The Road Not Taken (Fringe)
Encyclopedia
"The Road Not Taken" is the 19th episode of the first season
of the American science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
. The episode's story was written by Akiva Goldsman
, and the teleplay
by Jeff Pinkner
and J. R. Orci; it was directed by Frederick E. O. Toye
.
It first aired in the United States on May 5, 2009 on the Fox Broadcasting Company
.
) who "spontaneously combusts
" in the middle of a busy New York street. The team discovers that the victim is the subject of a ZFT experiment to cultivate pyrokinesis
. As they investigate, Olivia experiences "visions" while awake. Walter suggests she is seeing a parallel universe
which has branched off from our own. Olivia and Peter visit an agoraphobic website designer (Clint Howard
) who is apparently aware of William Bell, the drug trials, and the coming war, although his credibility comes into question when he believes himself to be a character in the plot of Star Trek. Howard's character believes he is actually Spock, foreshadowing Leonard Nimoy's appearance in the next episode. Humorously enough, his character's name is Emmanuel Grayson. Spock's human mother's name was Amanda Grayson.
Using information from her visions, Olivia tracks down the victim's twin sister, who only moments before was kidnapped for more ZFT experimentation. Harris is revealed to be responsible for the crimes, and while closing in on him, Olivia gets locked in a room with the twin sister, whose unstable pyrokinetic abilities threaten both their lives. With Olivia's guidance, the woman focuses her energy on Harris and incinerates him. Olivia finds out that the sisters were part of the same nootropic
drug trial that she was as a child. She presses Walter to reveal why he and William Bell were developing "supersoldier
s," but Walter only shares that it was for protection against some impending doom that he regrettably cannot recall. Meanwhile, Walter reveals that the ZFT manuscript was written by William Bell, and that the copy of the manuscript that ZFT uses is missing a chapter dealing with ethics. He locates the original, but the Observer shows up and takes Walter away, cryptically stating: "it is time to go." Nina Sharp visits Broyles to discuss the Observer, and is later shot in her hotel by two masked gunmen using silenced weapons.
, who plays junior FBI agent Astrid Farnsworth, described the episode in a May 2009 interview, "It's about spontaneously combusting. This is the episode I get to get out of the lab. I remember thinking I can't wait to see what the set's going to look like and how they will make it look when the spontaneous combusting takes place. And we get there and it's just smoke on the walls, like a kitchen fire. I thought that was so funny because I thought there were going to be body parts everywhere, like a small explosion. But it's a really good episode, which leads you into the coolest parts of the finale episode."
Fox later aired repeats of season one episodes, including "The Road Not Taken", that featured Twitter
posts by some of Fringes cast and producers.
graded the episode an A-, explaining "For a show that started out being a fairly dour procedural with wacky mad-scientist elements, Fringe has really worked its way into that fantasy/sci-fi sweet-spot, where its own forward momentum makes the ridiculous look likely and arcane mythology seem well-worth the time to sort through and analyze". Ramsey Isler from IGN
gave it 9.2/10, because "the show is definitely at its best when it focuses on its unique and multifaceted mythology, and this episode advanced that mythos with stunning revelations and surprises that should make for a great finale". TV Squad's Jane Boursaw wrote that "things are really, REALLY starting to come together in a big way, which is good, considering that the finale is fast approaching". Television Without Pity graded the episode with a A-. Website blogger io9
listed The Road Not Taken as one of the "crucial" episodes new viewers must watch to get into the show.
Fringe (Season 1)
The first season of the American science fiction television series Fringe commenced airing on September 9, 2008, and concluded on May 12, 2009. The season contained 21 episodes, although only 20 of them aired as part of the first season...
of the American science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
. The episode's story was written by Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
, and the teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
by Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
and J. R. Orci; it was directed by Frederick E. O. Toye
Fred Toye
Frederick E.O. Toye is an American television director and producer. He has directed several episodes of the ABC series, Alias, as well as for the FOX science fiction series Fringe...
.
It first aired in the United States on May 5, 2009 on the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
Plot
The Fringe Division investigates the case of a woman (Jennifer FerrinJennifer Ferrin
-Early life:Ferrin was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She attended Brookwood High where she was the lead in many high school plays and was a member of the choir...
) who "spontaneously combusts
Spontaneous human combustion
Spontaneous human combustion describes reported cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition...
" in the middle of a busy New York street. The team discovers that the victim is the subject of a ZFT experiment to cultivate pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
. As they investigate, Olivia experiences "visions" while awake. Walter suggests she is seeing a parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
which has branched off from our own. Olivia and Peter visit an agoraphobic website designer (Clint Howard
Clint Howard
Clinton "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard. He is also the uncle of actress Bryce Dallas Howard...
) who is apparently aware of William Bell, the drug trials, and the coming war, although his credibility comes into question when he believes himself to be a character in the plot of Star Trek. Howard's character believes he is actually Spock, foreshadowing Leonard Nimoy's appearance in the next episode. Humorously enough, his character's name is Emmanuel Grayson. Spock's human mother's name was Amanda Grayson.
Using information from her visions, Olivia tracks down the victim's twin sister, who only moments before was kidnapped for more ZFT experimentation. Harris is revealed to be responsible for the crimes, and while closing in on him, Olivia gets locked in a room with the twin sister, whose unstable pyrokinetic abilities threaten both their lives. With Olivia's guidance, the woman focuses her energy on Harris and incinerates him. Olivia finds out that the sisters were part of the same nootropic
Nootropic
Nootropics , also referred to as smart drugs, brain steroids, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration...
drug trial that she was as a child. She presses Walter to reveal why he and William Bell were developing "supersoldier
Supersoldier
Supersoldier is a term often used to describe a soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities. Supersoldiers are common in science fiction literature, films, TV programs, computer, conspiracy theories, and video games, but have also made appearances in other related genres, such as...
s," but Walter only shares that it was for protection against some impending doom that he regrettably cannot recall. Meanwhile, Walter reveals that the ZFT manuscript was written by William Bell, and that the copy of the manuscript that ZFT uses is missing a chapter dealing with ethics. He locates the original, but the Observer shows up and takes Walter away, cryptically stating: "it is time to go." Nina Sharp visits Broyles to discuss the Observer, and is later shot in her hotel by two masked gunmen using silenced weapons.
Production
Actress Jasika NicoleJasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole is an American actress and illustrator from Birmingham, Alabama. She is most famous for portraying the character of Astrid Farnsworth in the TV series Fringe....
, who plays junior FBI agent Astrid Farnsworth, described the episode in a May 2009 interview, "It's about spontaneously combusting. This is the episode I get to get out of the lab. I remember thinking I can't wait to see what the set's going to look like and how they will make it look when the spontaneous combusting takes place. And we get there and it's just smoke on the walls, like a kitchen fire. I thought that was so funny because I thought there were going to be body parts everywhere, like a small explosion. But it's a really good episode, which leads you into the coolest parts of the finale episode."
Broadcast and ratings
"The Road Not Taken" was watched by 9.245 million people in the United States, with a household share of 5.6.Fox later aired repeats of season one episodes, including "The Road Not Taken", that featured Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
posts by some of Fringes cast and producers.
Reviews
The episode had generally positive reviews. Noel Murray of The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
graded the episode an A-, explaining "For a show that started out being a fairly dour procedural with wacky mad-scientist elements, Fringe has really worked its way into that fantasy/sci-fi sweet-spot, where its own forward momentum makes the ridiculous look likely and arcane mythology seem well-worth the time to sort through and analyze". Ramsey Isler from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave it 9.2/10, because "the show is definitely at its best when it focuses on its unique and multifaceted mythology, and this episode advanced that mythos with stunning revelations and surprises that should make for a great finale". TV Squad's Jane Boursaw wrote that "things are really, REALLY starting to come together in a big way, which is good, considering that the finale is fast approaching". Television Without Pity graded the episode with a A-. Website blogger io9
Io9
io9 is a blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The blog focuses on the subjects of science fiction, futurism, and advancements in the fields of science and technology....
listed The Road Not Taken as one of the "crucial" episodes new viewers must watch to get into the show.
External links
- "The Road Not Taken" at FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...