One Night in October
Encyclopedia
"One Night in October" is the second episode of the fourth season
of the Fox
science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
, and the series' 67th episode overall.
) is informed by Broyles (Lance Reddick
) that the Fringe division of the parallel universe
has requested their help to locate John McClennan (John Pyper-Ferguson
), a highly intelligent serial killer who has taken more than 20 victims, drilled into their skull, and killed them by freezing their brains from the inside. The parallel Fringe division wants Olivia to bring the prime universe's version of John, a professor of forensic psychology
, to examine the last known residence of the Parallel John and try to deduce where he may be. Still cautious of the parallel Fringe's intentions, Olivia agrees to help. She meets with the Prime John, explaining their need, but without revealing the existence of the parallel universe. He offers to help, and willingly takes a tranquilizer that puts him to sleep during the transport to the parallel universe through the Machine Room bridge.
As Olivia waits with the parallel Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel
), Fauxlivia dresses as Olivia, and watches over John as he investigates the house. John becomes suspicious that many aspects of the home's owner match his own, but is able to conclude that the owner was jealous of those people who were happy. John reveals that he himself is hiding a dark secret: a need to understand why people are happy. During his abusive childhood, he experienced homicidal urges which he attempted to sate by killing small creatures; he mentions a change in his life that took him into criminal psychology but does not elaborate. When John finds a picture of his father, a farmer, he realizes something is amiss and storms out. Olivia is forced to stop him, and John soon becomes aware that he is in a parallel universe when he sees both Olivias together. They explain to him the crimes of his alternate self. Soon, another victim is taken by Parallel John. Olivia and the parallel Fringe team allow John time to recover in the bathroom before tracking this new case, but soon discover he has escaped. They conclude that John is probably headed towards the remains of his father's farm, and they set out in pursuit.
John, meanwhile, has met with his parallel self, who is preparing the latest victim in a makeshift machine that allows him to directly connect to the victim's brain and experience their happy memories but which ultimately kills the victim. The two Johns briefly struggle with the idea of their doppelgangers, but soon learn that while they shared the same youth, their paths diverged when their respective fathers discovered their cache of dead animals. In the parallel universe, John's father caught him and punished him, while in the prime universe, John ran away, stumbling and falling over. He was later rescued by a woman named Marjorie (Enid-Raye Adams), who, even after seeing the dead animals, loved and embraced him, telling him "Even when it’s the darkest, you can step into the light", a phrase he has since used to subdue his homicidal urges. The Parallel John becomes jealous of this, knocks his counterpart out, and connects him to the machine. When the Prime John awakes, Parallel John demands he tell him about Marjorie, using the machine to extract this memory from him.
Olivia and the Fringe team converge on the farmhouse but find it empty. Nearby they find the remnants of a barn and a storm cellar entrance. Entering it, they find both the kidnap victim, still alive, and the prime version of John, recovering from the trauma, while a shaken parallel version of John cowers nearby, overwhelmed with the impact that Marjorie had on John's life and regretting the murders he has committed. He commits suicide just as the Fringe team finds him. John is returned to the prime universe and taken to a hospital, the incident having caused him to forget the memories of the parallel universe as well as those of Marjorie, though he still remembers what she said to him.
Throughout the episode, Walter (John Noble
) has covered up every reflective surface in his lab, trying to avoid the vision of Peter (Joshua Jackson
) that he sees. In the final scene, Walter starts hearing Peter's voice telling him that he needs his help, leaving Walter even more panicked as to its source.
and Monica Owusu-Breen. Frequent Fringe episode collaborator and producer Brad Anderson directed the episode.
" from the previous week. The episode tied the series' lowest ratings for the 18-49 demographic.
writer Noel Murray graded "One Night in October" with an A-, explaining it "was a terrific hour of television, making excellent use of the resources Fringe has available to them right now, both behind the camera and in front." Andrew Hanson from the Los Angeles Times
used the episode to declare Fringe the best science fiction television series currently on the air, calling "One Night in October" one of his top five favorite episodes of the series. Hanson concluded, "I cannot talk enough about how much I enjoyed this story...This is Fringe at its best, taking the out-there science fiction concepts and aligning them with a compelling human story. Seriously. Why aren’t more people watching this show?" Entertainment Weekly
contributor Jeff Jensen praised Anna Torv's dual performance and called the episode premise "clever." Jensen did however express skepticism that they believed McClennan would not suspect he was in a parallel universe.
SFScope
's Sarah Stegall wrote, "In what may well be the best-written episode of the entire show, Fringe brilliantly exploits its own alternate-world structure to show us the transformative power of love, a power so strong it can redeem the dark impulses that drive a fiend. And it does so with verve and heart, without sappy sentimentality. There is madness and love and tragedy and horror here, all seasoned by some fine performances and top notch writing." Jensen, Murray, Stegall, and Hanson praised John Pyper-Ferguson and Anna Torv's performances, with Stegall writing that the former was "the best guest star performance" on Fringe to date.
Fringe (season 4)
The fourth season of the American science fiction television series Fringe premiered on Fox on September 23, 2011, and will consist of 22 episodes. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television...
of the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
, and the series' 67th episode overall.
Plot
Olivia Dunham (Anna TorvAnna Torv
Anna Torv is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.-Early life:...
) is informed by Broyles (Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor and musician born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Lost. He now has a prominent role in Fringe...
) that the Fringe division of the parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
has requested their help to locate John McClennan (John Pyper-Ferguson
John Pyper-Ferguson
John Pyper-Ferguson is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in a wide range of films and television shows. His notable works include playing Sonny Hamilton on Hamilton's Quest, Peter Hutter on The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and Joe Whedon on Brothers & Sisters...
), a highly intelligent serial killer who has taken more than 20 victims, drilled into their skull, and killed them by freezing their brains from the inside. The parallel Fringe division wants Olivia to bring the prime universe's version of John, a professor of forensic psychology
Forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the criminal justice system. It involves understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdictions in order to be able to interact appropriately with judges, attorneys and other legal professionals...
, to examine the last known residence of the Parallel John and try to deduce where he may be. Still cautious of the parallel Fringe's intentions, Olivia agrees to help. She meets with the Prime John, explaining their need, but without revealing the existence of the parallel universe. He offers to help, and willingly takes a tranquilizer that puts him to sleep during the transport to the parallel universe through the Machine Room bridge.
As Olivia waits with the parallel Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel is an American actor. Gabel plays the role of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series Fringe.-Career:...
), Fauxlivia dresses as Olivia, and watches over John as he investigates the house. John becomes suspicious that many aspects of the home's owner match his own, but is able to conclude that the owner was jealous of those people who were happy. John reveals that he himself is hiding a dark secret: a need to understand why people are happy. During his abusive childhood, he experienced homicidal urges which he attempted to sate by killing small creatures; he mentions a change in his life that took him into criminal psychology but does not elaborate. When John finds a picture of his father, a farmer, he realizes something is amiss and storms out. Olivia is forced to stop him, and John soon becomes aware that he is in a parallel universe when he sees both Olivias together. They explain to him the crimes of his alternate self. Soon, another victim is taken by Parallel John. Olivia and the parallel Fringe team allow John time to recover in the bathroom before tracking this new case, but soon discover he has escaped. They conclude that John is probably headed towards the remains of his father's farm, and they set out in pursuit.
John, meanwhile, has met with his parallel self, who is preparing the latest victim in a makeshift machine that allows him to directly connect to the victim's brain and experience their happy memories but which ultimately kills the victim. The two Johns briefly struggle with the idea of their doppelgangers, but soon learn that while they shared the same youth, their paths diverged when their respective fathers discovered their cache of dead animals. In the parallel universe, John's father caught him and punished him, while in the prime universe, John ran away, stumbling and falling over. He was later rescued by a woman named Marjorie (Enid-Raye Adams), who, even after seeing the dead animals, loved and embraced him, telling him "Even when it’s the darkest, you can step into the light", a phrase he has since used to subdue his homicidal urges. The Parallel John becomes jealous of this, knocks his counterpart out, and connects him to the machine. When the Prime John awakes, Parallel John demands he tell him about Marjorie, using the machine to extract this memory from him.
Olivia and the Fringe team converge on the farmhouse but find it empty. Nearby they find the remnants of a barn and a storm cellar entrance. Entering it, they find both the kidnap victim, still alive, and the prime version of John, recovering from the trauma, while a shaken parallel version of John cowers nearby, overwhelmed with the impact that Marjorie had on John's life and regretting the murders he has committed. He commits suicide just as the Fringe team finds him. John is returned to the prime universe and taken to a hospital, the incident having caused him to forget the memories of the parallel universe as well as those of Marjorie, though he still remembers what she said to him.
Throughout the episode, Walter (John Noble
John Noble
John Noble is an Australian film and television actor, and theater director of more than 80 plays. He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia and is currently starring as scientist Walter Bishop in the J. J. Abrams television series Fringe.He made occasional appearances on the...
) has covered up every reflective surface in his lab, trying to avoid the vision of Peter (Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
) that he sees. In the final scene, Walter starts hearing Peter's voice telling him that he needs his help, leaving Walter even more panicked as to its source.
Production
"One Night in October" was written by Alison SchapkerAlison Schapker
Alison Schapker is an American television writer and producer. She was a staff writer on the hit ABC series Alias and wrote several of its episodes along with her writing partner, Monica Owusu-Breen. She has also worked on the shows: Charmed, Lost, Brothers & Sisters, and currently Fringe...
and Monica Owusu-Breen. Frequent Fringe episode collaborator and producer Brad Anderson directed the episode.
Ratings
"One Night in October" was watched by 3.1 million viewers, a 1.2 ratings share, approximately 20% less than the 4th season premiere episode, "Neither Here Nor ThereNeither Here Nor There (Fringe)
"Neither Here Nor There" is the fourth season premiere of the Fox science fiction drama television series Fringe. It is the season's 1st episode and the series' 66th episode overall....
" from the previous week. The episode tied the series' lowest ratings for the 18-49 demographic.
Reviews
"One Night in October" received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
writer Noel Murray graded "One Night in October" with an A-, explaining it "was a terrific hour of television, making excellent use of the resources Fringe has available to them right now, both behind the camera and in front." Andrew Hanson from the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
used the episode to declare Fringe the best science fiction television series currently on the air, calling "One Night in October" one of his top five favorite episodes of the series. Hanson concluded, "I cannot talk enough about how much I enjoyed this story...This is Fringe at its best, taking the out-there science fiction concepts and aligning them with a compelling human story. Seriously. Why aren’t more people watching this show?" Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
contributor Jeff Jensen praised Anna Torv's dual performance and called the episode premise "clever." Jensen did however express skepticism that they believed McClennan would not suspect he was in a parallel universe.
SFScope
SFScope
SFScope is an online trade journal devoted to entertainment news concerning speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It was founded by Ian Randal Strock in early 2007....
's Sarah Stegall wrote, "In what may well be the best-written episode of the entire show, Fringe brilliantly exploits its own alternate-world structure to show us the transformative power of love, a power so strong it can redeem the dark impulses that drive a fiend. And it does so with verve and heart, without sappy sentimentality. There is madness and love and tragedy and horror here, all seasoned by some fine performances and top notch writing." Jensen, Murray, Stegall, and Hanson praised John Pyper-Ferguson and Anna Torv's performances, with Stegall writing that the former was "the best guest star performance" on Fringe to date.
External links
- "One Night in October" at Fox.comFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...