Television Review: In Which We Meet Mr. Jones (Fringe, S1x07, 2008)
In Which We Meet Mr. Jones (S01E07)
Airdate: 11 November 2008
Written by: J. J. Abrams & Jeff Pinkner
Directed by: Brad Anderson
Running Time: 50 minutes
Executive producer Jeff Pinkner famously the first six episodes of Fringe as a prologue, after which the series would advance to the next chapter. This framing device makes the seventh episode, In Which We Meet Mr. Jones, significantly more important than its predecessors. Not only does it advance the overarching plot, but it also begins to explain the general premise of the show. In a typical Lost-like fashion, the episode provides answers that inevitably open up more questions, keeping the audience hooked. A crucial part of this narrative shift is the introduction of a character set to become something of a recurring archvillain, a tease that is immediately signalled by the episode’s very title.
The plot kicks off with a cold open that feels slightly un-Fringe at its very beginning. FBI agents, led by the eager Mitchell Loeb (played by Chance Kelly), conduct a raid in Weymouth, Massachusetts. The operation yields nothing, but as they brief Broyles about this fiasco, Loeb suffers what appears to be a heart attack. He is rushed to hospital, where doctors perform an autopsy and are amazed to discover a large parasitic creature attached to his heart.
The parasite cannot be removed without killing the host, so Fringe Division is called to investigate and possibly find a solution. Loeb is brought to Walter’s lab, where Walter analyses the creature’s DNA and concludes that it is artificial in origin. The DNA has been deliberately coded to spell out "ZFT", which Broyles recognises as the acronym for a secret organisation involved in fringe science and possibly behind The Pattern. This leads the investigation to one of the persons associated with it, David Robert Jones (played by Jared Harris), a biochemist currently in prison in Frankfurt, Germany.
As Loeb’s condition worsens, Walter delivers a stark ultimatum: Loeb has 24 hours to live, and they will need an antidote to the parasite quickly. In a desperate bid to buy time, Olivia flies to Germany. Her goal is to arrange an interview with Jones, a task she undertakes with the help of Lucas Vogel (Billy Burke), a US diplomat with whom she had a romantic past. The interview is arranged, but under strict conditions. Jones offers co-operation only if he receives an answer to a very specific question addressed to a person named Joseph Smith (Ian McLaughlin). Unfortunately for the team, Joseph Smith is killed by FBI agents when he pulls a gun on them.
However, Walter, working in desperation, finds a way to keep the dead man’s brain wired to Peter’s brain, thus allowing Peter to answer to Jones’ question while pretending to be Smith. Despite enormous difficulties and significant damage to Smith’s brain, Peter provides the answer "Little Hill", which is sufficient for Jones. In exchange, he gives the ingredients needed to help Loeb. Remarkably, the FBI agent recovers, though his conversation with his wife Samantha (Trini Alvaardo) suggests that he knows more than he was telling his superiors. He is revealed to be another, high-clearance mole within the FBI.
In Which We Meet Mr. Jones is one of those episodes of Fringe that benefits a lot from its frenetic pace. The narrative does not allow the viewer to pause, dwell on the content, or discover details that might otherwise seem implausible or cliché. In this particular instance, this lack of time leads us to accept Walter again using the ability to talk to dead people as a solution to problems without much questioning, which is becoming a bit of a trope. Furthermore, Joseph Smith very conveniently takes a "suicide by cop" route, which only serves to make things more difficult for Fringe Division and make the plot resolution more dramatic. The name "Wissenschaft", a word literally meaning "science" in German, used for the prison, also looks like a too direct reference to the audience, lacking subtlety.
On the other hand, the episode is well-directed and well-acted. It contains few quite character-driven moments, especially when it comes to showing that Olivia had a romantic history before John Scott. The scenes with Billy Burke inject a necessary human element into the high-stakes science fiction thriller.
Jared Harris, one of the more prolific character actors of our times, is great as quiet and menacing Mr. Jones. At this point, Jones is still an enigma—a person that can be a Mabuse-like crime supervillain and master manipulator, a simple cog in a much larger machine, a reluctant helper of the protagonists, or maybe a combination of all three things. Harris captures this ambiguity perfectly, delivering a performance that is both intellectual and unsettling. While the episode leans heavily on genre conventions and relies on Walter's eccentricities to drive the plot forward, the strength of the performances and the intrigue of the villain make it a solid instalment in the first season.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo
Substack https://draxster.substack.com
LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax
InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9
!ALIVE !HEARTBEAT !LOLZ