Stowaway

Season 3, Episode 17, Aired
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9.1
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Fingerprints at the scene of an apparent suicide lead the Fringe team to a seemingly immortal woman.
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Fan Episode Reviews (15)

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  • Olivia voice acting

    8.0
    "Great"
    By dreamgoat, Feb 03, 2012
    I like the episode about woman being immortal that can't die, and has been getting in contact with people that want to commit suicide through a help line she worked at. Hilarious part was that Bell was in Olivia he explained how that happen which looking back at it Olivia was wondering why she was doing that action when she said no she didn't want any when she was meeting with Bell on the other side for the first time in his office. Saw the other side Lincoln he was in this episode wonder why they brought him in this episode, have to watch and see on that one. Overall it was good and very different episode I enjoyed watching it.moreless

  • Maybe I missaw the final scene with Dana but it looked like she let go of the bomb-bag well before it exploded which would seem to back up Bellivia's theory that she died because she fulfilled her destiny not because of the blast. Am I reading that right?moreless

    8.0
    "Great"
    By colten97, Nov 13, 2011
    Since I wasn't able to review last week's Fringe due to family obligations, I missed weighing in on the whole "soul magnet" controversy, so before we move on to "Stowaway," a quick note on that particular bit of craziness. By and large, I didn't mind it. I admit that I preferred Walter's earlier conception of collaborating with Bell from beyond the grave-by assembling his old partner's notes and possessions, operating under the principle that what we leave behind constitutes our "selves"-because that struck me as both a down-to-Earth and Fringe-y idea. Still, when Olivia looked into the mirror and started speaking in a creaky old man voice, my first reaction was to laugh with genuine delight, not to roll my eyes. Too crazy a twist? Possibly. Potentially series-wrecking? Maybe. But Fringe has been taking some wild chances over the past year, and a lot of them have paid off as exciting, thought-provoking, unpredictable television. Olivia possessed by William Bell? Sure, I'll give it a shot. If nothing else, when all is said and done and we look back on Fringe's third season, we're sure as hell going to remember this plot twist.

    That said, after the initial giddy shock wore off last week, I told my wife, "It's one thing for Anna Torv to do a Leonard Nimoy voice for a minute. Let's see if it works for a full hour." And after "Stowaway," I have to say Yeah, it kinda does.

    It's a fragile thing, to be sure. If Torv were to croak too much or stoop too much, the impression would look like just that: an impression, not a possession. To my eye and ear, she never did. I can accept that others would disagree. I can also accept that others would find it hard to get behind the premise itself. To hear Bellivia tell it, Bell slipped the "soul magnets" into Olivia's tea when she visited him on Earth-2 at the end of the first season. Now his brainwaves are active while hers are dormant, and Bellivia believes the situation will be sustainable for several weeks, though he'd prefer to find another host as soon as possible. Nutty stuff. Though to my mind it's not much nuttier than Bell removing pieces of Walter's brain and lodging them in the heads of the unsuspecting.

    Anyway, Bellivia finds a potential host when s/he hears about Dana Gray, a woman who was murdered along with her husband and kids 18 months ago, and yet still walks the Earth, possibly because she was struck by lightning twice and now her soul is bound by magnets. Dana spends her days searching for the suicidal, so that she can be near them when they snuff it. Is she a soul-vampire, sucking their life forces as they expire? Or is she a soul-hitchhiker, trying to get to the afterlife by tagging along with other folks? More importantly, if she really doesn't want her body any more, can William Bell have it?

    Dana sees her big chance to leave this spiritual realm at last and be with her family when she meets a crazy dude named Brian, who tells her that he's planted a bag of explosives on Train 67, Car 2, Seat 17, just before he shoots himself in the head. One of the main reasons why I thought "Stowaway" was an effective episode despite all its metaphysical mumbo-jumbo was that Dana's predicament was a legitimately tense one. As she stepped on the train, I didn't know if she was planning to save the passengers or send their souls a-scattering, with her own in tow. And then once she hugged the bomb-bag and said, "I'm on my way to see family," I didn't know how-or if-she was going to be stopped. Whatever the wild set-up for the suspense, the suspense itself was palpable.

    As it happens, Dana is found by Fringe Division with the help of a long-awaited special guest: The Lincoln Lee Of Earth-1, who works for the Bureau in the Hartford office, and had been tracking Dana's case for over a year. Lincoln and Peter have an instant rapport, and bounce ideas off each other as they track their zombie. When they find Brian's phone, they get the bright idea to check out his last dialed numbers and find Dana's phone. And then Peter gets the even brighter idea to have the FBI modify the data coming from Brian's phone so that Dana will think she's getting a call from her dead husband. Cruel, but effective. With the help of Walter and Bellivia's calculations, the FBI is able to intercept the train before the bomb goes off, and then when Dana tries to sneak away into a field, the bag finally explodes and Dana dies at last.

    I'm not letting "Stowaway" completely off the hook for its weird explanations. If the "villain" weren't so sympathetic, or if the action weren't so breathless, or if I didn't find the Bellivia material so funny, I'd probably be annoyed by the wacky way the Fringe writers have found to bring William Bell back. As it is, I'm bothered by all the talk of "raindrops with a purpose" and how "trying to avoid fate leads you right to fate's doorstep," which if not handled properly can lead to the laziest kind of narrative developments.

    But damn it: "Stowaway" was really entertaining. I have to end this review with a nod of appreciation to the multi-layered performance of Joshua Jackson, who's in cool supercop mode in "Stowaway" whenever Peter's working with Lincoln, then carries a look of flat-out disgruntlement whenever Peter's dealing with Bellivia. And why wouldn't he? He's lost his girlfriend again to the machinations of some meddling old man, who doesn't seem overly concerned about the ramifications of his actions.

    Peter's also genuinely concerned at the end of the episode, when Bellivia hears a bell in the distance and briefly becomes Olivia again. If there's anything that might calm the skittish among you, it may be this: For all his smugness about soul-transference and fate, Bell may in fact have no idea what the hell he's talking about.moreless

  • There is more than one of every Lincoln Lee.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By StrandedinACan, Oct 08, 2011
    "Stranger things have happened." 'Tis true, Olivia, 'tis true. Wait it isn't even you. What are we supposed to call you? Willbillia? Hmm
    This episode had a lot in store for us, and it was an almost flawless episode. Emphasis on almost, because it missed its mark on me, but not by a whole lot. Let's review.
    Let me just say, Anna Torv is fabulous (as if you didn't know that already) at playing Bellivia. First Olivia, then Bolivia, then Belliviaand shes great at it. When I was watching the episode, I mentally took her facial expressions and the tone of her possessed voice and matched it with Belly's image and, it fit. I could imagine Belly acting like that if he were still alive. So kudos to her.
    Also, in this episode, we finally meet our universe's version of Lincoln Lee. And it's, um, quite a role reversal. I wonder if we'll be seeing more of him in future episodes. On another note about good acting, Paula Malcomson did a great job at convincing us, or at least me, of being a woman who literally has nothing to live for and is lonely and tired of living but is forced to. When being asked where she's headed on the train, she says, "I'm on my way to see family too." Chilling line. Really, the only thing that made the episode miss the mark on me was probably the biggest thing any episode has to offer the ending. The explanation of why this woman cannot die. Apparently, Bellivia believes that it is because she had to stay alive to keep that train-full of people from being blown to bits by a bomb. Now, I don't have a problem with scientific or odd endings, but I just couldn't believe this one. Heck, I believed the "6B" storyline, where an old couple used their love to bring their alternate universe doubles to sight, but thisI just didn't like this resolution. I'm really hoping that Belly was wrong on his hypothesis.
    But otherwise, this was an interesting episode. Obviously a filler, but a pretty good one.moreless

  • I have watched this episode several times since it's original airing, so I thought I might as well review it. You know, better late than never.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By DebraMcClure, Oct 08, 2011
    First and foremost - "blue" world Olivia, or boring Olivia, or whatever, really shines when she is possessed or in the alternate universe. If something happens to the alt-world and it's inhabitants, the writers of Fringe better come up with a reason for her personality to change - she is so uninteresting.

    Having said that, I, of course, loved her as the vessel for the soul of William Bell - hereafter called "Bellivia". The underlying plot was ho-hum compared to the fun Bellivia and Walter had working together. What a team they must have been in the old days. All the talk of our destinies as humans, the role Fate plays in our lives, and what happens to our souls after we die, would have been unbearable if not for the assistance and interplay between the two scientists.

    OK - I've gotten it all off my chest.moreless

  • There's good goofy and bad goofy.

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By noelveiga, May 26, 2011
    And Fringe sometimes crosses over between those two universes like a Walter Bishop yo-yo.

    I love Fringe, I do. Well, I like it. Most of the time. Then it tries to get transcendent and it pisses me off. Or it tries to be high sci-fi and it gets it incredibly wrong. This does both, AND makes Anna Torv, who I truly do love, look bad, too.

    First, Fringe is boring when it's preachy. It is, like Lost, ultimately a firmly pro-religious, or at least pro-trancendent show, which doesn't sit well with me, much less on sci-fi, but its transcendent messages are also boring, simplistic and clichd. "Man should not play God", it says at times. "Fate is set and everything happens for a reason", it claims. Boooring. We made it past that in the nineteenth century and, if not then, certainly in the fifties. At the very least I'd expect an original spin on the hackneyed Christian sci-fi plots if I'm going to sit through them again.

    Second, Bell-livia? Really? Anna Torv proved her versatility by playing two roles this season, and she did a great job there. And she does a great job at doing a female Leonard Nimoy. But that's the thing, she's playing Leonard Nimoy. That is never not going to look and sound ridiculous, no matter who does it. You just can't do Nimoy and not sound like a parody of Nimoy. Torv overdoes it, because there is no doing it without overacting in the first place. She almost pulls it off a couple of times, but there is no way you can do that for a full episode and not miss the mark, and that's being generous and assuming there is a mark in the first place.

    Third, eh... hello, Robin to Peter's Batman, nice to meet you. I bet your character won't have any relevant significance in the near future or anything like that. Very subtle, Fringe.

    Fourth, bad pseudo-science. Normally, I let this slide, because Fringe is entertaining, so who cares if these "scientists" spout crap that would make Doctor Who blush. On a sub-par episode, though, you may want to cut down on the hippie-science techno-babble. Or, you know, maybe just get a consultant or something. Or a staff writer with a minor in math or physics or something. Maybe they had one and his head spontaneously combusted three episodes in? That would explain a lot.

    Don't get me wrong, there were nice moments here. I loved the rapport between Walter and Bell. I loved the concept of Bell hitting on Astrid. For all I said before, I did like the character of Agent Lee, and Seth Gabel did a good job with it. He was constantly likable and appropriately an outsider looking in, despite being way too handsome for the "nerdy agent" look and the glasses were really way too much. But overall? Bad Fringe, bad. I know you think you're the new X-Files, but you're goofy enough as it is that you can't afford to go off the wall for crazy one-off episodes like they did. There was too much that was weird or off-putting here for me to enjoy, so I didn't.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (3)

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  • QUOTES (11)

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    • Bell/Olivia: I understand that this could take some time for you to get used to. Imagine how I feel. I never realized that a bra was so binding. (sniggers)

    • Bell/Olivia: Has anyone ever told you, dear, that you have lovely hands? Astrid: Thank you.

    • Jim: There is hope in raindrops. Isn't that what you said? What does that even mean? Dana: It means... that every drop of rain holds a promise of regrowth. Each has a purpose, even if they don't know it. I think we can feel that way, that we don't have a purpose. But we do.

    • Walter: Look at this. Me and Belly collecting human tissues and fluids specimens, just like when we were kids. Peter: Glad you guys are enjoying yourselves.

    • Agent Lee: Second set, those fingerprints were identified as Dana Gray's. Which... is insane, because she's dead. Bell/Olivia: Well, you know, stranger things have happened. Agent Lee: Umm, no they haven't. Peter: Don't listen to him. Her. Sorry. Go on.

    • Agent Lee: I know this sounds insane, but I don't think this woman can die. Walter: Isn't this our lucky day.

    • Agent Lee: Umm, what is this place, exactly? Peter: Uh, this is the place where the mysteries of the universe get answered. And congratulations, whatever your security clearance was, it just got upgraded about seven levels deeper.

    • Walter: Even if we were able to transfer your consciousness safely inside Gene, there are other matters to consider. Bell/Olivia: We would communicate through my brainwaves. You would hook me up to an EEG machine and decipher my thoughts. Walter: Well, that may work. Still... I'd have to milk you. Bell/Olivia: We could assign Astrid. (they both snigger)

    • Walter: Three trains all passing through Norwood... Bell/Olivia: Each traveling at it's own constant velocity... Walter: Not accounting for station stops... Peter: (on the phone) What are they saying in the background? Astrid: I have no idea. They're doing that thing again where they don't finish sentences.

    • Agent Lee: So what changed? After all that time trying, why was she able to die now? Peter: Welcome to the Fringe Division. Every answer you get just leads you to more questions. Agent Lee: That may be. It's a lot more exciting than Hartford. Feel free to give me a call if you ever find yourself needing some help. Peter: Be careful what you wish for.

    • Bell/Olivia: As a scientist, I like to believe that nothing just happens. That every event has some meaning, some sort of message. You just have to be able to listen closely enough to hear it.

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