Fringe - Episode 3.12 - Concentrate and Ask Again - Recap by Robz888

We began the latest hour of Fringe in the company of Nina Sharp, who enters the office of William Bell in hopes of learning more about his interest in the First People. Upon finding a copy of the book in a safe, she remarks, "You and your secrets."


If there's one specific Fringe character who encapsulates that observation, it's Nina herself. Over the course of the show, she has gradually morphed from an ambiguous and deceptive caretaker of what seemed to be an evil corporate entity into a definite, though guarded, force for good. And yet, why do I always expect to learn that she's taking orders from a shapeshifter, or Walternate, or an evil William Bell, whenever we see her alone, as we did in "Concentrate and Ask Again"?

But no, Nina still doesn't have any explicitly sinister motivations. We learned--as had always been hinted--that she and William had shared a semi-romantic past (what ever happened to smoochin' with Broyles, by the way?). This makes her just one more character to lose a loved one to an alternative universe. William left to take stock of the other world, and Nina remained behind. She didn't get to see him before his atoms split apart in order to send Walter, Peter, and Fauxlivia back home.

Though Nina is typically the biggest secret-keeper on Fringe, she was outdone this week by a surprise appearance from bowling alley guru Sam Weiss, who was last seen, I believe, in a late season 2 episode. It seems that Sam is the author of the book of The First People, meaning that he is far more important and knowledgeable than we ever would have guessed.

This twist came out of nowhere. Previously, there was nothing to suggest that Sam would play a role in revealing the purpose and origin of the Machine of the First People. So I was a little disappointed by his conversation with Nina. We learned some of what he knows, but I was actually more interested in how he knew it. Does Sam come from the other side? Is he a spy of Walternate's? Is he a descendant of the First People (or is Peter?)? Time traveler? Affiliated with the Observers? Just some guy who knows stuff? I trust Fringe, but I'm little worried they're just going to leave it with that last one and move on.

However, I've been reminded by internet commentators that Sam once remarked to Olivia that he is older than he looks (the First People books appeared to be written a long time ago), which could have been a set up for some kind of Richard Alpert-esque revelation that Sam is definitely not just a normal guy.

What Sam Weiss does tell Nina is tantalizing enough: The Machine is uniquely attuned to Peter, and how it functions will depend upon whether he has chosen our Olivia or the other Olivia. If he chooses Fauxlivia, our side will be destroyed.

Of course, the direction of Peter's heart is very much in question. He brings Olivia coffee the way Fauxlivia likes it. This provided a nice touch of symbolism, too. The more fun, flirty Fauxlivia prefers coffee with cream, while our super serious, darker, damaged Olivia takes it black. Olivia, calculating as always, is aware of these differences, confessing to Nina that she understands why Peter would still have feelings for her counterpart. "She's like me but better," Olivia says. This was a heart-wrenching line, and I continue to believe that Anna Torv is the best thing about Fringe (despite awesome, essential performances from practically everyone else, John Noble and Joshua Jackson especially). Olivia is living out a scenario from a nightmare: She was replaced by a different, superior version of herself. How can someone possibly cope with that?

In any case, I haven't even mentioned the actual investigation of the week, probably because it wasn't very engrossing. Aside from a creepy freakout thing (bone disintegration), the case didn't have much going for it. We learned about the motivations of our bad guys, but we never really got to know them. Nor did Olivia have much trouble taking them down, though I did find myself wondering if some of Fauxlivia's marksmanship had worn off on our Olivia. The shot through the neck looked worthy of Olympic Gold to me.

Walter brings in another Cortexiphan kid in order to read a suspect's mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for more Cortexiphan kids (I'm a "CortexiFAN"!), but Simon's ability didn't seem totally essential here. Doesn't Walter have a dozen different ways to read people's minds?

Simon's biggest contribution to the episode (aside from being a continual reminder to Olivia how Cortexiphan kids are permanently damaged, no longer whole) was reading Peter's thoughts and telling Olivia, "He still has feelings for her." Coupled with Sam Weiss's warning, that spells trouble, indeed.

Question: Why send Simon back to his depressing loner cabin? I was really hoping for Massive Dynamic to scoop him up and help him learn to control his abilities, like they did with Nick Lane and James Heath and Fire Girl. Oh well, I guess.

It must sound like I didn't like this episode. I actually did like it better than the one that preceded it (though not nearly as much as "The Firefly" or most of the season's other episodes). I'm glad that at least someone knows something about the Machine, and I will be highly satisfied if the writers decide to clue us in as to how Sam became so smart. I have no reason to doubt them, though Lost has made me a skeptic toward all-knowing explanatory characters who are themselves never explained.

In any case, I will be thrilled to be back in the alternate universe next week for what looks like an all-out creepfest!

Episode Grade: B

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- Robby "Robz888" Soave