It's a rather weird move from FOX, but then again, what haven't they done with Fringe lately that hasn't been weird? With the unaired season one episode "Unearthed" being thrown into the mix unexpectedly, fans are starting to accept that nothing is certain when it comes to scheduling the critically praised sophomore drama.
But this move really is strange. Strange in two ways, really: the change itself, and the motive behind the change.
We'll start with the change itself. The eleventh episode of season two was originally titled "Edina City Limits." There was a press release for the episode using that title, there were promotional photos released using that title. It seemed like the episode, slated to air on January 14, was definitely, certainly, going to be called "Edina City Limits."
Not anymore it's not.
It was revealed on Tuesday that the title of the episode has changed, and rather late in the game at that. Instead of "Edina City Limits," FOX is now calling the episode "Johari Window." That's quite a strange title compared to the relatively tame "Edina City Limits." So what exactly is a Johari window?
You can go ask your psychologist, apparently. A Johari window (as foreign as Johari sounds, it's actually a portmanteau of the people who created it: Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham) is a congnitive psychological tool that, according to Wikipedia, is "used to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships." And how does that work?
Basically, the subject of the exercise gets a list of fifty-five adjectives. They will pick five or six of these adjectives that they think describes their personality, while their peers are given a similar exercise, though asked to describe the subject instead of themselves.
Then, the adjectives chosen by the peers and the subject are placed onto a chart made of four squares (it resembles a window, as you can see at the left, which gives it the name). The squares, often referred to as rooms, are meant to hold different adjectives. Room 1, the arena, is for adjectives of the personality that both the subject and peers recognize. Room 2, the Blind Spot, is what the peers see in the subject, but what the subject does not see in himself. Room 3, the Unknown, is for adjectives that neither peers nor the subject see. Finally, room 4 is the facade, for the adjectives that the subject feels about himself but the peers do not.
How does the Johari window relate to the episode? Let's take a look at the plot section of the press release again:
Following an unexplained attack involving hideously deformed humans, the Fringe team visits the small town in upstate New York to uncover leads surrounding the bizarre case. When it's determined that these deformed people have managed to hide themselves for a while and they'll do just about anything to keep it that way, the investigation takes an unexpected turn.
Interesting, don't you think? What's your take on this sudden title change?
[...] episode was originally called “Edina City Limits“, which I think is a perfectly acceptable name. And this was one tof the series’s best [...]