Entertainment Weekly Gives “August” an A-
While they were very tight-lipped about the plot of the episode — in fact, they hardly talked about it at all — Entertainment Weekly has rated the November 19 episode of Fringe, titled “August,” an A-. However, the only detail given by the review was one that we already knew: September won’t be the only Observer appearing in the episode.
Instead, the review mostly went on to rave about how good the show is, calling it “one of the fastest, smartest, wittiest shows on television now.” I couldn’t agree more.
And as opposed to the early days of Lost, Fringe hasn’t been coy or withholding about the mysteries of the Pattern, that matrix of unexplained phenomena that ties together everything from a man-beast in an airplane bathroom to the more recent Shadow Man, who turned bodies into gray ash. Nearly every hour gives us another chunk of info to add to our big pile of clues and theories. Indeed, one element that receives too little praise is Fringe’s visual style, which pushes characters such as the Observer, or reaction shots from Noble, to the outer rim of the screen frame. There’s rarely a dead, static shot.
Crammed into the 9 p.m. time period, where it must compete with top-rated Grey’s Anatomy and CSI, plus a possible fan conflict with Supernatural, Fringe has been not-so-quietly exceeding all expectations in terms of quality in its second season. As Walter said recently, ”This is not a job for the purple blotter”: Your senses must be alert when Fringe-ing.
That’s only just a portion of the lengthy but positive review of the episode (really, of the series as a whole). Really, it’s just nice to know that even though Fringe’s ratings may be waning, it’s still getting a lot of critical positivity, along with a dedicated fanbase. Let’s hope that’s enough. In the meantime, make sure to tune in (and to tell everyone you know to tune in) to Fringe’s next episode, “August,” on Thursday.