Television Review: Safe (Fringe, S1x10, 2008)
Safe (S01E10)
Airdate: 2 December 2008
Written by: David H. Goodman & Jason Cahill
Directed by: Michael Zinberg
Running Time: 49 minutes
The tenth episode of Fringe, titled "Safe," is a watershed moment in the series' trajectory. It was the precise juncture where the coherent narrative content of the show began to crystallise, with disparate elements of the puzzle finally aligning into a compelling whole. By simply abandoning the procedural Mystery of the Week formula for the sake of a broader mythology arc, and bolstered by high production values, this episode stood out with its quality and impact. It signalled a shift from episodic curiosity to serialised storytelling, establishing Safe as a critical turning point that set the tone for the remainder of the season.
The episode begins with what initially appears to be a classic cold open, but it immediately points directly back to content established in previous episodes. We witness a gang of robbers, which notably includes the FBI Agent Loeb, utilising a sophisticated device to disrupt the atomic structure of a bank vault wall, thereby allowing solid objects, including people, to pass through. This allows them to breach a deposit box in a Philadelphia bank with ease. However, the breech in the wall is unstable; apart from causing dangerous radiation, it can close very rapidly. Tragically, one of the robbers (Angel David), is a fraction of a second too late. He becomes stuck in the wall, and in a chilling display of Loeb's ruthlessness, he shoots the victim in cold blood before the rest of the gang escapes.
Fringe Division is subsequently called to investigate, with Broyles briefing them that this marks the third such robbery where safety boxes were stolen by someone penetrating walls without leaving a trace. Olivia immediately recognises the victim as Raul Lugo, a US Marine officer with whom she served. Yet, when she visits Lugo’s ex-wife, Susan, played by Rosa Aredondo, she discovers a shocking twist: the memories of Raul Lugo actually belonged to John Scott. Meanwhile, at Massive Dynamic, Nina Sharp learns that the corporation, which has been keeping Scott's body in stasis, desperately needs his memories—which are somehow retained within Olivia's mind.
Peter and Olivia later uncover that the stolen boxes actually belonged to Walter, and that he had deposited them 23 years ago. He has used false names to obscure his tracks, but when his memory finally fragments into place, the answer lies in a desperate situation he found himself in regarding Peter. Walter had been struck by a rare and incurable disease. The only person who could have cured Peter had died in 1936, prompting Walter to create a special machine capable of traversing space and time in a bid to bring the doctor back. However, when Peter miraculously healed naturally, the machine became obsolete. In a moment of profound irony and guilt, Walter hid the machine in different locations and filled safety deposit boxes with its components, unable to face the reality of his failure.
Olivia, utilising leads through VA hospitals, tracks down another ex-military veteran, while the FBI nearly catches the gang in the midst of a robbery. One gang member is captured and, under duress, eventually gives up his comrades, but by that time, the plan has been fully put into motion—the machine is set up at Little Hill, Massachusetts. Simultaneously, David Robert Jones, the series' primary antagonist, executes Mr. Kohl (James Frain), his attorney, to utilise his suit and various other objects, successfully managing to teleport himself from Frankfurt prison directly into Massachusetts. Olivia, who was attempting to reach Little Hill, is stopped and abducted by mysterious assailants. The episode concludes with Broyles asking Nina Sharp if her people had anything to do with the abduction, to which she denies, while Jones asks Loeb about Olivia Dunham, whom he has previously requested via Kohl.
Safe is a very good episode that starts with an exciting and impressive scene and, unlike almost all previous Fringe episodes, ends with another exciting and impressive scene. It maintains a level of tension that rarely wavers, proving that the series could balance its procedural elements with high-stakes drama effectively. The cliffhanger here does not look annoying or unnatural; the story is so complicated that its proper resolution simply would not fit into a single episode, necessitating a split narrative that propels the audience forward.
Many of the critics and cast members, including Lance Riddick, would point to this episode as the definitive turning point, when episodic procedurals began to give way to longer, serialised storylines and complex character exposition. The episode strays away from the established formula not only by firmly confirming Jones as the series' supervillain but also by having a renowned British character actor, James Frain, appear on screen only to be quickly disposed of as a "redshirt"-like side character. This suggests a confidence in the storytelling authority of the showrunners; they were willing to sacrifice star power to emphasise the ruthlessness of the villain and the immediacy of the threat.
Ultimately, the importance of Safe for the remainder of the series cannot be overstated. It bridges the gap between the mystery of the week format and the epic, serialized narrative that defined Fringe in its later seasons, proving that the show was capable of handling grand, interconnected storytelling.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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