The Road Not Taken (Fringe)
Robert Chiappetta and Glen Whitman, frequent contributors to the series, aided in the episode's production by "find[ing] a new and gruesome way to blow people up," and rooting its explanation in science.
Harris (Michael Gaston) is revealed to be responsible for the crimes, and while closing in on him, Olivia gets locked in a room with the twin sister, whose unstable pyrokinetic abilities threaten both their lives.
Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) visits Broyles (Lance Reddick) to discuss the Observer, and is later shot in her hotel by two masked gunmen using a suppressed pistol.
"[1] Whitman noted that the concept, like others in the show, was based on real scientific knowledge, "The notion is, some kind of a medical treatment that they were given allowed their brain to command vibrations that would take place.
"[1] For Harris' immolation scene, first unit director Gary Rake emphasized safety, explaining that "everyone really has to think about what's going on and really focus tonight.
[9] Actress Jasika Nicole, who plays junior FBI agent Astrid Farnsworth, described the episode in a May 2009 interview, "It's about spontaneously combusting.
"[11] Peter and Walter reference the 1984 supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters while investigating the opening scene's case,[3][11] and later debate the origin of the term pyrokinesis, coined by author Stephen King in his 1981 novel Firestarter.
[11][12][13] Emmanuel Grayson references the titular character of the 1982 science fiction film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as well as Romulans and the United Federation of Planets, when describing William Bell's conspiracies to Peter and Olivia.
The key conspiracy Grayson describes is the attempt by William Bell "To create super-soldiers, like Khan Noonien Singh, to defend us in the coming war [against] renegade Romulans from the future, here to change the time line, the sworn enemy of the federation."
[17] Fox later aired repeats of season one episodes, including "The Road Not Taken", that featured Twitter posts by some of Fringe's cast and producers.
TV Squad's Jane Boursaw called the episode's case "an interesting premise" and was pleased that "things are really, REALLY starting to come together in a big way, which is good, considering that the finale is fast approaching".
[19] Annalee Newitz of io9 declared it to be "one of the most rewarding episodes ever for people who love the show's mythology," and found Olivia's universe-hopping ability to be "truly cool".
Those were hit and miss, but the show is definitely at its best when it focuses on its unique and multifaceted mythology, and this episode advanced that mythos with stunning revelations and surprises that should make for a great finale."
Club complimented the episode's opening scene for providing a succinct synopsis of the season to new viewers who may have been newly discovering the series after watching its lead-in, American Idol.
[14] Murray mainly found positive aspects with the episode, explaining, "For a show that started out being a fairly dour procedural with wacky mad-scientist elements, Fringe has really worked its way into that fantasy/sci-fi sweet-spot, where its own forward momentum makes the ridiculous look likely and arcane mythology seem well-worth the time to sort through and analyze.
"[13] Isler found the revelation surrounding Harris to be "deliciously surprising," and wrote that the "last twenty minutes of the episode really ramped up the suspense and action.
"[13] However, the IGN reviewer thought that while the conversation with Grayson was an "hilarious homage to Leonard Nimoy, it seemed completely superfluous in terms of the overall storyline.
