Fringe: S05 Ep11 – The Boy Must Live

What happened?

The Fringe team track down September to his home, where he lives as a regular person as a punishment for what he did against his own people. However, he reveals that he is technically Michael’s father, and had taken him from the future because he represented a hybrid of emotion and intellect that, if taken to the future, could avert the course of time so that The Observers never come into being. This is the plan he and Walter conceived, and all looks set to be in motion only for Windmark to arrive and capture Michael.

Thoughts

See, the problem I have often had with Fringe is that I don’t follow the show closely enough, as in reading online and so forth, to remember and recall all the minutiae and details. And the nagging feeling I am left with now, at the point of the show’s finale, are that things I expected to get resolved may not even need resolving at all. The First People business is one such thing that, I feel, was definitely something that got left hanging and I figured that if Fringe was going to really complete itself then that was something that needed to be addressed.

Now I fear that this may never happen at all – and that intriguing quandary of why Olivia’s face featured in an image taken from an ancient, dissolved civilisation has been made somehow redundant. (Or maybe it won’t? Or maybe the matter was resolved and I just haven’t realised it? This is my problem!) So I’ll park that idea for now and try to continue this piece as though that wasn’t something I had ever heard about – God knows that looks like what Fringe is doing!

This episode was a curiously sedate affair and, actually, for one that was a lynchpin reveal of massive meaning and one that paved the way for the finale, it felt very underwhelming. I think it was September (now Donald, a name I can’t quite get used to even if he was named after an actor from Singin’ In The Rain) and his subdued manner that bled into the vibe. His mellow, easygoing nature undercut the impact of what he had to impart. And he had some big bombshells to impart.

He was from far into the future, and during that time his DNA was used to generate Michael who was considered an anomaly. Realising his son had emotional development against the nature of The Observers, a quality that could ultimately be used to change the passage of time entirely, he stole Michael away into the past to keep him safe. Now the time has come for him to be used to stop The Observers. . .

Right. Hold up. Hands up who can’t see the obviously plot hole? Namely: Why did September transport Michael back so far into the past when he could have just taken him directly to these people who would realise that removing emotions from humans for superior intelligence was not the correct course of action? If September had done that then The Observers would never have existed, right?

OK, so maybe there we have our answer in a paradox. If September took Michael to meet the scientists then that would change their minds and the course of time and mean The Observers would never come into being and, thus, there would be no September or Michael. Ah, right, so if there’s no Observers there’s no September or Michael to then stop them from existing. Space-time continuum meltdown. It’s the classic grandfather paradox that anyone who has a passing interest in time travel theories will have encountered. Fringe does have the option of alternate universes to resolve such matters, but there’s been no hint of that this season.

The paradox issue hasn’t gone away, either. Even if Walter’s plan is successful and Michael manages to change the course of the future it will mean The Observers never come into being and, ultimately, that Michael could never have existed and the same paradox will present itself. So how will that work? How can that work?

Maybe it won’t. Maybe the plan will fail. That would certainly avoid a paradox, though of course leave our gang with a big Observer-shaped problem to try and resolve. . . But I don’t imagine that the finale is going to go smoothly so such failures are to be expected.

However, there’s another matter in play here, mentioned in this episode, which suggests Walter and September’s plan will work: Olivia, Peter and Etta. I really liked the moment where Olivia took herself out of the room and took a glass of water as she absorbed the hopeful wisp of chance that this plan would change the course of time and bring Etta back. In this idea we have a happy ending for the entire show and it’s one that I simply cannot imagine not occurring. Hear me loud and clear: Olivia, Peter and Etta reunited has to be the end of the show. Only, if it is, and that means some kind of timeline reset occurs, then I have to wonder if it can possibly be the same Olivia and Peter we are seeing here.

It’s a bit like when Peter stepped into the machine and crunched the timelines, erasing himself and creating this new timeline. For that at least he had Olivia to bring him back, and furthermore he then brought back the ‘old’ Olivia. Maybe they could pull the same trick again? Re-write history, shift the universe around them and the two together still retain their consciousness – perhaps getting to enjoy the sunny day in the park without The Observers arriving. (Indeed, that’s the scene which is my best bet for the last scene.)

That’s a lot of projection, but this episode was a bit of a data dump that was all about setting up the final hour and a half of the show that remains so, you know, it’s to be expected.

I do have an axe to grind about how Walter’s character was handled this episode. The phantom menace of his alter-ego threatening to rise like a maniacal demon that has been brewing for the past couple of episodes was abruptly cut dead here. A bright and breezy Walter had emerged following Michael’s touch.

To be fair the episode did a good job in explaining why Walter had changed, and it was a convincing one. This was a man that had been loaded up with memories from a different universe, refreshed with momentous moments and powerful emotions from his and his alternate’s histories. He felt like a new man because, in effect, he had been imbued with the memories of another, better life. Furthermore he had also been given the knowledge that for his plan to succeed he had to die, and so he was also a man facing the final days of his life. So don’t get me wrong, I understand why he has changed and, for the record, I think it’s a terrific accumulated union of the various Walters we have seen finally reaching a form of reconciliation.

As September remarked, Walter himself had agreed to the plan because he considered it a just and righteous thing to compensate for the misdeeds of his past. And, in truth, it had occurred to me that Walter’s conclusion before the show ended would almost certainly mean his death. For all of his positives and lovable quirks he was responsible for breaking through into another universe and all the death and destruction that has happened since. There has never been any getting away from that, not to mention the terrible deeds he wreaked on the Cortexiphan kids. Yes, Walter is a hero and has found nobility, but I do anticipate his death will have to occur to give his character closure.

What’s my problem with Walter’s sudden change then? Basically because it feels like the previous episodes’ build-up was a misfiring anti-climax. The spectre of Walter’s dark side threatening to capsize everything was actually a terrific plot in waiting and would have made for a terrifying finale. Consider how intimidating Walternate was. The intellect mixed with a lack of compassion is far more fearsome than Windmark can ever hope to be. But this has now, apparently, been dropped like a hot brick.

Windmark has become interesting, however. Fuelled by revenge he can’t even articulate and disobeying his superiors, he reminded me of Agent Smith in The Matrix (not for the first time has Fringe made me think of that movie), unplugging himself from the system. I don’t know if Windmark’s thirst to stop the Fringe Team is headed in a clever direction or if it’s just creating a focussed villain for our heroes to contend against. It seems late in the day for Windmark to, ironically, discover human emotions that allies him to the very people he hunts in a meaningful way. But you never know. There’s still a little bit of time for twists and turns yet and I like that the show is doing something interesting with him.

Coming into the finale I am excited about it, purely because it is the finale of a show that I have been watching for years and so to see it all come to a conclusion is an exciting prospect. Strangely (and probably unfairly, actually) I am not excited in the sense that I have high expectations I am certain will be blown away. Fringe has been in great form and yet, for whatever reason, I can’t help but feel that the resolution will pretty much go with a bittersweet happy ending (Walter dead, Olivia, Peter and Etta together) and with some convoluted plotting through time and maybe realities to see that happen.

But I’ll tell you this: If they do manage to drag that First People stuff back and make it matter then Fringe will have me clapping and nodding and maybe, just maybe, make me revise and review the whole show with a whole new level of respect.

What was the best part?

Whilst the final scenes were enjoyably tense as everyone tried to slip through the Observers’ net and get onto the train, surely the best scene was when Walter spoke with September/Donald alone and there came the flatly-delivered reveal that Walter knew he had to die. The little speech about how it was that Michael had shown Walter those amazing moments in his life as if to prepare him to commit to such a deed was beautifully played by John Noble. Whilst I thought the sudden squandering of the menace of evil Walter was too conveniently sidestepped this bittersweet moment went a long way to compensating for it.

What do I think will happen next?

Barring the far-flung idea of the First People concept being reintroduced then all I can conceive for the finale is that, as Olivia hopes, a reset button of sorts gets hit and a new timeline is generated – one where Olivia, Peter and Etta all live. (How that happens without erasing the characters we know and replacing them I can’t imagine. Maybe it won’t. Maybe the show will erase the timeline and a new, happier timeline will be installed where the likes of Peter and Olivia never did any of the things we saw them do. . . Not sure I’d like that, but it wouldn’t exactly be a unique concept for the show considering it’s done it before!)

Here’s some things I do expect. I expect to see Broyles again. I expect to see William Bell. I expect at least one or two of our heroes to venture into the future, after rescuing Michael, and trying to show that world the folly in abandoning emotions in pursuit of intellectual superiority. And I expect, as stated, a timeline reset switch to be hit. (And maybe the only way Olivia and Peter can avoid erasure is by going way back into the past and becoming the First People!? I just can’t let it go!) Lastly, whilst I can anticipate that Walter may very well pay the ultimate sacrifice, Olivia, Peter and Etta will be reunited and live together again. That’s the happy ending. It absolutely has to occur. . . right?

Fringe: S05 Ep10 – XB-6783746

 What happened?

The Fringe Team turn to Nina for help in communicating with the Observer Boy, Michael, since he seems unresponsive. Windmark finds out Nina is helping the resistance and is with Michael, but she manages to hide him away before facing Windmark, ultimately taking her own life before he can interrogate her. The Fringe team discover what has happened and find Michael, also making the discovery that the mysterious Donald is September!

Thoughts

So Nina is the first big longstanding character casualty before the curtain closes on Fringe. She’s moved from being a villainous presence in Season One to a more motherly ally throughout her various incarnations, and this episode made sure her last scene was a fitting and dignified send off – and, of course, came complete with an unresolved mystery. Outside of that major event, and the reveal at the end, this was something of a slender episode. Not much happened outside of the orchestrations of getting Nina alone to face her fate and having the surprise that Donald was actually September.

I can take a modicum of self-satisfied credit in having predicted this would occur after seeing the previous episode. Sometimes my thoughts about what will happen next do turn out right!

So Donald turning out to be September means we can certainly expect to see him appear, perhaps in the next episode. Why does he now have hair? It could have been a wig, of course, but I am leaning towards the idea that he has managed to rid himself of his neck-tech and become more human – somehow reversing the changes in his brain. Quite how he has managed to be around at all is, of course, a matter of mystery since he was effectively killed off by a bullet and then disappeared from the operating table. I’m sure Fringe has a good explanation for that but it’s not something I am going to bother trying to fathom out beforehand! I’ll just wait and see.

I anticipate that further communication with Michael, using that strange mind-reading contraption, will lead the gang to September. I did think the contraption was a bit of technology overkill. Michael seemed able to communicate with Olivia in the previous episode, nodding when she asked if he knew her. So having to have this mind-reading piece of kit seemed overtly unnecessary. I suspect it was more a product of plot necessity; a reason to get the Fringe gang out of the lab so leaving Nina alone to face Windmark.

Before Nina killed herself she was treated to a moment of revelation from Michael when he touched her and she apparently experienced or witnessed something amazing (and, unless I grossly misinterpreted, something very good). I wonder if it wasn’t a glimpse into many alternate worlds, versions of herself in all of these different universes. Or perhaps it was just a vision of the future that was taking shape. . . I fully expect that Michael will pull the same trick with one of our main characters and we will actually get to see for ourselves what he shows them, so it ought to be something that translates.

I’ll be over the moon if it’s a leftfield, game-changing shift – but I’d rather not set my expectations too high for the finale. A satisfactory conclusion will suffice – anything more seems improbable (when you consider how much is left to do to reach a satisfactory conclusion!).

As stated there wasn’t much else occurring during this episode outside of those two major revelations aside from the slow crank of cantankerous Walter slowly dripping away his compassion that we all ought to keep out eye on. But I can’t complain when an episode can kill of a major character and find time to drop a whopper of a reveal just before the closing credits. There still feels like a lot to do before the end but, strangely, I am assured by the measured pacing of events in this episode that things are in good order.

What was the best part?

Nina’s final scene was a fine farewell to this stalwart of the show. She was defiant to the end, and whilst suicide could be considered a cowardly act it was actually a moment of heroism. If Nina hadn’t taken her own life then Windmark would have done so, but not before he had interrogated and broken her mind to find out where Michael was and who knows what else. Indeed, Windmark may have discovered what it was that Michael showed to Nina when he touched her, and that was certainly something he had no business knowing about! So Nina turning the gun on herself was a noble act that gives our Fringe team the grace to continue the fight.

What do I think will happen next?

I now expect Walter’s plan to really take shape so we can see what it is the gang are intending to accomplish to defeat the Observers. September may be the final piece of the puzzle, and I would expect that further mind-reading communications with Michael ought to get them there (or, perhaps, Walter has now remembered enough to be able to figure it out for himself). There’s still time travel wormholes in play, that could lead to a massive leap back in time and the creation of the First People. . .?

An outlandish theory: Walter’s grand plan involves generating a machine or device that is capable of harnessing the power of one of those wormholes and is used to cast the Observers way, way back into history. In effect they become the First People – an advanced civilisation that died out and were forgotten – leaving the future clear for humanity to continue without them. Now that’s what I call a far-reaching prediction! (And I actually rather like it!)

Fringe: S05 Ep09 – Black Blotter

What happened?

Walter took some LSD which prompted visitations from his past, with hallucinatory demons taunting him with the idea that his more egotistical self, the personality he tried to bury, is coming to the fore and taking control of his actions and eventually his psyche to become dominant. Meanwhile the team track down the radio signal to a house where the Observer boy is living and he is given over to their custody to continue the plan.

Thoughts

It’s hard to say that I’ve been a big fan of Fringe when it’s gone down it’s more fantastical route. I shudder to think of the Brown Betty singing episode, for example, which is better left forgotten. But then there have been other episodes that have fared better and, since they are something of a feature of the show then I can’t begrudge it giving Walter one last hurrah with his drugs. And, truth was, aside from the Monty Python-inspired animation sequence (the purpose of which I don’t particularly appreciate other than it seemed to inspire Walter to remember the password was “black umbrella”) the hallucinations were either startling imagery (I am thinking of the emerald castle on the island) or entertaining (the little fairies flitting about the place).

The moment where Walter tranced out and saw key moments of his life projected onto the walls were also the episode’s best moment; seeing the scenes again where he proclaimed to be a God in the laboratory, and the moment he went through the gateway on Lake Reiden and set in motion the events we have seen over the course of many seasons. It was a nice way of reviewing some of the big moments that have occurred in Fringe and a reminder of how we got to this point. I think it also served to generate the sense of monstrosity about the man Walter was and so earn that climactic end of his hallucinated doppelganger leering back at him.

I don’t fully believe that Walter will become that man, though if Fringe does want to go down the route of having Walter answer to his demon, and his crimes, and have him pay the ultimate price for it then it’s a plot idea that would be a brave and powerful move.  For now, however, I am more expectant that Walter may prove to be an obstacle to himself and the group that will have to be overcome if the plan is to succeed.

I am still none-the-wiser as to what that plan actually is, though they now have Observer boy in their custody to help with it!

Observer boy doesn’t say much, mind. I am not sure exactly what he is. It’s been established that the Observers are what they are due to the tech that’s in the back of their necks. Unless Observer boy also has this tech (which I am reasonably sure he doesn’t) then he does present something of a head scratch about what exactly he is. I am sure there’ll be some kind of unifying answer to that presented in due course - Fringe wouldn’t have brought him back if they didn’t have a good purpose for him, right?

Peter seems to be pretty much back to himself with only a bit of a headache as the side-effect of his radical Observification over the past few episodes. He rightly thanked Olivia for sticking by him, though that moment of reconciliation was really the only bit of character interplay the episode had time for. The episode shoehorned in a bit of action at the docks, with some guards showing up so our heroes could get their gunplay on, but whilst it was mildly entertaining it didn’t add much value. No, time was better spent indulging in Walter’s psyche and setting up him as a ticking timebomb that may just turn betrayer before the end. . .

There was a little bit more business concerning the identity of Don and the appearance (in skeletal form) of Sam Weiss. Both of these are interesting and I am kind of glad they didn’t just dip out and introduce Don as just some guy – I am still holding out hope that there is a good reason why he has been kept as something of an enigma so that when he is eventually introduced it will amaze us. My most recent idea has it that Don is September, but with his tech removed. I rather like the idea, and I will be surprised if Fringe gets to the very end without bringing September back into things at some point.

The business of Sam Weiss being reintroduced also makes me hold out hope that the grand ideas about the ‘first people’ that he was a big driver of over a season ago may yet be brought back into the thick of things. A couple of years have passed since those shows and those discussions so the true nature of what it was about is a little lost on me. As I remember it, the first people were an advanced civilisation that existed on Earth a long time before this civilisation – a people that lived and were lost. And the suggestion was that Olivia, Peter and Walter were a part of that civilisation. It was always a beguiling and complex concept Fringe seemed to be on the cusp of delving into and, in the last season, seemed to have ducked away from entirely. Maybe Sam Weiss’ skeleton is an indication that it’s making a comeback for the finale.

What was the best part?

I liked Walter’s hallucination of being in the car, having apparently gone off by himself and done the very thing he vowed he never would. As Observers approached the car things looked dire only for it to transpire it was a mental flight of fancy. However the better part was in the laboratory, with Walter remembering the things he had done projected onto the walls. Lovely bit of remembrance for Fringe fans, all set to dramatic music, and serving as a little refresher on gloriously strong moments in the show’s history as it looks set to head into the final stretch. The last few episodes are upon us. . .

What do I think will happen next?

Walter will have to wrestle with his alter-ego whilst he tries to put into motion the final touches to this mysterious grand plan of his. Observer boy is obviously going to have a big say in it, and I’ve still not seen a better idea than the ridiculous Magneto machine notion that I was discussing in the previous Fringe post. Really this feels like one of those moments where the show has put itself into a position where it can show its hand about where it intends to go next and, for me, that means I’m just strapping myself in for the ride ahead.

Fringe: S05 Ep08 - The Human Kind

What happened?

Whilst Peter has gone solo in his quest to kill Windmark, Olivia ventures out to continue Walter’s plan and procure a large magnet. She is captured but manages to escape her captors whilst they wait to turn her in for the bounty on her head. Peter’s plans to kill Windmark hit a snag when he is caught in a fight. Undeterred, he sets about putting Windmark back on the path that will lead to his death and it’s only Olivia seeking him out and pleading with him to remove the tech before he loses his humanity that wins out. Peter cuts the tech out of his head and Windmark survives.

Thoughts

I have to say that was rather more shortlived than I expected! Peter’s removal of the tech that could have been him change into more of an Observer happened far sooner than I would have predicted. Perhaps it’s purely because this final season is shorter than the others and, of course, since it is the final season then there’s an awful lot that needs to get resolved. It could be taken, however, that these past few episodes which have seen Peter change into the enemy only to abruptly stop after a few episodes have been a bit of a non-event.

I’d disagree. I think they have been very illuminating. Firstly, for the sake of dramatic television, they’ve been really entertaining and intriguing. In terms of action, the fight scenes have been totally cool (this episode, in particular, being really special). And watching Peter’s transformation has been a disturbing, captivating one. For that alone Fringe can be forgiven for taking this plot route.

Perhaps more importantly seeing what happened to Peter when he used the tech has allowed us to better understand what The Observers actually are, and I have found this most beneficial. To have it explained and shown about how it is they can predict future events, for example, has been great. Without the explanation The Observers could have been perceived as these all-knowing beings, with limitless capability. Having it shown that they can calculate the trajectory of events by knowing key events that have taken place is a lot more grounded. (Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s not particularly believable but in the context of the Fringe universe it’s acceptable.)

Their ability to teleport is a little more woolly, but it’s OK. We can appreciate that it’s another skill that comes along with the tech that Peter put into his head and quite what the limitations and boundaries of that are perhaps just depends on the individual. What has been most pertinent about Peter’s minor foray into becoming an Observer is in allowing us to comprehend what they are and where they came from. Previously I considered them to be a version of the human race from many centuries into the future, a version of us that had evolved into the bald, super-intelligent yet emotionally distant beings. Now I have learned that they are not particularly far removed from us at all and it’s fundamentally technology that has transformed and, curiously, enslaved them.

As has often been the case with Fringe it’s true love that trumps technology – specifically Olivia and Peter. When universes collapse and Peter steps into the breach to forge an entirely new one that erases him from existence, Olivia is there to sustain the love and bring him back. And here again, just as Peter is on the verge of losing himself forever, Olivia is there with nothing but love to bring him back. As she stated, the key difference between humans and The Observers is their capacity to feel. Far from being their Achilles heel it’s their greatest strength.

The matter of whether or not the Fringe team, in their battle against The Observers, are doing anything that can avert the future entirely is another matter. Can The Observers somehow be thwarted so that they never exist at all? And what does that mean for the space-time continuum if they do? Will Etta ever be able to come back or will she truly be memorialised as a figurehead of the resistance once humanity frees itself? I am expecting some form of happy resolution to all of this once the very last credits rolls, so I can’t help but wonder what shape that will take. I still feel unable to comprehend the idea that Peter and Olivia will have inherit a future without their daughter. . .

It was good to see Olivia being pushed back into the fray. She had become a little sidelined during the past couple of episodes but, as I expected, she didn’t crumple. She got on with the task of continuing the plan without Peter and, at the same time, keeping her busy mind whirring on how she was going to get him back. The actual mission to go and get the magnet from the people at the small farm commune felt like an odd foray. I am not quite sure what the significance of the woman who had some kind of spiritual gift was supposed to be about, but it did get me a little worried. Olivia listened to what she had to say, and took in the astonishing truth that the woman knew she had a bullet on her (and wouldn’t that come in useful later!), and then she hit the woman with her version of the truth: no matter how mystical and wondrous it may all seem, it basically just comes down to anomalies and numbers.

The woman wasn’t particularly perturbed by what she heard, and this made me wonder if Fringe was sowing the seeds for a more spiritual end to its science-heavy journey. That the solution to the future of mankind, which leads to The Observers and their tech, could be averted by a more new-age path.. . That idea worries me. It would feel like a cheap cop-out. I really liked Olivia’s clinical answer and her convictions that the world is full of many strange and inexplicable things that don’t need a spiritual rationale applied. Fringe has been blessedly free of such things, and to take that leftfield turn now wouldn’t sit right. Lost and Battlestar Galactica all saw out their finales in that manner, but the pair of them had those notions rooted in their core from their inception. Fringe hasn’t been made that way and I’ll take a lot of convincing if it tries to twist itself into that shape of things to come.

Now that Olivia has the big magnet it does make me wonder what on Earth Walter’s plan actually is. I must confess that I have rather lost track of what materials they have picked up over their scavenger hunts during these episodes, though I recall there is still the small Observer boy to be tracked down and surely he is a part of the plan. So we have a big magnet, which presumably will be fashioned as part of some large device, and the Observer boy potentially to be a key part of it. Call me crazy, but I can’t help thinking of X-Men and Professor X and his machine that allows him to telepathically connect to all mutants. I wonder if Walter might just build something like that, which would allow Observer boy to connect to all the other Observers. . .

OK, sure, you can call me crazy – that does sound pretty nuts.

What was the best part?

Peter’s scrap with Windmark was the highlight. I didn’t realise it at the time but this was surely Peter’s last bit of action with Observer powers, so at least they made it a good one. The choreography and coolness of teleporting and grappling and fighting were ingeniously put to use – good enough to have been a part of a blockbuster fight sequence for sure. Windmark wasn’t taken down easily, of course – he’s going to be around right up to the finale, no doubt about it. . .

What do I think will happen next?

OK, so barring the idea that Walter’s plan isn’t to build a big ‘Magneto machine’ for Observers, I would get myself back down to more basic next steps. With Peter back on the team Walter’s plan is their major course of advancement so I should hope the radio they found in the pocket universe will be put to use in tracking down the mysterious Donald and Observer boy. I suppose there ought to be a reason why Donald's identity has been kept secret, too – and potentially that truth could lead to something further. Right now I’ll hazard a guess that Donald is either from a different time or a different universe, and his existence is proof that there’s a way to get rid of The Observers without wrecking the space-time continuum.

Fringe: S05 Ep07 – Five-Twenty-Ten

What happened?

Peter tests his newfound powers of prediction to lay a trap for a couple of Observers. After some trial and error he manages to position two Observers in a room with a suitcase bomb that he detonates. In the meantime Olivia and Walter reunite with Nina to acquire the tech to follow more clues for Walter’s grand plan. Their quest leads them to one of William Bell’s lockers, wherein is found a picture of Nina that confounds Walter’s view that Belly was an uncaring man. As Walter’s own sense of personality is slipping away he confides that he is scared about what he will become and asks Nina to remove pieces of his brain. The team do, however, manage to procure two beacons for themselves to help continue their plan, but Peter has plans of his own to kill more high level Observers, including Windmark.

Thoughts

After such an outstanding run of episodes it was inevitable that Fringe was going to reach a dip in form. Not that this episode was particularly bad at all – it just felt like less of a zinger than the previous few. The kind of episode that keeps things moving, setting up the next big hit, rather than delivering the knockout blow. Definitely no slouch, though, and further validation that Fringe is in rude health and seeing its final season out in fine, fine style.

As I sort of expected from the previous episodes, Peter’s new vision attributes (or upgrades, if you prefer) allow him to see permutations of future events. As seems to be the case by how Peter explained it, he generates his understanding of what will happen by observing and recording things that are happening and seeing patterns that allow him to read the most probable future. I rather like this explanation of how The Observers themselves are able to predict what is happening next, as it makes them a little more fallible and, also, gives more explanation about what the original Observers were doing before the invasion occurred.

Something that did bother me towards the end of the last season was the matter of why Walter had just taken William Bell’s arm and remarked that he had done something terrible to deserve such treatment. That particular plot beat was left unanswered, and I feared that it was basically left to be established that William’s plans to merge universes, and shooting Olivia, were the justification. Not so, and it just goes to show I ought to have had more faith. (Ironically, so should Walter.) It transpired that Walter assumed William must have been working with The Observers for them to have been discovered, prompting them to amber themselves.

I get the impression Fringe is paving the way for William Bell to, somehow, make one last appearance in the show and he won’t be going out on villainous terms. Just like the photo of Nina in the locker proved, he was not an unfeeling monster despite what outward perceptions may have indicated. If William did genuinely sell out his friends then I can only imagine he had a reason for doing so (or Fringe will engineer one). More likely is the prospect that Walter’s assumptions about Belly’s treachery is wrong, just like he was wrong in crushing Nina’s heart when he told her William never loved her.

Much of the episode concerned Peter’s mission to kill Observers, and what a gloriously gruesome death it was when the bomb that first appeared all the way back in the first ever Fringe episode was used against them. The cold-blooded killing of the Observers was, when relayed to Olivia, treated as a terrible act. But The Observers have been merrily killing in cold blood for years and years, decimating the human race (and, with their oxygen depleting plans, set to kill more). I also have to assume that Walter’s grand plan involves mass extermination of them (but on that I could be wrong). I suppose what really hit Olivia was the ruthless, unfeeling qualities Peter possessed when telling of what he had done.

Joshua Jackson’s performance in this episode was very interesting to watch as he slowly developed the mannerisms of The Observers. He’s captured the odd tilt of the head and the over-focused stare very well, and the more monotone delivery of his speech is gently slipping into place – and it seems all the more uncanny when he does it as opposed to when The Observers do it. As I ought to have predicted but just completely didn’t, the episode ended on the sharp moment of Peter losing his hair. Of course he will go bald! They are called the “baldies” and if Peter is morphing into one then the hair has got to go. . .

What the longterm cost for Peter will be seems ominous. There was the moment in this episode when he was in pain, surrounded by white light to indicate the sharp pain in his head that he was experiencing. I anticipate there will be more and more of these and, ultimately, it will get to the point where the tech has to be extracted in order to save Peter’s life.If I were to predict the endgame for that, I’d say that Peter will survive such an extraction and that will see him return to the Peter he once was. Unless Fringe has designs for a bleak, unhappy end for everyone!

Olivia has been a little bit marginalised these last few episodes, and if I have criticisms about the show it’s in how the leading lady has been sidelined and weakened. Clearly there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on with Peter, and to a lesser extent with Walter, but their being centre stage has pushed Olivia aside and made her seem a bit lame. This is not the kick-ass Olivia Dunham we’ve enjoyed over the years. Yes, she is crippled by grief, it’s true – but I’d rather see it bring out the fighter in her than one who leans on others and crumples when their support is found wanting. Olivia is someone to lean on, not someone that leans on others. I’m sure she’ll be back before long. . .

What was the best part?

The scene where Peter finally revealed to Olivia what he had done to himself was a deliciously candid one. Peter had become even more Observer-like, in stark contrast to Olivia’s very humane concerned wariness. Peter delivered the truth without much hint of compassion or, importantly, regret. There was little room for negotiation when Peter spelled out what he had done – committing a terrorist act of cold murder against the Observers and showing absolute intention to continue further. The moment Olivia actually tried to speak to him he then committed that most Observer-like of acts and spoke the same words she was saying at the same time. Just a few sentences of that and Olivia knew her Peter had gone a long, long way down the road from where she could reach him. All she could do was leave to, perhaps, try and gather her own thoughts as well as, most likely, turn to Walter and request his support.

What do I think will happen next?

I can’t imagine Olivia just standing by and allowing Peter to become more and more like the enemy, so she’s going to be pushing for him to become the person he was and remove the tech. Naturally, he won’t want to do that until their war is over. In the meantime it seems that Walter is set to go under the knife to have pieces of his brain removed, so if he is having that done he’s not going to be much help. And amongst all that internal struggling there is still the ongoing grand plan to put into action. The Fringe gang really need to sort themselves out and become a unified unit if they want to take down the baldies!

Fringe: S05 Ep06 - Through The Looking Glass And Walter Found There

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.

Fringe: S05 Ep05 - An Origin Story

What happened?

Fuelled by a desire for revenge, Peter spearheads a plan to use the wormholes The Observers send packages from the future through. Interrogating a captured Observer, Peter believes he builds a device he can use but the plan fails. In frustration he removes the tech from the captured Observer's neck and inserts it into himself.

Thoughts

Another good episode, which perhaps came as a surprise since it was always going to be tricky following up the devastation of Etta's death. Straddling the difficult problem of having the main characters grieve whilst also keeping the plot and action pushing forward was always going to be challenging. I did sort of assume that Peter would most likely respond with focused rage, though what I didn't expect was that it would take over and pretty much supplant Olivia and Walter's effectiveness. The episode very much painted Olivia and Walter as weaker, more ineffectual, and thus created the need for Peter to take the drastic action that was needed.

They all failed - only Peter took a step to create the opportunity to level the playing field in their war against The Observers.

Olivia was the heart of the story. Seen at the beginning lying in Etta's bed, symbolically laid out by her grief. Only towards the end did she find the courage to face the video made years ago (though much more recent in her memory) of Etta's birthday. She voiced the pointlessness of it all - that they had survived their encasement in amber and found their daughter after such a long time only to then lose her all over again. Why?

Well, of course, there is no real reason why. Death is often as pointless as it is arbitrary. Though this episode did introduce the concept of wormholes that can allow time travel so, you know, I haven't entirely abandoned the notion that Peter and Olivia won't find a way back to their daughter after all. (Quite how they would manage such a thing and avoid a paradox could be overcome by travelling back in time to another universe. . .! Hey, this is Fringe, nothing is really off the table for this show!) I would be surprised if these wormholes are not used as a plot device in a future episode - possibly even to fulfill the 'First People' concept. It's an interesting card ready to be used, whatever the way of it.

Altogether far more interesting is Peter and what he is going to become. The episode title of 'an origin story' does suggest that we really have witnessed the birth of a whole new persona, which does have powerful connotations. There was a sense that Peter and Olivia's greatest threat now was in losing each other, and that Peter was risking his life. Walter certainly feared it, though like him we were all supposed to think that meant in the literal sense of losing his life. I didn't expect that he would just upgrade himself into more of a machine and therefore erase the old Peter. Although, of course, the erasure of Peter is also something that has occurred before. He is consistently conjured up as a wildcard element in the mix and here he is once more behaving as such.

I'm definitely fascinated to see what he becomes and what he does next, although I know it's going to have a terrible wrench on both Olivia and Walter as, I predict, they see his humanity slip away as he becomes more 'Observer-like'.

There's no question he could be extremely useful. As I said, the episode painted Walter and Olivia has more ineffectual than usual. Walter was baffled by why his plan to use the wormhole to create a blackhole on The Observer's side failed, and Olivia (save for a little bit of ass-kicking action) confessed to hanging on by a thread (even Astrid indicated she didn't need her around) and, by the end, was pleading for Peter to return when the Peter she knew had sacrificed himself for a greater vengeance. I believe it was deliberate, to facilitate that sense of need Peter was feeling justified his drastic action.

The captured Observer was quite the convenient deus ex machina but it was a welcome one. I liked the revelation that they are mostly 'tech', allowing us to imagine how it is the human race eventually developed into these near-omniscient, omnipresent, unfeeling beings. If they didn't behave so dastardly (ruthlessly porting back oxygen-stealing machinery for their own benefit) then there would be something tragic about what became of them (and, by extension, us).

I'm not quite sure how it is The Observers are avoiding creating their own paradox by going back in time and changing the world to suit them - unless they come from a future where this always happened. . .

An odd kind of question is that since the Fringe team are ostensibly battling against what it is human beings eventually become, is there a fight the future kind of plot being put into play where they twist humanity away from that fate? Again, once time travel gets involved and the notion of changing anything gets introduced, paradoxes constantly become a real problem. I have major doubts that Fringe will manage to outwit the same plot entanglements so many other time travel shows and movies have runaground on.

What isn't a real problem is how Fringe has gone from strength to strength in two episodes. Last episode took the bold step of killing off a character you would have probably considered as safe as anyone, and this episode took a main character and has effectively paved the way for having the person they were be overtaken by something else entirely. Brave moves and, with Peter's latest conversion, highly enticing ones. What Peter does next will be fascinating and how Olivia and Walter react to it equally so.

What was the best part?

I really enjoyed the mental skirmishes between The Observer and Peter, particularly the speech about how The Observer considered human activity no more than we would consider the comings and goings of an ant colony. That speech did a lot to explain the level The Observers pitch themselves at and gave me a better grasp of how it is the Fringe team exist in their frame of reference. Peter did remark that The Observer was a liar and I suspect he probably was bluffing a little about humans' unimportance, but still I liked the interplay between the two of them and the payoff towards the end, when it transpired Peter's confidence had been misplaced, was a nice touch.

What do I think will happen next?

It very much pivots on Peter and what kind of capabilities he gets. I still believe that the team will actively pursue the fulfillment of Walter's plan and I also believe that whatever transformation Peter experiences won't be a rapid, sudden shift. In a perfect world Peter will retain his mental faculties and simply become augmented with new skills and abilities that will aid Olivia and Walter in their plan. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened for the next episode or two. But then I fear that Peter's humanity will become eroded, dulled - and whether that slide is preventable or reversible could become a key question.

Fringe:S05 Ep04 - The Bullet That Saved The World

What happened?

Whilst Olivia and the team attempt to track down the next piece of Walter's puzzle plan, Broyles tries to prevent The Observer Windmark from finding them but all he can do is send warning, through Etta, that they have been discovered and need to move. Whilst the team manage to amber the lab, when they are reunited with Broyles The Observers find them and give chase. Etta is captured and killed by Windmark, and a devastated Olivia and Peter are forced to leave her and escape.

Thoughts

Anyone who thought Fringe might play things safe and go for a crowdpleasing finish have had their beliefs stomped on. I, for one, was one such person that had lost a little faith that the show had the guts and the edge that it used to have. With the gang all back together, and in particular Peter and Olivia becoming parents to Etta, I thought Fringe was basking in its most cosy set-up yet. And then they went and did this. Pulled the rug right out. Never mind the bullet that saved the world - this episode was the bullet that pierced the heart.

This was an episode that had actually done enough of interest already to qualify as a good one before it sprang the cruel surprise. Walter's reveal of the Fringe investigation relics from yesteryear buried beneath the lab was, sure, perhaps a little hard to swallow (the question of what did happen to all the stuff was never actually addressed in the show, to be fair, but it was just one of those things you assumed got taken care of after the credits rolled!) but it did pave the way for the show to revisit itself with a callback to incidents from previous episodes getting a second airing. Indeed, I was a bit surprised that the lab got ambered so quickly afterwards and sealed up the treasure trove of Fringe experiments - I thought that was a pot of gold the show could keep dipping into for a good few episodes here and there, using these strange events, creatures and effects to combat The Observers.

Since the show is in its final season that would have been a nice way to tip the hat to episodes past, but it seems it's not to be. All we got here was a return of the gas that seals up a person's orifices and some cool weaponry, and that was about all. Oh well. It transpired that the action sequence itself, when the team laid down an assault on the station to get at the clue, was absolutely awesome though.If this was the one and only time we got to see our heroes wreak havoc with Fringe experiments against their enemy then at least it was done with style. Most other episodes, this would have been the climactic showdown and marked the highpoint. Fringe had other tricks up its sleeve. . .

The return of Broyles was nicely handled. His make-up still looks weird, but it was heartening to see that he was still fighting the good fight in his usual poker-faced, ambiguous way. He's certainly a good match for The Observers, managing to keep his thoughts scrambled and unreadable. Etta herself could also do the same trick and she did promise that she would teach Peter, Olivia, Walter and Astrid how to do it, too. When she said it you just felt like, sure, that would happen: Olivia and the rest would learn how to do such a thing and then they would be able to handle themselves amidst The Observers. Not for one second did it cross my mind that Etta wouldn't be around to do such a thing and this was just one such subtle way the episode was plotting its big surprise.

The reunion scene with Broyles and Olivia was moving and heartwarming. Whilst it had probably been mere months since Olivia last saw him, she only had to see all the lines on his face to be able to read the toil of years he had experienced of the world without her. They hugged and, for a very brief moment, with the gang all back together, you had that belief that this small resistance band would be the ones that could take on and beat The Observers. That brief moment ended the moment The Observer showed up.

Even the scene where Etta eventually met her fate felt like one she would get out of, in the grand tradition of many a close call our Fringe heroes have narrowly escaped. Her pushing the thoughts of love on show for The Observer to be confronted by - of unconditional devotion from Peter and Olivia that is alien to these aliens - felt custom-built for her to lower his defences so that she could make a telling strike with the knife in her hands. Fringe wanted me to think that. It was set up and played to be exactly like that kind of moment - and then Windmark grabbed her wrist before the knife found his throat. Not so fast.

Just when you thought Fringe was playing it safe for the final season. . .

The show was aware that the audience had come to take certain things for granted. I was guilty, as a viewer, of being so blase. And Fringe used that against me. Far from feeling cheated I actually smile and give credit where credit is due. Like when a magician pulls a trick under your nose that leaves you baffled. When you get genuinely hoodwinked and surprised there's no sense bitching about it.

Etta's death is sure to have a devastating effect on Peter and Olivia. They fought the good fight before they were ambered because they were not giving up on their daughter; it drove them on and kept them focused. If she is absolutely, definitely gone (and in Fringe we must always leave the door open for the extraordinary and unthinkable to be possible) then only pure revenge will be the fuel to sustain the shattered parents. What I think could be more interesting is that, like Walter before him, Peter becomes a father that is willing to do extreme and damaging things for the sake of returning what he lost. This could mean a literal opening of the door to an alternate universe all over again, or maybe straight out time travel? Like I said, you can't close the door on the extraordinary for this show.

This episode was a neatly constructed spring trap. From Peter at the beginning risking everything purely for the sake of jewelry for his daughter, to Olivia reminding us that she only went and saved a universe or two with the bullet that killed her that she survived, we have been lulled into thinking everything works out for our heroes and their plans rarely go wrong - at least not in such a way as to be really, permanently awful. If Etta really is dead and gone and never coming back then this episode will mark a cold, brutal moment in Fringe - and for a show in its final run, that could easily coast to a finale where everything works out for the best, it's really great to see that it's got the stones to storm down the hard and sharp plot directions.

For the first time this season Fringe has pulled back my respect and gained my serious interest. 

What was the best part?

Tough call, because the infiltration and escape from the station was a well-sustained and well-directed action sequence. Plenty of thrills and energy, and grisly deaths thanks to the gas that blocks all holes. However, little did I know that the episode was going to spring the death of Etta on me - and the scene itself was terrific. Etta seemingly allowing Windmark to get a glimpse of what it is to be human and have love, almost like a taunt, and also that moment where you thought that blade would find its way to the target and Etta would escape - only it wasn't to be. 

Full credit to Fringe on this one. I didn't think it had the cojones to pull something like this, but it's only gone and done it. . .

What do I think will happen next?

Interesting dilemma this, as I feel that Olivia and Peter are going to have to try and overcome this major hit and fight even harder. The only way I see them gathering themselves together and continuing the battle is if there is some chance they can change what has happened, can alter history and get Etta back. Otherwise what are they fighting for? The only other motive left to them is pure revenge - but seeing how the group handles this blow and pulls together will be fascinating stuff.

Fringe: S05 Ep03 - The Recordist

What happened?

Searching for the next videotape Olivia and the Fringe unit find a small community living in the forest that have dedicated their lives to recording as much of history as possible before The Observers - or The Invaders as they are called - can erase and change the record. The cost of this is prolonged exposure to an incurable virus that mutates their skin.

When the final piece of videotape is located deep in the mine and The Observers have managed to work out what the Fringe unit are up to, it falls to one of the community members to retrieve the tape at the cost of his own life.

Thoughts

I'm not going to go on at length about this episode because I feel like it's one that's better forgotten sooner rather than later. Frankly, I thought this was one of the worst episodes of Fringe that I have ever seen. I thought the community in the woods thing, gathering data, just felt weird in a bad way rather than an interesting way. And I also thought that the make-up effects on their skin looked weak. Seriously, it looked like bad low-budget sci-fi from the 60s. Anyone new tuning into Fringe for the first time would have seen absolutely nothing that would make them think this was one of the more sophisticated shows around.

The plot itself, with the father misdirecting the gang so he could emerge to do the heroic thing, was wholly predictable. It was so predictable I think my brain went into snooze mode, watching it go through the motions, to the extent that I can barely even remember how the conclusion went.

Shit title, too. 

The characters seemed to have little memory of events that had occurred previously. I thought that Etta was particularly bland this week, and considering she was at her most interesting last week that was a shame. Oh there was a whole subtext going on about Olivia and Peter living up to the ideal that Etta and other surviving members of humanity had held for them, and there's definitely something interesting to be mined out of that idea, but that wasn't in evidence here. The idea that Etta is meeting her long lost parents and near-comic book level of hero all in one mix, countered by the reality that they are just people all along is a contrast that has a lot of potential. I don't want Fringe to stop exploring that. In the same way Olivia and Peter need to recognise that Etta is not the little girl they lost but, instead, her own woman who has shown tremendous resource and survival capacity.

Not that she showed much of it this episode. Mostly Etta just hung around on the sidelines, letting everyone else do their thing. Ho-hum.

So, anyway, after all was said and done, the gang got another piece of videotape and ostensibly that was the only thing to take away from this episode.

That's it. That's all I've got to say about it. I'd really like to muster up the energy and interest to write more, say more, and for all that my dopey brain can't recall I'd like to go and read a bit about this episode and see what others made of it. But I can't be bothered. And this blog is as much about my reaction to the TV shows I watch as it is a resource for analysis and reaction. So my reaction is one of deep can't-be-arsed and, fingers crossed, a hope that this was just a blip piece of filler and Fringe will be back on top of its game next week.

What was the best part?

When it ended.

Oh, all right. The part where the kid flicked through the comic book and showed us how Olivia had been interpreted by a new generation was interesting. If it paves the way for her being considered something of a hero brought back to life that's a concept I can get on board with. 

What do I think will happen next?

The hunt for videotapes continues. The Observers are evidently hotting up the trail and turning the screw, which needs to happen to give this mini-quest some urgency. But I feel that Fringe needs to hurry this all along and get the plot wheels turning. It does have something interesting and unexpected up its sleeve yet, right?

Fringe: S05 Ep02 - In Absentia

What happened?

The quest to recover Walter's forgotten plan leads the group back to his old laboratory where they discover a camera has been ambered. Whilst Etta and Peter infiltrate secret areas of The Observers base, Olivia gets to know one of the human loyalists. Etta takes him away but releases him due to the pity she saw in her mother's eyes - he in turn vows to join the resistance.

Walter recovers the camera and watches a video of himself explaining that the clues revealing the masterplan to take down The Observers have been scattered around and that whoever is watching the video must find the courage and resolve to find them and complete the scheme.

Thoughts


I said last week that the first episode of this new season felt like it was rushed and cut corners to get through what it needed to do. I also said that it felt like Fringe used its first episode to put down a marker about where things where at now and to give the new season a platform to build from. Well, if this episode is any indication, my feelings have borne out because this felt like a far better, more confident return to form for the show. The characters had room to breathe and develop, there was no high-octane action tension to rush events through – it just felt like an altogether more assured outing.

The episode started with a similar dream sequence like Peter’s from last week, concerning the arrival of The Observers, only this time depicted from Olivia’s point of view. The scene showed that some kind of explosion must have immediately followed that rendered both Olivia and Peter injured and, during that time, they must have lost Etta. I am getting the impression that this may have been the very last time they saw her, thus why the recurring dream is so strong for both Peter and Olivia.

Peter also remarked that it had been just a few months for them, but years for Etta – suggesting that the resistance movement Olivia and Peter and Walter mounted before they ambered themselves was quickly started and quickly over. The world has endured The Observers for a long, long time compared to the brief period of oppression our heroes experienced. This disparity between Olivia and Peter as parents, particularly Olivia as a mother to Etta, and the fact that Etta had fundamentally grown up into a tough world and had barely known them, was primarily what the episode began to explore.

Olivia had the more pivotal encounter with Etta, which I shall get to, but it’s worth mentioning that Peter had his moment where he saw the rage that existed in his daughter as they walked through The Observer laboratory and glimpsed various experiments in progress. When she saw her friend (who I can only think of as Desmond!) as just a head she lost her cool and wanted to blow everything to get some payback. Only Peter there to hold her down and promise her that their time would come stopped her, and a good thing it was too. I did particularly like that moment, though, as not only did it show us the difference between Etta and a traditional heroine but it really made me buy the idea of Peter as father and steadying hand. It’s taken a while but he’s grown into himself. Strangely, I buy the idea of Peter and Olivia as parents more easily than I did them as a profoundly in love couple. The notion that they are together and in love as a trio, and that it’s essential they remain together for each other, feels much more vital. The stakes are higher now than they ever felt like when it was just about Olivia and Peter getting and staying together.

The main plot of the episode has, ultimately, made Fringe feel a bit like Harry Potter in search of Horcruxes! They are now in the hunt for pieces of video (possibly, or maybe it’ll be other clues) that will allow them to piece together Walter’s masterplan. There didn’t seem to be much of an indication from the video that was recovered about where the next clue could be found – but possibly there’ll be something embedded subliminally, or in slow-motion, or there’ll be something cryptic in the words Walter used. Obviously he’s not going to film himself spelling out where to go for the next clue in case the film were to fall into the wrong hands!

Fringe has been down this route before, during the third season, when the gang were set on trying to find all the different bits and pieces that would make the machine that Peter eventually climbed into to connect the universes. So a treasure hunt isn’t breaking new ground, and as a quest to give this new season structure I am quite happy about how it will play out. It may become particularly fraught should The Observers get wind of the fact that there is a plan scattered about the place that could defeat them – then it will turn into a more competitive race so I can well see that becoming a factor. There’s no doubt that The Observers would make formidable opponents in such a competition!

The emotional heft of the episode was found in the interrogation of the security guard. Etta’s no-nonsense approach to interrogation was against Olivia’s softly-softly approach, but I feel Etta made a fair point about how the world had changed and that this man was not worth her pity. The fact that he did turn out to be lying about the family he had told Olivia about was a particularly lovely touch. I liked that he had been wily enough to lie, and I liked that Olivia had fallen for it. She has a lot to learn about how people in this new world work, but the very fact that she isn’t so tainted the way an entire generation has been was the very thing the security guard saw in her eyes that made him want to fight on her side.

Likewise, Etta seeing the pity for her reflected in Olivia’s eyes, caused her to show pity of her own and it worked out to be a good move. So whilst it was a relatively quiet return to the action for Olivia, and she misread her subject, she still came out of it looking like the best hope for mankind in the fight against their enslavement. These kinds of reactions just pave the way for Olivia to really step up and become a true saviour that will vanquish oppression. Whilst I do hope Fringe is going to pursue a more interesting and convoluted path before it finishes forever I certainly won’t mind seeing a bit of good old-fashioned, good guys beat bad guys action. It can’t be too long before we see Olivia go into kick ass mode and start showing the future how she can rock it old-school. It may certainly cause Etta to look at her in a totally different light!

What was the best part?

I really enjoyed seeing Peter and Etta go beyond enemy lines and give us a glimpse into the twisted world of The Observers and their experiments. Presumably they have some kind of agenda, some reason to be conducting the things they are doing, but God only knows what it is. All I know is I liked the extra sense of tension it added to things – and then Etta seeing Desmond’s (I know, I know!) head in a jar and getting ready to open up a can of inappropriate whoop ass was an extra nudge towards everything turning to shit that loaned the episode an extra injection of high drama.

What do I think will happen next?

Well, the treasure hunt is afoot. So now the gang will be following Walter’s videotape breadcrumbs and try to track down more pieces of the plan. I fully expect there to have been some kind of cryptic clue within the videotape that Walter, or someone, will decipher and they will figure out where they have to go next. I also expect this breadcrumb clue-hunting to occupy the next few episodes at least, before things get to move onto the next phase. The drama will come from how long it takes for The Observers to get wise to what our heroes are up to and either try to stop them, or beat them to it.