"Amber 31422" Review
The concept is intriguing, but it’s beginning to wear a little thin. Over the last five episodes, we’ve seen this come to a head, and I hope it’s not something that’s going to continue throughout Season 3. The two Olivias should finally meet before the story arc loses momentum. It looks like the writers agree now that Olivia fully recalls who she is (at least, I hope she has).
“Amber 31422” has a really nice ending, where Olivia calls her niece on the phone while overlooking the Manhattan cityscape, devoid of the World Trade Center. It was a poignant and oddly touching moment that I didn’t see coming.
This brings up an issue though. How strong is Olivia’s bond with Peter if he’s not making her recall her true identity? It’s Olivia’s niece, Ella - not Peter - that she calls and has that moment of clarity. Maybe I’m looking too far into this (after all, it’s Ella’s birthday) but it’s definitely something to consider.
The story-of-the-week aspect of “Amber 31422” is fairly strong, too. The use of twins give the episodes a few nice twists as to who’s who while the events unfold. There’s a really nice relationship between the brothers, and one sacrificing himself for the other might be a bit predictable, but it’s powerful, nonetheless.
“Amber 31422” is a well-writing and directed episode. I just worry that the writers will continue too long on this path of Olivia not putting the clues together in a timely fashion. Let’s hope that the phone call with her niece gave Olivia a full realization, and that she’ll go rogue and get back to her universe soon.
I guess my problem is that there’s no real Olivia in Season 3. We’ve seen glimpses, but overall, it comes down to two Alternate Olivias - one pretending to be the real Olivia and one drugged into being the fake Olivia. That sounds confusing, but I think you know what I mean. It just feels like we’re missing our main character.
Let’s hope she’s back soon.
-MP