Fringe (TV Series) The Transformation (2009) User Reviews

The Spiny Beast and the Truth about John Scott

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 1 January 2017]

When the nose of a passenger starts to bleed in a flight, he calls the flight attendant and asks for tranquilizers. He runs to the toilet and asks the crew to keep him locked inside. Out of the blue, he transforms into a spiny beast and the plane crashes. Broyles summons Olivia, Peter and Dr. Bishop to the site and Olivia identifies the beast in the passenger manifest using John's memory. Later she identifies another man, Daniel Hicks, and she confesses to Charlie that she is using John's memory. Meanwhile Dr. Bishop finds that the transformation was caused by a deadly virus; further, he also finds a disc in the beast's hand during the autopsy. While interrogating Hicks, Olivia asks who would sell the deadly virus to him and he does not answer. But when his noses starts to bleed, he gives the name Conrad to her. Olivia and Broyles unsuccessfully investigates who might be Conrad. Running against time, Olivia concludes that the only chance to find Conrad is accessing John's memories with the guidance of Walter. She contacts John and learns the truth about him. Will Olivia find Conrad and avoid the distribution of the deadly virus?

"The Transformation" is another engaging episode of "Fringe". The truth about John Scott is certainly the most important segment. The effect of Conrad's virus is interesting transforming people into a spiny beast. The conclusion is well-resolved with the intervention of the FBI agents in the crucial moment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "The Transformation"

Good, just wish I was in the mood for this yarn.

[Darwinskid · 7/10 · 10 February 2009]

Doing yet another show of repeats we saw in the pilot a man transforms into a monster on a plane and causes it to crash killing plenty. The fringe teams investigates and discovers who the man was, apparently he has something to do with the people who Olivia saw before who were involved with the first act of experiments that lead us all to this ride. They find his partner, and of course he becomes a monster soon enough. Olivia asks to be put back into the tube where she has much longer conversation with John Scott, her ex lover. John tells her a lot and that she was mislead, he wasn't on their side to begin with.

I really wish I could've gotten into this episode but my mother was sick and m other television set was broken. But despite the problems taking me away from enjoying this episode more I still thought it was well done. the character development for John was was fantastic add-in to his own POV. That and the acting was very good however I feel Lance Reddick tried a bit too hard to be theatrical here.

Tonight's episode should be better for me.

7/10.

Monsters, Inc.

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 27 October 2023]

A man turns into a giant, venomous porcupine on board a plane. Everyone dies, including the pilots, and the plane crashes. This leads to a search for someone who is peddling the stuff that causes this. Liv and the gang do what they can to achieve an antidote. There is a guy who is controlling the whole thing. Live goes into the tank again to see John to find out if he did really love her and to get information about the upcoming sale of the terrible stuff. There is a kind of closure that takes place. This episode sets up the next one as we go back to the German guy who is Bishop's equal in intellect.

Redux in S4E16

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 25 April 2012]

This was the first Fringe Episode I ever saw - I was trying to figure out the guy who was playing "Bowman" cos he reminded me of the guy from Band of Brothers, Damien Lewis. But it's Neal Huff - Who discovers he is in BIG TROUBLE on yet another JJ Abrams Plane-Distress debacle.

Fear of FLying is just normal, looking down on the land which is so far away... Not knowing how in blazes an Airplane can simply stay up in the air - It just ain't natural! But fear of Flying mixed with Fear of Changing into a "Batupine" - Now THAT is a choice to "die" for! But I would not want to be in the shape Bowman was in when they found him - Or, for the other hapless passengers, fear of having the guy sitting next to you change into a monstrous Man-Pine with huge QUILLS sticking out, I never wanna fly again!

In this first telling of the Bowman incident, Bowman is not willingly making this transformation. He was "dosed" by a genetic terrorist. These "Soldiers" of Robert David Jones have no trouble doing each other in, in horrible ways-Why would anyone want to be a member of ZFT knowing that at any time you could be turned into a Batupine by your friends or family member?

But here ZFT is a real and present danger, and it's Broyle's purview, with the Fringe team to flush out what is really happening.

As much as I've compared FRINGE to "The Former X-Designation," there is one thing Mulder and Skully never had - And THAT my fiends is Walter Bishop.

Olivia and Peter could never solve a Fringe case if not for Walter, and Walter could not do anything unless he has Astrid getting him food all the time.

Over the last four FRINGE years, this is the one constant in the Blue, Red, and "Bridge" universes - Walter's real deep seated need for Culinary inspiration.

This is the last Episode that settles the John Scott arc, which is too bad as I liked the Scott character, he could have been a "Visiting Shade" for Olivia in S1. When I saw this, it was like falling into the middle of a movie, I didn't understand the Scott character's involvement, but as I saw this I was able to Infer, he was in her mind somehow.

And in this episode, also unlike the Former X-Designation, Olivia and Peter actually Solve a Case. We are not left with vanishing evidence, witnesses murdered, or spirited away by Cigarette-Smoking Men - And, nobody in Fringe even smokes!

And so FRINGE agents avert an unimaginable threat, once again, like they did 8 more times this season. Plus, we get to see it all over again, but played out differently, is Season 4 Ep 16! And That my fiends, is getting the most out of your multiple universes!

Missing reference at ending scene

[katto89 · 6/10 · 7 May 2013]

Some recurring themes, twists that doesn't really fit.

The ending scene could have been a reference to Solaris(1972)'s ending if the water wouldn't have moved at all.

Also with some more work like the camera zooming out of the view it could have been really resembling to the ending scene of Solaris(1972) referring to the similarities like dead partners, imaginary places, peace etc.

Even if the ending pictures would be exactly like the movie's the convenient explanation: John or Olivia have seen the movie, would just show even stronger the similarities between the two scenes.