Fringe (Season 1)

Season 1 of Fringe is a well-crafted first season for the show with a strong cast, some intriguing mysteries, and an intricate structure, even if it comes at the cost of a slow start.

Fringe is about the titular Fringe Division, composed of Olivia, Peter, Walter, and Astrid, who are tasked with dealing with odd occurrences known as The Pattern. Throughout the season, there are plenty of mysteries and plot threads, like the criminal David Robert Jones, the mysterious corporation Massive Dynamics, and Olivia's connection with her dead ex John Scott. All of these threads weave in and out through the course of the season, with plenty of mythology episodes that pay them off, especially the stellar finale. It's like the X-Files in that aspect, but pretty much every thread actually matters this time. 

The cast of characters is also excellent. Right from the start, they have a strong dynamic that carries the show even through the duller monster-of-the-week episode. Everyone has well-defined relationship to each other, and pretty much the whole cast is likable, from the skeptical Peter, to the quirky Walter, to the intense Phillip Broyles, to the manipulative Jones. The only character I didn't like was Sanford Harris, the obstructive bureaucrat who appeared in the second half of the season and dragged down the show pretty much every time he appeared.

This first season of Fringe did have some issues however, as the more monster-of-the-week episodes were far less compelling than the mythology episodes that actually furthered the plot, raised questions, and tied up loose ends. In addition, some storylines like the John Scott connection were not all that compelling, with a subplot about Peter's shady past being dropped completely. The first half of the season was also very slow, as it took until Episode 10 for the myriad of seemingly disconnected plot threads to be weaved together. I also find many of the cases to be a bit overly gory and terrifying, though some of them are fascinating.

Season 1 of Fringe had a lot of strong episodes, however, especially in its second half:

Safe: This was the first episode that showed me just how excellent and well-crafted this show could be. Tons of questions were answered and weaved together incredibly well. There was a tense cliffhanger about Olivia's abduction, and the focus on a bank heist added a lot of fun moments to the episode.

Ability: Similarly to Safe, Ability delivered a lot of interesting answers such as the reasoning behind Olivia's wire tap, what ZFT is, and whatever happened to Jones after he escaped prison. The case-of-the-week is also terrifying, but in a very good way. The reveal about Olivia's cortexiphan was a fascinating addition to the series.

Bad Dreams: This episode took a unique concept about Olivia seeing murders in her dreams and executed it very well, while also adding in a ton of neat cortexiphan lore for good measure.

The Road Not Taken: Another fun case involving pyrokinesis culminating in one of the most satisfying moments in the season, with Harris's painful death. This episode also introduces alternate realities and ends with a buttload of cliffhangers for the finale.

There's More Than One Of Everything: The season finale absolutely blew me away with the amount of ground it managed to cover. It was slow and tense while managing to resolve a ton of major mysteries that raised the scope of the entire series. The alternate universe reveal was great, but what really surprised me was the reveal that Peter is technically dead. I like how the episode allows you to piece together what truly happened with Peter rather than telling you directly. 

Overall, Season 1 of Fringe was an incredibly satisfying and well-crafted debut season for the show with some strong characters and a compelling mythology. It may suffer from a slow start, weak standalones, and shaky storylines, just stick with it and I promise you will be immensely rewarded.

3/5 Stars