The Superego Problem

TV Review: Fringe, "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide"

With Bell's consciousness at risk of destroying Olivia's, Walter and Peter become more frantic in their efforts to separate them. Walter and Bell devise a scheme to enter Olivia's mind and attempt to free her. Guest stars the voice of Leonard Nimoy, directed by Joe Chappelle.

This episode promised to be another focus of Bell-possesses-Olivia again, which I was already getting tired of. Then when the dream sequence began, it felt like a very derivative and tacky imitation of Inception and I was getting used to the idea of hating it, despite liberal use of LSD, which I wish I would see more of on TV. From there, however, it quickly became a very stylistic and unique milestone for the series, and it made me glad that this is a show I watch. The animation was pretty awesome, reminded me a lot of Waltz With Bashir, and was put to good effect for what had otherwise been a rather banal interpretation of Olivia's subconscious. And not only did the episode serve as a fond farewell (though I hope it's the last) to William Bell, but also possibly introduced what the show has lately been lacking: a new villain. The episode also benefited from the extra attention paid to Broyles, who generally goes unnoticed. But poor Astrid never got to do any acid.