Fringe – Episode 11: “Bound”
This episode of Fringe introduced a new antagonist as well as new protagonist/hostage, and also features some spectacularly bad medical science
The Plot: Agent Dunham had been kidnapped at the end of the previous episode. As this episode begins, she is strapped down to a gurney by her captors and ends up on the receiving end of a spinal tap. We manage to catch a glimpse of one of her abductors: Agent Loeb (from episode 7). Dunham manages to escape, and in the process steals some suspicious looking test tubes.
Dunham calls in reinforcements, but the FBI agents who show up subdue and tranquilize her. It turns out that there is an internal affairs investigation into the FBI “Fringe” office, and it is being headed up by an investigator who bears a grudge against Agent Dunham. Tranquilizing her was his way of letting her know who is boss.
Meanwhile, a world-famous immunologist is lecturing at Boston College when he suddenly starts choking and collapses. A giant slug-like beastie emerges from his mouth and escapes into the auditorium. Agent Dunham and her team are called in to investigate. She determines that the late immunologist was asked to head a secret CDC task force concerning epidemics. Another local doctor has also been asked to serve on the committee, and he is brought in to protective custody by Dunham. It’s all for naught though, as Agent Loeb kills him by dosing his water with giant slug eggs.
About the same time, Walter discovers that it is not actually a giant slug, but a gargantuan cold virus. The samples Dunham stole from her captors are some of the (for lack of a better term) slug eggs.
Dr. Bishop: It’s viral — nasopharyngitis — albeit a gargantuan specimen
Thanks to his poor shoe-related hygiene, Agent Dunham has now realized that Loeb is a turncoat. She heads to his house to see if she can find anything incriminating, and she does find some suspicious documents, but she also finds his wife. A catfight breaks out that ends with Olivia shooting and killing Loeb’s wife. Meanwhile Charlie asks Peter’s help in setting up a tap on Loeb’s phone. They finish just in time to hear Loeb tell his wife to kill Agent Dunham. Peter calls Dunham to warn her and that’s what sets off the catfight.
In the end, Agent Loeb is captured and when informed his wife has been killed, admits that he murdered the two scientists. When asked about abducting Dunham, he replies that he wasn’t trying to kidnap her, but instead to save her.
There wasn’t all that much science in this one, but what there was hemorrhoid-inducing bad.
1. No Virus I Ever Met
A gargantuan cold virus? Nonsense. It is physically impossible for viruses to grow that large. There are many reasons for this; for starters, here’s the square cube law.
Furthermore, they kept confusing a virus and a cell, which are two entirely different things. A virus is much smaller than a cell — it just consists of some nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and a handful of proteins. Because it is not a cell, comparing it to giant cells means nothing.
Nasopharyngitis is not the name of a virus, it is the name of a condition: a runny nose and a sore throat, i.e. a cold. Cold viruses are typically rhinoviruses or adenoviruses.
How could it have grown so big so fast?
There are certain parasites that protect themselves in hard-walled cysts that breakdown when exposed to stomach acid, allowing the parasite to become active — so that part is not too far fetched.
Decongestants treat the symptoms of the cold (or more accurately the symptoms caused by the body’s reaction to the cold virus). They wouldn’t have any effect on the virus itself.
2. Cover Up the Slide’s Title Next Time
Simian Hemorrhagic Fever is a real disease, but it (like most hemorrhagic fevers) is a viral disease. The slide Walter was looking at was clearly labeled leptospira, a bacteria that causes (wait for it) leptospirosis. The “intricate web” he was talking about was just a bunch of the leptospira bacteria. Look at the picture on Wikipidia, it’s pretty much identical.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 am
I was happy to see Agent Dunham finally act reasonably competent for most of the episode. Given the subplot of her being evaluated it’s nice that she didn’t have (most) answers slowly spoon-fed to her this time.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:25 am
They just don’t try very hard on this show…
Why did she bury the vials she stole? She’s such a hero all the time, she couldn’t have possibly expected to be re-captured. The only reason was so that the FBI agents who took her into custody wouldn’t take them– which she could not have known about.
What’s the deal with shooting her with a tranquilizer dart?
The whole thing about giant cells and ostrich eggs was nearly unbearable. You said it was a virus! Not a cell!
Loeb telling his wife to kill agent Dunham also stretched my credibility. He must have known she’d have no chance of winning. And then she was shown as an expert fighter… really? I suppose every law-enforcement wife is a martial arts expert? That whole scene was superfluous.
Maybe I should just stop watching this show. My roommates love it, though.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:57 am
“Decongestants treat the symptoms of the cold (or more accurately the symptoms caused by the body’s reaction to the cold virus). They wouldn’t have any effect on the virus itself.”
I was thinking exactly the same thing during the scene.
Oh, doc Scott, how I wish this blog existed during “The X-Files” run. Your hands would be full.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:05 am
They made the virus grow to enormous size that fast by switching the scientist’s cold medecine with Dr Bunsen Honeydew’s Germ Enlarger drops.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
It makes me think of a bit from a Graham Chapman sketch (written outside of his Monty Python work, produced posthumously as a stage show):
“We have developed a germ so large that it can kill a man through physical violence. We call this bacteria “The Big Strangler,” after its discoverer, Dr. Bigstrangler.”
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I picture the writer’s meeting for this episode as something like:
Writer 1: OK, what’s next on our list of plot devices?
Writer 2: : Giant worm crawling out of mouse…no, sorry – MOUTH.
Writer 1: OK, what’s the least amount of thought we can put into making that happen? My daughter’s grade-school festival is tonight…
Fringe is just a pale reflection of the X-Files, right down to the female character being kidnapped and symbolically sexually abused. JJ Abrams really needs to retire.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 am
Shouldn’t the actors or the cameramen or somebody, somewhere involved with it know how ridiculous that sounded? Do the writers of this show not have access to Wikipedia? This is not some insider detail, and I really hope that one doesn’t have to go to medical school or major in biochemistry to know that viruses are not cells, and they cannot grow to that size. They don’t even really “grow” at all… they “assemble” and “mature.”
Actually, other than how much I laughed and cringed at that, this was one of the best episodes of the show, and really showed its potential. As long as I still enjoy making fun of how bad the “science” is, and the rest of it is at least that good, I’ll still watch.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:15 am
Apparently someone learned science from the original Star Trek and the ship eating giant single cell creature.
This is the first episode I watched in its entirerty, and I agreed with others, besides the stupidity of the single-cell thing, wasn’t bad at all.
@Johua: She was still on the run from whoever kidnapped her in the first place. Note sure if she got in contact with the home office at that point, but just because backup is on the way, she was still disoriented, possibily drugged and at least one kidnapper unaccounted for.
August 10th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Credentials: high school science student.
And even with that, I am lol’ing at your description and practically sputtering: Viruses don’t work like that! Cube-square law doesn’t work like that! And EWW slug beastie.
I love this blog, especially for the Legion of Super Heroes posts but also for the nitpicky nerdiness and assured writing style. Thanks for the laughs :D
October 18th, 2009 at 7:28 am
[...] episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. [...]
November 5th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
A “catfight”? That’s pretty sexist
Leave a Reply
Contact Me
About
Subscribe:
The Best Of...
Special Topics
Archives
Categories
Twitter
See Also
Comic Blogs
Medical/Science Blogs
Currently Reading
Arbitrarily Interesting Medical Condition
Syndrome
The Net:
Contents may have settled during shipping. Past results are no guarantee of future performance. No animals were harmed during the production of this product. Void where prohibited by law. All rights reserved. Not valid with other offers or specials. Professional driver on a closed track. Your financial institution may impose other fees. All models are over 18 years of age. Employees must wash hands before returning to work. Results not typical. Many suitcases look alike. 18% gratuity added to tables of six or more.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
© 2004-2012 Polite Dissent. Powered by WordPress