"A Short Story About Love" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'', and the series' 80th episode overall. The series follows members of a

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

"Fringe Division" team based in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

that uses "fringe" science and FBI investigative techniques to investigate a series of unexplained, often ghastly occurrences, which are related to mysteries surrounding a parallel universe. "A Short Story About Love" centered on a scientist extracting the

pheromones A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

of his victims, all male spouses, and using the resulting substances as a perfume to get close to their wives. While the Fringe team investigates,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

learns more about the Observer September. It was co-written by executive producer

J.H. Wyman Joel Howard "J. H." Wyman (born January 5, 1967) is a film and TV producer, screenwriter, director and musician. He is best known for his work on the Fox Broadcasting Network, Fox science fiction shows ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'' and ''Almos ...

and co-producer

Graham Roland Graham Roland is an American writer and producer. In 2022, he created the crime thriller series ''Dark Winds'' on ''AMC (TV channel), AMC''. Career Roland is known for his work as a writer on the Fox Broadcasting Company, FOX series ''Prison B ...

. Wyman also directed, making the episode his directional debut. He sought to write a story that had love as a central motivation, and described it as "an episode that's really close to me." Guest stars featured in the episode included

Michael Massee Michael Groo Massee (September 1, 1952 – October 20, 2016) was an American actor. Active on screen during a three decade career, he frequently portrayed villainous characters. His film roles include Funboy in the dark fantasy ''The Crow'' (1994 ...

as the villain Anson Carr,

Ona Grauer Ona Grauer is a Canadian-Mexican actress best known for her portrayal of the Ancient Ayiana and later Emily Young in the science fiction television series ''Stargate Universe'', part of the ''Stargate'' franchise. In the FX show ''Archer ...

as Dianna Sutter, and

Michael Cerveris Michael Cerveris (born November 6, 1960) is an American actor, singer, and guitarist. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including several Stephen Sondheim musicals: ''Assassins'', ''Sweeney Todd'', '' Road Show'', and '' Passio ...

as September. First airing on March 23, 2012, in the United States, "A Short Story About Love" was watched by an estimated 2.87 million viewers, a decrease from the previous episode. It received mixed to positive reviews from television critics; the villain attracted mixed reviews, and most praised the revelations surrounding a beacon that was last shown in a first-season episode. In 2013, it landed on several lists detailing the best ''Fringe'' episodes of the series.

Plot

The Fringe division tracks down a series of deaths of wives shortly after the deaths of their respective husbands. Discovering traces of the husbands' DNA on the bodies of the wives, Walter Bishop (

John Noble John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series ''Fringe'', Henry Parrish on the action-horror series '' ...

) suspects that the killer is using

taken from the husbands to get close to the wives, using the substances as a perfume. Further identifying

castoreum Castoreum is a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers. Beavers use castoreum in combination with urine to scent mark their territory. Both beaver sexes have a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands, located in two cavities ...

within the pheromone mix, they identify the murderer as Anson Carr (

), a former and disgruntled employee of a perfume company afflicted with a rare skin disease. They arrive at Carr's home to find another husband, already dead, in a dehydration chamber, and race to protect his wife, Dianna (

). When no attack comes at the wife, Olivia Dunham (

Anna Torv Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox science-fiction series ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for ...

) realizes that her husband may have been having an affair, and races to the mistress' home, stopping Carr before he can kill her. As he is taken away, he admits he was trying to discover what love was, scientifically, so that he could reproduce it and allow the entire world to share in it. During the investigation, Olivia finds that the memories she is gaining from Peter Bishop's (

Joshua Jackson Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in '' Mighty Ducks'', as Pacey Witter in The WB teen drama series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the ...

) original timeline are overriding her original memories. Nina Sharp (

Blair Brown Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ( ...

) becomes concerned and suggests that Olivia talk to Walter to help reverse the memory loss. During the case, in talking with the latest victim's wife, Olivia realizes that she is truly in love with Peter. After the conclusion of the case, she admits to Nina that she will let the memory alterations continue, even if this means she will forget the times she spent with Nina during her childhood. Simultaneous to these events, Peter has attempted to flee to New York City and points beyond to stay away from Olivia, fearing that staying near her would further erode her original memories. Walter calls him back, identifying that the Observer September (

) had implanted something in Peter's eye during the events of the previous episode. The small disc reveals a nearby address, where Peter finds a stash of September's Observer equipment, including a GPS-like device that leads him to a strange pod (as shown previously in " The Arrival"). Peter is ultimately able to activate the pod, where September appears. September states the pod acts as a beacon, allowing him to return after the other Observers hid the universe from him. In response to Peter's questions about trying to return to his own timeline, September states that Peter is actually home; he was never truly erased from time as his love for his friends, and their love for him brought him back. September soon vanishes, and the pod buries itself in the ground. The episode closes as Peter and Olivia rejoin each other with a passionate kiss.

Production

"A Short Story About Love" was co-written by executive producer

and co-producer

. Wyman stated that the episode had "scary" and "romantic" themes, and as the title indicated, was "all about motivation. Love is a great motivator, for good and evil." He and fellow executive producer

Jeff Pinkner Jeff Pinkner (born November 16, 1964) is an American television and movie writer and producer. Life and career Born to a Jewish family, Wyman added that it was a "culmination of what I could describe as — it’s a direction where we’ve been heading and I think the fans will be really happy and satisfied." Co-showrunner Wyman also served as episode director, marking his television directorial debut. He noted his love of the experience, as it permitted him to grow closer with the series' actors and "actually work with them on a level that e hadn'tbefore and really get down there with them." Wyman was originally supposed to direct several episodes the previous year and earlier in the season, but found he was too busy. He explained, "Then an episode was coming up that we were thinking about writing and I really felt close to it. The opportunity came up where somebody had fallen out and I felt that this is the perfect time because everything was completely under control. It allowed me to go and do it. It's an episode that's really close to me. It's about love and it's about all the great things that we talk about on ''Fringe''."

Actor Joshua Jackson was pleased that Wyman directed, as he found it nice to have "somebody who's in the writer's room day-in and day-out and knows the show so intimately, come in and jump behind the camera and are just a font of information." Seth Gabel was also happy with Wyman's direction, as the two were able to discuss themes in the script as well as how Wyman planned to shoot certain scenes. Gabel remarked that the director "wanted to do this fun thing that actually related to Lincoln's feelings about Olivia and how they were changing based on everything that's been happening. We played so many things that weren't in the script, that were between the lines in just looks, and he told me how he was gonna shoot it so I could really play with what the character was thinking and know that it would actually be seen in the end, and not end up on the cutting room floor because it wasn't in the script." Guest actor

appeared as Anson Carr, the episode's villain. Wyman believed that the character was "terrifying" and "definitely one of the most frightening bad guys we’ve had." Other guest stars included

as September and

as Dianna Sutter. The episode featured two pieces of music: "

White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! ...

" by

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

and "

The Friends of Mr Cairo The Friends of Mr Cairo is the second album by Jon and Vangelis, released in 1981. There are two editions of the album, with different sleeves. Both were released in 1981 within a few weeks of each other. The title track, "The Friends of Mr Cai ...

" by

Jon & Vangelis Jon and Vangelis was a music collaboration between British rock singer Jon Anderson (lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes) and Greek synthesiser musician Vangelis. The duo released four albums between 1980 and 1991. History In 1974, ...

Reception

Ratings

"A Short Story About Love" was first broadcast on March 23, 2012, in the United States on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

after a month hiatus. An estimated 2.87 million viewers watched the episode, marking a decrease in viewership from the previous episode. "A Short Story About Love" earned a ratings share of 0.9/3 among adults aged 18 to 49, meaning that it was seen by 0.9 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 3 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of broadcast. Among total viewers it placed in third for the night and second among adults.

Reviews

The episode received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

's Ramsey Isler rated "A Short Story About Love" with 8.5 out of 10, an indication of a "great" episode. While he criticized the episode's " mystery-of-the-week" for detracting from the episode's other storylines, Isler thought it improved when it began depicting Walter's investigation of September. Other stated highlights of the episode included Noble's performance and the reappearance of the beacon from an early first-season episode, the latter of which he noted, "Fans have been wondering for years what that damn thing was and how it played into the story." Isler concluded by observing that the story became "a little sappy" but was useful in "neatly" resolving the "is he or isn't he?' drama that marked this season and set up the show to move onto the bigger task of crafting what could be the end of everything ''Fringe''." Andrew Hanson of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' was pleased that little was revealed of the villain's backstory, but believed the episode really improved once it focused on Peter exploring September's apartment. Like Isler, Hanson was happy to see the beacon again, explaining that he "love any time ''Fringe'' reaches back to the crazy science of Season One." Writing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', Noel Murray gave the episode a B. He had an issue with the episode "reducing 'love' to an abstraction, for the sake of making it into a plot-driver," but noted that "at least 'A Short Story About Love' confines those wince-inducing reductions to a couple of short scenes, and in service of propelling this season’s 'displaced Peter' arc to a place that it needs to be." '' SFX''s Dave Bradley was more critical of the episode, opining that the love premise failed to "completely satisfy, at least not on a rational level" and that the "orange" universe explanation felt like "hand-waving, a cheeky attempt to untangle the series’ continuum without any further universe-hopping." Bradley also noted that the plot surrounding the villain, a "mad scientist

MacGuffin In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for ...

," seemed rushed and the script and direction "jarringly unsubtle", but that the episode featured good performances with "great details in every scene". Jeff Jensen of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' named "A Short Story About Love" the fifteenth best episode of the series, explaining "The timeline reboot of season 4 frustrated some fans, but the premise yielded several truly cool capture-the-imagination ideas that made for provocative drama, most notably ''Fringe''s most romantic hour... The fact that the episode also featured one of the show's seediest creepazoids — a serial killer who murdered men for their pheromones so he could make a perfume that allowed him to seduce their grieving female significant others — was a bonus. Icky, but bonus." Cory Barker of

TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...

named the episode the 17th best of the series, saying, "''Fringe'' has never been afraid of coming up with intimate, emotionally based—and sometimes very hokey—resolutions for its grand plots. Whatever you think about the choices the writers made in Season 4, it's hard to deny the emotional wallop this episode delivered."

References

External links

"A Short Story About Love"
at

Fox.com The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations and ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Short Story About Love, A 2012 American television episodes Fringe (season 4) episodes