We open in a Boston penthouse. It's nice: plenty of open space, shiny hardwood floors, streamlined modern furniture. There's a photo of a youngish happy couple on the sideboard. The man in the photo, Randy, putters around the living room while talking on the phone to his wife, Natalie. He claims he's in the airport lounge, preparing to board his flight, which is a big fat lie. He apologizes for traveling so much, especially with his mother being sick. As he talks, he signs a card emblazoned with a big heart on the front. Aha! Sneaky, Randy, but very sweet. Natalie tells him she's on her way home.

The television, which had been quietly chirping away in the background, switches to static. Randy frowns at it, then tells Natalie they just announced his flight. He wishes her a happy anniversary, then they exchange I-love-yous and end the call.

True confession: Until I found out I'd be recapping this show two weeks ago, I'd never watched a single episode. Since then, I've been taking a frantic crash course in All Things Fringe to get up to speed, and the good news is, I really, sincerely dig this show. On my personal site, I've been recapping a bunch of programs that I'm either pretty neutral about (V, FlashForward, Glee), or that I used to love and now sort of despise (hi, Heroes! Please get better!), so this business of actually looking forward to a show is a refreshing change of pace.

Anyway, one aspect of Fringe that I appreciate is how deaths aren't taken lightly, even though there's always a significant body count. We know Redshirt Randy here is about to die in some freakish, inexplicable, grotesque way, because that's how this show rolls, but the writers went to some trouble to give us a tidy spurt of characterization -- he's the kind of guy who plans sweetly elaborate anniversary surprises! -- so we have something invested in his life and his death. It's a nice touch.

(I promise to never again use the phrase "tidy spurt" in a recap.)

Randy switches off the television. Unseen by him, a shadow passes over the curtains, then the hall lights flick off. He flicks them back on, unconcerned, and tucks the anniversary card into a big bouquet of red roses. The lights go out once more. He flicks them on again, and a swarm of dark particles in the rough shape of a human figure advances on him.

When Natalie arrives at the penthouse, she sees the flowers and the card, which reads, "I hope you are surprised!" Oh, she will be.

Randy sits in an armchair, eyes open, completely still. She mock-scolds him for tricking her, then grows concerned when he doesn't respond. When she touches his arm, it dissolves into ash, clothes and all. As Natalie screams in horror, Randy begins to disintegrate. His head rolls off his neck and smashes into ashes.

Aaaaaaaand we're off.

Broyles sits in a nice restaurant, having a solitary lunch by himself. It seems quite probable that Broyles's entire personal life consists of an endless string of solitary lunches in nice restaurants, with maybe the occasional post-work single malt by himself in an upscale hotel bar on those nights when he wants to live it up a little.

He glances up and sees a cherub-faced boy seated at a table across from him, silently mimicking his posture. Broyles shifts position, and the boy shifts position as well. Broyles peeks at him slyly over the top of the menu, then peers around the side. The boy mimes his actions and breaks into a grin. Broyles grins back. Wow, we really don't get to see Broyles grin that often. It's... seriously creepy, actually.

Broyles's phone rings. He answers it, and all traces of whimsy leave his body. By the time the kid peeks back over the menu at him, Broyles has already taken off.

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Posted in Fringe by Fairchild at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Last Comment: Snootchy Bootches on Nov 12, 2009 07:18 AM.