August (S02E09)
Airdate: 3 December 2009
Written by: David Wilcox Directed by: Paul Holahan
Running Time: 44 minutes
The demands of American broadcast television during the first decade of the twenty-first century created an unavoidable reality for showrunners: twenty-plus episode seasons were the norm, and even the most imaginative programmes eventually found themselves scraping the barrel for material. This structural pressure meant that even ambitious series like Fringe would inevitably produce subpar "filler" episodes, existing merely to fill the schedule. The show's creators occasionally attempted to disguise these creative droughts with various gimmicks, and in the case of Snakehead, the ninth episode of the second season, they opted for an exotic setting and ripped-from-the-headlines premise to mask the episode's fundamental lack of inspiration.
What makes Snakehead marginally more interesting than your standard monster-of-the-week fare is its grounding in actual events. The title refers to "Snakehead"—the term used for criminal organisations operating in South China that specialised in smuggling impoverished Chinese nationals into the United States and other Western nations. These operations first captured international attention in 1993 when the cargo ship Golden Venture ran aground near New York City with 286 desperate people packed aboard its hold. Ten passengers drowned during the incident, their deaths exposing the brutal reality of human trafficking to the American public.
The episode opens with the aftermath of a similar maritime disaster near Dorchester, Massachusetts. A cargo vessel carrying illegal Chinese immigrants has run aground, and both crew and passengers appear to have fallen victim to a parasitic, squid-like worm that grows rapidly within its host before ultimately killing them. The survivors scatter to Boston's Chinatown, where they encounter a mysterious man played by Tzi Ma. He is fully aware of their condition yet chooses to do nothing to assist them, watching with apparent indifference as the infection takes its toll.
The Fringe Division arrives at the scene to discover Mei Lan (Rene Wang), a woman who miraculously avoided infection because she had refused the seasickness medication distributed during the voyage. She informs the team that another ship is expected within forty-eight hours, carrying her husband and daughter among its human cargo. The implication is clear: without intervention, her family will suffer the same gruesome fate.
Back in the laboratory, Walter identifies the giant parasites as a modified variant of Ancylostoma duodenale—parasitic worms that, in traditional Chinese medicine, are actually employed for therapeutic purposes. In a moment of scientific curiosity that borders on recklessness, one of the still-living worms bites Walter. Rather than falling ill, he suddenly feels remarkably well—better than he has in years. This leads him to conclude that the entire smuggling operation was merely cover for manufacturing a valuable medicine extracted from the worms' glands.
Olivia and her team pursue a Triad gang member potentially connected to the smuggling ring, while simultaneously investigating the criminal organisation's network of shell companies. Their enquiries lead them to Elizabeth Jarvis (Ingrid Torrance), a wealthy investor who initially denies any involvement. However, Peter notices that her home has been hermetically sealed—a telling detail that suggests she has been using the worm-derived medicine herself. The truth eventually emerges: Jarvis has been securing the treatment for her son Matt (Colby Paul), who suffers from a rare immunodeficiency condition requiring monthly injections directly into his spleen.
The worm's bite has such a rejuvenating effect on Walter that he does something unprecedented since his release from the mental institution: he ventures outside alone. He travels to Chinatown to consult various herbalists for his research, with Astrid trailing behind for protection. Following their encounter, however, Astrid goes missing, and Walter finds himself utterly lost—unable to navigate the unfamiliar streets and, in a moment of heartbreaking confusion, incapable of recalling Peter's telephone number. Astrid returns to the laboratory only to be attacked by gang members attempting to recover the confiscated worms. Later, when Peter and Walter search for additional specimens, Peter is abducted by Triad operatives. He narrowly escapes infection when the FBI raids the facility, killing the gang leader—whose real name is revealed to be Ming Che. The episode concludes with Mei Lan reunited with her family, who are promised political asylum in the United States. Overcome with remorse for the trouble he has caused, Walter injects himself with a tracking implant and hands Peter the transponder—a gesture both practical and deeply poignant.
If Snakehead has any redeeming qualities, they lie almost exclusively in its special effects. The giant worms—whether swimming ominously in pools or emerging grotesquely from victims' mouths—represent genuinely effective body horror that recalls the genre's best traditions. Unfortunately, this visual inventiveness is followed by a disappointingly generic crime narrative in which the protagonists defeat the evildoers with minimal difficulty and deliver a surprisingly tidy happy ending through the family's reunion.
The episode's other notable strength is John Noble's consistently excellent performance. He particularly shines in the scene depicting Walter's desperate helplessness as he struggles to remember Peter's phone number—a small moment that speaks volumes about the character's fragility and the tragedy of his damaged mind.
Walter's rescue comes from an unexpected source: an elderly Chinese woman named Fae, played by Diana Ha, whom he encounters at a bus stop. She briefly shelters him in her modest apartment before Peter arrives to collect his father—a quiet act of kindness that provides one of the episode's few genuinely human moments.
Snakehead is technically competent piece of television. The production values are sound, the performances adequate, and the pacing efficient. Yet it ends as a rather uninspired and ultimately forgettable entry in the Fringe catalogue—an episode that passes the time without leaving any lasting impression, destined to be skipped on rewatch by all but the most committed completists.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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