Fringe: Enemy of My Enemy

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Its an expression used when those at war with each other yet share a common threat. Setting aside their differences or conflict and joining together to stop a mutual adversary. This week's Fringe makes use of the famous proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" after the appearance – or reappearance if you want to get technical – of David Robert Jones as the series new villain.

In "Enemy of My Enemy" Peter is on his way back to the regular universe when Bolivia and the alternate Lincoln bring in Jones into Fringe Division custody. Jones begins make the Fringe team jump through hoops with a list of demands or his shape-shifters would start mass public killings. Peter becomes the wrinkle is Jones' plan, as Peter was not a factor he counted on, yet Jones is still released before more innocent people die. With Jones on the loose, and his intensions still a mystery, both universes' Fringe Divisions team up to track him down before there are any more deaths on either side.

David Robert Jones doesn't waste any time to show he means business as the new bad guy in the picture. Jared Harris (who plays Jones) was an instant fan favourite back in season one and his return because of the new time-line paradox has already proven to be an exciting addition to the show. This version of the Jones character has many similarities to the one from the first season in that he is also physically damaged and scared from crossing over too many times. The main difference this time around would have to be Jones' secret informants in the alternate Broyles, his gang of shape-shifters, and one other big character shown at the end of the episode (I'll get to that later). Having moles within both universes' Fringe Divisions already makes Jones a greater adversary and should make for some more great episodes to follow since he has shown he has no problem getting blood on his hands.

This episode, as a whole, flowed together well despite multiple transitions back and forth between universes yet it still had some great stand-alone scenes. The first had to be the interrogation scene between Jones and Peter. Up until that point in the episode Jones showed he had the upper hand over everybody but when Peter walked in he became a factor Jones never planned for. The two had a brilliant exchange, even if it was short lived, and I look forward to more possible one-on-one confrontations between these two. Jackson particularly had some great moments as Harris' character tried to tell if he was bluffing or not.

The second great stand-alone scenes were unaccepted moments between the regular Walter and the alternate version of his wife, Elizabeth. These scenes took up a good chuck of time in the middle of the episode, while everything with Jones was going on, yet delivered the most moving moments so far this season. Both John Noble and Orla Brady (who plays Elizabeth) were in top form as Walter is essentially forgiven for the sins of his past whether he thinks he deserves to be or not. Noble is always terrific as either Walter or Walternate but whenever he has scenes with Brady they both seem to rise their game's to another level, delivering the some of the best emotional moments in the show.

The alliance from last episode grows from just Peter and Walternate to both versions of Olivia, Lincoln, and Broyles. After the group all gets together Peter pretty much agrees to stay and help take down Jones. It will be interesting to see if how trustworthy everyone is with one and other, especially if the alternate Broyles continues to play both sides. Before if I would of heard Peter was going to put a hold on trying to return to his time-line I might have been disappointed but with this new dual Fringe Division alliance happening my interest is piqued. We already knew Nina was up to no good after she drugged Olivia at the end of "Wallflower" but now that Fringe revealed she is working with Jones this new time-line just got a whole lot more complex in the best way possible. I don't know about you but can't wait to see what their end game will be.

Tags: Fringe, Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole, Blair Brown, Seth Gabel, Jared Harris, Orla Brady

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Andrew Burns loves film and comics, and can be found writing about when those worlds converge. You can follow him on Twitter at @myAndrewBurns.

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