What happened?
Walter followed a video clue to a pocket universe where his old self had secreted a young Observer boy. However, all Walter found there was a man who was trapped in the strange place and only when Olivia and Peter arrived did they discover a curious radio before they had to escape from Observers. Peter unleashed new-found powers to battle and kill one Observer before suddenly realising his vision had been transformed into a weird, blue view of the world.
Thoughts
Fringe seems to be hitting quite the good run with these last few episodes, this one in particular being hugely enjoyable. For me personally it's been the most absorbing and entertaining episode of the season and only a slightly disappointing conclusion to the mysterious pocket universe let it down. Luckily it had Peter on hand to turn on his inner Observer to pick up the slack and end things with a flourish.
There were a great deal of sci-fi references scattered throughout the episode, and I am sure they were deliberate. Peter and Olivia viewing the hologram of Etta was very reminiscent of Star Wars, the Princess Leia distress hologram planted in R2-D2. Walter was also later referred to as an only hope, too. Elsewhere there was a clear The Matrix vibe with the Through The Looking Glass exploits (Neo in The Matrix is compared to Alice) and Peter's sudden new vision of the world paralleled with the moment a reborn Neo was able to see the world of the matrix in its true green-coded truth. I suspect there were also other nods here and there (the old woman in the apartment block with the red eye reminded me of The Terminator, for example) though I can't profess to have spotted anymore.
Fringe has made these obvious references before; rather than being subtle about doffing its cap to sci-fi references it shouts them loud and proud. What do they mean? Well, I think they're a way of Fringe and its creators keeping themselves honest (if you acknowledge references you can't be accused of underhandedly stealing from them!) and also aligning the show with the genre family it belongs to. This season more than any is the most sci-fi Fringe has ever known. If previously it was dipping its toe and sifting its hands in the pool of science fiction, this season its gone and took a high dive right in.
This episode wasn't completely devoid of self-referencing, though. In terms of plot there was a recall of the Observer Boy from Season One. Hands up anyone who had kept him in their thoughts over the years and had been awaiting his return. Even if you had been such an ardent fan you must have surely assumed that it was one of those characters once-considered to have potential future plotlines which had since gone by the wayside. I won't go so far as to say that Fringe always intended to have him return in this manner but, whether it was planned or dredged up fortuitously, it's great to have him reintroduced.
Although, of course, we didn't actually get to meet him yet! But I am sure that since he was introduced here then he will form a part of the future direction of the show. A curious thought has occurred to me that the boy may grow up to be September - and I'm not discounting it quickly. I've no more to say about that possibility!
Other Fringe self-references appeared when the glyphs were on the doors within the pocket universe. Here was a hair-raising moment that, alas, fed into my disappointment when it was a revelation that was nothing more than a superficial thing. Glyphs that have appeared throughout Fringe (and filled the screen during what ought to be commercial breaks!) suddenly featured as icons on different doors. Wow! What could it all mean? Well, in this episode at least, we weren't told. It was, as I said, just one of those nice self-referential things.
That disappointment did bleed through my enjoyment of the episode. Walter's initial trip to the pocket universe, following his old self (with the mysterious Donald along for the ride) generated an intriguing premise. Then when he ran into the man that had been trapped in this world for apparently a few days, Cecil, I felt certain that there was going to be a surprise or two to come. I thought Cecil would turn out to be more than he first appeared - that he may have even turned out to be Donald himself. The episode and how creepy the pocket universe was just felt designed to be a neat little box of tricks that was harbouring a surprise.
You could argue the surprise was delivered in terms of the Observer Boy being revealed, but for me I was just expecting to be taken by surprise by a real-time revelation in the plot. Instead Cecil was simply killed off quickly and rendered near-obsolete. It transpired by the episode's end that his function was to serve as a barometer of Walter's conscience, and the dissipation of it. Here, to be fair, was a very interesting idea. That since the Observer Windmark disassembled Walter's psyche it had reconstructed itself as it was before Walter had a breakdown and spent time in a mental institute. We've already seen what this version of Walter is like, with Alt-Walter as encountered Over There.
It's not that this is necessarily an evil Walter, but what he may become is a far more ruthless and unsympathetic version of himself. Ironically this may be exactly the man they need to win their war against The Observers, but the cost to Walter and the people around him may be great. And, of course, this is merely a minor parallel to what's going on with Peter. . .
As expected, Peter's transition into 'ObserPeter' is a slow one, though from the evidence here he's a quick learner. His throwdown fight with an Observer was the episode's high point yet served as a precursor to his awakening to a new vision. Quite what this level of sight will allow him to perceive is, indeed, unclear. I can only assume it will allow him to see the world how the Observers do, perhaps on a more multi-layered temporal level (as in he can see the future, or alternatives of it).
On a final note, there was another huge poster of Etta in this episode carrying the message 'Resist'. A whole slew of these same posters were all over a street in the previous episode. I'm not sure if I am reading too much into it because I suspect it is purely to state that, in death, she is becoming a symbol of the resistance movement. Yet there's something really quite strange about them. Who is putting them up? The smaller posters I could live with, but the huge one? Simply left untouched and unchecked by The Observers? It seems odd. I like them, mind - and I do hope they are the small beginnings of a larger movement taking shape.
What was the best part?
The moment The Observers launched their assault and pursuit the episode delivered a powerhouse sequence. Olivia got her moment of kick-ass cool when, accosted by an Observer, she had the presence of mind to drag him through the portal when she realised her gun didn't work in the pocket universe. Blam blam, down he went. (I do have a mild issue with how easily The Observers are getting taken down by super-speed bullets but, for now, I'll let it slide.) This then segued into Peter's fist fight with an Observer, which served to see him develop the speed and reactions Observers possess to take down his enemy. As he told the captured Observer in the previous episode, if he had their tech he would be far greater than they ever were. On the evidence here he's proving himself true to his belief.
What do I think will happen next?
The quest to track down the radio signal is afoot, which ought to lead the group to either Donald, the Observer boy, or the pair of them. Walter will perhaps have to come to terms with his more mercenary conscience, and Peter will have to develop the skills he is harbouring. What will be interesting is whether Peter tells Olivia about what he has done before she figures out something is wrong with him. I suspect she'll confront him about how he has been able to do something impossible and he will come clean about it. I also suspect she won't be happy about it - but whether she considers it too much to continue with or a necessary evil for a greater good is a tough call. I suspect Peter won't easily relinquish this neck-tech, though, whatever her reaction.
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