Bound (Fringe)
"Bound" | |
---|---|
Frederick E. O. Toye | |
Written by | J. J. Abrams Jeff Pinkner Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci |
Production code | 3T7660 |
Original air date | January 20, 2009 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Bound" is the eleventh
The episode was written by series co-creators
The episode first aired on January 20, 2009 on the Fox network, and was watched by an estimated 11.96 million viewers. "Bound" received generally positive reviews from television critics, as many viewed it as an improvement over previous episodes. Actor Joshua Jackson noted the importance of "Bound" developmentally for the series. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, the episode was submitted in the "Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series" and "Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series" categories. Both were unsuccessful in securing nominations.
Plot
Following Olivia Dunham's (Anna Torv) kidnapping from the previous episode, "Safe", Fringe Division works to find her location. Unbeknownst to her, one of Olivia's captors is Fringe agent Mitchell Loeb (Chance Kelly). He gives her a spinal tap and returns to help with the investigation. Olivia fights off the remaining men and escapes, taking several medical samples with her. She hides the samples right before being arrested by Sanford Harris (Michael Gaston), a former adversary who was hired to audit Fringe Division. Years before, Olivia exposed and prosecuted Harris for sexually assaulting three female Marine privates, and he now wants revenge. Now recovering in Boston Hospital, Olivia's judgment is questioned by Harris for working with the mentally unstable scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his law-breaking son Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson). Harris tells her she cannot investigate her own abduction.
Back at Fringe Division, Olivia learns that the building she was kept at is empty and contains no traces of her captors. Olivia, along with Walter and Peter, recovers the hidden samples. They soon hear of the murder of epidemiologist Miles Kinberg, who was killed by a chemical which created a giant, slug-like single cell of
Meanwhile, Olivia's sister Rachel (Ari Graynor) and niece Ella (Lily Pilblad) come to visit. Olivia succeeds in connecting the murder to Loeb by recognizing his shoes from when she was a captive. She goes to search his house but accidentally runs into his wife and accomplice, Samantha (Trini Alvarado). Loeb tells his wife to kill Olivia, and after a struggle, Olivia fatally shoots Samantha. Olivia obtains the necessary evidence to capture Loeb and questions him about her abduction. She gets little information until she shows him pictures of his dead wife, as he was unaware she was killed. Loeb angrily tells Olivia about "two sides" and that he was trying to save her.
Production
"Bound" was written by co-creators
According to Orci, the idea behind the
Up to the point the episode aired, Anna Torv considered it her favorite episode, explaining, "In ‘Bound,’ when Olivia gets kidnapped, they’re giving her a spinal tap and she wakes up and breaks out – it was just bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. I found it really easy to follow and kind of energetic, and I really loved filming that."[5][6] In reference to Trini Alvarado, the other actress in their fight scene, Torv also mentioned when shooting it "We had so much fun! That's probably my favorite sequence in the show thus far."[7]
Actor Joshua Jackson believed the episode was important developmentally for the series, explaining it was "creatively when the show really hit its stride in the first season."[8] Jackson continued, "I think right around the midway point of [the first] season the show decided what it wanted to be. From about the midway, point it got on a pretty good streak of episodes. I can’t remember the exact number, but the two-part episode where Dunham gets kidnapped. After that, it was pretty clear; we introduced the bad guys for the season and there was a much clearer narrative drive through the rest of the season."[8]
In December 2008, Entertainment Weekly reported that actress Ari Graynor would be joining the cast as a guest star for a minimum of three episodes, beginning in January. Her character, Olivia's younger sister Rachel, would be visiting Olivia for a few weeks because "she's dealing with some man trouble back home", as described by an insider.[9] "Bound" marked the first episode to feature the new character.[10] Other guest actors included Chance Kelly, Michael Gaston, Lily Pilyblad, Sara Wilson, Stephen Schnetzer, and Peter Jay Fernandez.[11]
Reception
Ratings
"Bound" was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on January 20, 2009.[12] It was watched by an estimated 11.96 million viewers,[13] an improvement over the season's episode average of 8.8 million.[14] "Bound" earned a 7.0/10 ratings share among adults aged 18 to 49. This means that it was seen by 7.0 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 10 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of broadcast.[13]
Reviews
"I love this show! And seeing it after its weeks-long hiatus just reminds me once again how much I love it and why. Part of it's because they throw little clues at us, and we're tasked to try and figure them out. Where did we see this guy before? What does this mean? How does it tie into the past? Are these new characters part of a larger conspiracy? It's a fun puzzle that isn't dumbed down for the audience."
–
"Bound" has received generally positive reviews from television critics.
Bryant L. Griffin of Airlock Alpha compared Olivia to the character Sydney Bristow from the television series Alias, and opined that Fringe "continues to exhibit a satisfying stride."[18] Griffin however was disappointed that events from the previous episode were ignored, believing it to be a mistake to continue emphasising formulaic storytelling rather than a serialized format.[18] Andrew Hanson from the Los Angeles Times felt that despite the extra ten minutes, "Bound" was "more like a two-hour episode... being crammed into half the time".[10] He thought the episode's four writers were "all busy", as there were three stories going on at once, and compared Olivia to the similarly characterized Lost character Jack Shephard. Hanson concluded, "But how bad can it be when my biggest complaint about a show is that I want more? And now that the cold winter of reruns has passed, we should be getting just that."[10]
Television Without Pity graded the episode with a B.[19] Various reviewers disliked the character Sanford Harris, calling him "stereotypical,[16] "one-note",[17] and "unconvincing."[18] Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted the episode's importance in the series' history, and named it the ninth best episode of the series, explaining "Arriving midway through Fringe's shaky first season, 'Bound' was billed as a reboot that applied lessons learned from earlier episodes. (The plot mirrored the critical tune-up, with a cranky internal affairs agent conducting an audit on Fringe division.) The key focus: Making Olivia a richer, warmer, more proactive character. Mission accomplished. So began a series of rookie year corrections that helped Fringe find its voice."[20]
Awards and nominations
At the
References
- ^ Frederick E. O. Toye (director), J. J. Abrams (writer), Alex Kurtzman (writer), Roberto Orci (writer) (2009-01-20). "Bound". Fringe. Season 1. Episode 11. Fox.
- ^ Fred Toye, Chance Kelly (2009). "Fringe: Deciphering the Scene: "Bound"". Fringe: The Complete First Season (DVD). Warner Bros.Television.
- Blastr. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview: Andrew Orloff On The VFX Of 'Fringe'". Scifiscoop.com. 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
- Wired. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ^ Wax, Alyse (2009-04-07). "'Fringe' Star Anna Torv Gives Us the Lowdown on the Rest of the Season!". Fearnet. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ^ "Anna Torv: Making 'Fringe' a mainstream hit". MSNBC. 2009-02-02. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ^ CinemaBlend. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ De Leon, Kris (2008-12-02). "Fringe: Ari Graynor Joins the Cast, Plus Preview of "Safe"". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
- ^ a b c Hanson, Andrew (2009-01-21). "'Fringe': Three times the story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
- ^ "Olivia's abduction and a possible epidemic reveal a new wrinkle in the pattern of an all-new Fringe Tuesday, January 20, on Fox". The Futon Critic (Press release). 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ^ De Leon, Kris (2009-01-20). "Fringe: Preview of Episode 11 "Bound"". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ^ a b Seidman, Robert (2009-01-27). "Top Fox Primetime Shows, January 19–25, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff (2009-09-11). "Fall TV 2009: Fringe". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
- ^ TV Squad. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
- ^ a b c Isler, Ramsey (2009-01-21). "Fringe: "Bound" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
- ^ a b Handlen, Zach (2009-01-20). "Bound". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ^ a b c Griffin, Bryant L. (2009-01-22). "Review: 'Fringe' - Bound". Airlock Alpha. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
- ^ MacEachern, Daniel (2009-01-21). "All Signs Point to Loeb". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff (2013-01-18). "'Fringe': 19 Best Episodes". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
- ^ a b "Complete Emmy Wards Contenders List". Los Angeles Times Gold Derby. 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ^ "2009 Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ^ "2009 Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2011-04-18.