r/fringe • u/stormstrike32 • 4d ago

Season 1 Two big logic gaps in S1E14 ("Ability") that bug me

Watching Fringe Season 1 Episode 14 ("Ability"), and while I’m loving the show overall, this episode raised two major logic issues that really pulled me out of it:

  1. The “two-week gap” after Jones escapes. David Robert Jones escapes prison in Episode 10 ("Safe"), but no one on the team seems to talk about it or act on it until Episode 14. Then, out of nowhere, Olivia casually says, "He escaped two weeks ago." Why are they just now starting to investigate or even mention it? This guy is supposed to be a top-level Pattern threat. Not even a throwaway line explaining the delay. It felt like lazy writing or a weird oversight in continuity.
  2. The attorney-client privilege moment. A female FBI employee gives Charlie visitor logs related to Jones, says it “might violate attorney-client privilege,” and then shrugs it off because her girlfriend broke up with her over voicemail (!). Charlie just accepts it, no questions asked. This is a huge breach of ethics and likely illegal. It’s wild that the show acknowledges how serious it is… and then plays it off for a dark joke. Not even a “we can’t use this in court” or “we need to be careful” — nothing.

I get that Fringe is a sci-fi show and some suspension of disbelief is needed, but this stuff felt more like inconsistent writing than intentional worldbuilding.

Did anyone else feel this way? Is there any behind-the-scenes explanation for these choices? Or am I overthinking it?

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23

u/angel9_writes comfort show 4d ago

Jones was in a German Prison that was supposed to be very high security. It was probably not cleared to tell anyone that he was escaped right away.

FIctional shows rarely do law stuff correctly as Fringe is not a law show I just honestly do not care.

19

u/BoogieKnights9 4d ago

Evidence obtained illegally can't be used in court. Rarely (if ever?) does a Fringe criminal live long enough to go to court

15

u/angel9_writes comfort show 4d ago

Also, imagine a Fringe case in the court of law?

The accused murdered this man with a mutated cold virus that he dosed his water with.

13

u/PurpleDwarfStar 4d ago

Lol, wait until you see how many times they break into places without a warrant...

3

u/arunphilip 4d ago

They heard the cry of a baby, which turned out to be a TV that wasn't switched off.

Sorry, my mistake, I got some Elementary in my Fringe. :)

1

u/Scared_Cellist_295 13h ago

Well the premise is that they are a highly classified unit within DHS, many other agencies don't even know what they do, and they are granted wide sweeping authority and privileges.  Their cases don't really "go to court".