This year’s event was quite the experience. Having attended San Diego Comic-Con since 2012, I can attest that it has always been the most significant, wildest, and most exciting show. Even during the pandemic, when everything went virtual, Comic-con remained a beacon of hope for us who love this event. But thankfully, in 2022, the convention came back in full force and was better than ever before.
However, I learned that major studios like Marvel, Disney, and HBO (now called Max) wouldn’t attend the 2023 convention. Initially, I thought it wouldn’t be an issue, but then the writer’s and actor’s strikes happened, and many people thought it spelled doom for Comic-Con. Nevertheless, I remained hopeful because I knew that the original incarnation of Comic-Con was all about comics and always will be. Even if some parts of the convention are affected by strikes or other issues, we will always have a love for comics that brings us together.
Images by Lori of TeamWHR
Despite the recent SAG/AFTRA strike, some actors could still attend because they had other projects that fell outside the strike’s parameters. One such actor was recent Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis. She was promoting her upcoming comic book called Mother Nature. The line to get in the room was long, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get in.
There were about ten seats left in the way back. I was one of the lucky ones to get those precious final seats. We were all so relieved to get in as we waited over an hour. It was worth it. The panel and Jamie Lee were great. I had a great time. It was fantastic to see Jamie Lee venturing into the comic world and embracing that genre.
Things were different at Comic-Con regarding entertainment panels, and that’s okay. The megalithic Hall H was used, but not as much as it typically is. Usually, Warner Brothers, Netflix, HBO, and other studios have panels for their most popular shows and movies in Hall H, where attendees often camp out for days in advance to get a front-row seat. That was missing this year, albeit there were a few panels in Hall H, but nothing like in the past. In fact there were no Sunday panels in Hall H or many of the other huge ballrooms. As a result, the convention floor for exhibits, artists, vendors, and other panel rooms, particularly the smaller ones, were a lot busier with all the people who usually would be in panels in Hall H, Ballroom 20, or the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront hotel choosing other options.
The vendors exhibit hall floor was busier this year, and lines were capped quicker than usual. Merchandise was being bought faster, which was terrific for the vendors counting on the attendees to buy their wonderful wares. In fact, several vendors sold out and had to bring in additional stock. It also gave independent artists more exposure as well. More people on the floor meant more people venturing to “Artists Alley” to discover the newest art and their fabulous offerings.
I saw more people at the comic book vendor’s booths this year, which was beautiful. Collectibles were always part of the fold when it came to Comic-Con. You can find pretty much anything that interests a collector. Two of my favorites were a Pee Wee Herman figurine and the robot from Bad Robot Productions.
The bigger booths were missing from the floor: Netflix, ABC Disney, HBO, Marvel, and Warner Brothers to name but a few.
Sideshow is always a highlight and one of the busiest booths on the floor. I always loved seeing the incredible statutes displayed at that booth.
Instead, this year Sideshow had its own virtual convention that featured its most popular and newest statues. I hope that they will return next year.
With Sideshow not a part of the convention floor this year, that gave way to other vendors to take its place. Lego had paid homage to the Blockbuster video stores we all loved in the 80s and set up a “Brickbuster” store on the convention floor. Funko and Mondo again were the most significant booths on the floor, and lines there were hours.
Thankfully Star Wars had their own booth since they had no panels this year. Mattel Creations, Entertainment Earth, Super 7, Dark Horse Comics, and IDW all had their booths running as usual, making the floor feel like home. Even though Sideshow was not present, there are always fun statues to see. One of my favorite vendors is Elite Creature Collectibles; their busts are incredible and very life-like. The one I loved the most was the bust of Abe Sapien from the Hellboy movies.
Smaller panels featuring comic artists were highlighted and focused despite needing more significant panels. I went to the John Romita, Jr panel, and it was terrific. He and his wife Kathy held court and discussed his career and famous father. I had heard of Romita (both Senior and Junior) through friends of mine that are comic book nerds.
I had a great time in the panel and learned more about how comic books get published and what an incredible life he has had, and the dedication it takes to do what he does. The endless hours, Kathy chimed in that she should write a book about being the wife of a comic book artist.
I also sat in on a Conan the Barbarian panel with editor Matt Murray, Jim Zub, and Fred Malmberg all of whom are associated with this superb new comic graphic novel.
The panel was produced by by Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures who are launching a new monthly Conan the Barbarian graphic novel series.
It was a fun panel that I really enjoyed!
As I have a good friend who is a die-hard Conan the Barbarian lover, I learned a bit more about the famous sword-wielding hero that is not apparent in the movie renditions of this famous character.
The Conan the Barbarian graphic novel creators revealed that Solomon Kane will return to the fold. I know some people will be happy to hear that. Below the Conan trailer, we include a fun interview courtesy of Fanbase Press.
Due the cancellation of many panels this year, I could also explore the convention floor and find more vendors I would have commonly overlooked. As with all conventions of significant size, everything will have pros and cons (pun intended).
One panel I could attend this year, which I unfortunately missed last year, was for Stern Pinball. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jody Dankberg about the company and any future endeavors the previous year. It was much fun, and they let us know that Venom was the newest addition to their comic book pinball machines. I did not get a chance to play the pinball machines like last year, but I have played many of their machines in the past, and they are always a lot of fun.
The other wonderful thing I love about San Diego Comic-Con is that there are always things to do, whether in the Convention Center itself or at the Marriott Marquis, outside behind the Convention Center, at Petco Park or just enjoying the always outstanding Cosplay.
There is always something to do for comics, entertainment and games fans for all visitors to San Diego. Thankfully the weather this year was not as hot as it usually is. It was a little bit odd with light rain in the weather, but everything was still fun, nonetheless.
Image courtesy Gaslamp Quarter Dot Org
Also, the great thing about San Diego is that the historic Gaslamp Quarter or district that always has themed restaurants during Comic-Con. You will find restaurants modeled after Bob’s Burgers, or Interview with the Vampire. I went to one modeled after Mooby’s from the Kevin Smith movies. I went there with a few friends, and we had burgers and beer, and it was decorated in that fashion of the film, plus there was also merchandise. So it was nice to escape the Convention Center for some time. But again, the Gaslamp Quarter always has themed restaurants which is so much fun!
The activation’s, as always, had long lines this year, but that’s par for the course regarding Comic Con. The most significant activation this year was the Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary which featured the top scenes from this iconic movie. We include a fabulous video of the exciting experience courtesy of IGN below for your enjoyment.
With expanded coverage as compared to SDCC 2022, over the four days of Comic-Con events, located across from the convention center near the entrance to the GaslampQuarter, Quantum Leap fans could “leap” into the terrific television worlds of “Law & Order,” “SVU” and “Organized Crime,” “The Voice” and “Chucky” to help stabilize the timelines with the help of the “Quantum Leap” time travel team!
SDCC is always wonderful to experience. Just be prepared for long lines in the sun and always take along lots of sunscreen and plenty of water to stay hydrated. Another fun experience was strolling through Lazlo’s garden from What We Do In The Shadows. We include a cool video below about this fun experience courtesy of Through the Lens of Lady Kay B.
However, it was a shock to the system for many people who are usually at Comic-Con for the TV shows or movies coming down the pipeline. People adjusted well, and they could have a good time no matter what. They could still enjoy themselves even without the big panels, no matter what. I know I did. And you learn new things about comic books, games, Cosplay that you didn’t even know about, and that’s what’s always fun about these conventions. You find new and exciting things to be happy about. Overall, it was a fun time, and I look forward to attending Comic-Con again in 2024, regardless of whether it has the studio’s presence.
Lastly, I’m in solidarity with both the writers and actors as I am both in real life and will pursue a career later in my life as a director. I know there was talk about the strikes; there was concern about the future of Comic Con and what would happen if the strikes continued. I hope you enjoyed this article and will take comfort in knowing that Comic-Con has been going strong for 50-plus years and doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon!
Thanks to Kenn for video and image embedding for my feature article and many thanks to you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency. I will be back soon on with my episode ten analysis and final review of seasons one through five of Mayans MC and will continue my adventure at Comic-Con 2023 in San Diego with an exiting interview in the future!
Please feel free to leave a comment here or If you prefer, you may also click the social media icons below to share this news article or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit me on Twitter by clicking the links or images avatars in this news story.
On July 22, 2022 Team WHR was very excited as we prepared to visit the Paper Girls on Prime Video Press Room. Paper Girls is a science fiction series we have waited six years years to learn about after the Comic Book version received the Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2016! The comic book series began publication on October 7, 2015 and concluded on July 31, 2019 after thirty hit issues, shortly before the television series began production at Amazon and Legendary Studios.
Image by Kenn for WormholeRiders News Agency
Originally published by Image Comics, the Paper Girls has been brought to our screens on Prime Video by the comic book creators Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, the Eisner Award winning series is a fabulous science fiction time travel production starring Fina Strazza as KJ Brandman, Camryn Jones as Tiffany Quilkin, Sofia Rosinsky as McKenzie ‘Mac’ Coyle, and Riley Lai Nelet as Erin Tieng as the twelve year old Paper Girls who are catapulted in time from 1988 to 2019, back to 1999 and then 1974 to face extreme danger to their lives, and those that they encounter in time.
Image by Kenn for WormholeRiders News Agency
Our heroes find themselves caught in a temporal war between two factions that seek to control the fate of humankind throughout time.
A shadowy group known as the Old Watch, who controls the technology over all time periods, operates from apparent safety, controlling time from being changed in the past from a distant future. The Old Watch seeks to avoid any changes in the timelines of the past that could adversely impact their dominance over time.
Image by Kenn for WormholeRiders News Agency
The Old Watch is hunting down a group that is seeking to overthrow their iron fist control over time against known as the Standard Time Fighters Underground or STF Underground who we meet via a humble and friendly, but seemingly less than formidable character named Larry Radakowski portrayed by veteran actor Nate Corddry.
The STF Underground as a rebel force is seeking to subvert the Old Watch paradigm consisting at first of Adina Porter who stars as the Prioress who we see in six of the eight episodes, and Jason Mantzoukas, known as Grandfather, a rather nasty character who appears in the last three episodes.
Image by Kenn for WormholeRiders News Agency
During our time in the Press Room, courtesy of Wolf-Kasteler Public Relations, we were delighted by the enthusiasm of the four young actors and the creators.
Each actor in the Paper Girls series is excellent in their roles. Each of these wonderful actors shared details about how they learned details about the 1980’s and the late 1990’s, how excited they were to share their adventures with viewers, how they were hired for their roles.
We note the similarities to the The End Of Eternity and fringe (discussed below), that the creators were familiar with, and how they all look forward to a potential second season of Paper Girls on Prime Video!
Image by Kenn for WormholeRiders News Agency
Unfortunately, after spending truly quality time with the cast and creators, we learned subsequent to our Press Room Paper Girls visit that our HD video camera’s high definition external microphone had failed causing the loss of all forty plus minutes of audio on the video. We were gutted to learn of this development.
We therefore include an outstanding interview segment with the cast from Screen Rant below for your enjoyment.
Back to The Future, The Time Machine, The End Of Eternity, Fringe and Paper Girls:
Image courtesy Amazon Prime Video
Unlike the Back to the Future movie series where meeting one’s self in an alternate timeline could destroy the fabric of the universe, our journey with the Paper Girls heroes goes across time from 1988 where we meet older versions of the Paper Girls. Fortunately, no such universe destruction occurs. Specifically, we meet Ali Wong who portrays the adult version of Erin, Sekai Abenì as the adult Tiffany, Delia Cunningham as the adult KJ, and Kellee Stewart as Dr. Carol Quilkin, who we learn is the inventor of time travel utilized by the Old Watch. We also meet various members of the Paper Girls families in the future timelines that affect the final outcome of events.
Purchase The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov at Amazon!
Readers and entertainment viewers have always enjoyed time travel adventures beginning with The Time Machine written by H.G. Wells in 1895 and popularized in the 1960 movie version directed by the legendary George Pal. In this classic, the protagonist escapes the past to save the future of humanity enslaved as breeding stock for the evil Morlock’s who eat them!
Paper Girls story arc is somewhat leveraged from the classic science fiction masterpiece novel The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov that was published in 1955. Although it was attempted to be brought to the movie screen several times, with protagonists similar to the STF, The End Of Eternity never was produced either a movie or television program.
Instead, a hit television series, Fringe (2008 to 2013) by Bad Robot Productions, produced at Warner Brothers, envisioned a future where a nefarious group known as The Observers made changes in the past to ensure their own survival in the future. This including bringing their own temporal agents and supplies from the future, traveling through time to enslave humankind in the present.
Click to learn about Fringe
The Paper Girls group Old Watch is somewhat similar to The Observers in Fringe and The Eternal’s in The End of Eternity that used Time Kettles to travel back to the past to make major to minor adjustments in the timeline to keep things the way that The Eternal’s wanted them to be. In fact, the final scenes of Paper Girls show what appear to be Time Kettles, or Time Ships that travel to the past and the future.
Years later, Isaac Asimov wove The End Of Eternity story arc into his broader Foundation Series by hinting in the Foundation’s series of books, set in a universe where Eternity had once existed, but was destroyed by one of The Eternals (Harlan from The End of Eternity). This led to an all human galaxy without time travel that ties out with the protagonist Harlan’s final actions in The End of Eternity. Fringe follows a similar good ending where evil members of The Observers are defeated.
Paper Girls Across Time:
Image courtesy Amazon Prime Video
In Paper Girls, the story arc generally follows the concepts from the terrific thirty episode comic book series, but with modifications that do a nice job of adapting the concept to the small screen. In season one, we find a similar conundrum where our heroes get caught up in the temporal war.
Near the end of the series they are taken aboard the Old Watch Time Ship controlled by Grandfather to have their memories erased, and to be subsequently reinserted into their past lives as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. However, our heroes memories are not erased and they end up in a time period before they were born!
Without revealing major spoilers since we believe this superb science fiction adventure series should be watched by the viewers themselves, we will not publish a blow by blow, scene by scene review of the Paper Girls, but we do include some favorite moments from the series that do not reveal the overall series story arc.
Instead, we will say that the eight episode series sets up the time travel adventure nicely in episodes one through four, explodes into action in episode five, returns to a slow boil in episodes six and seven and then blows the viewers mind in episode eight.
In the final superb sequences of episode eight, with the help of the Prioress, who has reconsidered her role in the Old Watch, helps Mac and KJ escape in a time ship to an unknown destination in time. All four were supposed to be aboard, but the Prioress is shot and Erin and Tiffany stay behind to help her.
Image courtesy Amazon Prime Video
Subsequently, after using future medical technology that begins to heal the Prioress after she was shot by one of Grandfather’s minions, Erin and Tiffany escape the Old Watch in another time ship as Grandfather rushes to stop them. Erin and Tiffany find themselves at a drive-in movie theater that appears to be showing the 1974 film The Longest Yard, some twelve years before they were born in an earlier time period!
Image courtesy Amazon Prime Video
The final scenes in the excellent eighth episode sets the foundation for a season two that is rumored to have begun production in late June of 2022 according to a source that we cannot confirm at this time.
Although a Paper Girls season two has not been officially announced as renewed by Amazon Studios, the final scenes set up a great cliffhanger opportunity for launching a second season which we hope will be announced in the near future! In the meantime, we include the Paper Girls panel from San Diego Comic-Con 2022 for your enjoyment courtesy of Magic In the Numbers!
We at Team WHR will be back in the near future with more of your favorite entertainment convention, television series and movie analysis. In the meantime, please feel free to share this article with your friends, co-workers and or family and leave your comments! We look forward to you visiting our dedicated review and analysis web site here in the future! Or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit Team WHR on Twitter, or visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story. I and TeamWHR look forward to Seeing You on The Other Side!“
We are pleased and honored to include the complete two hour interview with creative writing genius’ Tara Bennett and Paul Terry of September’s Notebook conducted this past Sunday February 03, 2013 at 12 PM Pacific time on You Decide Radio!
More importantly, with regard to September’s Notebook, we learned what motivated Tara Bennett and Paul Terry to originally work together, their outstanding collaboration on The LOST Encyclopedia, how many person hours it took to create September’s Notebook, their delightful work with executive producers Joel Wyman, Jeff Pinkner and Noreen O’Toole on the project, being at the studio site archives in Vancouver, British Columbia and Los Angeles facilities of Bad Robot Productions, and much MORE!
We enjoyed this interview because of my long admiration for Tara Bennett whose work we all have known about for many years in the science fiction drama series world. What was equally as enlightening was to learn more about Paul Terry and his role as the archivist of some eighty-five (85) gigabytes (GB) of digital material that went into the making of September’s Notebook!
It is no exaggeration to state that Tara and Paul worked tirelessly for much of 2012 to bring their next masterpiece to publication. Released prior to distribution in the United States, the book is 100% sold out at Amazon in the United Kingdom!
Great job and congratulations Tara and Paul! Thank you for great interview!
Those familiar with the great works of Paul Terry know him well as a gifted movie composer, songwriter and talented musician from the band Cellarscape (that you can see on Vimeo), as well as learn more about this talented creator at his web site!
Many science fiction fans are already familiar with both of these gifted creators from their fine work on The LOST Encyclopedia, a cornucopia on the fabled fan favorite series that ran on the ABC Network for six seasons.
To quote Tara Bennett; “It’s been a real passion project for PT (Paul Terry) and I. We’ve got the full support of J.H. Wyman, Jeff Pinkner, Bad Robot and the incredible crew who makes the show in Vancouver so fans are really in for a treat. There is so much we can’t wait to share!”
September’s Notebook chronicles the entire five year journey of Fringe through the eyes of series hero “September”.
Portrayed by the wonderful actor Michael Cerveris, Fringe admirers passed many a tissue box only two weeks ago during the final moments of the series when September was killed by the evil Observer Captain Windmark (Michael Kopsa) and his Earthly “Loyalist” minions in the year 2036!
In September’s Notebook, featuring a foreword by Joel Wyman and Jeff Pinkner, the secrets of September, one of the good Observers of Fringe are documented for all of history in any time-line!
For those unaware, if such a thing is actually possible in any universe, September was part of a secret team that came to scout the Earth from the future after Walter Bishop (John Noble) altered the time line by crossing over to kidnap his son Peter from an alternate universe.
To be revealed for the first time in March of this year via publication by Insight Editions, the book became part of the very mythology that is Fringe when September’s Notebook was displayed with on screen time during the final episodes of the epic science fiction series!
A rather rare event in the entertainment industry history of books featured in television and movies, fans the world over tweeted with glee about seeing the book in Septembers own hands before he made the ultimate sacrifice that helped save us all!
We were given a heads up here in San Francisco last year that we have planned for months to share with you here at WormholeRiders News Agency!
This specific Fringe related interview is something we have been very excited about for many months.
Arranged by our east coast Senior Reporter Karina, whom you all know as FidgetTBC on Twitter, a long time admirer of Fringe, I thank her for helping make this interview possible here at WHR!
Please feel free to share this article with your friends, co-workers and or family. We would also appreciate your comments and look forward to you visiting in the future.
Or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit WHR on Twitter, or visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story. I and Team WHR look forward to Seeing You on The Other Side!”
Well Fringe fans this is it, my very last Fringe review, ever.
Sad, I know, it has been an incredible journey these last five years. We have seen characters come and go and return again. We have seen shapeshifters, parallel universes, things that no human being should ever bear witness to.
We have witnessed what a family is, both on screen and off. Fringe has become, to quote The Sopranos, Family. Redefined.
I hope that you loved this final episode as much as I did. Honestly I did not know what to expect.
Like everyone, I had heard various Fringe rumors about maybe a time reset was going to happen, and if so that means that Peter (Joshua Jackson) may disappear, that Henrietta Bishop (Georgina Haig) may not be able to be restored to Peter and Olivia (Anna Torv), that Walter would make the ultimate sacrifice, or perhaps worst of all that all the events that unfolded in this final season would have been moot.
I always had faith in Joel Wyman and the others involved that when they said they penned a love letter they meant it. To me this last episode was not only a love letter, but a culmination of everything that made Fringe the groundbreaking, brilliant, funny, edgy, suspenseful, etc show that it has become.
There has not been a show like this before and have I have feeling there never will be another one like it. There will also never be a fandom like this again, passionate people that are the lifeblood of this show. Joel and the rest of the cast have always expressed their love and gratitude to us the fans and we whole heartedly accepted it with open arms.
I will warn you now, since this is my last Fringe review, I may get a little emotional, which is warranted considering the epicness of this last episode. I have used that word epic over and over not only in my reviews but on my twitter account as well when describing this show. When I use words like epic or brilliant I do not use them lightly, I really mean them. So please forgive me if I go a little overboard with the usage of both words.
Now…on with the last Fringe review…The opening scene with Donald/September (Michael Cerveris) and December (Eugene Lipinski) is interesting, but it sets up what is to come. I also think that it is a set up in a way of possibly a continuation.
When Donald says “If our plan doesn’t succeed they will cease to exist” it makes me think that this has always been planned out. That this already happened before and that due to the reality changes that the Observers are a part of, they need this to go right this time.
When Donald asks December “After all this time, the feelings you had for these people, the feelings we all had, they have not grown in you?” I know he was talking about the original 12 Observers. The ones that had started it all and the ones that were closer to what Michael (Rowan Longworth) is than Windmark (Michael Kopsa). I do believe that is why December and September always had a soft spot for the Bishop Boys and Olivia.
“When we first came here we did not know the true nature of our expedition” September tells him. It freaks me out to see this scene again, because again, it is a sign that this all happened before, that the original 12 were sent back to fix the problem or to make sure this time that the plan went right.
I am going to be quoting a book that was recommended to me by Kenn (it has since become a favorite of mine) called “The End of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov. This book is chock full of very Fringe like references, including Observers, time shifts, alternate realities, etc.
It is the one book that has allowed me to understand Fringe a bit more. If you have not read this book I highly recommend it. The reason I bring this book up is my previous statement that both December and September knew the consequences of what would happen if their plan did NOT succeed, hence the changes. They need to get it right this time, for humanity sake or it would surely be an invasion all over again, but maybe worse.
“Destiny can be changed” Donald reminds December and it already has been, a few times, why not one more (or a few more) times. I love that September makes the justification that the people of this era are worth saving. That is the nature and reason for the reality changes, the book talks about that, too.
Walter (John Noble) and his comment about a cancer inducing cell phone is hilarious. It must be so frustrating being a genius when everyone else around you is so dumb!
I am certainly going to miss his Walterisms, they are such a part of the Fringe lexicon that I have uttered a few in my everyday life. That is the brilliance of John Noble, he has such a wonderful way of making things his own and putting his signature on them. There will certainly be a void of that kind of wit on TV.
Uh oh Broyles is all I can think when Windmark appears in the garage. I love that Broyles is always walking that fine line between both worlds. Lance Reddick does a great job at making you understand why he is doing what he is doing.
Whether it be his Alt character helping Olivia (Anna Torv) escape from the Alt universe in the Entrada episode while he sacrificed himself, or his trusting Etta (Georgina Haig) and her ability to teach him how to block the thoughts from the Observers. Broyles has always been a moral character; you know how to perceive things by how he perceives them.
The gang returning to the lab with Michael (Rowan Longworth) in tow looks like a family vacation gone awry. When Olivia asks Donald why Michael stepped off the monorail, his answer is short “Apparently there was a reason, there always is” again reminds me of what he said to December about why these people should survive, why time should be reset.
It is sweet to see Michael’s reaction to the static on the computer screen. It is such an innocent one, he is smiling, and it almost makes you think that he sees something that we do not.
Often it has been said, in paranormal studies, that “white noise” actually is living. It has voices and shapes that we normally miss. Leave it to a child to make us aware of such things, their imaginations and emotions are deeper than those of us adults. Deeper and more real because of the purity of them, they have not been corrupted by life and such to warrant bad feelings.
When Donald had said that the initiating reactor core has been deteriorated and enlisted help “from my time” makes me think that this plan has already happened and that the shift is almost in place to make the REAL change. He needs it to make it became THAT reality. Asimov’s book again comes into play here, again, with the time shifts and the changing of realities.
I love hearing Walter explain to the others what the purpose of the device is that Donald is building. It is always great to see him when he gets into his scientist role; it brings out that wondrous part of him, with a side order of mad genius. John Noble always makes science fun and easily accessible. It is no wonder he is also the host of that great TV series Dark Matters on the Science Channel (shameless plug, I know, but worth watching).
As I mentioned in a previous post about Michael being the Archangel, Donald confirms it. He says that when he gets to the year 2167 Michael will change the course of human evolution.
Just as Archangel Michael changed the course of his destiny and that of the chosen ones. Just like Olivia changed the course of her history and timeline, just like Peter did and ultimately just like Walter did.
It comes full circle, like it was always meant to be this way, that Peter (Joshua Jackson) was always supposed to meet Olivia (Anna Torv) that they were always supposed to fight for a greater cause.
This was always supposed to happen, maybe it got a little of track, but these people were always meant to do what they were destined to do; it just needed a little tweaking.
The way that Donald looks at Walter when Astrid (Jasika Nicole) asks how he will know who the scientist is, is again a sign that this plan was always in motion. Walter has a look of knowing a look of acknowledgement like he knows the answer but is not willing to volunteer the answer.
I love that Broyles knows he has been compromised by how he notices the gloves on his dash. He does the right thing by leading them on a wild goose chase. It is unfortunate that he cannot be there to help them, but he also does the right thing by sacrificing himself again for the greater good. “The most important thing is the plan” is what Broyles stresses to Olivia, no matter how much she protests. That is one of the many things I love about Broyles, moral to the end.
This next scene with Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter (John Noble) is by far the best scene ever filmed in Fringe history…in my opinion. There was a picture if this scene posted on Facebook and twitter and now we know what it was a part of. The emotion in this scene is outstanding, John Noble has never been better and I do not think he will ever be able to top this scene.
Watching this again it make me realize that this is not only a scene between a father and a son, but two men, two actors who have grown to love and respect each other as a real father and son. The love and respect that they both have for one another in unquestionable, them saying goodbye was for real and I am sure that both Josh and John will never again experience anything quite like it.
Watching John Noble in this scene is astonishing; again a word I don’t use often but when I do its meaning is perfect in this scene. There are a few times in my life as a director when I have been rendered speechless by an actor, whether I was working with them or watching them on screen, this is truly one of those times.
The raw depth and immense power of John and his emotion is so powerful that he floored me, literally. I was so moved that my floor was littered with used tissue after tissue.
THAT Ladies and gentlemen is what acting is…living in the moment, feeling it from your toes to your head and extending out to everyone around you. The fact that John has been snubbed time and time again by the major awards is a tragedy, but also a blessing. A blessing to us fans who can selfishly hog him and his talent all to ourselves. We can say “I have witnessed perfection and his name is John Noble.”
Josh is fantastic in this scene as well, his love for this man is evident, not only in real life but on the show. Josh truly did find a father figure in John as did the rest of the younger cast. He was saying goodbye to Walter and to John at the same time; his emotion has never been more real than in this scene.
This is the purest Josh has ever gotten, not even when Olivia (Anna Torv) was shot and killed or shot again, not even when Etta (Georgina Haig) died or his upon seeing his mother Elizabeth (Orla Brady) again. This is what real love, respect and friendship is folks and Josh and John are showing us in spades.
It is hard for me to really expound on this scene any further, watching it is the only explanation needed. That alone will give you the answers to the question of what is brilliance and talent and I say to you…this, this scene is.
There are some scenes that are so beyond any words when you watch them, to describe them using primitive language is futile, feeling is the only way you can experience the powerful meaning. This is that scene, if no other scene is ever filmed again in regards to Fringe, let this be the beacon, the guide, the shining light of what Fringe is, has been and ever shall be…
Okay, now that I have sufficiently cried myself silly again watching this scene, let’s talk about the paradox that Walter mentions. Again I must go back to Asimov and what he says about paradox “in every apparent paradox of time travel, reality always changes to avoid the paradox and we come to the conclusion that there are no paradoxes in time travel and that there can be none”.
Reality has to be reset and Walter knows this, hence what happens at the end of this episode and why it is so significant that we are hearing this now. Walter mentions how nature abhors a paradox; it has to heal itself (reset itself if you will). It is so brilliant that Joel had picked up on this; I suspect that he has read Asimov and incorporated the paradox and reality changes because of him.
Asimov also writes about reality “With an infinite number of Realities there can be no such thing as determinism”. Sound familiar? September said something similar to Walter about why he cannot know the absolute outcome because nothing is determined. The mere definition of determinism is what has been a thought line in Fringe from the beginning. Real is just a perception, as has been mentioned time and time again and has always been in the background somewhere.
It is so sad when you see the final fate of our friend and fellow Observer December (Eugene Lipinski). His death was not in vain, he died to help the team. This may be a weird coincidence, but it seems that every death of a significant character in this season has served as a reminder of what is at stake, what the team is fighting for. No death has been in vain, it has been the catalyst and what will finally drive the fate of the team.
When Windmark gets his hands on the reactor it is not a good sign, but then you know that fate has another chance to rear its head. Never count out our team; they are never down for the count. With all the references to realities, time travel and the shifting of realities, I cannot quote all of the time Asimov uses these to make my point in Fringe, so I will ask that you read the book and understand what I mean.
When you see Broyles get caught by the Observers that is when the episode shifts. The stakes have now become higher and things are at the most dire. It’s getting real people!
Leave it to Olivia to go to Michael to figure out the plan. Maybe they do really have a connection after all. They are basically the same, in some weird way, both anomalies, both children that possessed something far greater than ever imagined, both children that essentially changed the realities and timelines.
“Because it’s cool”…oh Walter, how we are going to miss your little Walterisms. I suspect that Fringe fans all over the world are uttering this as I type this!
It is another one of the many, many cool ways that Fringe has become part of our everyday lives.
I absolutely love love love the scene with Jasika and John when she shows him Gene. It again is a true testament to the friendship and special bond John and Jasika have formed over the five year run of the show. It is also so incredibly beautiful that he FINALLY acknowledges her real name and how beautiful it always has been. John, you kill me, literally kill me!
I love that Windmark tells Broyles about the original twelve that arrived and that there assignment was to observe. Something strange happened…Hmm, I wonder what could that have been? “They succumbed to irrational emotions,”…no Windmark, they were just being human!
It is such a great scene, because Windmark thinks he is superior to Broyles when as Nina (Blair Brown) pointed out in the Anomaly episode that the Observers are the primitive ones and we are the advanced ones, well we eventually learn to be more advanced thanks to Michael. “I believe you call it hate” states Windmark, “the feeling is mutual” Broyles retorts! Match point to Broyles!
The beautiful scene in the car between Peter and Olivia is what Anna and Josh do best. They have always had an uncanny ability to be perfectly intimate with the world watching. They are great at dropping the fourth wall and making the private public, which is why they are one of the most epic couples in TV history.
Their hope (that word!) of seeing Etta again is closer than before. It makes me happy that their fight was not futile, that the hope Olivia had that she would be able to finally be the mother she ultimately wanted to be. It is such a sweet thing that Peter gave her the bullet that truly did save the world!
Now we are at the part that for me becomes the locomotion to the end. It is so fraking cool what happens to the Observers that enable Peter and Olivia to conquer. Again the old school Fringe is harkened back to. It was so great to see some of the past cases come back to life, albeit a bit gruesomely, but still neat to see again.
I love that Donald volunteers to go to the future in Walter’s place. It is a very noble thing to do. I love that throughout the run of the show Michael Cerveris has always been a favorite of mine. This multi talented man has shown us his true colors and I for one love it. You always knew there was something different about September and that is one of the reasons he became one of my favorite characters.
So when September told Peter “It must be difficult to be a father” all those years ago, he knew in some weird way that feeling. Now as Donald he knows it with every emotion he has, he knows what Walter felt about Peter. “It’s about changing fate, it’s about hope” well said Donald! That word again is the theme, sometimes it is all you have to hold on to, that is what gives you strength to carry on.
Let the Fringe freak fest begin! The floodgates are now open! Here comes the pain! I was cheering loudly when the plethora of old Fringe events started spreading like wildfire. It was so great because it reminded me of all the past episodes and seasons and how extraordinary this show is and will always be.
When I saw the six fingered hand, I thought to myself, The Princess Bride, which I have referenced before in my posts. Remember him? Christopher Guest played him well…but I digress.
Let’s fast forward to the last ten minutes of this episode. These scenes are the most crucial to me; it is what we as a fandom have finally been waiting for. It is not only the final battle, but the final chapter in the wonderful love letter that Joel has penned for us the fans. From the gun fight which reminded me of an old western film to the floating Observer (Walter was right, it is cool!), Fringe has always had the makings of epic television.
Watching these scenes again I am filled with the excitement that I was the first time I watched the episode. How edge of my seat I was hoping and praying that the plan goes perfectly. It is such a great treat to watch it again and still feel those emotions surge in my body!
As Peter and Windmark battle, the thoughts that went through my mind were “the plan will work, I know it will,” but there was still a glimmer (yes pun intended) that it may fail. Bite my tongue, I know but then again it’s Fringe, anything can happen.
Ironic that Windmark had Olivia by the throat much like he did Etta? What follows this scene is perhaps my favorite Olivia scene ever. It is what Olivia was meant for, what she was born for, what William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) had said time and time again she was used (I hate to use that word, but it fits) for. She was always the strongest one as Bell mentioned, kept Peter by her side, but Nina reminded her that she always had an incredible capacity for compassion.
It was Olivia’s capacity for feeling that made both Walter and Bell use her…Nina (Blair Brown) said that Bell needs something from her. Just like they need something from Michael, he is the chosen one as well. It is the reason Michael has always had a strong connection to Olivia.
She is the chosen one as Bell states. She has always been afraid of her abilities, but Nina again pointed out that Olivia always had the most extraordinary gifts, the only thing she denied was knowing, she’s had the power all along…(Wizard of Oz reference again).
Damn I love this show). “Olivia is an uncertainty engine, every breath she takes brings us closer to nirvana, and with every beat of her heart she tears the world from its hinges. She is the redeemer” Bell said, about Olivia and in this scene she proves it.
When she sees the necklace strewn across the ground, I bet Etta flashes through her mind, her baby girl, her “perfect little soul” her second or in this case third chance to get her back. I love this scene, Anna is extraordinary.
It reminds me of a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the power she posses to inflict the final blow. How fitting is it that Windmark is crushed, literally and figuratively, by Olivia. That she was the redeemer; she did have the power the whole time. The fear and love she has always possessed have been her triggers and the cortexiphan her weapon.
When Donald/September got shot I guarantee you there way collective screaming and flailing across Fringe fandom, but remember this is Fringe, everything happens for a reason. It was sad to see Donald meet his fate, but it was also I suspect the way it was always meant to be. The tune that Michael plays is Greensleeves and the significance is perfect in this situation. It is as it always has been how it was fated to be.
It started with Walter and a boy, it will end with Walter and a boy. It is because of the immense love that Walter had for Peter and it ended with the immense love Walter had for Peter.
It came full circle again; Walter saved a boy…again. It was such a beautiful scene with Josh telling John he loved him, I bet that was genuine! As I am watching Walter walk off into the proverbial sunset, I am tearing up, but not from sadness, from joy! He finally became the better man…this time.
Remember Walter is not dead, he is in the future. Something John Noble said in the last Noble intentions that makes me think we will not only see him again, but the cast possibly in a movie.
He had mentioned that because Walter is in the future, for a while, he may miss his family and want to come home for a bit…there is always hope.
And so brings us to the end…or rather the beginning again, of a whole new life. A rebirth of sorts, a chance for all of them to start over. As I watch the end I cannot help but feel a swell of emotion. I write this through blurred vision, because of the tears in my eyes.
The ending is perfection. I had told Kenn that there were two places that the reset would happen, either Etta’s birthday party or the park and I was right on one. I am so glad to see our beloved Bishop family intact again and enjoying their third chance at happiness. How does the saying go, third time is the charm?
Olivia finally has her third chance, she finally feels like the redeemer Bell always said she was. She is at peace, I believe, finally having her life, love and daughter back where they belong. Peter with Etta is so amazing; he has such love for this little girl. Josh is great, so tender and loving!
No comes the conclusion to the longest love letter in history. The shot of Peter (Joshua Jackson) looking through the mail is great. You can see a letter or ad that says “Thanks for the support” which I think Joel put in there as a thanks to all the fans that have supported the show through the five year journey.
What really, though, is the ultimate “We love you” to all the fans is the symbol that has meant so much in the Fringe world and to us fans around the world. The White Tulip, the symbol of solidarity, of forgiveness, or what a son means to his father and what this show has meant to all of us. The look that Peter/Josh has in his eyes leads me to believe that this saga is not over that we may (fingers and toes crossed) see a movie in the future as John Noble hinted at during SDCC 2012.
Well, my fiends I will share this quote from Peter Pan “Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting” so instead of saying goodbye to Fringe, I will bid see you again.
I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the fans I have become friends with over the years. I want to say thanks to Kenn, Managing Editor of Team WHR for allowing me to be a part of this amazing team of people that covered this amazing show.
Most of all I want to thank every single person ever involved in Fringe; you have brought me such joy, such happiness, such laughter and such tears. It is because of you that I found my creative life again and that means more to me than you will ever know.
On one final note about the series and the time reset, I will conclude with an Isacc Asimov quote here for the last time:
“Reality has a tendency to flow back it its original position.”
Please feel free to leave a comment here or If you prefer, you may also click the social media icons below to share this news article or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit me on Twitter by clicking the links or images avatars in this news story. See You on The Other Side“!
Fringe Fans…it has been an amazing journey, these five years of our beloved show.
I have a confession to make; I have tried to prolong these reviews as long as possible so I can keep the show alive. In my heart I never want it to end, but alas as with all great things it must eventually come to an end.
I am glad that the producers (mainly Joel) decided to break up the last two episodes into two separate ones. It makes it easier on this reviewer to be able to ease into the ending better.
Joel Wyman has often said time and time again that this show is about a family and with these last two episodes that has never been truer than now.
I suspect though that he was not only talking about the on screen family, but the off screen one as well. There are parts in both episodes where that is shown to its fullest extent.
I hope that you will forgive me if I get a little emotional when writing these reviews. This show has changed my life (and I suspect that I am not alone in that) in ways that I cannot describe.
It has given me faith again in television as a medium that can move people and can unite fans worldwide. It has restored my faith in quality writing, acting and directing, it has breathed new life into the sci-fi genre that has lost a little bit of luster.
Now on with the show….I like the opening and how the desperation and urgency of the situation is felt throughout the scene. There is always great banter between Walter (John Noble), Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Olivia (Anna Torv) when they tend to get into their rhythm together.
It is always a treat because mostly Peter and Olivia are trying to decipher what Walter is saying. I love that Broyles (Lance Reddick) is still very much a part of their plan and that he is almost the shadow that moves between both worlds.
I love that he calls himself the Raven instead of Dove, which reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe and his most famous poem “The Raven”. The raven has always been a mysterious symbol as well; it has been steeped in mythology for such long time. It is very fitting that Broyles make that comment.
The scene with Windmark (Michael Kopsa) and Michael (Rowan Longworth) are great. It looks as if Michael has a slight smirk on his face, as if he almost pities Windmark in his attempt to extract information from him.
I love that Michael gives Windmark a taste of his own medicine, that he shows Windmark what it must have felt like to have been Walter or Hastings when they were both in the chair and being questioned by him.
“Liberty” features two very gifted guest stars that many science fiction fans will certainly recognize and we have covered at entertainment conventions.
The first is Peter Flemming, well known for his roles in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. A veteran character actor, Flemming portrays an Observer Loyalist Lieutenant who reveals the detention location of Child Observer Michael’s unwittingly after Agent Broyles trickd him into thinking he is to provide an extra security detail at Liberty Island.
That boy is strong, yes he is an anomaly, and he is the one thing that will ultimately be the downfall of the Observers. Michael Kopsa is as always great as Windmark, you are almost cheering at how he gets frustrated to an extent that he cannot break Michael.
I love how the answers to Windmark’s questions just bounce back at him, it makes it that much sweeter when you know that Michael is the clear winner in that ‘battle’. It makes me giggle to know that Windmark has been bested by a child. I find it interesting that he refers to Michael as “it” just as Walter did in a previous episode.
Where Michael is being held seems like a fortress as the team stated, but as Peter quickly pointed out no building is impenetrable. The plan that arises from the desperation is one that this viewer was happy to hear.
Leave it to Olivia (Anna Torv) to come up with the plan to save Michael. It has always been her ability to see the other side that has given the team its advantage. Only with the bridge closed how would they accomplish this, is the million dollar question? Only one answer…cortexiphan.
It seems that Fringe has harkened back again to old school, which I love. It brings back parts of the past episodes that have always been my favorites. Seeing the cortexiphan, brought back all the memories of Olivia entering the tank and all the amazing things she could do with it running through her system.
Olivia was always unstoppable, not even a bullet (well, at least without Walter’s quick thinking) could stop her. Once she triggered it, stand back because she was not afraid to use it and use it fiercely.
A lot of fans were a bit frustrated with the lack of kick ass Olivia in this season, but when she did finally show that side of her again, it was great.
Anna has always had the capacity to channel that rage into action and power. Just watch her body language when she is amped on cortexiphan, it is like she was a whole person again.
Peter’s concern about the effects that the cortexiphan would have on Olivia is palpable. Olivia knows that he is worried, so is she, she knows that without Michael the plan is lost.
The second Stargate guest star making an appearance is the talented Peter Kelamis from Stargate Universe portraying Doctor”Tobin”. Tobin is called in to oversee the cortexiphan treatments given to Olivia in the lab warning she could be killed in the process if the dosage is too high. Naturally Walter overrides Tobin’s guidance and injects more cortexiphan into Olivia.
I love that Olivia reminds him that Etta died so that they could finish the plan, “both feet in, that’s what we said”. His comment of “What if I lose you, too” is so lovely, it is filled with such love that it almost stops the scene. Josh again shows his talent, his eyes reveal his pain at the thought of potentially losing her, too. She and Walter are all Peter has left, they are all the family he will ever have, now that Etta (Georgina Haig) is gone.
The points that Peter make about the Alt-universe and what if things are not where they remember and what happens if…are all valid and add fuel to his argument of why Olivia should not cross over. All good points, but Astrid (Jasika Nicole) is smart enough to figure out just how to solve that dilemma.
Walter and his brilliant inventions, it is because of that window that this whole mess started, but it is also the solution. Of course it doesn’t stop Walter from using yet another one of the wonderful (I will miss them) incarnations of Astrid’s name.
Seeing Michael in the chair and getting a paralytic is frightening. It is such a telltale about what Nina (Blair Brown) had said in the previous episode about how the Observers are animals. The way that Windmark is still affected by Michael, that he has to leave the room because the blood is still leaking from his nose is almost his comeuppance of sorts. It is almost getting to Windmark and Kopsa is great at just showing a bit of frustration.
The scene when they finally get to Battery Park to find the proper space to set up the window, to me is when the episode shifts. The team has hope again (that word again!) they might just have the chance to pull their plan off.
It is great to see Donald/September (Michael Cerveris) again. He has always had a wonderful part in the Fringe family as a somewhat outsider, but now that we know what really happened and the purpose he always served it makes his role in the ‘family’ a whole lot better.
I like that we get to see Donald constructing the device that will help him travel to the future with Michael. His careful planning and precise details would make Walter proud if he were there helping him.
It made me giggle, though because I could not help but think of that brilliant show (and one of Josh’s obsessions) Breaking Bad, on AMC. With Donald blending all the elements together, it just was hilarious, because it reminded me of the “cooking” that goes on when making meth.
One of my favorite scenes (and there are a few in this episode) is when the gang head underground to help ready Olivia for the cortexiphan. It is an intense scene between all the main characters, you can feel the tension in the air, it practically oozes off the screen. Josh and Anna are fantastic in this scene, the care that Peter shows is perfect and the pain that Olivia goes through is visceral.
When Peter is attaching the pads to Olivia’s chest, you hear her whisper to him “I’m okay”. It is such a sweet moment, because she knows him and what he is thinking without even saying it. Again, Anna and Josh are the epitome of brilliant.
Watching Anna take each and every “shot” of cortexiphan was torture, but that was the point. You felt her pain, every shift or change of her body you could feel. Every time I saw the needle go into her neck it made me cringe. It was a perfectly constructed scene.
That scene must have been so physically exhausting for her and everyone involved. Those scenes are never easy for actors to do, but I applaud her for being the trooper and barreling through it like the pro she is.
One of my favorite things about this scene is Walter (John Noble). The ability that John has to turn his megalomania on and off at the drop of a hat is proof of his immense talent. His comment about the fact that he knows about cortexiphan and the effects is hilarious, but also a bit scary. That part of himself that he has been desperately trying not to have resurface does at times. Too bad Nina (Blair Brown) is not around to rein him in.
“Sacrifice is hard, son, but you are no stranger to it,” is such a great line that Walter says to Peter. It has so much meaning, especially in the finale episode. It is basically a huge foreshadowing of what is to come and also a nod to the past and what Peter has lost in every time line.
“Neither are you dad,” Peter answers him, and knows that Walter can relate in so many more ways than he could possibly imagine. The times that Peter calls Walter dad are few but when they do happen, it makes my heart swell. It is such a beautiful moment between these two men and it shows all over John’s face.
I love that the images that are present in Olivia’s cortexiphan laden brain are of little Etta (Abagayle Hardwick) and the short time they had together. The fact that there is hope (that darned word) of them getting her back is one of the reasons, dare I say the ONLY reason that Olivia is doing what she is doing. The notion that she will have not only her “perfect little soul” back, but her husband and her life back is the best incentive ever.
The light in her eyes comment is funny. It gives Anna a chance to be snarky with Walter for once. It is also a tender scene with John and Anna embraces it wonderfully. Those two actors are always incredible in their scenes together. When you have two powerhouses going head to head it makes watching the scenes a whole lot better.
The moments of Peter saying goodbye to Olivia before she goes to the Alt-universe are beautiful. You can see in Josh’s body the worry and fear that is running through Peter.
He does a great job of manifesting it and showing it through his eyes. I have always said that Josh is great at revealing his emotions through his eyes and in this scene there is no doubt. The “I love yous” are just perfection. I guarantee every Polivia fan was squealing with joy.
Hello Alt-universe! Hello Bolivia, damn she still looks great for being 50 years old. I am so happy that Lincoln (Seth Gabel)and Bolivia got married and have a son. I was a little confused by that since we all know that she had VPE and nearly died giving birth to Henry in the episode Bloodline. Maybe things changed or they found a cure, but nonetheless it is amazing. Seth Gabel aged well…it is so great to see him again, too. I love that the producers are bringing back cast members from the past.
Am I the only one that got choked up and teary eyed when both Olivia’s hugged? I don’t know why it was such an emotionally powerful scene for me. Maybe it was because of the now friendship that they had developed despite the history that we the fans know has been a part of their past. It is as if they are long lost sisters seeing each other again, Anna does an exceptional job, as she always does when playing both versions of Olivia.
It is a little sad to see her reaction to the picture Bolivia has on her desk, it is a reminder of what she once had with Peter and Etta and will hopefully have again…if all goes as planned.
I was a little confused about how Bolivia knew about Etta and the fact that she was missing. I think there were a few scenes that may have been left out and that we will hopefully see on the DVD. I know that on twitter there were folks that had said that Bolivia and Lincoln’s son name was Trevor and that there was a scene that was shot but not shown. On well, let’s hope we get those in the DVD.
I also love the fact that the cortexiphan is affecting Olivia as she sees her little girl again at three years old standing in Bolivia’s office. It is such a jarring sight, but great to see Anna’s reaction to it.
The scene with Windmark and his superior in 2609 is great. That room is so stark; it is quite disturbing because it reminds me of a mental institution and the sterilization of what that represents. The baffling quandary of Michael and his advanced intellect is causing great concern for Windmark. He cannot accept the fact that Michael is far greater a threat than he could ever imagine.
That Michael may be the cause of their downfall. I think that even though Windmark doesn’t say it he feels it and knows it somewhere in that Observer brain of his. “There is no greater danger than that which is unknown” as Windmark states, which has been a running theme in Fringe since the beginning of the show…the unknown.
Talking about Michael like he is a thing is disturbing, asking that he be “disassembled and preserve the parts” is so creepy it sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel.
Olivia’s scene with Lincoln is great, I love that there is still a little reminder of the decision that she chose Peter over him; but that she is glad to see he has a wonderful family.
Seth is great at that tension and he shows it well, but I think he will always love Olivia, but differently now. Bolivia’s comment about “her young ass” is funny and so cute to see Lincoln react, they are completely in love and it is beautiful.
Now comes the kick ass Olivia that we all know and love and have missed (some fans have) dearly.
When she arrives again, she is clearly disoriented and keeps seeing things. Her hallucinations are some of the things that Walter warned about and Olivia has to be extra careful and know which ones are real and which ones are not.
Michael being wheeled to an examination room is eerily reminiscent of what happened to Olivia in the Entrada episode when Walternate wanted to vivisect her to see how her brain and the cortexiphan work. It is very interesting that Olivia was considered an anomaly to Walternate, a threat as well and look at what happened to her and how the show has almost come full circle again.
Olivia becomes her bad ass self as she roams through the halls looking for Michael, anybody that gets in her way gets taken out. You can clearly see the desperation and urgency in Olivia’s body as she races against time (literally) to get Michael and herself back where they belong. Anna is always at her best when she is in her kick ass mode; she has that confidence and swagger that has always made her great to watch as any incarnation of herself.
Rampaging through the hallway she fades in and out again, but after encountering an Observer and besting him, she charges toward her goal and finds Michael. The little smile that Michael has on his face when he sees her is sweet.
Just because he does not speak does not mean that he does not feel or comprehend what is going on. The contrary is the case with Michael; he is more in tune with everything and everybody that he is beyond feeling.
When Olivia and Michael make their way to escape and are caught by the Observer, you think they are done for until the team of Dunham and Lee open fire in a carefully choreographed synchronicity that you are cheering for them.
The last scene with both Olivia’s is bittersweet, again we say goodbye to the Alt-universe, we say goodbye to a part of Fringe that has always been a weird little part of the family.
Without it we would not have our beloved show, love it or hate it but know that it will forever be our Red verse! Goodbye old friend you will be missed.
Anna once again does what she does best; she is perfection as she bids herself a farewell. I love Bolivia’s retort to Olivia’s statement of “You have a beautiful family” and she says “Thank you, go save yours”…watching it again I am getting teary eyed.
It is a beautiful scene between two characters (albeit the same actress) that shows just how much each has grown over the course of the five years and the different timelines. They are not so different after all. Anna’s talent is one of the things I will most definitely miss on TV, she is a rare gem.
Arriving back with the team everybody breathes a sigh of relief, especially Peter. He has her back in one piece and he is glad. But the fight is not over as Olivia mentions that the Observers know she crossed over.
The scene in the van when Peter and Olivia have their moment together it is so…perfect. There is really no other word to describe that scene, a photo of that scene was leaked on twitter and of course it set the fandom on fire. Now we know the context of what is was and are very happy about it.
Windmark sitting at his desk as he asks the officer about how Michael disappeared is creepy. When he rats out Broyles you want to just scream, because that is very bad. But we all know that Broyles can most certainly handle himself..
It is so great to have the episode end with Donald going to see an old “friend”…December (Eugene Lipinski). I always liked his character, because he was always giving September the benefit of the doubt. He had a soft spot, so to speak, for the plight of September and the “family” he made himself a part of. The producers did a nice job of keeping that a secret too, I like how they are bringing back some of our favorite characters.
Watching that scene again floored me, here’s why, I was so excited about seeing December again that I completely missed what September said to him. When I did watch it again and September said “Walter Bishop is back and we have the boy,” makes me think that this was always planned. That what happened has happened and that the timeline needed to get reset again on order for things to be as they were. It was a HUGE HUGE HUGE revelation and one that segues perfectly into the next episode. That last shot of the door closing revealing 513 was pure genius.
Well, that is the end of this review of the second to last episode of Fringe ever. I hope you enjoyed the episode as much as I did and used enough Kleenex to warrant opening another box. I would love to hear your comments and remember Fringe is and always will live on …forever!
I hope you enjoyed my review and my previous news articles about my analysis of Fringe and I thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency.
Please feel free to leave a comment here or If you prefer, you may also click the social media icons below to share this news article or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit the WHR on Facebook or me on Twitter by clicking the links or images avatars in this news story. See You on The Other Side“!
Welcome back Fringe fans for our final series of reviews in this timeline,
How does one write about the apparent end of Fringe during ones final analysis for such an epic science fiction drama series that has brought excellence to our screens for five years?
Was it The End of Eternity as this reviewer has written about previously? Or is it simply a new beginning for a franchise that could to be headed to the big screen deserving of Academy Awards to atone for the many years of being snubbed by the Emmy’s?
This editor believes this is the case. In my opinion, and many others whom we have consulted with, Fringe movies loom in the future. The only question is when “Fringe Movies” will actually enter our timeline!?
With a focus more in the present timeline, the Fringe creators recently sanctioned products including September’s Notebook created by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry set for publication in March of this year!
Although not actually revealed in “The Recordist”, the end of the current Fringe eternity began with the return of September (Michael Cerveris) to the series story arc when we met, with fleeting glimpses what seemed to be a new character. Then referred to as Donald, who appeared at a remote mountain encampment, the final foundation was set.
“The Recordist” featured a well known and much admired actor Paul McGillion as Edwin Massey. Massey had laboriously recorded all of human history since the invasion of Earth by The Observers in 2015.
Massey related that Donald, whom we now know is September, had been captured by The Observers subsequent to when “Donald” had visited their remote encampment on a secret mission.
The Fringe team went on a field trip to track down clues revealed in Walters Betamax video tapes (I loved that video format, so superior to VHS as Walter confirmed during the series).
Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter (John Noble) met Massey discovering a high energy mineral needed for Walters plan to stop The Observers per the Betamax video cassette “bread crumb” he had left behind before being ambered in the year 2015.
As we reviewed previously here at WHR, we speculated that Donald was September, but “The Recordist” episode did not confirm September was alive as a fact until his return in “Anomaly XB-6783746” via the memories imparted from the child Observer Michael (Rowan Longworth) after he was secured in “Black Blotter”, when as you may recall Walter decided to take a little trip via LSD!
We include an edition of “Noble Intentions” courtesy of FOX Broadcasting that chronicles the memories imparted to Walter from Michael, the Child Observer.
The Boy Must Live:
After a bit of work in the former Harvard University lab to locate September, between Walter and Peter with the ever able work of Astrid (Jasika Nicole), in this episode we finally learn about Donald (September) and what happened to him since his disappearance at the hands of evil Observer Overlords from the year 2609.
With Peter’s, Astrid’s, and Olivia’s help to monitor the experimental events, and as Michael looked on with curiosity, Walter Bishop entered “The Tank” in the laboratory to isolate the important memories imparted to him by the Child Observer Michael (Rowan Longworth) in “Anomaly XB-6783746” in order to locate September in the year 2036.
In a truly humorous moment, well beyond anything ever contemplated on “Naked Tuesdays”, where Walter at least had an apron to cover his vitals, Olivia opens the tank in the lab only to find Walter stark bare ass naked in the process of searching his thoughts about September.
This fun scene brings us a moment of levity in the serious story arc full circle. One can only assume that it must be “Naked Tank Tuesday” in the year 2036! Even Olivia smiles at what they have discovered, Walters nakedness notwithstanding!
Subsequent to discovering enough clues from “Naked Tank Tuesday” to locate September, Walter dons some clothes to cover his fine physique to lead the Fringe team on the search for September in 2036.
In a number of memorable sequences, Peter and Walter chat about why he is so sure about things, including Walter remembering that he does not really enjoy “public displays” of affection and not using public restrooms to “go number two”. Peter’s growing love for his father’s eccentric nature is displayed lovingly with a wonderful smile.
We are suddenly taken to the year 2609, the central nexus of The Observers strangle hold on humanity. Now one may ask, why did The Observers Commander (James Kidnie) or delightfully evil Captain Windmark (Michael Kopsa) and other implied higher Observer authorities simply not kill September after his meddling with time without their explicit approval?
For those who read and follow the time-line psychology ripple effects of changing events or people as eloquently depicted in Fringe and by Isaac Asimov’s novel in “The End of Eternity”, the answer is simple. Well almost.
As discussed between Captain Windmark and The Observers Commander in “The Boy Must Live”, in order to not disturb the certainties of the reality they have created wherein they are the dominate species across the universe, certain individuals cannot be eliminated or they risk that the entire equation of time could unravel. September is one of those individuals in this reviewer’s opinion.
Now you may hypothecate; WAIT! Other of The Observers, their Loyalists and quite a few resistance humans have been killed. Why did these events not impact the timeline?
Although not delineated directly, the Fringe creators require viewers to think about serious consequences of ripples in time across realities from changes. This reviewer believes that this may have been partly responsible for lower ratings because Fringe as a story, took much thought to internalize. This factor was also responsible for the initial lackluster reception of the novel “The End of Eternity” that later went on to become a cult classic.
Nevertheless, the epic nature of the program can be understood as follows; One must assume that if a person was killed “out of order” in contravention to The Observers philosophy of “Everything In Order”, then a viewer should assume that the Observer command nexus in the year 2609 would have dispatched other Observers to fix or “patch” the timeline to restore 99.9999% infinity likelihoods just as what was performed in The End of Eternity to ensure the future eventualities desired.
More on these complex factors later in my analysis.
Walter, Olivia, Peter, with Michael in tow find September at an apartment after leveraging Walter’s memories ascertained in the tank.
September, in turn, obviously is quite happy to see Olivia, Peter, almost the entire team, and Walter in specific for reasons we learn in major reveals in the series story arc.
We were thrilled to also see an emotion of joy on September’s face when he sees the Observer Child is with the team.
Michael is later confirmed to actually be September’s son Michael. September opens a cigar box to retrieve a tiny music box which plays the memorable song “Greensleeves also known as “Who is the Child” when the tiny handle in turned.
A most appropriate selection by music composers Chris Tilton and Michael Giacchino in the opinion of this reviewer that is featured in episode.
After relating what had happened to themselves, our heroes learn that September had been stripped of the technology implanted in his skull which allows The Observers to traverse time across multiple alternate realities with causation by making minute adjustments in the time-line.
The ultimate purpose is to ensure Observer dominance across all realities to within 99.9999% infinity percent likelihood as discussed above.
We learn that September was punished for his many instances of meddling with the plans of the Overlord Observers to ensure their dominance across all time and in all universe possibilities.
Logically we must assume that after his capture and punishment, September was deemed to be harmless by The Observers without his enhanced abilities.
This proves that The Observers, the season five antagonists, are not all powerful. By not monitoring September more closely, thereby making a major mistake, especially considering the perseverance of Walter and our heroes of the Fringe Team in the year 2036, the quest to destroy their slavish, albeit intellectually developed society will become realty.
In the process we learn that September chose his name, Donald O’Conner, from a favorite movie he and Walter had once watched together; “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952).
One is also left to ponder another interesting theory. Did Walter name “Gene the Cow” to honor Gene Kelly who starred in the 1952 award winning film enjoyed by September? This reviewer find this theory to be highly likely.
As Olivia and Peter listen with great emotion on their faces, they find out, among the many details Walter did not remember, despite having many “feelings” imparted by Michael, that this included all the details of “the plan” to stop The Observers from manipulating all time and universes.
Powerless, September, had been inserted into the year 2036 where he could be “observed” by Captain Windmark after his capture and punishment.
September then began life as a normal human believing that his plans with Walter twenty-one years previous in the year 2015 to save humanity would never be realized.
In a major reveal about what has transpired over the past five (season) years, September shared how it all happened.
In stunning visual effects sequence reminiscent of “The Matrix” (1999), September reveals how Michael was created from his own genetic material in a vault of young Observers. The chilling scene delighted this reviewer to no end.
Michael, September’s progeny was deemed flawed by the genetically fascist Observer hierarchy of the year 2609. The result was that Michael’s maturation was deliberately stunted.
Although not depicted in the episode, September informs our Fringe Team heroes that he took the boy from the year 2609 and hid him in the past of the year 2036 to hopefully be found later by Walter, Olivia, Peter and Astrid.
During the meeting in the year 2609, we learn more about the weakness of The Observers. Although seemingly firmly in control, they are not capable of predicting all possible outcomes, and in fact are afraid of the consequences of making any additional changes to eliminate “the resisters” as the Fringe Team is referred to.
The Observer Commander relates to Captain Windmark; “we are not prepared to deal with a readjustment of probabilities”. The Observer Commander is obviously referring to the killing off the Fringe Team and or Michael, the “defective” Observer Child.
To his displeasure, Captain Windmark is forbidden from going back in time to kill them all. This is the next Observer weakness that is revealed.
Although The Observers have invested nearly five centuries from 2167 to 2609 to “breed out” emotion in favor of intellect, the Observer Commander detects something is wrong. Captain Windmark states “the idea of ending their existence consumes me”.
As we know from being emotional human beings in 2013, obsession is a destroyer of many aspects of humanity. So it will be with The Observers. Obsession causes people to make mistakes and or draw the wrong conclusions from history that ultimately leads to serious errors in judgment.
When the Observer Commander states “they are insignificant”, we know that our heroes can leverage their arrogance to ultimately win the day!
With a segue back to the Fringe Team at the apartment, now with September restored as an ally, we discover “The Plan” is to take Michael to the year 2167 on the 28th of February, and introduce him to The Powers That Be (TPTB) of that era. All of history, past, present and future would be radically altered to benefit humankind.
By offering a different alternative in humanities future decision making process, with proof they do not have to sacrifice human emotions for intellect, the result would cause the evil of The Observers as we have known them, to never become manifest, to never exist!
Brilliant move in the story arc by the creators!
We move in the episode to a rather touching tender sequence whereby Olivia and Peter discuss that if the plan succeeds, and the timeline is reset, that they will be restored to a point in time before the invasion with their daughter Etta (Georgina Haig) when she was young. Olivia is optimistic, while Peter says they have a long way to go to succeed.
At this point in the series, our Fringe Team Leader Lori theorized the time reset result would be in the park in the year 2015 with young Etta when she was playing with Peter and Olivia during a family picnic.
The episode moves quickly as Captain Windmark returns to the year 2036 plotting obsessively to learn all about and track down September who has unfortunately been tagged with Observer chip “784651”.
Captain Windmark’s intent is quite clear. Although he is not actually disobeying direct orders from his superior, The Observer Commander in year 2609 by track downing his obsession in the past, Windmark is absolutely determined to kill our heroes in the year 2036 to achieve his goals.
September thinking carefully ahead of their arrival, has removed his tracking chip before leaving his apartment. September’s foresight is correct, he has setup a booby trap with an Observer tech quantum bomb at the apartment for Captain Windmark and his Observer minions whom he is certain will try to find him there.
In another wonderful sequence involving foot tapping to jazz music, The Observers are affected by a somewhat reflex human emotion, rhythm. September almost succeeds in killing Captain Windmark and his two Observer minions.
Windmark and his main minion escape, however one of The Observers is apparently killed unable to dematerialize quick enough as the Observer bomb from the future vaporizes the entirety of September’s apartment.
The episode winds down as our heroes gather the parts September has stashed in the year 2036 to complete the device to establish a wormhole and send Michael to February 28, 2167 to reset the timeline, but not without consequences.
September and Walter are at a warehouse gathering the requisite parts. Walter recalls a partial memory imparted by Michael.
Walter, with September’s prompting understands that he will have to sacrifice himself by accompanying Michael to the year 2167.
September fills in the missing memories and discusses “A White Tulip”, its importance and the strength given to Walter over the five years of Fringe. Tears well up in Septembers eyes as they discuss the events of past that have brought them here.
However, while the White Tulip is seen by Walter in his mind, it is missing from an envelope in September’s Notebook.
The poignant scene provides a startling revelation of the Fringe series mythology now made manifest, the existence of his, “September’s Notebook”, which is seen on screen in September’s hands!
This fantastic book that contains the secrets of the series mythology is created by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry, whom we had the honor to interview on WormholeRiders You Decide Sunday February 03, 2013!
In the final hectic moments of “The Boy Must Live” episode, evil Captain Windmark tracks our heroes down on a local commuter train.
Aware of the importance of their freedom to complete “The Plan”, and for reasons not explained in the episode, Michael makes a sacrifice allowing himself to be captured by Captain Windmark in order to allow the others to escape!
As Captain Windmark takes Michael into Observer custody, an evil grin of revenge and retribution spreads across his face, all we see and hear is; “Hello” as the television screen fades to black!
Michael Kopsa is absolutely delightfully creepy as Captain Windmark, superbly delivering his final line in “The Boy Must Live” episode. This reviewer says simply; Bravo Mr. Kopsa, BRAVO!!
Our Team Leader Lori will be writing the last two reviews of the series to be posted in rapid succession after this analysis. Lori will include interesting quotes from The End of Eternity novel to dovetail our belief that Isaac Asimov’s book was an inspiration for Fringe.
Just remember, #ItsNeverOver when it comes to altering the timeline, meaning this reviewer believes Fringe will return in movies as changes ripple across our timeline to become reality in the future!
Please feel free to leave a comment here or if you prefer, click the social media icons below to share this news article.
Or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit WHR on Twitter, or visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story. I and Team WHR look forward to Seeing You on The Other Side“!
I hope that you are surviving the hiatus. With the New Year just around the corner, so are the last three episodes of Fringe.
It is bittersweet to know that so few remain, but also great because we will see the final battle unfold as it should be.
It has been an interesting season; we have lost a few beloved characters, gained new ones and finally got back our beloved Polivia.
It was questionable whether or not we would see Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Olivia (Anna Torv) back together, but last week’s episode showed us that their love is as strong as ever.
Come January 11, 2013, the final battle will be waged and we will see what Walter has in store and what his plan has been all along. Hopefully by the end, all will be revealed and everyone will be satisfied. I am glad that we found out that question that had been burning on everyone’s mind…who is Donald?
The answer was shocking to say the least, but a wonderful one at that. What else is in store for our beloved team? Only time and Joel Wyman will tell as he did in this appreciation video from December 13, recently re-tweeted by the great team at Fringe on FoxTV.
We also include the latest promotional trailer courtesy of FOX TV below for your enjoyment.
I like the little boy who plays Michael (Rowan Longworth). He is doing a good job at conveying his empathic abilities, which I am sure again will be revealed more as the remaining episodes count down.
It must have been hard for the team to get answers out of him, since he has yet to speak a word. It does also make you wonder what happened to the connection that he had with Olivia in the past. Will it be again or is it lost to time?
Walter (John Noble) plying him with candy is fun, no doubt a desperate plea on his part to try and find out why he is so important to the team. His frustration with Michael’s non verbal communication is evident.
Walter suggests that they try and pry things from Michael’s mind via going into it as he did with September (Michael Cerveris).
It always cracks me up when John gets outrageous, because he lets Walter’s madness bubble to the surface and just peak out; John always does it to perfection. I also suspect it would be a good excuse for Walter to use more drugs.
John also has the great ability, as we saw with Walternate, to have a sinister side to him. What he feared would happen, when he told Nina (Blair Brown) about becoming the man he used to be is starting to show through. Let’s hope that Walter, the one we know and love will still be intact by the end of the series. His God complex is surely starting to manifest and take over, hopefully Donald and our team can prevent that from happening.
It is so wonderful to see Blair Brown have such an integral part in this episode. She has always been a favorite actress of mine and I am glad that she is finally being utilized the way she should be. Nina’s intentions in this episode are what make this episode so epic. Blair had explained so well about her final decision being one that she had no choice in the matter.
The gadgets that the Observers use harkens back to a past episode, Road not Taken, where Peter (Joshua Jackson) had used an old record player to extract sound waves from a window. I mentioned before that as diabolical and cruel as the Observers are they do have some of the coolest gadgets around.
Windmark will stop at nothing to extract any and all information any way he can. I must give great praise to Michael Kopsa for playing Windmark with such evil intent that he makes it so much fun to hate him. He is truly one of those characters that once his demise comes; cheering will be heard throughout all of Fringe fandom.
I think that Nina, somewhere in the back of her mind, knows the eminent danger she is potentially putting herself and the team in, but the cause and what the outstanding Austalian actress who portrayed Etta (Georgina Haig), died for is more important.
Finding a way to help the team is of the utmost importance to her and something she feels show owes Olivia (Anna Torv) and the team.
Walter’s snarky comments are abounding in this episode. Again, John manages to make us laugh even during the direst of situations. Having that extraordinary gift is something I as a director and a Fringe fan know is something to cherish. His comment of “I’m cold” reminds me of the countless times he has complained in previous episodes of the lack of warmth or food at crime scenes.
Nina has always been a very mysterious character, never quite knowing if she is on the side of good or bad. She has toed the line a few times and has definitely done some questionable things in her time.
The fact that she is and I suspect always was a part of William Bell’s (Leonard Nimoy) and Walter’s inner circle speaks volumes about why she has always been shrouded in mystery. Why she has always had these weird connections, like Peter used to, to things that are not quite explained. How she knew Sam Weiss (Kevin Corrigan) and how she happened to mention this black lab that Massive Dynamic has.
Nina’s concern for Walter is evident as shown through the conversation with Peter. They are both worried about him and rightfully should be. The interesting thing is that Nina has seen Walter the way he used to be and knows all too well what reverting back to that state can do harm not only to Walter but the plan and the team.
“Your father understands that anything worth fighting for comes with a cost” is what Nina ultimately tells Peter. How right she is, because this statement not only pertains to this particular episode but every sacrificial episode from every season. The price that they ALL have paid in one shape or form has brought them to this point in time. The picture of Etta plastered on the wall driving home the statement that Nina just told Peter.
The black lab entrance is cool. Leave it to Nina to have a lab underground where all kinds of experiments are taking place. It is of no surprise what they find down there. It explains how Nina has been more than aware of how the Observers work and she has always been one step ahead.
The scene between Peter and Olivia when he asks if she is thinking about Etta is great. Anna has a vulnerability about her that shows in her body language and she also proves how visceral she can be as an actress.
Her maternal instincts are on alert with Michael ever since they found him and in a way he is helping her heal from losing Etta. Peter’s comfort is always ever present, in the way he interacts with her and the way he looks at her. Josh again displays his talent for compassion that Peter has shown since he fell in love with Olivia.
Walter’s fascination with the ECOG device is a little disturbing, more so when he says to prep the subject and Peter corrects him that his name is Michael.
Walter seems to be slowing reverting back to his old self, glimpses we have seen throughout this season. John again being the brilliant one to just give us enough of a shadow to know that something darker looms.
One thing that I found interesting and that no one (at least not in my circle of Fringe friends) has brought up is what Michael represents. What I mean by this is that I cannot help but think of the Michael the Arc angel. If I remember anything of my Catholic schooling, it is that Michael led the armies of heaven against the forces of Satan and defeated them. To me that is what this Michael almost represents, he is the answer and the one that will be the one to ultimately defeat the Observers. It also makes me wonder why he would be so important to Walter if it weren’t for what Michael possesses. Why Donald was sworn to keep him safe, that Michael is indeed the one or dare I say weapon that the team has in their pocket, their ace up their sleeve, in a way.
I maybe reading too much into it, but it was just weird that no one picked up on that. I guess that’s because science and religion do not mix very well, that Michael had to be shrouded (sorry for the pun) in something a little less obvious. I would love to ask David Fury who wrote this episode if that was what Michael represented in this episode or what Michael represents overall. I guess that is a question for Joel as well…his is the maestro after all.
There have been many references to the Observers being like the Nazis and in some ways I can definitely see the correlation. Their methods mirror those that make them look similar to the Nazis, Windmark being the most sinister of them all. It is an eerie sight indeed, frightening to say the least.
Of course Michael’s readings are off the charts, of course he processes things differently than the other Observers, and he IS different, like September (Michael Cerveris). He is the one that is the major cog in Walter’s wheel of a plan, without him the whole thing falls apart. He is an empath; he isn’t the cold, calculating Observers that we have seen (minus September of course). He is the chosen one, the one of great importance, the one that will lead them to the final battle with the Observers…sound familiar? That is where my theory of the arc angel comes in.
The shot of the warehouse made me giggle out loud. It reminded me of the last scene in one of my most favorite movies, Raiders of The Lost Ark. I don’t know if that was intentional to make it look like that, but it was great fun to see. It also made me think that like the warehouse in Raiders, what secrets does this warehouse hold?
The scene with Hastings in the interrogation room with Windmark is very reminiscent of what he did to Walter in episode one of Season 5. It does not matter to Windmark how he gets his answers as long as he is satisfied that is his main goal. By any means necessary.
When Olivia informs Nina that she has been compromised that is when the episode really begins to shine. It is some of the best writing and acting that I have seen in a long time, mostly on Blair Brown’s part. Her decisions from this scene forward are ultimate and when the plan is set in motion there is no stopping her. She knew what she had to do as tough as a decision as it was it is what needed to be done in order to keep the team and Michael safe.
I am so curious what Michael showed Nina when he touches her cheek and she reacts. I suspect it’s the future if they do not defeat the Observers. I hope that we will get a reveal about it so that we the fans are not left in the dark.
The team needs to get back to the lab as soon as possible, especially knowing that Nina has been compromised and possibly put Michael in danger. What they do is brilliant; leave it to Peter, the reformed con man to think up that plan.
It works and our beloved team escapes for the time being. I love that Peter can still hot wire a car; it just goes to show that those con man skills never die!
Once the lab has been breached this is when one of the best scenes in recent memory takes place. Blair does some of her best work and it is so brilliant that it will be forever remembered for the power, but for also the end result.
Windmark discovering the experimented Observers is what sets him off. He calls Nina an animal…I thought pot calling kettle. When Windmark reads her he points out that she had mentioned the boy Observer, he is important to the fugitives, again my theory goes here. The fact that Windmark says that the boy is a chromosomal mistake leads me to believe that Michael has a power that is still untapped.
That Michael is the one and only thing that Windmark is afraid of even though he lets on that he isn’t. Sometimes it is those mistakes or anomalies that turn out to be the very thing that we have been looking for the whole time.
The ones that will save the universe, kind of like how Superman was an anomaly, a boy wonder and the power he possessed ended up saving the world. So was Jesus in his time, again religion comes into play, but only to make my point.
Nina’s speech to Windmark about why Observers tilt their heads is so freaking brilliant I cheered when she finished. She was so on point that you almost wanted to high five her mechanical hand for the excellent job she did.
What she pointed out was so true that it was eerie. The fact that the Observers had devolved instead of evolved is a testament to the human spirit and the relationships that we have. The way that we show love and compassion, the way we feel does not make us weak, if anything it is the one thing that defines us as humans.
Her speech is the last hurrah she has before she makes the ultimate sacrifice. She did it for love, for the love of Olivia, love of Walter, Etta and I even suspect love for William Bell. Nina truly gets the last word, in your face Windmark!
When she shoots herself, twitter went crazy! It seems that Nina after all these years had become a character that fans really loved and to see her commit the ultimate sacrifice stunned everyone, but also made her immortal to everyone. It was the second shot heard throughout all of Fringe-dom (the first being the one that killed Etta). Goodbye Nina, you will be missed, in more ways than one.
The scene when the team discovers Nina dead is so heartbreaking, but John and Anna are the two that really shine in this scene. Even though Olivia does not show as much emotion as Walter did, does not mean the loss is not great. I was disappointed to see that fans were saying that Olivia’s reaction was not as powerful as Walter’s. I do believe they were wrong, dead wrong.
Olivia’s reaction was perfect…for Olivia. What they failed to remember is who Olivia really is. She was never one to break down, on rare occasions she has. Olivia never thought herself worthy of love and always kept a distance so as to not get hurt. She had to develop the thick skin that she had in order to survive her life. I do believe that Olivia feels very deeply, probably more so than we do.
Walter’s reaction was perfect as well. John Noble made a great point during one of his many Noble Intentions videos that maybe Walter and Nina’s relationship may have been deeper than we always thought. John always brilliant as usual moves you to tears. I also love what Josh does, how Peter comforts Olivia, but in a very soft, loving way.
I made a point to someone that all the people in Olivia’s life, regardless of time line, whom she loves, always end up dead. That is my point as to why she always has that pain, it will always be behind her eyes, because she has gone through a hell that we can only imagine and never wish on another human being.
Anna Torv’s talent is undeniable; her eyes are so perfect at revealing those emotions, just under the surface. John had made the point that her subtly is brilliant and that is what makes her so good. Olivia has a quiet strength that has always been there. She carries on through unbelievable pain, she is a survivor, and she is the very definition of the word.
Where they find Michael is clever, obviously Nina made damn sure that Windmark could not find him and he was too hell bent on finding the fugitives that he did not bother to look any further. I love that once they find him and pull him out; he sees Nina and reacts as only an empath can. The single tear speaks volumes, bravo little one!
When Walter dons the ECOG it is a great scene because at first the reaction to the questions are just nods. When Walter asks Michael why he was needed for Walter’s plan, and why he was important he does the same thing he did to Nina, touch her cheek and show her.
The montage is beautiful, it is flash back of all past episodes and a virtual zoetrope of memories that Walter had either forgotten or repressed.
The final revelation to the question is what we have all been waiting for…the question that has been on every Fringe fans mind, who is Donald. I must say it was one of those moments when I audibly gasped! It was so wonderful to see Michael Cerveris again; he has been sorely missed in the fifth season. It was a little weird to see him with hair, but great nonetheless.
Okay, well now we know who Donald is, what I want to know (and I am sure every Fringe fan on the planet wants to know) is how did Donald become September? Is the boy Observer possibly September? Was September another anomaly as well that somehow slipped through the cracks?
That would explain a lot about September and the significant role he played not only on the show but in the lives of Olivia, Peter and especially Walter. I know that Michael Cerveris said on twitter that his being Donald was the hardest secret he had to keep, but he loved the reaction of all the fans!
When Walter finally tells the team that Donald is September they are a little perplexed, how that is possible I bet they are thinking. The look on Walter’s face is wonderful, almost like a veil had been lifted from something that was clouding his memory. He almost had a look of relief and nostalgia, as if to say to himself, now it all makes sense.
Beautiful, heartbreaking episode, I am conflicted about the fact that there are only three episodes left. I am happy that we do get to see the final battle between good and evil, but I also do not want to see our team’s story end. I am being selfish when I say that I want Fringe to go on forever.
The good thing is that thanks to other mediums, Fringe WILL go on forever. I do hope that there is going to be more in the way of comic books and possibly a movie or two. Until then, we always have our DVDs and fan fiction to tide us over.
It will be a hell of a final ride and this fan is desperately looking forward to it. Have a Happy New Year Fringe fans, see you in 2013 and remember that “Momentum can be deferred, but it must always be paid back in full!”
I hope you enjoyed my review and my previous news articles about my analysis of Fringe and I thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency.
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As we approach the end of one of the most epic science fiction dramatic television series produced within the past quarter century, we take pause to remember those whose contributions have made the Fringe series one of the most beloved in all of televised entertainment history!
WormholeRiders therefore pays tribute to some of the dozens of lesser known, albeit crucial crew members who toiled tirelessly for Fringe in general, and “Black Blotter” in specific. Each exquisitely made the series come to life before our very eyes on our television and or computer screens over the past superb five seasons coming to close in January 2013.
Click here to see all whom have made Fringe an excellent entertainment product!
Image courtesy Ari Margolis of JonXProductions via Twitter
The music selected for Walter’s LSD “trip” is the centerpiece of his altered mental state that reinforces an adventure in the episode that makes “Black Blotter” so worthwhile. Special kudos to Chris Tilton and Michael Giacchino for their delightful music score, and for selecting wonderful background music for “Black Blotter” including Donovan (Hurdy Gurdy Man) and Steppenwolf (The Pusher). Included above, these epic 1968 hit songs accurately reflect “Black Blotter” from the era of LSD!
For retrospective regarding this analysis, back in 2009, when WormholeRiders was a fledgling news agency, a single web site with a single blog, this reviewer called “it”; that wormholes, time paradoxes, alternate realities and universes would be the fundamental premise well beyond the first season of Fringe.
A few said this reviewer was wrong, some said this reviewer was, in fact, crazy. Time itself has edified this reviewer’s belief that the series creative genius’ had planned carefully in what has proven to be precisely that edification.
Image courtesy Joel Wyman via Twitter
Late in 2010 and early 2011, when the two “sides” or realities of Fringe fought each other, this reviewer postulated the opposing forces of Olivia/BOlivia, Broyles/Alt-Broyles, Nina/AltNina, and most critically, Walter/Walternate would join forces to fight an even more evil third enemy.
Not one to bother TPTB Executive Producers, over time I had sent a series of single tweets to Joel Wyman regarding this subject matter. He responded with what I thought it would be?
I answered with two words; “The Observers”, but that I would not say more to avoid spoiling.
Mr. Wyman responded with two words of his own; “Much appreciated”. And so it has become with The Observers in the 2036 timeline.
Only because this reviewer had read a similar tale known as “The End Of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov, was the insight I learned remembered, not for any other reason.
Fringe admirers learned in the recent past via discussion at San Diego Comic-Con and Twitter from creative genius Joel Wyman that seven (7) episodic seasons were planned. This reviewer stands by his belief that Fringe will not end after only five (5) television seasons on FOX Broadcasting.
While this reviewer may prove to be incorrect in this regard, it is hard to believe that Warner Brothers and Bad Robot will abandon one of their most respected and creative franchise endeavors.
This reviewer fervently believes that Fringe will continue on the big screen (movies), with direct to DVD mini-series, be picked up by a new network (Science Channel?) or a combination of all three to bring the adventure of seven contemplated seasons full circle.
Black Blotter Primer:
The reveals within the “Black Blotter” episode are many. Flashbacks are utilized via Walter’s use of LSD to identify key elements from the first four seasons that hold the answers to understand the 100+ episode journey that is Fringe.
At episodes end, new and compelling questions are presented that cement the solid foundation being laid by Fringe Executive Producer Joel H. Wyman.
How will Cecil (Zak Santiago), who was with “The Child Observer” from the “Pocket Universe” dovetail this finding in “Black Blotter”?
What does Walter learn on his LSD “trip”? Will the “acid” open memories that lead to the answers to defeat The Observers domination of the Earth in this altered reality timeline? Can his grand daughter Etta (Georgina Haig) be saved (restored)?
In a major reveal within “Black Blotter”, does anyone doubt that “Michael” the young Observer is the child of September (an homage in my opinion to Michael Cerveris) from the year 2036? Will Michael eventually once again alter the time line to save Peter (Joshua Jackson), Olivia (Anna Torv) Walter (John Noble), Astrid (Jasika Nicole), Broyles (Lance Reddick) and the irascible Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) from death at the hands of The Observers?
From the earliest fond memories of Fringe in our minds, all have wanted all our heroes to survive. But will they? And by what mechanism will this become manifest? Which, if any, of our heroes will be the ones that remember everything that has happened when all is said and done? To the point: Will any of them remember anything?
And what of another beloved series character, bowling alley manager Sam Weiss (Kevin Corrigan)? All have desired to learn the fate of Sam Weiss. Did Sam perish fighting to support the resistance leading up to the events in 2036? In “Black Blotter” we will find the answer to this question in a somewhat shocking, yet bittersweet discovery.
Walter’s memories, brought to the surface by ingesting “Black Blotter” LSD, revolve in part around those of Elizabeth Bishop, his wife. Elizabeth Bishop (Orla Brady) graced the series five times previously in “Peter” (2010), “Over There Part One” (2010), “Subject 13” (2011), “Back to Where You Have Never Been” (2012) and “Enemy of My Enemy” (2012). Each is critical is in this reviewers opinion, becoming the crux of “the what”, and “the why” of all that is about to happen in the closing episodes of season five.
Not to spoil for those who have yet to experience Fringe, one should never forget that it was “our” Walter’s tampering with the timeline, bringing alternate Peter to “our side” of the universe that set the stage for what was to occur over the course of all five seasons.
Walter’s intervention, to stave off his broken heart over the loss of their son, ultimately led to his involvement with David Robert Jones (Jared Harris), the ZFT manuscript planted in the 1930’s, Walter’s dubious association with William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) and multiple interventions by The Observers who at first seemed benevolent visitors to the Earth.
All of these situations occurred in attempts to restore or maintain the timelines in “balance”. This leads to the theory that such interventions are what shifted The Observers from being benevolent watchers of the timeline to The Observers of 2036.
Led by the evil Captain Windmark, brilliantly portrayed by Michael Kopsa, one must ask, was all of this the reason The Observers became the radicalized invaders of our fair planet? And just how and why did they become so selfish and evil? Was a reality change the ultimate cause?
Could all be restored if the cure for “his own” Peter could be made available in the past, obviating Walter’s original universe reality crossing expedition? Would such eliminate the revenge driven character “Walternate”? Would such a “fix” allow Walter and Elizabeth to lead normal lives in both realities, each with their own Peter?
Would such a solution also free Peter to not become the subject of cross universe adversarial situations that brought Earth to the attention of The Observers in the first place? Or were The Observers watching anyway as this reviewer suspected long ago based on a novel by Isaac Asimov that I had read in my youth?
What of Olivia and Peter? Will they be the only ones to remember everything when order to the universe is restored? How will it all be accomplished? With only four episodes of the fifth season remaining, read my closing theorem at the end of this analysis and then… we shall see Fringies, we shall see!
More on these topics later in the theorem section at this reviews analysis and contemplated conclusions.
Before beginning my analysis of “Black Blotter”, we include, courtesy of FOX Broadcasting, the latest promotional trailers for the next episode “Anomaly XB-6783746”. Written by talented David Fury, we are about to learn the Fringe story arc’s final foundation, setting up the final three episodes that will air in January of 2013.
Black Blotter:
The episode opens with Astrid waking to the sound of Donald’s radio emanating signals for the first time since the Fringe Team of 2036 had been monitoring his radio.
Accentuated in “The Recordist”, The Fringe Team is searching for answers to locate the missing pieces of the puzzle required to put an end to the slavish conditions perpetrated on humanity by the evil that has become manifest on Earth in the form of The Observers of that future era.
In the underground Harvard facility of the year 2036, Walter’s laboratory appears to be a fantasy landscape of surreal proportions. The genius of the “Black Blotter” episode is that the viewer must ascertain if what we “observe” is real, or if the scenes we witness exist only in Walter’s mind?
One of the opening sequences great lines is when Walter says Astrid’s hair is so “beautiful”. Packing a pistol, Astrid knows something is up since she had just been sleeping on her hair! Based on the dreamlike visage on Walter’s face we suspect far more than a few puffs of “Brown Betty” are at work in Walter’s mind!
This discovery becomes a challenge as Olivia and Peter awake only to find that Walter has taken an LSD “trip” with “Black Blotter”. In order to expand his mind, we find out Walter’s purpose is clear; He needs to unlock the secrets in his mind for victory over The Observers to restore humanities timeline to what it needs to, should be, or what it will become after The Observers, invaders of Earth, are vanquished.
Before the LSD that Walter has taken is definitely confirmed, we segue to Peter and Olivia intimately chatting in the bedroom. Peter shares with Olivia that he still has headaches after the removal of The Observers “tech” from his brain.
Although Peter is returning to normal, as evidenced by his once again growing intimate relationship with Olivia, Astrid interrupts their moment together to alert them that Walter is up to something. Of course he is!
More humor is injected in the opening scenes as Peter asks Walter if he is “tripping?” The two word response from Walter “most definitely”, with a near “sh_t eating grin on his face” accompanied by two visions tells the tale! The first being a “Tinkerbell” like PIxie juxtaposed with the return of key series characters.
One key character is none other that Dr. Carla Warren (Jenni Blong), part of Walter’s LSD hallucination visions down memory lane. Fringe admirers will recall this character from two past episodes; “Jacksonville” (2010) and “Peter” (2012). “Black Blotter” represents the third episode where the Dr. Warren character, killed in the lab fire, will play a pivotal role, at least in Walter’s mind.
Without delving into the past story arc too deeply, recall that it was Dr. Warren who played opposite Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) during the early days of the Cortexiphan trials warning Walter what he has planned would likely damage the space-time continuum.
Among other things, including trying to stop Walter from crossing into the other reality via the wormhole Portal he had constructed to “save” Peter for himself and Elizabeth in “our” reality, we learn at episodes end, this seesaw battle for Walter’s inner conscience will become paramount to what has to be done to save us all from the evil that has become The Observers.
As “Tinkerbell” lands on Walter’s finger, Astrid tries to ask if Walter knows what the radio signal mean’s? A bit entranced by the vision on his finger, Walter is not quite oblivious, but almost.
Floating in and out of lucidity, Walter shares with Peter, (as Astrid and Olivia look on) that 2036 Nina had promised to removed the portions of his brain that made him like Walternate after his LSD “trip” to recall what he cannot otherwise remember.
In the meantime, a clue is offered; Walter continues to “see” “Tinkerbell” and Dr. Warren which he observes flying around Peter’s head. Dr. Warren tells Walter that the other “he” knows things. We can observe by the look on Walter’s face he is afraid of the “other him”, Walternate!
During this sequence Walter sees a dimensional aperture (a wormhole gate or portal) frozen in time wherein “Tinkerbell” splits into two version of herself, one Blue (a bit green really except for the wings), and one Red as the Red “Tinkerbell” flies through what appears to be a portal between realities.
Clearly this is an homage to the “Blue Verse” (good) and “Red Verse” (evil) which dominated the Fringe story arc in previous seasons.
The conundrum within “Black Blotter” is that Walter knows he has a “dark side” in what appears to be his dual personality often alluded to in the past or other timeline realities via the Walternate characterization.
One must contemplate; is this where the knowledge and memory of Sam Weiss also resides? Walter realizes the knowledge to defeat The Observers that the Fringe Team needs is in the “Walternate” side of his personality. Walter is rightfully terrified of the “other Walter” submerged within his tormented soul.
As Walter has long feared in the 2036 timeline, and why he desires Nina Sharp to remove portions of his brain when the mission to eliminate The Observers is complete, is that the “Walternate” in him will potentially take away his son Peter and what he, Walter desires to be, a non aggressive personage of good intentions and spirit.
Without much delay Olivia and Peter go off to find the source of the radio signal using technology provided by Anil (Shaun Smyth).
Among several dead bodies including The Observers and Loyalists, what they discover are the bones of the Sam Weiss” behind the wheel of a large utility van.
Using the resistance radio triangulation technology from Anil, Peter and Olivia travel to Willington, Connecticut to the source of what appears to be the signal. Calling Astrid back in the Harvard laboratory, the discovery of skeletal Sam Weiss produces no recollection of him in the 2036 timeline for Astrid or Walter, at least not yet. Peter and Olivia discover the utility van is not the source of the signal, only a relay station.
Sharing a tender kiss in the woods, it is here they confirm the find. The weathered bones of Sam Weiss in the utility van are verified from the discovery of a driver’s license. Dead from a firefight some ten to fifteen years previous, the bones of Sam Weiss lead, via a cable, to a solar powered radio relay repeater.
After examining the surroundings, Peter and Olivia determine the signal is located elsewhere. A quick segue finds Walter chatting with Dr. Warren where he seemingly discovers a notebook journal beneath the floorboards.
Thanks to the hallucinations from LSD, Walter’s memory envisions a younger Nina Sharp. She and “Tinkerbell” caution Walter to not consult the documents in the notebook journal.
As Walter heads out for to join Olivia and Peter in a taxi, Dr. Warren is mentally in tow. In his mind Walter had apparently escaped from Astrid in the taxi outside The Observers Headquarters in New York City. Not really!
In “reality”, Astrid has taken Walter to link up with Peter and Olivia, but not before thumbing the notebook to find a number of his inventions as well as two words; “Black Umbrella”, which become important a bit later in the episode.
Despite being “high as a kite”, Walter is concerned he is following the path of what the “Walternate” personality really wants him to do, once again find a young Observer Child who may hold the answers the Fringe Team needs to set thing right.
With a segue to the next sequence, Walter and Astrid link up with Peter and Olivia. This reviewer very much enjoyed seeing all four of the team back together in action!
After an exciting Fringe Team firefight dockside, eliminating some of The Observers minions, the four heroes head to an island where the radio signal is emanating from.
But not before Walter “sees” “The Emerald City”, another homage to “The Wizard of Oz” which our Fringe Team Leader Lori has postulated previously in her analysis of the genius of the Fringe series that utilized familiar works of entertainment to “ground” the audience within the story arc.
The island, sans the Emerald City observed in Walter’s mind, is the originating source of the radio signals. Once on the island our heroes are suddenly confronted by veteran character actor Tom Butler portraying Richard.
Richard is accompanied by his his wife Carolyn (Maria Marlow) and a surprise with Michael (Rowan Longworth), appearing as “The Child Observer” reprising his role as we have seen previously in Fringe (more on this subject later).
Michael “The Child Observer” has not aged a day in the twenty years since he was secreted away for his own protection until retrieved by Walter after first being previously secreted in the “Pocket Universe”, but only if Walter can remember the password to do so.
In a sequence that is really homage to Monty Python, a delightful animation scene is used to illustrate the inner workings of Walter’s mind. Accentuated by “Black Blotter” LSD, a visual of the “Black Umbrella” and a key unlocking a tree appears in Walter’s mind. Heck, we even get to see Walter ride “Gene The Cow” just like he is the “The Wizard of Oz”. Well, he darn well is, isn’t he?!
Walter leaves the LSD hallucination vision, quickly snapping back to reality uttering the “Black Umbrella” password. We observe “Tinkerbell” the Pixie who claps, while Walter smiles wryly (literally painted on his face).
Recall that we heard the password earlier in the taxi cab when Walter was “with” Dr. Carla Warren.
A suspicious Richard and Carolyn, who have been protecting an “item”, are now prepared to turn over the young Observer Child named Michael subsequent to when the “Black Umbrella” password is provided by smiling Walter.
In several touching sequences, Richard and Carolyn surrender Michael to the 2036 Fringe Team noting his purpose is for something “really important”.
Admirers of full circle story arcs, and Fringe fans alike, will recall Michael is more than familiar. Michael, The Child Observer, is the same child from season one episode fifteen “Inner Child” and the same person whom had been stored in Walter’s “Pocket Universe” from season five episode six “Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There”.
In the closing sequences after leaving the island, Olivia makes hot chocolate for Michael, “The Observer Child” while Peter watches closely. Michael remembers Olivia from the previous timeline.
Peter is curious how such is possible, wondering how can this be? Olivia knows Michael must be special recalling that The Observers internalize time is a different fashion than human beings.
In the final moments, we find Walter “coming down” off his “Black Blotter” LSD “trip”. Walter is back in the underground laboratory at Harvard. Visions of his wife Elizabeth are superimposed on the wall to reflect his thoughts.
Walter recalls several memories of arguments from his past that led to this timeline becoming manifest. One is with his wife warning him about going to get Peter from the alternate universe reality stating “some things are only for God”.
Dr Warren also appears using Robert Oppenheimer’s prophetic words to warn Walter that he will become “The Destroyer of Worlds” and “There Has to be a Line” not to be crossed. The memory flashbacks include Walter crossing through the wormhole on his mission to get alternate Peter, completing the full circle arc within “Black Blotter’.
Finally, after Dr. Warren states “the journal doesn’t matter” after Walter apparently decides to incinerate the notebook which contained recollections of all of his various inventions and devices.
This includes the scenes of the inter-dimensional Wormhole Portal that set everything in motion from the original Fringe timeline where it all began not so very long ago.
As we watch Walter pour lighter fluid and apparently set the journal notebook aflame in a Pyrex laboratory container, a younger Nina Sharp and Dr. Warren’s final words of opposing debate are foreboding visualizations from Walter’s memories; “it’s too late, now that you remember all the things you are capable of…” with young Nina Sharp retorting “Walter you got the boy back, you have to continue, you have to keep fighting…”
We are suddenly confronted with a shocking reality. As the camera pans back, we “Observe” the Pyrex container is empty, containing only the burning lighter fluid as the words of Dr. Warren echo in our minds; ‘You’ve Been Him Longer Than You Have Been You!” an echo of a metaphor rippling across the timelines.
Throughout the course of “Black Blotter” viewers were led to believe Walter’s journal notebook was “real”. Not so. The notebook, just like the “Tinkerbell’s”, Elizabeth Bishop and Dr. Warren, and all the rest were not in the “real” world.
Each was a visualization of Walter’s memories that he had been experiencing the entire episode courtesy of the mind liberating tendencies of “Black Blotter”. Walter IS the notebook journal!
All are, and have been, his memories of what he needs to remember in order to accomplish the mission in 2036. Each of these memories, across several timelines, have been freed in Walter’s mind. Viewers and Walter himself stare dumbfounded at his other self… It’s Walternate!
Interrogative Theorem:
We will “Observe” an entirely restored Walter soon? Will such a day be one to rejoice, or a day to chill our Fringie souls? Further, across five seasons, have we ever really witnessed just who the “real” Walter truly is, Walter or Walternate?
Is he not both? Time has proven he is, and always will be, Walter and Walternate! Was all well until the diverging timelines took place when September (Michael Cerveris) observed Peter and the Fringe Team’s activities in 36 episodes over the past five seasons?
Did this earlier Fringe event cause the dual personalities to generate the spilt creating the two distinct characters that were always there to begin within one soul in one reality?
Will Fringe admirers continue to connect with, and admire Walter amid the dire current circumstances and realization that he is, and always was Walternate? How will Walter and all of these factors manifest themselves in the final four episodes of season five?
Will the separate realities that were also part of a larger homage in “Black Blotter” to the entire series play a role in the final episode to bring closure to the viewership? Or will the series creators eliminate not only The Observers, but put the multiple timelines to rest with a return to an “original reality” before it all began?
In the epic science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, “The End of Eternity”, this was the path chosen for the stories protagonists Noys Lambent (Olivia in Fringe), and Harlan (Peter in Fringe). They were the only ones to recall everything, but with no way to alter it when “The End of Eternity” became manifest after those in “The Hidden Centuries” prevailed over the evil and perversion of those who had altered reality to favor their matrix of existence to the detriment of humankind and all other life forms.
As Noys and Harlan began a new life free of “The Eternals” (equivalent to The Observers in Fringe), Laban Twissell (analog to Walter in Fringe), had to be destroyed because he too had an evil dark side like Walternate once he was revealed as the creator of the “Time Kettles” (like Walter’s wormholes in Fringe), which had originally empowered The Eternals to become evil and corrupt from power over all others lives.
A reality reset to its original shape was the only viable option to Asimov’s “The End of Eternity”, a single novel that needed to have a neatly wrapped conclusion in a world prior to the establishment of the multi-verse as hypothecated in modern scientific theories.
This reviewer’s theorem is that the brilliant creators of Fringe need not end the franchise at this time with a neatly wrapped “package” tying up loose ends. Much remains to be explored in a world with “Endless Possibilities”.
Specifically; what caused the radicalism from the seemingly benevolent nature of The Observers on Earth (like September) to the ruthlessness of Captain Windmark? How was September and those of his ilk overthrown? Did a reality change threaten The Observers existence, leading to the radical and tyrannical world of 2036?
Or must we accept that these intriguing potential stories were abandoned (passed over and pulled into a shortened fifth season) when the series ratings added overwhelming financial complexity to the contemplated sixth, and alternate fifth seasons?
This reviewer cannot speculate on this final hypothesis opined in the previous paragraph at this time. However, sometimes in business, financial considerations force compromises that “pull in” a future “reality” well before its time.
What this reviewer can say at this time is this:
Much more can be, and remains to be explored if another network (e.g. The Science Channel) picks up the Fringe franchise. Or perhaps Bad Robot and Warner Brothers will elect to pursue a direct to DVD or big screen strategy?
How would this be accomplished? By leaving season five with a huge cliff hanger! This could “plow the field” with new “seed corn” for more of the enjoyable alternate realities that are what Fringe is all about!
And here is where we must leave our analysis for now. The next four episodes will tell the tale, wherein only time will tell what reality will ultimately become manifest.
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We recount Fringe with Walters Bishop (John Noble) in a dilemma at often seeing Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) in any reflective surface such as a television.
Walter he thinks he is due for the mental home again. He also seems to call out Peter’s name at odd moments. It is as if Peter is in an alternate dimension with a very thin veil between that universe and this reality.
Walter is not sure what the heck is going on, so, he is going about his lab covering all reflective surfaces, such as mirrors and TV screens and monitors. Walter keeps hearing Peter calling out to him. Since the end of season three, no one appears to remembers Peter. Walter is fearful of his own sanity while the two universe teams and both Olivia Dunham’s (Anna Torv) are working together to save the worlds.
“Alone In The World” (Or, No One Is An Island):
We open this episode with Walter talking to his psychiatrist. He is being questioned about keeping up with the medications and I felt a small sense of foreboding when Walter says that he has, “… For the most part…with a few modifications of course..” Hmmm. something about a doctor treating himself having a fool for a patient comes to mind. It seems the Psychiatrist has been receiving reports from his agents who have been following Walter and knows about the reflections, and of Walter seeing a strange man, and hearing him, when no one else can.
The next scene is of a young boy, being chased by some local bullies. They are angry at the younger boy for telling the teacher about a stash in one of the older boy’s locker. The younger boy runs into a tunnel and the boys come in and find him. “You picked a bad place to hide, dumb ass!” one of the bullies says to the younger boy. As the boys are about to lay into him, They become bothered by something crawling on their skin and the two bullies are overcome by the growing affliction as the younger boy runs off, unharmed!
Olivia seeks information at her computer, apparently trying to use the facial recognition software as we see various faces scrolling along at a rapid rate. Olivia tells the new agent, Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel) that she understands as he is looking over the reports and things about past cases. Olivia shares that she understands this is all fairly new to him, and how he may be questioning the world he thought he knew. Olivia is being supportive and wants to tell the agent he is welcome to talk with her if he needs to talk things over. She is interrupted by a phone call.
The next scene is at Hyde Park where the bodies of two twelve year old boys have been found. Their advanced state of decomposition leads FBI agents asking how many months they have been missing, and it has not been months, but only hours. Agent Broyles (Lance Reddick) says. The bodies look as if it has been months however! The boys were only reported missing when they did not come home the night before. They retrieve the bodies. Naturally one of the the victims is taken to Walters lab, the other to the morgue.
Investigators in the tunnel spot a third set of sneaker tracks going in and out from the tunnel. Walter is observed unzipping the body bag with Agent Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) speculating about the pungent stench! Agent Broyles asks Walter if he is alright as the psychiatrist submitted reports about Walter to him earlier, so of course he wanted to come see Walter for himself.
Olivia phones Broyles from the local school and tells him they have a lead. Apparently a student told her the two boys who were found had been planning to beat a kid up. We now see the aforementioned boy sitting in the cafeteria drawing a fairly intricate scene in his notebook.
Back at Harvard University, the boy has been brought in from his school. We learn that his name is Aaron Sneddon (Evan Bird) and he is ten years old. He has been sitting in the lab, drawing intently in his notebook. He has told Olivia it was pretty dark and he did not see much after being chased into the tunnel. Olivia finds out he is pretty much “Alone In The World”.
The father is apparently not in the picture, while Aaron’s mother is out of the country a lot for her career work. Normally, Aaron stays at a neighbors home during this time. The school principal said the boy is “not known to have many friends”.
Olivia tells Aaron that Dr. Bishop (Walter) would like to check him over. Aaron tells her quietly that he does not like doctors. “They scare me” he explains. “You will like Walter, there’s nothing scary about him.” She smiles as Walter comes over to the boy. Walter was wearing the gloves and big apron, looking more like a figure from a horror film than a kindly doctor. I would have been leaving skid marks as I ran from the lab if I were in Aaron’s shoes!
In the next scene, we thankfully see that Walter is in a normal white lab coat, no gloves or apron, and is far less threatening looking as he explains to Aaron he is going to take a blood sample, not inject, as he holds a needle (a typical blood test). Walter gently promises the boy it is this one time only. The blood was withdrawn gently and the boy visibly relaxes.
Aaron sees a small action figure on Walters’ desk and goes to touch it and takes it down. Walter sees the boy holding the toy and hurries to take it from him. :”Please, don’t touch that!” he snaps, startling Aaron. Walter quickly apologized, explaining this used to belong to his son. “You have a son?” asked Aaron. “I did… he died.” Walter explained.
Astrid comes in and asks Walter to come with her. “You need to come take a look at this.” Astrid was moving a candle near the corpse of one of the boys, and the flame of the candle blew out. A draft from the corpse…! The LAMBDA Scale shows the corpse is blowing high levels of oxygen out into the air, and Walter notices more mold on the ribcage. He sees what is happening and orders the incubation casing to be brought there… quickly!
As Astrid and Walter throw the corpse into the hermetic casing, it is sealed in time just as the corpse exploded. The corpse has released what could be termed as spores. Walter now sees this as an aggressive fungi that killed the boys. it is seemingly trying to spread now. Astrid says that Olivia and Lincoln went to the morgue to get the other body!
Next scene is at the morgue and our Fringe duo is only getting to the elevator when Astrid called them. “Evacuate the morgue and lock it down. That body is going to explode and release spores!” As Olivia and Lincoln rush to do that, Astrid tried to call the actual room where the body is. One of the staff is eating his lunch, …While the body sits there in front of him… and he will not answer the phone!
As Olivia and Lincoln push their way through the halls, past bemused lab workers and others, the female morgue worker goes to answer the phone. NOW the lunch-eating worker sees something odd about the body and goes to investigate it. As he sees the body expanding, he calls to his colleague: “Hey, Beth.. come take a look at this.”
As Beth is picking up the phone, Olivia and Lincoln reach the doors to the morgue and we see the explosion from within. The morgue staff are coughing and passing out inside As Olivia stops Lincoln from opening the door, she says they need to lock this down and get a team in here. Lincoln says “We can not just leave them in there to die!” Olivia tells him “They are already dead!”
The HAZMAT suited team comes into the morgue and we see the dead lab workers and the mold growing everywhere on the walls. Broyles called Walter to see what they know. Walter says it is a genetic mutation, with accelerated growth and nutrition absorption.which explains the rapid decomposition of the bodies. Walter” Olivia says “What’s cortisubsfungi?”
Walter explains it is a species capable of releasing neurotoxin cells to paralyze the host. “Usually it is in insects, so the fungi can feed and lay it’s spores. Still a lower life form, it would not know or care that you’re there so long as you have not touched them” Walter explains the fungi relies on tactile stimuli of some sort.
The team notices the mold has gone to the morgue sink as well, and this fascinates Walter. It shows him that this is trying to obtain more water and expand their reach as far as possible. Broyles asked how to kill these things. Walter points out as with many species of mold and fungi, strong UV light and heat should eradicate them. Broyles orders more UV lamps and such to be brought in… “As many as you can find.”
Walter is now telling Aaron that his blood work is fine and he is now free to return home, Aaron looks depressed, and Walter says “Unless it is not good news…?”
“Nobody’s there.” Aaron says. The neighbor never talks to him. Walter says he understands what it is like to have nowhere to go. “This is the only home I know” He says as he looks about the lab.
Aaron is so depressed, Walter invites him to stay with him a little while longer. The next scene is Fringe favorite, that of milkshakes being made, tinfoil hats being worn, resulting in a much happier Aaron.
Aaron asks Walter about his son. Walter was forthright in the alternate universes and how he had taken Peter from there to this one, and how Peter had drowned. Aaron listened patiently, and quietly asked Water: “And you don’t think you belong in a mental institution?” Walter only sips at his milkshake quietly.
Next, back in the tunnel, the team finds the ‘Perpetrator’… A large cluster of the mold. The agents are waiting for the lamps and so on to be brought in. As we see the tunnel, there is a heavy ‘vein’ of the mold crawling along the drawings on the wall…. Drawings which look like the ones in Aaron’s notebook!
As the lamps are turned on, directed at the mold, Aaron, back in Walters’ lab, starts to feel uncomfortable. “It’s…. BRIGHT!…Ugh… Too bright!!” In the tunnel, the agents are finding a lot more of this organism throughout the wall. We see some is growing up the leg of one of the flood lamps. It is also going down into some grating.
Between scenes of bright lights in the tunnel, and agents asking “what’s past this grating? Anybody know?” we see Aaron in discomfort, asking “What is that?” As a flood lamp explodes Aaron falls to the floor in Walters’ lab and Olivia is saying “Burn it. Burn it all…!”
Aaron has a high-grade fever now, and Walter, with Astrid are tying to figure out what is wrong with him. Just as a large flame thrower is ignited, the agents in the tunnel get a phone call from Walter. “Stop what you’re doing!” Olivia say “What?” Walter again commands “I said Stop it… You’re killing the boy!!”
Aaron is now in an ice-bath in the lab. This technique is commonly used to stop high fevers from …in effect… ‘cooking’; the body. Once a temperature goes beyond approximately 105 F, the proteins which make up our biology will ‘denature’. Think of it like an egg: When in it’s natural state, it is gelatinous and when cooked it is hardened. All growth and processes are stopped. In humans, death would result. That is why the main goal of treatments in fever is to bring the body temperature down so the denaturing does not occur.
Now, the connection between the boy and the main part of the mold is being realized. Olivia may have an idea about why the mold at the morgue did not affect the kid, but this one is. She is looking at the cave-like entrance to the tunnel, and the graffiti surrounding it.
Walter is now asking Aaron why he lied about having been in the tunnel before the other boys were killed. “I’d say you’ve gone there a lot.” Walter says as he showed Aaron a page og the drawings. “Olivia found drawings like this …”
Aaron admitted he would go to the tunnel to get away from things. After awhile, he would start to feel better. Like he wasn’t alone. “That there was something there that was sad whenever I was sad…I know it sounds stupid”
“It’s not.” Walter indicates. “You say there was something there that felt as you felt.”
“I thought I was just imagining it” Aaron said. “Maybe I was was crazy. but it’s like it understood me…Like it wanted to …”
“Protect you” Walter said, completing the boy’s sentence.
Walter then asked Aaron if he intentionally led those boys who were chasing him to the tunnel. “It told you to bring them back to the tunnel.”
Aaron told Walter he did not know what was going to happen to them. He didn’t know what it was! Aaron was crying with remorse, and Walter, gentle Walter, told the boy he believed he did nothing wrong and comforted Aaron.
So, now we are beginning to understand this life form may be sentient and may actually have more to it than thought. Walter sees it now as a single organism with advanced communication skills, forming a psychic bond with Aaron. Walter now believes the spores and fungi are actually like neurons of our brain. The tendrils coming out of them are like Dendrites and synapses. That the ‘Fungi” is in fact a vast neural network.
Lincoln is amazed. “You’re saying this is like a giant brain….?” Walter has named it “GUS”. … For the sake of clarity. (I love Walter! He is amazing!) The stuff at the morgue had not been able to join the network and that is why Aaron was unaffected as it was destroyed. Also, the stuff going down the sink was not looking for water, it was trying to join GUS… at the mainframe level!
But this explains now why any attempt to hurt “GUS” will hurt Aaron. so now, the mission is to dissociate the boy’s psyche from GUS.
Broyles calls with news of a homeless man inflicted with the organism and the location (Roxbury Crossing) is six miles away from the origin of GUS. The grating near the homeless man is part of the Boston sewer line, and Broyles now say “We have a major infestation. We have to eradicate it now!” Walter is very upset and yells at Broyles through the speakerphone “He’ll DIE!! You understand? You’re going to KILL PETER!”
“Aaron.” Olivia says softly. Walter, you mean Aaron.” Broyles indicated he has two hours.
Olivia calls Walter and he tells her they have managed to isolate the brain waves of GUS and Aaron. The link appears to be in Aaron’s prefrontal lobe. Walter is getting set to actually remove the lobe in Aaron. Broyles said there is another attack in midtown. Two hours are now no more.
The agents found an injection point to administer a toxin to GUS. this is a HUGE network under the tunnel As this is done, Aaron tries to sit bolt-upright yelling “NO!!” and GUS has come to life below ground grabbing the toxin administrator, Agent Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel).
Aaron’s blood pressure is falling and Walter suddenly thinks “Limbic System“! Of course! Emotions=Limbic! So now he must appeal to Aaron’s emotions to release this hold to GUS. Walter is talking to Aaron trying to get him to release the hold GUS has on him. Walter is trying to tell Aaron that he is not alone and is begging him not to leave him Walter is saying “I don’t want to lose you! Not again!”
Walter is pleading with Aaron to trust. The boy starts to believe Walter. It is working and Aaron’s vitals are stabilizing. Olivia calls from their location at the tunnel saying that something is happening. Astrid tells Walter the brain waves are now separating …
“It’s gone…” Astrid says as she looks at the monitors… “GUS is gone…”
Olivia is back in the tunnel. She indicates that the organism is dying. The toxin administrator (Lincoln) is safe. Aaron is taken off to the hospital and Walter gives him the little action figure. “We’ll meet again, very soon!” Walter promises. Walter looks away from Aaron and sees Peter in the glass housing the fire extinguisher.
Walter goes to his books and takes down a volume and the page is open to an ominous topic. Lobotomies.
Walter is set to perform a lobotomy on himself!! Olivia comes in to see this man, with tools at the ready.
Olivia does stop this activity and we see that she is visibly upset. Walter is crying that he is going insane and “doesn’t want to be re-committed”. He explains he has been seeing this stranger in reflective surfaces and is in fear that he is losing his mind again. Olivia shows Walter a drawing of who we know to be Peter. She has been seeing him too, but of course, she does not remember who he is and neither does Walter.
My Take For What It Is Worth:
How many times do we hear or read of solitary youths growing into serial killers if not just the forgotten ones of society? We usually see the neighbors saying “Oh, he was always quiet and polite. We never had a clue what was going on” to the news team on television. Or perhaps the youths who bring guns to school to teach the ‘jocks’ a lesson?
They are usually, though not always, the outcasts, alone at school and at home. Cries go out of “We had no idea it was like this…” and that is when I ask “Why not? Because you do not care enough to talk to your neighbors? Or perhaps to invite the lonely kid to come sit with you in the lunchroom?” I have to ask: Whose fault is it really when we as a people fail to reach out to each other?
It is almost like one who is searching for employment. “Oh, you need experience to work here” They are told, but are not hired.
So, GIVE THEM THE EXPERIENCE! They will never be experienced until they are given the CHANCE to work there! Just as the socially inept will never learn if they are constantly excluded from social interaction.
Now, granted, not every recluse is a violent or even cruel person. There are many ‘outcasts’ who search internally for knowledge and friendship from ‘Imaginary’ playmates as kids, or even mentors from books and TV. One will usually go to the safest option first. I grew up as a legally-blind kid and no one had much to do with me. MY ‘friends were ‘Casper, the friendly ghost’ -because I felt like he did.
I would come up to a group of ids wanting to play, but they would run away, or push me away. I loved “Astro-Boy”, “Marine Boy” anyone ‘different’ and empathized with them. Later as my reading grew stronger I relied on heroes of history and current times for their knowledge and advise. I did not wind up in a foster care system, or prison, or like Walter, a mental home.
I am one of the lucky ones. But I felt so deeply for Aaron (Evan Bird). That poor kid may have not been a homeless kid, starving and shoeless, but his poverty was greater. He lacked simple human contact and did not feel he was really loved, so he formed a psychic link to what could have been a dangerous ally. Even today at my age, I empathize with Science Fiction ‘Aliens’ having been ‘alienated’ throughout my own life.
It is… at least in my opinion, better to follow the advanced minds and abilities of the Others and Eartheaon people of wisdom and heart than what *could* have happened, really. Aaron will be okay. He is in this case a very lucky boy. I would have loved to have a “Walter” in my life, but I did have good parents and Dad was an Endineer and Machinist. He was ‘my’ “Walter”.
So please… do not be a island. We as a species are social and companionship is an essential in our needs. Reach out and at least say “Hello” to someone. It costs absolutely nothing to do so.
Thanks to Kenn for completing the staging of the the images and the links, and thanks to you for reading my review and for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency.
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This week’s episode “One Night in October” was a peek into what season four of Fringe has in store
The writers are going to not only bring the two universes together to save them both, but they are going to bring the two together to help solve cases.
Before we begin our review, below is a Fringe special released by FOX Broadcasting called “The Bridge”. Thanks FOX!
One Night in October:
The episode is based on a fundamental debate of nature vs. nurture. John McClennan, portrayed by John Pyper-Ferguson, was at the center of this debate. In one universe he was a forensic psychology professor who studied serial killers and in the other universe he was a serial killer. Pyper-Ferguson did an excellent job at portraying McClennan and making the two very similar in personality and different in their actions.
We began this episode with a man hooked up to a machine that appeared to be pumping some sort of blue liquid into his brain. He was being asked to recall a happy memory he had of his mother. As he told his captor that his memory had made him happy, his face froze over and he had one tear rolling down his face. This scene was psychologically unnerving and filled with conflicting emotion. It was not apparent this early in the episode why the victim was being asked to recall happy memories.
Walter Bishop (John Noble) was in the lab with Lincoln Lee, portrayed by Seth Gabel, covering every reflective surface in the lab. In episode one “Neither Here Nor There” Walter began to see a man in his television. We found out this man was Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson). There is a vulnerability to Walter now that Peter is gone. Walter has always been a nervous individual, but without Peter in his life he seems to be less stable. Peter was obviously the glue that held Walter together.
Walter described the shape-shifters to Lincoln as “vile, part organic tissue and part machine. It is like everything from over there. They are loathsome, hateful, and contemptible.” Walter expressed a great dislike for the “other side”. How will Peter’s absence affect Walternate? Much of what made Walternate mean and ruthless was the fact that Walter stole Peter from him.
Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) talked to Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) in the lab and suggested that she go out with Lincoln. Olivia was quick to make excuses on why she would never go out with Lincoln. Olivia is a character that has grown over the past three seasons. We have seen her go from reserved and a little uptight to having a carefree loving relationship with Peter. Without Peter in her life Olivia never made the transition to carefree.
Anna Torv has done an excellent job with her two characters in this show. She has had to portray the same person in both universes, but because of different choices their lives have become different. Therefore, making their personalities somewhat different. This ties into the theme of this episode of nature vs. nurture. Our environment is a product of choices and those choices shape who we are. Fauxlivia and Olivia have the same instincts that they were born with, but their environment has shaped their personalities.
The victims in this episode are being killed by cerebral hypothermia. He does this by drilling a hole in the back of their heads and injecting them with a chemical that freezes their brains. This gives a whole new meaning to the term “brain freeze”. I could not resist that bit of humor. Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick) informed Olivia of the recent murders and the fact that these murders have occurred on the other side. They requested their assistance in catching this killer.
Olivia and Agent Broyles met with Fauxlivia where she briefed them on the situation. This killer, John McClennan, had eluded them for five years. They had just recently learned who he was, but when they went to apprehend him he was gone. Fauxlivia asked Olivia and Agent Broyles if they would bring the other John Louis McClennan to the other side so that he may go through his belongings and get a “feel” for what their McClennan was like. I like the subtle change in the serial killer’s name. Have you ever noticed how serial killers or assassins have three names. Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, and John Wayne Gacy just to name a few. I had never noticed this until Mel Gibson pointed it out in “Conspiracy Theory”. Interesting little fact.
Olivia was quick to point out she did not know how this would help them find the killer’s whereabouts. Fauxlivia replied with “I lived in your apartment and I picked up on a lot of things about you”. This struck a nerve in Olivia. She will have to come to terms with her abduction this season. There is no way around this if they are to work together.
There are also noticeable differences in Fauxlivia without Peter. He softened her up towards the end of season 3. There is also no baby! I kept waiting to see the baby but it never showed him. Without Peter Fauxlivia never got pregnant. We saw a hint of the old Fauxlivia when she hit a nerve with Olivia.
Olivia met with Professor McClennan in his office at West Connecticut College where he teaches. She explained to him that the FBI needed his help in profiling on a case. She told him that he would need to be sedated because it was a long ride and it would be better. The reason he was sedated was because they did not want him knowing that he had crossed into a parallel universe. This will be an interesting problem to overcome this season, and I want to see how many solutions the writers can come up with.
Agent Lee and Fauxlivia have a certain chemistry on screen. This was very noticeable in the next scene when they laugh at her wig. She was changing her hair to be like Olivia’s. Since she has red hair she has to put on a blonde wig. Professor McClennan cannot know that she was not the Olivia he met back in his office. Olivia met Fauxlivia and agent Lee outside of McClennan’s house. There was definate tension between the two.
I cannot express enough how well Anna Torv does in making Fauxlivia a different character. Olivia told Fauxlivia that her jacket was buttoned. This goes to show the differences in the two. Fauxlivia is always smiling and Olivia seems reserved and she hardly ever smiles.
This next scene showed how unraveled Walter had become without Peter. Walter was listening to a record and had the volume turned up. It was so high that Astrid had to yell at him so he could hear her. She expressed concern for Walter, and told him that she had checked his levels on his meds and they were not right. He confessed that he had been experimenting.
This scene was very revealing. Astrid has had to assume the role of caregiver for Walter because Peter never did. In the previous seasons Astrid was a sort of babysitter for Walter, but this season she has become his primary caregiver. Walter also lives in his lab which is different from the previous seasons where he lived with Peter.
Fauxlivia and Professor McClennan took a tour of his counterpart’s house. He profiled him by certain things he observed while walking through. He began to see things that reminded him of himself such as egg hatching lights that his father used back on his farm and a chair that he had when he was young. He told Fauxlivia that the killer hated that his victims had happy lives and he did not. He took them when they are happy. It was not until he saw a picture of his father hanging on the wall that he realized there was more to this case than he had originally been told. He got upset and Olivia had to intervene and expose that there were two of them.
Olivia and Professor McClennan are in the house and she had explained to him the two universes and how he came to be there. She had told him that they are looking for his counterpart. She asked him if he could tell them anything about him that might help. He replied “I don’t just understand him. I am him. What is in him is in me.” This was where he confesses his feelings to Olivia. He has homicidal thoughts just as his counterpart does.
Fauxlivia walked in just as Olivia told McClennan that she too came from an abusive home and she could empathize with him. Fauxlivia looked at Olivia as if she was understanding why she was the way she was.
McClennan confessed to Olivia and Fauxlivia that he had the same homicidal thoughts and past that his counterpart had. He also told them about Marjorie. She was the person that helped him learn how to cope with the urges to kill that he was having. He said that his life would have been more like his counterparts without having had Marjorie in his life. He expressed that he wished he could talk to him and tell him he did not have to suffer. Olivia told him that he could not know that he existed. Professor McClennon climbed out of the bathroom window and went to find his counterpart.
In the next scene Colonel Broyles met with the Fringe team to discuss McClennan’s whereabouts. I mention this scene not because I felt it was important, but to point out that Colonel Broyles is not dead. He died last season helping Olivia escape back to the other side. I am sure this will be explained later in the season. What other things have changed with Peter gone? I also wanted to capture this to show what a nice physique Lance Reddick has.
Professor McClennan found his serial killer counterpart. He was about to drill into the skull of his next victim when the professor interrupted him. The look of surprise on his face was one that I believe many of us would have if we had been faced with the same.
The professor told evil McClennan that he remembered the night his father found the “dead things”. Evil McClennan said his father had caught him and took him home. He said he beat him 3 days straight. Professor McClennan told a different story. He ran as fast as he could until he fell down in a field. He was found by a woman named Marjorie. He said “Because of her I don’t have to do what you do to stop the pain.” He offered to help evil McClennan deal with his urges to kill people. Evil McClennan turned on him and knocked him out.
Fauxlivia had asked Olivia to ride with her to McClennan’s farm. She asked Olivia if she had told him about her childhood abuse to get him to open up. Olivia said that she had, but it was also true that her stepfather had abused her. Fauxlivia asked what happened to her stepfather and Olivia replied “I killed him.” Wait! Before Peter disappeared Olivia’s father was alive and sending her postcards. What has changed with Peter being gone that would have caused her stepfather to be dead?
Evil McClennan had restrained Professor McClennan and he had drilled a hole in his skull. He had the same hose with blue liquid in it that the victim at the start of the show had. Evil McClennan hooked something with wires attached to the back of his skull. He asked the professor to tell him about Marjorie.
Professor McClennan told Evil McClennan “I never understood how someone so beautiful could love something so dark.” This reference was important in understanding how both McClennans felt about themselves. The professor referred to Marjorie as “someone” but referred to himself as “something”. Evil McClennan was able to feel what the professor felt.
Olivia and Lincoln find the professor but his evil counterpart was not in the room. Olivia found him in the next room visibly upset. He said “I took her from him”. He also said she “made him feel for them.” It was at that moment that evil McClennan realized what he had done. He took his own life.
The next scene was Olivia and agent Broyles in the hospital looking at Professor McClennan. Broyles explained to Olivia that McClennan suffered memory loss of about 2 weeks and he had no memory of Marjorie. This was important because Marjorie was the one thing that shaped him into the adult he was. He said something to Olivia that let her know he may have forgotten Marjorie, but the lessons that she taught him were still in him. He said “You know what they say? That even when it’s the darkest you can step into the light.”
Olivia walked out with agent Broyles and asked how could he remember what Marjorie had taught him and not remember her. Agent Broyles replied “At the risk of sounding sentimental, I have always felt there were people that left an indelible mark on your soul. An imprint that can never be erased.”
How fitting that they would break away from that scene to Walter preparing for bed. Walter had become nervous with turning off his lights. When he turned out his lights he heard Peter’s voice. Walter does not realize the voice he was hearing was his son’s voice. Peter died in both universes when he was young. This was why Walter’s medication levels are high in his blood. He must be taking extra doses of his medication because he fears he is hallucinating. Each time Walter had heard from Peter he has said “I’m here Walter. I’m right here.”.
I am excited about the direction the writers are going with this story. Season three was all about choices. They focused on choices that each of the characters had made that led them to where they are today. They concluded with the ultimate choice of Peter stepping into the machine and bringing the two parallel worlds together. This season will be about the results of those choices.
Fringe returns this Friday 9 PM E/P 8 PM central with “Alone In The World”! Make sure to tune in live to show your support! Thank you.
I trust you have enjoyed this review of Falling Skies co-written by the managing editor WR_Systems (Kenn) due an unfortunate illness with my child as I tweeted last evening. Thanks Kenn! And as always we here at the WHR Fallings Skies team thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency.
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The vendors exhibit hall floor was busier this year, and lines were capped quicker than usual. Merchandise was being bought faster, which was terrific for the vendors counting on the attendees to buy their wonderful wares. In fact, several vendors sold out and had to bring in additional stock. It also gave independent artists more exposure as well. More people on the floor meant more people venturing to “Artists Alley” to discover the newest art and their fabulous offerings. 
The bigger booths were missing from the floor: Netflix, ABC Disney, HBO, Marvel, and Warner Brothers to name but a few. 
Smaller panels featuring comic artists were highlighted and focused despite needing more significant panels. I went to the John Romita, Jr panel, and it was terrific. He and his wife Kathy held court and discussed his career and famous father. I had heard of Romita (both Senior and Junior) through friends of mine that are comic book nerds. 
However, it was a shock to the system for many people who are usually at Comic-Con for the TV shows or movies coming down the pipeline. People adjusted well, and they could have a good time no matter what. They could still enjoy themselves even without the big panels, no matter what. I know I did. And you learn new things about comic books, games, Cosplay that you didn’t even know about, and that’s what’s always fun about these conventions. You find new and exciting things to be happy about. Overall, it was a fun time, and I look forward to attending Comic-Con again in 2024, regardless of whether it has the studio’s presence. 
Thanks to Kenn for video and image embedding for my feature article and many thanks to you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency. I will be back soon on with my episode ten analysis and final review of seasons one through five of Mayans MC and will continue my adventure at Comic-Con 2023 in San Diego with an exiting interview in the future!
