. Oh, and no one seems to know where Col. Ababbogus is….

…because he’s dead Over Here, being stared at solemnly by Col. Abaddon.

Meanwhile, at the typewriter store, some man gives Typewriter Store Owner a needle with which to inject himself. And now he can walk. In exchange, he passes over the Bowflex of Doom piece to Some Man’s delight. And I’m not going to go into a long protracted thing about how it might actually have been a lot more practical to just send some shifters to transform into people who had access to the Bowflex of Doom hanger and take what they wanted rather than putting Fauxlivia in constant peril, BUT WHATEVER. PLOT.

Finally, Pacey visits Olivia in the hospital and is rilly rilly sorry. And she’s all, “you’re the only thing that got me through — you saved my life.” Oh, Livie. You might want to hold off on all the gratitude. Trust me.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this episode that isn’t zOMG IT WAS SO GOOD!!11!!!!!!11! because it really was a plot-advancing episode more than a mythology-advancing one. If that makes sense. And I don’t mean to diminish it by saying that. I just think that there is less unraveling to do in this episode than in most others — Olivia/Fauxlivia go home, Col. Ababbogus is dead. The end.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t a few things worth noting. I, for one, love the new weight given to Mrs. Bishop’s Greek message to her son, to be a better man than his father. Now that we know Walternate is his real father, that phrase means that much more. Love it.

About Typewriter Shop Owner… I hadn’t really considered his disability before, in part because he’s something of a tertiary character. BUT. Symbolically speaking, lameness is interesting. The lame man in literature and myth is usually a character who has had some sort of encounter with the supernatural, with the Godhead. After Jacob wrestles with the angel/God, he is left with a limp, an artifact of having come so physically close to God. Similarly, Hephaestus, the blacksmithing God of Ancient Greece, was left lame after fighting with Zeus. Presumably, Typewriter Store Owner did not become disabled because of anything the folks from Over There did to him, but he did have considerably more knowledge of them, of this supernatural presence than others. Ultimately, lameness is used as a symbol of weakness, very often representing a spiritual deficiency of some kind. And thus, our Typewriter Shop Owner sells out his universe for the restoration of his legs.

And I know I’m beating a dead horse on this one, but I thought it was so interesting that there was a bell very prominently placed on Typewriter Store Owner’s counter, and worked into the framing of the shot. A reference to William Bell?

There were a number of mirrors in this episode — including the one on the back of a spoon that Olivia examines in her cell — the symbolism of which I’m sure you can glean on your own. What I found more interesting was the heavy use of clocks and time in this episode. The episode begins with that late night call, the phone reading that it is 12:21 a.m. (actually, it said p.m. — COME ON, PROPS DEPT.); we then see a clock reading 2:15 a.m.; there was a large old-fashioned clock in the background in the typewriter shop; and there is a lingering shot of the digital clock at Penn Station behind Bishop which changes from 3:59 to 4:00. It’s probably pretty obvious, but it would seem that time will be weighing on the rest of the series, something is maybe counting down, we’re possibly running out of time, perhaps something catastrophic is scheduled to happen at a particular time. In any event, Time!

It was also curious how many needles were featured in this particular episode. I mean, there were A LOT of needles: Fauxlivia gives Pacey the paralyzing injection, the nurse comes in Olivia’s cell with a bunch of needles with which to to jab Olivia, Col. Ababbogus plunges a needle full of adrenaline into Olivia’s chest, the shifter injects Fauxlivia with the harmonic devices, Olivia injects herself with Kortexiphan and Typewriter Store Owner is given a needle full of walking ability in exchange for the device. Am I missing any?

ANYWAY, the point is (zing! needle pun!) I think the needles represent a couple different things, one of which is penetration — but not of the sexual kind, so get your mind out of the gutter, you. They represent Olivia and Fauxlivia penetrating the veil between the two universes, and maybe I’m taking it a bit too far, but I think the needles might also represent Olivia and Fauxlivia having penetrated the feelings of Col. Ababbogus and Pacey, respectively.

Finally, I also believe these injections that are mostly self-administered, interestingly enough, represent Change, with a capital “C.” Each needle represents a significant moment of change for the characters: Pacey injects himself after learning the truth about Fauxlivia; Olivia and Fauxlivia both receive injections which are necessary for them to be able to change over to their original universes; and the Typewriter Store Owner receives an injection that changes him physically. By injecting yourself with something, you are literally changing your chemical state, you could argue that you are a different person after receiving that shot. If you were, you know, going too far with a tenuous metaphor.



The Observer is outside of Newark’s Penn Station.

In the previous episode, the sign over ‘Enry ‘Iggin’s cab read Lingg Eye Group.”

The glyphs spell CROSS.

Fringe airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on FOX. For now.

Categories: fringe
Therese Odell