Paul Brian McCoy">
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • Q Clearance

      Paul Brian McCoy
      March 4, 2021
      Fiction, PDI Press Writers
    Recent
    • Q Clearance

      Mike Burr
      March 4, 2021
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      psychodr
      December 31, 2018
    • VOICES FROM THE NIGHT: The Living Dead Tell Their Stories

      John E. Meredith
      October 31, 2018
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      April 2, 2021
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      April 2, 2021
    • Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A Review, Comparison, and Breakdown

      Paul Brian McCoy
      March 24, 2021
    • Psycho Goreman (2021)

      Nate Zoebl
      February 12, 2021
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
  • Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A Review, Comparison, and Breakdown
  • Psycho Goreman (2021)
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
  • Promising Young Woman (2020)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Reviews

Fringe 4.03 “Alone in the World”

Paul Brian McCoy
October 13, 2011
Reviews, TV

Writer David Fury (Buffy, Angel, 24) makes his Fringe debut with our first truly Walter-centric episode of Season Four. And while it’s got a lot going for it, it’s also hampered by a “monster-of-the-week” story that strains even the belief of even a Fringe-obsessive like me.

But that’s only at the end. Up until the final few minutes of that plot’s resolution, it’s actually a fairly creepy and effective story of a fungal growth that is slowly gaining sentience. There truly is a fungus among us!

And no, I didn’t have a problem with the fungus effectively developing a gigantic neural network underneath the city. But forging a psychic/emotional bond with a lonely 12 year old was a bit too much. Especially when it turns extra-schmaltzy and we find it was the boy holding onto his connection with the fungus, named Gus by Walter, of course, rather than the other way around.

FUNGUS
Because, you see, as the title suggests, this is all about feeling alone and isolated, which means the rest of the episode was essentially a master class in television acting as John Noble works the entire emotional range of Walter. Strangely enough, he befriends Aaron (Evan Bird) and we learn what happened to the Peters of both worlds.

The rewritten history of this world still has our Walter’s son dying before he can figure out a cure. Then, as before, he discovers the Other Side and Walternate’s dying son. Again he breaks down the walls between worlds in order to kidnap and cure the other Peter. This time, however, the ice of the frozen lake upon which his equipment is set up, cracks and Peter drowns.

Thus setting off the War of the Parallel Worlds.

MILKSHAKE
As the episode draws to a conclusion and the tension is rapidly building, Aaron’s psychic connection to Gus threatens his life, as Fringe Division’s attempts to kill the fungus are also killing the kid. The connection has to be broken somehow, but Walter can’t figure out a way of doing it in the time Broyles (Lance Reddick) allows.

You see, the fungus is spreading and killing people. So Broyles is ready to sacrifice Aaron, and Walter fears a quickie lobotomy is the only way to keep the boy alive.

And for a few moments I thought they might just do it.

That’s how good John Noble is.

LOVE
But his breakthrough that Aaron is the one holding on to the emotional connection makes him realize that he needs to make Aaron believe that he’s not alone; that Walter cares for him and won’t leave him.

So yeah, schmaltzy. But Noble sells it and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t almost cause a tear or two to well up.

But what really brings it all home is what happens afterward.

Aaron is saved, of course, and is taken away with Walter promising to visit soon (I’m pretty sure this is a point that will be immediately forgotten by the writers). Left alone in the lab, Walter realizes that the way to stop his hallucinations (which aren’t hallucinations) of Peter is to perform a little self-surgery with his handy-dandy home lobotomy kit.

Even though we don’t see much of the actual attempt, it’s still gruesome as we hear the light tap tap tap of the hammer on the brain spike. And if Olivia (Anna Torv) doesn’t show up when she does, we’d have nothing but drooly Walter to look forward to next time out.

And as she slowly SLIDES THE FUCKING SPIKE OUT OF WALTER’S FUCKING EYE (!!!) we discover that she’s been dreaming about a guy. And she drew a picture of him. And Walter recognizes him as the guy he’s seeing in reflective surfaces and hearing calling for help.

SPIKE
I will readily admit that the contrived convenience of this revelation by Olivia, which has not been mentioned or hinted at at all in the previous episodes should be a point of contention.

But she did just SLIDE A FUCKING SPIKE OUT OF WALTER’S FUCKING EYE (!!!), so I rolled with it.

Because that’s how Fringe works. It covers its stupid moments with horribly cool ones and luckily I’m easily distracted by shiny objects. Like a FUCKING SPIKE SLIDING OUT OF WALTER’S FUCKING EYE (!!!).

(Visited 25 times, 1 visits today)
Fringe 4.03 "Alone in the World"
3.5Overall Score

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

FringePaul Brian McCoy

Green Lantern (2011) DVD Review
Boardwalk Empire 2.03 “A Dangerous Maid”

About The Author

monsterid
Paul Brian McCoy
Co-Founder / Editor-in-Chief / Dreamweaver

Paul Brian McCoy is the Editor-in-Chief of Psycho Drive-In. His first novel, The Unraveling: Damaged Inc. Book One is available at Amazon US & UK, along with his collection of short stories, Coffee, Sex, & Creation (US & UK). He recently contributed the 1989 chapter to The American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s (US & UK). He also kicked off Comics Bulletin Books with Mondo Marvel Volumes One (US & UK) and Two (US & UK) and PDI Press with Marvel at the Movies: 1977-1998 (US & UK), Marvel at the Movies: Marvel Studios (US & UK), and Spoiler Warning: Hannibal Season 1 - An Unauthorized Critical Guide (US & UK). Paul is also unnaturally preoccupied with zombie films and sci-fi television. He can be found babbling on Twitter at @PBMcCoy.

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Daily Top Ten

  • CitizenFour (2014)CitizenFour (2014) by John Yohe
  • Shakespeare's Macbeth (2010)Shakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Parker (2013)Parker (2013) by Laura Akers
  • Women in Horror: Carrie - Horror Every DayWomen in Horror: Carrie – Horror Every Day by Laura Akers
  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • I'm Free Now – The Incredible Hulk (1988-1990)I’m Free Now – The Incredible Hulk (1988-1990) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Originals 2.06 “Wheel Inside the Wheel”The Originals 2.06 “Wheel Inside the Wheel” by Shawn Hill
  • Batman Begins (2005) ReviewBatman Begins (2005) Review by Kelvin Green
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Dungeons & D-Listers: Curse of the Dragon Slayer (2013)Dungeons & D-Listers: Curse of the Dragon Slayer (2013) by Alex Wolfe

PDI Press Bestsellers

Entertainment Earth

Weekly Top Ten

  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016)All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016) by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and RemorseThe Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about… by Thom V. Young
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
  • Shakespeare's Macbeth (2010)Shakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
Entertainment Earth

Latest Reviews

  • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    April 2, 2021
  • Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A Review, Comparison, and Breakdown

    Paul Brian McCoy
    March 24, 2021
  • Psycho Goreman (2021)

    Nate Zoebl
    February 12, 2021

Latest Columns

  • Beautiful Creatures: Night of the Lepus (1972)

    Dan Lee
    April 9, 2021
  • EZMM 2021 Day 9: Blood Quantum (2019)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    April 6, 2021
  • EZMM 2021 Day 8.2: [Rec] 4: Apocalypse (2014)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    April 5, 2021

INSTAGRAM

psychodrivein

Today at http://psychodrivein.com Beautiful Creat Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Beautiful Creatures: Night of the Lepus (1972)

Night of the Lepus is genuinely a science-fiction/horror in name only.
---
Read more of Dan's article at the link in our profile!

#BeautifulCreatures #NightOfTheLepus #JanetLeigh #RoryCalhoun #DeForestKelley
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 9 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 9: Blood Quantum (2019)

Blood Quantum satisfies all my zombie film cravings and is one of the strongest genre entries in years.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #BloodQuantum #JeffBarnaby #BrandonOakes #ElleMaijaTailfeathers #ForrestGoodluck #GaryFarmer #KiowaGordon #MichaelGreyeyes #StonehorseLoneGoeman
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 8 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 8.2: [Rec] 4: Apocalypse (2014)

Anyway, [Rec] 4: Apocalypse is a perfectly fine zombie movie set on a boat.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec4Apocalypse #IsmaelFritschi #HectorColome #PacoManzanedo #ManuelaVelasco #JaumeBelaguero #ManuDiaz
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 8 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 8.1: [Rec] 3: Genesis (2012)

Granted, [Rec] 3: Genesis doesn’t really break new ground, but it is solid at what it does.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec3Genesis #PacoPlaza  #DiegoMartin #LeticiaDolera
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 7 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 7.2: [Rec]2 (2009)

[Rec] 2 opens with the final shot of the previous film before shifting our focus to a new set of cameras.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec2 #ManuelaVelasco #JonathanDMellor #JaumeBalaguero #PacoPlaza #ManuDiaz
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 7 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 7.1: [Rec] (2007)

[Rec] is a film that puts people in peril and then steps on the gas, refusing to let up until the shocking final moments.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Rec #JaumeBalaguero #PacoPlaza #ManuelaVelasco #PabloRosso
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 6 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 6: Dead Shack (2017)

Dead Shack is not heavy on scares and the zombies are practically an afterthought, but if you like juvenile humor there’s a dark streak to this film that delivers in the end.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #DeadShack #Zombies #PeterRicq #LaurenHolly #DonavonStinson #MatthewNelsonMahood #LizzieBoys #GabrielLaBelle #ValerieTian
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Godzilla vs. Ko Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

If there was ever a film that deserved to be seen on as big a screen as possible, it’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#GodzillaVsKong #Godzilla #Kong #Kaiju #LegendaryPictures #MonsterVerse #AdamWingard #MechaGodzilla #AlexanderSkarsgard #DemianBichir #EizaGonzalez #EricPearson #JulianDennison #KayleeHottle #KyleChandler #MaxBorenstein #MichaelDougherty #MillieBobbyBrown #RebeccaHall #ShunOguri
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 5 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 5: Night of the Seagulls (1975)

While the ending of Night of the Seagulls isn’t a bombastic action-packed finale, I wasn’t as dissatisfied as many other reviewers.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #NightOfTheSeagulls #TheBlindDead #AmandoDeOssorio #JavierDeRivera #JoseAntonioCalvo #MariaKosty #SandraMozarowsky #VictorPetit #KnightsTemplar
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transla Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 376: Watership Down (2018 Netflix mini-series)

Watership Down, of course, is the story about a group of rabbits who search for a new home after their original warren is destroyed by men.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #WatershipDown #Netflix #NicholasHoult #JamesMcAvoy #JohnBoyega #OliviaColeman #GemmaArterton #RosamundPike #PeterKapaldi #BenKingsley
Today at http://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2021 Day 4 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2021 Day 4: The Ghost Galleon (1974)

The Ghost Galleon is essentially another reboot/reimagining of the basic concept of undead, blood-drinking, flesh eating Templar knights with little to no relation to the previous two films.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2021 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #Zombies #Zombies101 #TheGhostGalleon #AmandoDeOssorio
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E15 - Single Handedly Stimulating The Economy

Greg and Jaren discuss who would win in a fight between Snake Eyes and Batman, a wave of new Joe related merchandise, and all their recent purchases from the last two weeks (it was...quite a bit)!
---
Listen to Greg and Jaren's new @anythingjoespod at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #SnakeEyes #Batman #Fortnite #GIJoe
Load More... Follow on Instagram

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Ray
Ray - 3/3/2021
The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and Remorse
Bad review. Ethan doesn’t reject the family or society at the end, he realizes there is no place...
Amari Wolfe
Amari Wolfe - 12/11/2020
Popcorn Cinema: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Don't know why, but the mention of Whammo Air Blasters made me laugh until it hurt. Very nicely...
mega leo
mega leo - 12/5/2020
Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
To torture someone takes a cold kind of sadism. One that exceeds rage or revenge. One that shows a...
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: