Reflections: Fringe 3.01 "Olivia"

"I am not who they say I am."
"I am not who you think I am."

And in the end, is she wrong?

Fringe's third season premiere "Olivia" absolutely delivered on the promise of the S2 finale. Though the procedural elements of the show are still kicking, they have obviously taken a back seat to the show's mythology -- which exploded with purpose and dramatic power in the S2 finale "Over There".

Now we get our first real look at the other side (henceforth known as Red Universe, since the show will be using the red title credits to denote it as the primary setting for any given episode this season) and it's... a different world. I love that the whole episode was focused exclusively on the hunt for Olivia after she escapes from Liberty Island. In one sense, the episode is thus defined by Olivia's desperate search for the familiar -- struggling to maintain her memories, her sense of self. And the first indication that all is not well for her anymore is the oh-my-god-so-f**king-pretty scene in the gas station bathroom. That was a shot that, if not done or supervised or given any input at all from Abrams himself, was most definitely inspired by him. She hides from the camera, inside the stall, because she refuses to embrace the reality of her situation -- but we understand as we hear her break into tears.

In another sense, the episode is defined by the empty space around her - the canvas upon which the show paints the infinite impossibilities described by the show's advertisements. Outside the Opera House (which is about to be "ambered" preventing Olivia's escape route to her own universe), protesters are still on about releasing the people from the amber during that incident several years back. Show Me cards are the new identification, though they resemble RFID in several ways. Advertisements for day trips to the moon flash on flickering billboards -- classic sci-fi tropes (both the idea that one day the moon will just be another country we can visit at any time and the concept of digital billboards that shift between various advertisements) at work in a humorous and meaningful way.

Is Olivia's mind like that billboard? Can she flick back and forth between memories? Are they integrated a la Connor towards the end of Angel's fifth season? Or -- shocking proposition -- is the old Olivia gone forever? Is she really not who we think she is?

So few shows can use the phrase "infinite impossibility" and truly mean it. Fringe is a show that started as a somewhat timid X-Files copycat but transformed into a sci-fi juggernaut, carefully feeding us incredible ideas while grounding them in a human character. And not just Olivia -- goodness, I haven't even written about the cab driver! Henry played so beautifully off of Olivia, capable of recognizing the situation both of them were in, but never really putting it into words. He does, however, give us words to think on, words that will possibly guide Olivia back to her old self, but are definitely an integral theme of the show: "Sometimes you gotta believe in what you can't see."

Welcome back, Fringe. I missed you.