Of all the things you wouldn’t expect to happen when inside a busy train in the middle of rush is to sit right next to an old man watching one of the best mind-f*cking sci-fi shows of all time.

courtesy of Fox, taken from http://yvrshoots.com/

I was coming him from my job training in Taguig and was on a train ride home when I sat next to an elderly man, probably around his 60’s. He was watching a TV show off his smartphone and is listening through his earphones. I couldn’t help but look over to what he was watching and was surprised to see it’s an episode of Fringe that he was tuned into.

If you’re not familiar with Fringe, it’s a show where bizarre cases are tackled by a specialised taskforce of the FBI called the Fringe Division. Their job is to address these cases that borders on the realm of fringe science, and while at the same time, save the world from threats that could send ripples across the universe.

So, I’m more or less a casual fan, someone who don’t watch the show religiously but have been following the show through spoilers and online discussions. I have managed to watch a couple of episodes since season 3: 1 episode for Season 3, 7 for Season 4 and 2 for Season 5. Watching an episode of Fringe is not for the faint-hearted, I must say, as the brain could end up mind-f*cking you before the credits roll.

I didn’t want to disturb the elderly man who’s so concentrated to what he’s watching. I noticed it was Fringe he’s tuned into when I caught a glimpse of Agent Broyles, a character of the show, so I was just head turning the whole time.

The look on the man’s face was very serious. He’s so into it that I can’t imagine what he’d do if someone ruined his watching experience. Maybe stare at the guy’s eyes and have him spontaneously combust? That I’d like to see.

Unfortunately, I arrived at my stop so I had to leave the old man in his lonesome. He seem unfazed so I hoping he was aware on where he is or worse, come to worse, he may have missed his stop along the way.

And to end things on a good light, here is Fringe at its grandest: