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Fringe Review The Final Episode: “An Enemy of Fate” Master of Destiny!
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.
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Enemy of Fate:

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.

All the things that September has said over the years to Walter (John Noble), Peter (Joshua Jackson) or Olivia (Anna Torv) has all lead up to this. All the ambiguity and little hints have all been in preparation for this…

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.”

I hope you enjoyed my final Fringe 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 me on Twitter by clicking the links or images avatars in this news story. See You on The Other Side“!

Until next time,

Regards,

Lori
February 3, 2013
Fringe: Review “Liberty”… The Fight for the Universe!
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.
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Liberty:

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“!

Until next time,

Regards,

Lori
February 3, 2013
Fringe: Five Twenty Ten Means 5x20x10 is The Combination That Will Save the World!

Hello Fringe fans.

Heck of an episode, huh?

Well, let me say that I am still conflicted about what Peter is doing. On one hand I can completely understand, but on the other, he is doing himself and the team a grave disservice.

There are all kinds of clichés that come to mind when thinking about this episode. “If you can’t beat them join them” or “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” are the two that stand out the most for me. Let’s hope in the end, Peter knows what he truly is doing.

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The three week hiatus will be tough, especially knowing that by the time the next episode airs, Fringe will be finished filming…for good. The promo looks kick ass! So great to see our old team doing what they do best, and let us all hope that Polivia will reign supreme.

The one thing I am most excited about is the fantastic jazz diva Jill Scott who will be playing an Oracle. Ms. Scott is a huge Fringe fan, from what I hear! Ari Margolis had mentioned on twitter that season five episode eight (The Human Kind) had some of his favorite Peter and Olivia moments. Let us all hope that Mr. Margolis is correct in that regard. I am!

In the videos included below courtesy of FOX Broadcasting, Anna Torv mentions how Olivia is worried about Peter and the changes in him. She worries that she is losing him as Blair Brown shares her thoughts about “Valuable Resources” a bit further down my review!

Jasika Nicole discusses “Connecting The Dots” in Fringe while Joshua Jackson is featured in two videos discussing how he emulates The Observers and the “Dangerous Game” Peter Bishop is playing with them.

Five Twenty Ten:

Now on to the review…I was particularly impressed this episode by how Peter (Joshua Jackson) was manifesting his Observer traits so quickly. I guess working on the set with them for five years now; you pick up a few things. This episode is chock full of fabulous performances, but Josh is the stand out. The others are just as good (when are they not?), but again, Josh makes this episode his own. The slight head tilt and the way he speaks are direct signs that the Observer tech has taken hold of him hopefully not completely.

It does get a little creepy though when he starts to see through the Observers eyes and can hear the conversation between two other Observers. His eaves dropping aids him in his later plan, but it also leads me to believe that he may not be in complete control. I have a feeling that what he is “seeing” is what he wants to see not what actually happens.

I may be wrong, but the plan does not play out exactly as he remembers. That blank stare of his is eerie, but again he does a great job at conveying his lack of emotion.

I have said it in a past reviews how showing no emotion goes against the grain of everything an actor is taught. To be able to not show emotion in your scene is a true test of an artist and his/her craft. Bravo to Josh for falling into that category.

It is a little weird that Walter (John Noble) does not really notice the change in Peter; I guess he is too concerned with his own change that is happening to notice. It is sad, though, because as we will see later in the episode how he is turning back into the man he used to be…the not-so-good man and Peter is no better than his father…

When Olivia confronts him in the lab about leaving without her, she already suspects something is amiss. She knows Peter better than anyone and you can see it in her eyes that she is worried. Anna Torv has great body language and great emotive eyes, which is why she has always been such a great actress.

I love that Peter tells Olivia “I’m fine” which is normally her answer for when things are NOT fine. It seems the shoe is now on the other foot and Olivia knows it.

It is great to see the cast assembled around the television partaking in another one of Walter’s video tapes. It makes me smile that our team is still able to stay intact even through these dire circumstances. The lab has always been a sanctuary for all of them at one point or another. All we need is Gene the Cow unambered and the lab will be complete!

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I love that in this season the writers are bringing back old familiars from past seasons, from the past Fringe cases. The cylinders have always played an integral part in Fringe history and the Observers. I wonder what will be brought back next.

The reveal of what and why William Bell’s (Leonard Nimoy) hand was in Walter’s possession is finally clear. It does not surprise me though that Bell had betrayed them for his own purposes. I had a feeling that we will see him again and that he played a part in the invasion. John Noble as usual is wonderful in this scene; his heartbreak at the betrayal by his best friend is evident.

Nimoy is another actor who speaks volumes with his eyes who I hope will be featured before Fringe season five concludes.

The interesting thing about this scene is Walter mentions another man with an accent who was torturing him for information! Although Astrid informed him that the story was from the movie Marathon Man, I suspect that Walter may be telling somewhat of the truth…only time will tell.

I love that the posters of Etta (Georgina Haig) are a constant reminder to her family not to give up the fight. It is the one thing that keeps them going, to know that she didn’t die in vain.

Upon arriving at the storage facility, we see the utter decimation that happened and hope that the team can come up with a way to get into the storage facility. Of course with some fancy calculations they do…it’s Fringe after all, they will always figure it out.

I must mention one thing that I have absolutely loved about this show from the beginning. The writers, and not of just this episode (the wonderful Graham Roland) but every writer in general always seem to inject a bit of humor into the episodes. That humor always finds its way via Walter Bishop. John Noble takes those little morsels and makes them his own; he leaves these indelible marks on every Fringe fan and in every episode.

No matter how dire the situations, how dramatic, scientific or horrendous, Walter’s sayings (or Walterisms) lighten up the show and give it that humanity that has become synonymous with exceptional television.

Nice save, Peter…when he ‘sees’ where the door are supposed to be from his newly found ability, he covers it up by saving “From an engineering point of view” instead of the truth. Olivia notices immediately his body language and his stance; she notices the blood coming from his ear and calls him on it. Once again, Peter has an answer for everything; a little too easily explained which sends sirens and red flags in Olivia’s brain that something is indeed wrong.

Peter’s plan with the briefcase backfired the first time, which is why I mentioned earlier about how he ‘sees’ what he wants to see and not how things really happen. It is a scary thought that Peter is becoming like them, but in a way it gives him the advantage…or does it?

He has to be careful with Anil (Shaun Smyth), because he suspects something is wrong with Peter as well. He knows what Etta’s death did to him and is worried that it is throwing Peter deeper and deeper into the place he should not be going. Anil was a friend to Etta just like he is a friend to both Peter and Olivia, so I bet he feels responsible to her to keep them safe.

It saddens me to hear that Peter is lying to Olivia about his motives for meeting Anil. Peter has been doing a lot of lying lately, ever since he inserted that Observer tech into his body. Then again, Peter used to lie for a living; I guess old habits die hard. Still, the situation is not good when he lies to the woman he loves about his intentions. Olivia’s eyes speak volumes to him about her look of worry, as she should be. Her gut is rarely ever wrong and I suspect that it is screaming at her right now.

It is also so great to see Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) again; it wouldn’t be Fringe without her. She does play a crucial role in this episode as does William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), though not physically but indirectly. The scenes that she has with Walter (John Noble) and Olivia (Anna Torv) are wonderful. She is one of those actresses that is always great to watch because she can say so much with just a look.

Her joy at seeing Olivia again is counterbalanced by such sadness in her eyes about Etta and what pain Olivia went through. It’s a great scene with them. She shows a side of her that is normally not shown, but it nice to see. You can see the pain that she is in because of Olivia’s pain.

The scene in the garage with Walter is wonderful. I like how she asks him about his demeanor since having the parts of his brain implanted again. I know that Nina is not only concerned, but fishing to see if that man she knew before is back. I love what John Noble does in this scene.

I love that he shows his humility by blaming the man he was before and vowing to never go back there. I like how he used the phrase that he wanted to “walk with the gods” as most megalomaniacs tend to do. He has Peter to keep him from becoming that man again, if Peter doesn’t beat him to it.

Creepy creepy creepy is all I have to say about the scene between Peter and Anil where he is telling him what he should have seen. Bravo to Josh again for his robotic like movements and his almost lack of emotion. I am glad that the tech hasn’t taken him completely over yet…or has it? The perplexed look on Anil’s face is great, he has a suspicion that something is not quite right.

Peter’s skills as a con come in handy when stealing the car, but it seems the Observer tech is affecting him on a level he never anticipated…watch out Peter, it can only get worse before this all is over with.

The scene in the restaurant reminds me of two things, one is my favorite Fringe episode ever (Brown Betty) and Mad Men. The sleek look of the restaurant and the hat check or in this case briefcase check girl is very much keeping with the themes of both. The banter she has with him is also very reminiscent of the film noirs and the brilliant dialogue that would be bandied about between characters.

I don’t know why there aren’t more scenes between Astrid (Jasika Nicole) and Olivia (Anna Torv)? The two actresses are great together and it shows. In the few scenes that they have had together through the course of the series have always made me grateful that they cast an actress who has the ability to be the calm in everyone’s storm. Astrid is one of the few people who can truly be the constant for everyone else’s chaos.

The compassion that Astrid always has for the plight of Peter and Olivia is wonderful, she has always been a champion of theirs. Astrid has also always given Olivia hope when Olivia has doubted her relationship with Peter that is the kind of person Astrid is. She sees the pain in Olivia’s eyes when she says that she is losing Peter. Astrid’s eyes are so warm usually, but this time, she feels the pain Olivia is in and is worried about her friend…both of them. Jasika is so great as well, because despite the fact that she is most of the time shadowed by the three main characters, she still shines in her own right. She holds her own very nicely against John, Josh and Anna!

Things start to get a little hairy for the team as the episode progresses. It comes down to the wire where they have to get into that storage facility without detection. When Nina voices her fears to Walter about having Peter be his safety net isn’t enough John Noble is brilliant.

It is interesting to me that Nina is talking about how much she tried to hold onto William and how much she loved him, but that wasn’t enough. Once William tasted what it was like to be a god, all hope was lost. It is parallel to what is happening to Peter and Olivia, her immense love for him and fear of losing him may not be enough to save him. That is the price of genius I guess, the price you pay for wanting to be a god…

John is so brilliant in this scene! His words are vitriolic, they cut Nina to the core and he is brutal, but brilliant. That is what made Walternate such a great character as well, Noble was able to inhabit both completely separately, but now they are seeming to be almost melding together. Nina confirms her hunch, he is becoming the man he used to be…and that is not good at all. It’s bittersweet how Walter still holds onto the notion that Peter’s love will save him from becoming that man again, just as Nina confirmed to him that he was. Walter’s hope (there is that word again) is heartbreaking because it may not happen, we may lose both Bishop boys in the process.

Peter’s plan is diabolical, he used an old Fringe incident from the pilot episode and it certainly was a jaw dropping scene (yes, pun intended). I am glad to see that the old Fringe is back in this episode, the creepiness hasn’t been there for a while and it feels right seeing it again, as gross as it may have been. The hat in shambles on the ground is a priceless reminder that means Peter is catching up.

Once again, as in previous episodes, music plays a part and again John is brilliant! Walter’s comment about Belly stealing his record collection among other wrongs he did to him is perfection. Walter no doubt misses not only this David Bowie (who shares his real name with a villain from Fringe) album, The Man Who Sold the World, but I am sure a number of other fantastic and eclectic albums as well. Bravo to the writers, again, for infusing music as a driving force in this and many other episodes. Am I the only one not surprised that Walter loved Bowie?

The discovery of the safe is a coup for our team, yeah for them. Now all they needed was to open it, Walter to the rescue. Apparently Bell had the same combo for everything, “terrible memory…too much LSD” only one problem, Walter forgot the combination. I had forgotten that the combination was mentioned before in the Jacksonville episode, but Olivia apparently forgot it too, which is not like her.

I almost expected Peter to go Observer on him and recite the combo to him, thankfully he didn’t. What was found in the safe were two things of great import, “to guard the things he loved most” as Walter mentioned. The picture of Nina proved Walter wrong about Bell’s feelings for Nina, he did indeed love her.

The something else that they find in the safe helps them find the cylinders, upon Peter touching it; they appear from underground, where it seems they like to reside. Maybe it sensed the tech in Peter’s body or he just got lucky, either way it was another piece to the intricate puzzle. Finding the clues for whatever it is that will defeat the Observers reminds me (and I am sure I am not alone in this) of the Doomsday machine. The pieces that finally came together to create the machine and what it was ultimately used for makes me think about the same thing for Walter’s plan.

When Peter hands one of the cylinders off to Olivia and says to take her car, he uses the word ‘logical’! I laughed out loud at that because it was clearly a nod to Nimoy and his iconic character (who rarely showed emotions as well) Spock. That set a huge alarm off in Olivia, so much so that she confronts him later. Kudos to the writers for paying homage to one of the greatest science fiction shows ever, Star Trek, a show that was, like Fringe, ahead of its time.

I think it is very sweet that Walter brings Nina the picture that William had of her in the safe, it is his olive branch in a way. His concerns for himself are evident, he confessed to her that she was right, love wasn’t enough for her to save William and it may not be enough to save Walter and Peter. Walter begging Nina to help him reverse the effects of his brain matter being inserted again is sad, but John again is brilliant. His fear of losing everything is visceral, as only John can make it. The desperation in his eyes is heartbreaking.

The last two scenes are my favorite, it’s Josh and Anna and what they do best. It is alarming to Olivia when she sees the boards with all of Peter’s writing on them, her hunch was right and she hates it. When Peter finally confesses to Olivia that he has the Observer tech it is the worst possible scenario imaginable.

The part when Peter starts saying the same thing as Olivia is right out of the Arrival episode, another great one from the first season. Olivia is clearly shaken to her core, she is scared and fearful beyond belief, she cannot lose Peter, he is the only thing holding her together right now, her tether to the world.

Walter’s chest of treasures is their only hope of saving what is left of the universe. It is sad to know that right now he doesn’t remember, but all will be revealed. Patience is something that the team has scarce little of and hope is their only weapon right now.

The ending sequence is great. How the song “The Man That Sold the World” illuminates what is going on in the story as it is intercut with Windmark’s (Michael Kopsa) and Peter’s predictions at the same time.

Walter’s letting the music wash over him as he always does in times of despair, it is his saving grace, the one thing that he can count in to give him peace. The lyrics to the song are very revealing about coming face to face with the man that sold the world, which I suspect is Bell…only time will tell. Then Peter loses a bunch of hair…not a good sign, not a good sign at all.

I just hope that the remaining episodes will be as amazing as the first seven have been. I am looking forward to the final journey of our beloved Fringe team and see how once and for all the Observers will be defeated. For now all we can do is wait, only time will tell…let’s hope it’s a happy ending. I do hope and keep my fingers crossed that there will be a movie (maybe several) in the future. I hope you enjoyed my review, I would love to hear your comments. Stay strong during the hiatus…re-watches help.

I hope you enjoyed my review and my previous news articles about find memories of Fringe at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 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 me on Twitter by clicking the links or images avatars in this news story. See You on The Other Side“!

Until next time,

Regards,

Lori

November 23, 2012
Fringe: Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There? A Pocket Universe!

Hello Fringe fans. Heck of an episode, huh?

Well, let me say that I am still conflicted about what Peter is doing. On one hand I can completely understand, but on the other, he is doing himself and the team a grave disservice.

There are all kinds of clichés that come to mind when thinking about this episode. “If you can’t beat them join them” or “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” are the two that stand out the most for me. Let’s hope in the end, Peter knows what he truly is doing.

In this video Anna mentions how Olivia is worried about Peter and the changes in him. She worries that she is losing him…

.

The three week hiatus will be tough, especially knowing that by the time the next episode airs, Fringe will be finished filming…for good. The promo looks kick ass! So great to see our old team doing what they do best, and let’s all hope that Polivia will reign supreme. The one thing I am most excited about is the fantastic jazz diva Jill Scott will be playing an Oracle. She is a huge Fringe fan, from what I hear! Ari Margolis had mentioned on twitter that Season 5 episode 8 had some of his favorite Peter and Olivia moments. Let’s hope he is right.

Now on to the review…I was particularly impressed this episode by how Peter (Joshua Jackson) was manifesting his Observer traits so quickly. I guess working on the set with them for five years now; you pick up a few things. This episode is chock full of fabulous performances, but Josh is the stand out. The others are just as good (when are they not?), but again, Josh makes this episode his own. The slight head tilt and the way he speaks are direct signs that the Observer tech has taken hold of him hopefully not completely.

It does get a little creepy though when he starts to see through the Observers eyes and can hear the conversation between two other Observers. His eaves dropping aids him in his later plan, but it also leads me to believe that he may not be in complete control. I have a feeling that what he is “seeing” is what he wants to see not what actually happens. I may be wrong, but the plan does not play out exactly as he remembers. That blank stare of his is eerie, but again he does a great job at conveying his lack of emotion.

I have said it in a past reviews how showing no emotion goes against the grain of everything an actor is taught. To be able to not show emotion in your scene is a true test of an artist and his/her craft. Bravo to Josh for falling into that category.

It is a little weird that Walter (John Noble) doesn’t really notice the change in Peter; I guess he is too concerned with his own change that is happening to notice. It is sad, though, because as we will see later in the episode how he is turning back into the man he used to be…the not-so-good man and Peter is no better than his father…

When Olivia confronts him in the lab about leaving without her, she already suspects something is amiss. She knows Peter better than anyone and you can see it in her eyes that she is worried. Anna has great body language and great emotive eyes, which is why she has always been such a great actress. I love that Peter tells Olivia “I’m fine” which is normally her answer for when things are NOT fine. It seems the shoe is now on the other foot and Olivia knows it.

It is great to see the cast assembled around the television partaking in another one of Walter’s video tapes. It makes me smile that our team is still able to stay intact even through these dire circumstances. The lab has always been a sanctuary for all of them at one point or another. All we need is Gene unambered and the lab will be complete.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I love that in this season the writers are bringing back old familiars from past seasons, from the past Fringe cases. The cylinders have always played an integral part in Fringe history and the Observers. I wonder what will be brought back next.

The reveal of what and why William Bell’s (Leonard Nimoy) hand was in Walter’s possession is finally clear. It doesn’t surprise me though that Bell had betrayed them for his own purposes. I had a feeling that we will see him again and that he played a part in the invasion. John Noble as usual is wonderful in this scene; his heartbreak at the betrayal by his best friend is evident. He is another actor that says volumes with his eyes. The interesting thing about this scene is Walter mentions another man with an accent who was torturing him for information! Although Astrid informed him that the story was from the movie Marathon Man, I suspect that Walter may be telling somewhat of the truth…only time will tell.

I love that the posters of Etta (Georgina Haig) are a constant reminder to her family not to give up the fight. It is the one thing that keeps them going, to know that she didn’t die in vain.

Upon arriving at the storage facility, we see the utter decimation that happened and hope that the team can come up with a way to get into the storage facility. Of course with some fancy calculations they do…it’s Fringe after all, they will always figure it out.

I must mention one thing that I have absolutely loved about this show from the beginning. The writers, and not of just this episode (the wonderful Graham Roland) but every writer in general always seem to inject a bit of humor into the episodes. That humor always finds its way via Walter Bishop. John Noble takes those little morsels and makes them his own; he leaves these indelible marks on every Fringe fan and in every episode. No matter how dire the situations, how dramatic, scientific or horrendous, Walter’s sayings (or Walterisms) lighten up the show and give it that humanity that has become synonymous with exceptional television.

Nice save, Peter…when he ‘sees’ where the door are supposed to be from his newly found ability, he covers it up by saving “From an engineering point of view” instead of the truth. Olivia notices immediately his body language and his stance; she notices the blood coming from his ear and calls him on it. Once again, Peter has an answer for everything; a little too easily explained which sends sirens and red flags in Olivia’s brain that something is indeed wrong.

Peter’s plan with the briefcase backfired the first time, which is why I mentioned earlier about how he ‘sees’ what he wants to see and not how things really happen. It is a scary thought that Peter is becoming like them, but in a way it gives him the advantage…or does it? He has to be careful with Anil (Shaun Smyth), because he suspects something is wrong with Peter as well. He knows what Etta’s death did to him and is worried that it is throwing Peter deeper and deeper into the place he should not be going. Anil was a friend to Etta just like he is a friend to both Peter and Olivia, so I bet he feels responsible to her to keep them safe.

It saddens me to hear that Peter is lying to Olivia about his motives for meeting Anil. Peter has been doing a lot of lying lately, ever since he inserted that Observer tech into his body. Then again, Peter used to lie for a living; I guess old habits die hard. Still, the situation is not good when he lies to the woman he loves about his intentions. Olivia’s eyes speak volumes to him about her look of worry, as she should be. Her gut is rarely ever wrong and I suspect that it is screaming at her right now.

It is also so great to see Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) again; it wouldn’t be Fringe without her. She does play a crucial role in this episode as does William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), though not physically but indirectly. The scenes that she has with Walter (John Noble) and Olivia (Anna Torv) are wonderful. She is one of those actresses that is always great to watch because she can say so much with just a look.

Her joy at seeing Olivia again is counterbalanced by such sadness in her eyes about Etta and what pain Olivia went through. It’s a great scene with them. She shows a side of her that is normally not shown, but it nice to see. You can see the pain that she is in because of Olivia’s pain.

The scene in the garage with Walter is wonderful. I like how she asks him about his demeanor since having the parts of his brain implanted again. I know that Nina is not only concerned, but fishing to see if that man she knew before is back. I love what John Noble does in this scene. I love that he shows his humility by blaming the man he was before and vowing to never go back there. I like how he used the phrase that he wanted to “walk with the gods” as most megalomaniacs tend to do. He has Peter to keep him from becoming that man again, if Peter doesn’t beat him to it.

Creepy creepy creepy is all I have to say about the scene between Peter and Anil where he is telling him what he should have seen. Bravo to Josh again for his robotic like movements and his almost lack of emotion. I am glad that the tech hasn’t taken him completely over yet…or has it? The perplexed look on Anil’s face is great, he has a suspicion that something is not quite right.

Peter’s skills as a con come in handy when stealing the car, but it seems the Observer tech is affecting him on a level he never anticipated…watch out Peter, it can only get worse before this all is over with.

The scene in the restaurant reminds me of two things, one is my favorite Fringe episode ever (Brown Betty) and Mad Men. The sleek look of the restaurant and the hat check or in this case briefcase check girl is very much keeping with the themes of both. The banter she has with him is also very reminiscent of the film noirs and the brilliant dialogue that would be bandied about between characters.

I don’t know why there aren’t more scenes between Astrid (Jasika Nicole) and Olivia (Anna Torv)? The two actresses are great together and it shows. In the few scenes that they have had together through the course of the series have always made me grateful that they cast an actress who has the ability to be the calm in everyone’s storm. Astrid is one of the few people who can truly be the constant for everyone else’s chaos. The compassion that Astrid always has for the plight of Peter and Olivia is wonderful, she has always been a champion of theirs. Astrid has also always given Olivia hope when Olivia has doubted her relationship with Peter that is the kind of person Astrid is. She sees the pain in Olivia’s eyes when she says that she is losing Peter. Astrid’s eyes are so warm usually, but this time, she feels the pain Olivia is in and is worried about her friend…both of them. Jasika is so great as well, because despite the fact that she is most of the time shadowed by the three main characters, she still shines in her own right. She holds her own very nicely against John, Josh and Anna!

Things start to get a little hairy for the team as the episode progresses. It comes down to the wire where they have to get into that storage facility without detection. When Nina voices her fears to Walter about having Peter be his safety net isn’t enough John Noble is brilliant.

It is interesting to me that Nina is talking about how much she tried to hold onto William and how much she loved him, but that wasn’t enough. Once William tasted what it was like to be a god, all hope was lost. It is parallel to what is happening to Peter and Olivia, her immense love for him and fear of losing him may not be enough to save him. That is the price of genius I guess, the price you pay for wanting to be a god…

John is so brilliant in this scene! His words are vitriolic, they cut Nina to the core and he is brutal, but brilliant. That is what made Walternate such a great character as well, Noble was able to inhabit both completely separately, but now they are seeming to be almost melding together. Nina confirms her hunch, he is becoming the man he used to be…and that is not good at all. It’s bittersweet how Walter still holds onto the notion that Peter’s love will save him from becoming that man again, just as Nina confirmed to him that he was. Walter’s hope (there is that word again) is heartbreaking because it may not happen, we may lose both Bishop boys in the process.

Peter’s plan is diabolical, he used an old Fringe incident from the pilot episode and it certainly was a jaw dropping scene (yes, pun intended). I am glad to see that the old Fringe is back in this episode, the creepiness hasn’t been there for a while and it feels right seeing it again, as gross as it may have been. The hat in shambles on the ground is a priceless reminder that means Peter is catching up.

Once again, as in previous episodes, music plays a part and again John is brilliant! Walter’s comment about Belly stealing his record collection among other wrongs he did to him is perfection. Walter no doubt misses not only this David Bowie (who shares his real name with a villain from Fringe) album, The Man Who Sold the World, but I am sure a number of other fantastic and eclectic albums as well. Bravo to the writers, again, for infusing music as a driving force in this and many other episodes. Am I the only one not surprised that Walter loved Bowie?

The discovery of the safe is a coup for our team, yeah for them. Now all they needed was to open it, Walter to the rescue. Apparently Bell had the same combo for everything, “terrible memory…too much LSD” only one problem, Walter forgot the combination. I had forgotten that the combination was mentioned before in the Jacksonville episode, but Olivia apparently forgot it too, which is not like her. I almost expected Peter to go Observer on him and recite the combo to him, thankfully he didn’t. What was found in the safe were two things of great import, “to guard the things he loved most” as Walter mentioned. The picture of Nina proved Walter wrong about Bell’s feelings for Nina, he did indeed love her.

The something else that they find in the safe helps them find the cylinders, upon Peter touching it; they appear from underground, where it seems they like to reside. Maybe it sensed the tech in Peter’s body or he just got lucky, either way it was another piece to the intricate puzzle. Finding the clues for whatever it is that will defeat the Observers reminds me (and I am sure I am not alone in this) of the Doomsday machine. The pieces that finally came together to create the machine and what it was ultimately used for makes me think about the same thing for Walter’s plan.

When Peter hands one of the cylinders off to Olivia and says to take her car, he uses the word ‘logical’! I laughed out loud at that because it was clearly a nod to Nimoy and his iconic character (who rarely showed emotions as well) Spock. That set a huge alarm off in Olivia, so much so that she confronts him later. Kudos to the writers for paying homage to one of the greatest science fiction shows ever, Star Trek, a show that was, like Fringe, ahead of its time.

I think it is very sweet that Walter brings Nina the picture that William had of her in the safe, it is his olive branch in a way. His concerns for himself are evident, he confessed to her that she was right, love wasn’t enough for her to save William and it may not be enough to save Walter and Peter. Walter begging Nina to help him reverse the effects of his brain matter being inserted again is sad, but John again is brilliant. His fear of losing everything is visceral, as only John can make it. The desperation in his eyes is heartbreaking.

The last two scenes are my favorite, it’s Josh and Anna and what they do best. It is alarming to Olivia when she sees the boards with all of Peter’s writing on them, her hunch was right and she hates it. When Peter finally confesses to Olivia that he has the Observer tech it is the worst possible scenario imaginable. The part when Peter starts saying the same thing as Olivia is right out of the Arrival episode, another great one from the first season. Olivia is clearly shaken to her core, she is scared and fearful beyond belief, she cannot lose Peter, he is the only thing holding her together right now, her tether to the world.

Walter’s chest of treasures is their only hope of saving what is left of the universe. It is sad to know that right now he doesn’t remember, but all will be revealed. Patience is something that the team has scarce little of and hope is their only weapon right now.

The ending sequence is great. How the song “The Man That Sold the World” illuminates what is going on in the story as it is intercut with Windmark’s (Michael Kopsa) and Peter’s predictions at the same time. Walter’s letting the music wash over him as he always does in times of despair, it is his saving grace, the one thing that he can count in to give him peace. The lyrics to the song are very revealing about coming face to face with the man that sold the world, which I suspect is Bell…only time will tell. Then Peter loses a bunch of hair…not a good sign, not a good sign at all.

I just hope that the remaining episodes will be as amazing as the first seven have been. I am looking forward to the final journey of our beloved Fringe team and see how once and for all the Observers will be defeated. For now all we can do is wait, only time will tell…let’s hope it’s a happy ending. I do hope and keep my fingers crossed that there will be a movie (maybe several) in the future. I hope you enjoyed my review, I would love to hear your comments. Stay strong during the hiatus…re-watches help.

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Kenn

November 12, 2012
Fringe: “An Origin Story” Means Emotions May Be The Biggest Problem At War!

Hello Fringe fans!

What an episode we had last week, huh?

The most heartbreaking point of the story told here so far, the death of Etta Bishop (Georgina Haig) and how the Bishop family dealt with it. This tragic circumstance has motivated the Fringe Team to fight even harder to defeat the invaders of Earth, The Observers.

The battle continues in this weeks episode with a long title “Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There”.

An Origin Story:

In the fifth episode titled “An Origin Story” and right in the first scene the pain was there right before our eyes as Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) found Etta’s secret storage of C-4 explosives, weapons and other things while Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) was asleep.

One nice thing that we noticed when he found his daughters stuff was the recognition of himself through his daughter smartness for having such a cute safe in her house, yes, I said cute because any weapon against Observes deserves such a description; those cold hearted motherless sons of very good nice parents that have never ever had anything to do with dirty prostitution.

As Peter was going through Etta’s stuff, Olivia woke up to an adorable and heartbreaking moment with her husband.

You know I am quite sick of the word heartbreaking because of what they have faced this season is far worse that heartbreaking! It is a whole new level of heart-wrenching which was shred to pieces over and over again in a way that cannot ever be healed.

This is how POlivia is at the moment and I guess pretty much everyone feels exactly the same. I happily have no idea what it is like to lose a child and as far as we have seen on the show, Walter destroyed one universe to save his son which ended badly.

A war had started and it caused Peter to erase him from the timeline unaware of that. Right now, Peter lost his child and what he will do to avenge her death is a question I am most curious to know about.

All of these things made that Greek sentence he learned from his mother sound very loudly in my head, has he not understood one word of that sentence?

When we got to see Olivia, I had to look somewhere else, I could not look at her, it was so painful There was pain all over her face despite the fact that there were no words said. I have said to some friends that I refuse to believe POlivia is going through all that and somehow they will get Etta back later on, they have to. It does not matter what anyone says, I will hold on to the so called blind hope until the end.

The Observers came from the future to do the business we have seen they do. It was very cool to see them get their things from the future through those black windows (wormholes) to accomplish their goals, then those white huge boxes came out of that window floating.

I was like NO WAY? The effect it had when the boxes fell on the ground was also super cool; the curiosity is killing me about what the heck was on the other side of that wormhole.

At first, when I watched he promo I thought It was Over There and the hopes of seeing Altlivia, the absolutely sexy hot, red head Anna Torv and Agent Lee (Seth Gabel) but now as we know it was the future… WHAT THE HECK?! Seriously awesome!

The window they opened reminded me of season one’s window opened by David Robert Jones (Jared Harris) who was on the hunt for William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) and to do it he had shot Nina Shark, sorry, Sharp (Blair Brown) to get a power cell from her mechanical arm.

The huge difference was that we could actually see things over there, as if we were looking through a window and in this one the Observers have opened. All we could see was black probably because back in season one, the opened wormhole was both at the same time, here and over. They are different from what happened in this episode which was a connection between present and future.

The scene of Walter Bishop (John Noble) asking POlivia to keep Etta’s perfume which helps him cope with the loss remembering her as a little kid was rather simple and awesome at the same time. Right after that, Peter got a call from Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) that led to some Walter/Astrid greatness involving a propane tank plus an ethanol gallon in Amber very close to the tapes they need which unfortunately made it impossible to retrieve more video tapes for now, all due to Walter’s cooking habits.

Olivia got a phone call too, but from Anil (Shaun Smyth) to tell them about the Observer’s dirty work. The thing is, the baldies have brought these white huge boxes from the future to build their pollution machine to make the air breathable to them.

Of course the resistance wanted to attack the next one, even though it will not be possible unless they can read that weird language the Observers write on their note pads. They also showed who they got as hostage, a baldie!

As far as I am concerned, they have worked hard and they have gone nowhere, but lost Etta.

So I agree with Peter. It is not the time to be all careful and afraid; they have to do something big like shoving an anti-matter thingy up inside a place you would not like to know. An idea that sounded possible and more effective, they would try to turn those wormholes into black holes which would cause massive destruction on the other side.

Walter explained it well, though I did not buy his idea I do not know why, it sounded like he wanted Peter do something he knew would not work or it was something else entirely. I just know that it looked weird.

As Olivia herself pointed out that there was one problem. How would they get close enough to throw the anti-matter bomb inside the wormhole? This was a problem given the fact that it was full of Observers and Loyalists around. Olivia was really worried about the whole plan, but it was not all.

She was really afraid of losing Peter, too, given the danger of the plan. It was difficult to put the plan into action, because the cube the resistance got from the Observers was deactivated and he needed the captured Observer (John Prosky) help to activate it.

This scene was absurdly interesting and just WOW, Peter was reading him this time, the talented gambler was back and he managed to build the cube without a word from the Observer.

Everything seemed to be working perfectly well despite the interference from an Observer, Peter threw the bomb at the hole and it exploded which made all white boxes come back to the hell where they had come from; however it did not work at all.

While they were escaping believing the plan had worked, Anil, Peter and Olivia spotted another portal with those white boxes coming out of it. FAILURE, again. There was one sentence Olivia said about the gun she used to shot the Observer while he tried to stop them from exploding the wormhole, she said “Yes, it is that type of gun” and this gun was created by Bell, remember Brave New World parts one and two?

Bell surely had some knowledge about the Observers’ technology at that time. It is all interesting because for the whole time, he knew stuff but to what length did he know things? The questions are endless.

The participation of John Prosky as the captured Observer was absolutely crazy awesome. His speech about the ant colony and how Peter feels about he Observers was amazing.

Peter was oblivious to his limitation refusing to acknowledge the Observers superiority in power, and it led me to think about the perception of things that we have had on season five so far. There has been some anomalies this season, I do not know how, it is so hard, to put them to words.

What if the whole thing is some sort of shared consciousness of the characters with September (Michael Cerveris)? It would mean that none of this has already happened but yet, it will happen. We know for sure that September is a friend to them and it is undeniable that these Observers would smash humanity in a blink of an eye, though WHY have not they done it? WHY is the resistance so active?

The Observers do have the power, the means, anything necessary to wipe mankind off the planet and they have not done it. Maybe what is happening here is what happened in Lysergic Acid Diethylamide back in season three, but longer. My point is, September knew they had no chance against the baldies and maybe helping them see what he must have experienced so they would have a chance. It sounds too absurd to say that, but I do not know what to think anymore.

The “poker” game between Peter and the captured Observer was simply magnificent, but the fact that it was the game of one player due to the fact that even arrested, tied and unable to do anything, the damned observer was still in control of himself and in part, of the situation. Was he being read by Peter and as said, afraid?

Or was he just pretending, manipulating Peter because you know, we are always looking for a pattern everywhere even if there is no pattern at all, looking for a meaning where there is none?

It made me feel like we have no way out of this, and it is all lost. Frakking Observer! Based on the observation of a fly, Peter took the decisions he took regarding building the cube up solely from his intuition and knowledge about engineering which came from the future, a very distant future, by the way. Too much in my head.

Remember the conversation between Peter and Olivia about the fact that she was afraid she might lose him? Walter listened to it and as the biggest POlivia shipper of all time, he found a way to help them out with a tape from one of Etta’s birthdays before the frakking invasion which Olivia refused to watch at first.

The conversation he had with Olivia was the most important thing that has happened so far in season five. Olivia had dealt with her pain building walls around her heart once and Walter himself broken the whole universe because he could not cope with losing a son.

He also mentioned vengeance from his evil doppelganger Walternate. They have to deal with it together otherwise what Olivia fears the most is gonna happen, they will lose each other and it just cannot happen. I cannot understand what the Awards people must think what good TV is.

Maybe their minds are full of stupidity and their way to judge what is good and bad is just craptastic. I am not sorry if I offend anyone, I am sorry I do not feel sorry.

This TV show and its cast have been slapped in the face throughout the years and I just do not get it. The scene between Olivia and Walter was just super awesome, why cannot they see the talent here?

At this point, I am not sure of anything else; one thing did scare me. Peter told the Observer if he had that tech inside him, he would be ten times what the bald one is. SCARY!

By the look in the Observer’s face, what did he read there? Have I understood what I…? No! Not possible that Peter is actually thinking about it. However as it turns out, he did it. Peter took the tech out of the Observer’s head and inserted into him to my absolute shock, I mean, has he lost his mind completely?

If I could, I would have screamed at him DO NOT FRAKKING DO THIS FRAK FOR FRAK’S SAKE, but unfortunately, Olivia’s call came a bit late as she said she needed him to come home in one of the saddest scenes ever as she was crying her heart out as she watched her daughter’s birthday party video tape.

He already had the thingy inside him and Gene in heaven protects Peter from what I think will happen now. Did you see the look in his eyes?

Has Peter gone completely powered up Observer mode angry-mad bad-ass? Smokes come out of my head.

Maybe it is all happening, and Peter will become a rough, cold hearted Observer, but it does not mean it is all lost. The Observers are emotion free, right? The do not have hearts.

If it is all caused by tech that takes all emotion from them, it does not happen smoothly. I’d like to believe that there is a crack in all things for obvious reasons.

Remember Sheriff Mathis played by the great Martha Plimpton, right? In season two, episode called Northwest Passage?

You just need to find a crack in the darkness so the light will get in and this whole thing was not mentioned one, but throughout the whole series.

We are led to think about it in minimal pieces of dialogue or in major ones like in the ditto episode or like in the fourth season, episode One Night In October that even with having his mind completely erased by his counterpart, Professor McClennan (John Pyper-Ferguson) still had in his heart the thinking about darkness and light taught by Margery (Julie Schnekenburger).

Do you remember when Broyles (Lance Reddick) told Olivia about the indelible mark, an imprint people leave on our souls so big it cannot be erased and it changes us forever, if it is all happening for real, then this is how Peter will be saved if what I think happens to be true, which I hope is not the case at all.

I also hope that no one helps The Observers like seen in the Reward Wire videos by FOX Broadcasting!

My thanks to Kenn for video embedding and Lori for final proof of my review. As always, we appreciate you visiting the WormholeRiders News Agency!

Feel free to share this article by clicking the social media icons below. You can visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars here. In any event, the WormholeRiders will look forward to Seeing You on The Other Side on Twitter to tweet about Fringe!

Thanks for reading!

Raphael

November 8, 2012
Fringe: Brave New World Part One – Will We All Survive?!
Hello fellow Fringe fans,

It has been a wild ride that has almost come to an end. In this episode, part one of the two part season finale (sounds better than series finale, does not it?), we get some questions answered and even more questions asked. I am very happy about the renewal even though it is not a full season, thirteen episodes is better than none.

Before we delve into the brave new world, let us take a moment to talk about the epic promo for part two of the finale. Bell (Leonard Nimoy) is back, Olivia (Anna Torv) is activated and someone loses their life…or do they? To say this week will be the longest in Fringe history is an understatement!

Included below courtesy of FOX Broadcasting are the promo trailer. Thanks FOX!
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Editorial – Season Five Renewal:

Before I start with my review,. I want to say thank you to The Powers That Be (TPTB) who renewed our beloved show. The mixed response to the decision of giving us thirteen final episodes and not the full twenty two is interesting to me. Some fans are very happy about the thirteen episodes others are pissed off that we do not get a full season.

My response to the fans that are not happy about it is this…be thankful, it pushes us closer to syndication, which is a huge deal for all parties involved. It also gives us a chance for closure, a chance to finally give us the ending it deserves. That is the one thing that everyone is in agreement on, the fact that we will have an ending. Whether the ending is one that we all love or hate or are indifferent to, I do think that whatever the ending be it will definitely no doubt be extraordinary, memorable, heartbreaking and fitting.

Yes it will be sad to see it end. I will be mourning Fringe as I have been mourning The Sopranos every since it ended. It will be one of the shows that leaves an indelible mark in television history. Shows like both Fringe and the Sopranos do not come along often, but when they do their impact is felt throughout your life and in television history.

This something that should be celebrated it is a benchmark, it’s a notch on a timeline, it is something that should (and will) be talked about for years to come. The love that the fans worldwide have for Fringe will always be there, it has changed lives, brought people together and has forever bonded them together. Fringe is a once in a lifetime show and I for one am glad to be a part of it up until the very end.

Brave New World Part One:

Now…on to the Brave New World, I am extremely happy that this is a season finale and again not a series finale. The only problem with watching Fringe on the night it airs is that I am on twitter and I miss so much, so watching again is a treat. It was as Ari Margolis said jaw dropping and wonderful and amazing and my Polivia heart was soaring.

I loved the usage of the musak version of Billy Idol’s ‘Eyes Without a Face’ it cracked me up!

What started out as a seemingly normal commute day for the citizens of Boston, ended in the most bizarre way.

We begin observing the Fringe activity with Neal (Reese Alexander) getting his usual morning beverage and heading out for his work day when something unusual happens. The other people are horrified by what they see and soon discover that they are afflicted with the same problem. Yikes…my advice, do not drink the coffee it can kill you.

I commend the actors in that scene, it is very difficult to not move in that scene, to become almost statuesque. That is an exercise that is fundamental in acting class and they all pulled it off brilliantly.

The next scene is one that has put a permanent smile on my face. We get to see our beloved Polivia again. I have always loved when we get to see Olivia (Anna Torv) and Peter (Joshua Jackson) being domestic and ‘normal’. It makes their love story that much more real for me and much more epic.

I had assumed that when Olivia had said nursery in response to the number of bedrooms in their future house that she was already pregnant with Etta (Georgina Haig), but apparently I was wrong.

It was a clever way for the writers to give us that little hope and nod to the future, but it still is not quite within their reach yet. Regardless, it is a wonderful scene and as always Josh and Anna play it perfectly. It never seems to fail that their phones always interrupt them, call of duty is never far behind.

Walter (John Noble) and Astrid (Jasika Nicole) at the Fringe event is hilarious. The way that Walter is inadvertently guiding the hasmet guys to where they should be is brilliant. His use of the word “Ninny” is priceless.

I also love the growing relationship between the two colleagues and friends. it is a testament to how incredibly well they both work together and how each of them thinks of the other as family.

The comment about house hunting and a nursery was wonderful because Olivia is pregnant following the time-line of the alternate universe, only slightly offset in our reality!

To digress for a moment…the fact that I found out that Robin Williams is a huge Fringe fan and would love to be in an episode is EPIC with a capital E. How amazing would that be to see him and Walter go head to head as crazy scientists or maybe as a reformed mental patient? I for one would be glued to my television that night. I know that the producers did hear about it and agreed that it would be unbelievable, let us hope we do get to see that before the end of the series.

Now to the next scene which features the wonderfully talented Rebecca Mader! So great to see another LOST alum gracing the screen again. I love how we do get to see some of the other actors from other Abrams shows, the respect is evident.

Rebecca’s character Jessica Holt is great in her scene with Walter, his alien comment again cracked me up. John Noble can deliver lines like no one else on the planet, it is still amazing to me that he has been snubbed time and time again for an Emmy. When Walter asks to take a blood sample and Jessica’s response of the phrase that men always say is great. It gives us a small glimpse into what w find out later on about Jessica’s home situation.

Walter’s care in handling her is nice. He is gentle and sympathetic, I also like the fact that she is willing to do anything to help them find a cure. The scene with Walter and the vial of blood is very cool. It reminds me of a Shakespearean soliloquy, the way he is handling it and examining it. She will be the willing guinea pig for the mad scientist and his wild theories. The fact that she is a registered nurse and understands the importance of the situation makes her willingness much nobler.

The scene in the lab with the team trying to find a cure for the problem Jessica is having is a great Anna Torv scene. She once again does what she does best, she crosses that boundary between good and brilliant.

This scene reminds me of the X-Men, Rogue (Anna Paquin) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) as Jessica’s body temperature begins to rise dangerously high, they are racing against time to stop it. With precious seconds left Olivia grabs her hand and manifests Jessica’s aliment, she takes her pain away. This is why it reminds me of Rogue; she had the ability to temporarily posses the abilities of anyone she touched. Olivia’s ability to do this is as much of a mystery to her as it is to everyone else.

It is great to see Olivia’s abilities surface again, to see her somewhat embrace her ability to a certain extent even though she is afraid of it. It also, though, gives me a sense of foreboding, because as great as it is to see her using her abilities it could be the very thing that could be her downfall. Just like Jean Grey, her abilities could be what ultimately kills her, it could be the one thing that she cannot control, and in fact it would end up controlling her.

Here is essentially a woman (Olivia) who was programmed, if you will, to be a soldier, the one, the strongest out of all the Cortexiphan kids. She was the one that was the leader, it goes back to season two when Bell had pulled her to the alternate universe and told her what her destiny is.

The ability that Olivia has is remarkable, but deadly the same way that Jean Grey was ultimate in her ability, but what happened to her when that power consumed her was drastic. Who Jean was disappeared, who she was became died away, she becomes a weapon and the only way to save her was to end her life…to set her free.

The irony or bittersweet of it all was that the one person who could reach her, the one person that could help her was also the man that loved her, much like Peter with Olivia. Logan made the sacrifice, it nearly killed him in the process but he needed to save her from herself and give her the peace she desired. I have a fear that Peter may have to do the same with Olivia, that the only way to save her is to kill her, set her free. Remember what September said to her…what her fate is…

It is of no surprise to anyone that Jones is once again involved with the nanites and the problems it caused. I think that he did this deliberately, did it to draw Olivia out. I think that it has been the plan all along, get rid of the alternate universe, the distractions.

The scene with Walter and his discovery of the way the antibodies were formed is crucial. Especially since if you look at them they seem to have a little X stamped on them somehow…which goes back to the mystery Mr. X who is the one that is supposedly the one that ends Olivia’s life.

The look on Walter’s face when he finally realizes that it was not Jones, all along, but his long lost partner William Bell, who is the mastermind of this whole scheme. The way that Bell comes back into the picture is great. Aboard that crazy ship of creatures is the man who wants to play god. That laugh that Nimoy has is a dead giveaway and it was so great to hear it first before you get to see him.

I must give kudos to the producers for keeping that secret. It was a brilliant move and I for one loved it. What better way to end the season then to have Bell be the man behind the curtain the whole time.

The scene between Harris and Nimoy about the chess game and the defeat that they suffered if only temporary was brilliant. His explanation of the winning move and the winning game to Jones is diabolical, but perfect, the way he tells him that the Bishop is the most important piece is metaphorical, because it means not only Peter and Walter, but Olivia. She is a ‘Bishop’ if by pure association, she is the one that needs to be sacrificed. Bell talks about patience and how it has been twenty years since his last move, he wanted to make sure that the time was perfect.

“The art of chess, the art is knowing when a piece is most valuable (Olivia) and then in that very moment, being willing to sacrifice it. For in the vacuum created (the machine) by the loss of one that is most precious (Olivia’s death and Peter resetting the timeline), opportunity abounds. Influence maximized and desire becomes destiny (Peter and Olivia’s immense love for one another brought him back).” This speech is a culmination of all that has been happening up until now. How Bell has had this as his plan the whole time, he was just waiting for the right time to strike. The way that the writers have built this awesome bridge to the gap is another one of a million reasons why I love this show.

“The most valuable piece is the Bishop and for the game to be won the Bishop must be sacrificed”-meaning Olivia. She is the one that has to ultimately be sacrificed, the one that will give Bell his power (which were the glyphs for this episode). It also makes me think of episode 419 ‘Letters of Transit” at the end when Walter reveals that something did happen to Olivia at the hands of Bell.

I feel bad for Walter trying to explain that Bell is alive to everyone and no one believing him is so frustrating and John Noble plays it perfectly. It is almost as if he is back at St. Claire’s and that is a feeling he never wishes to have. His refusal to let it go is perfect, he is right, he knows in his gut that he is right, nothing and no one can tell him otherwise and to prove it he goes back to the one place that is his worst nightmare.

The scenes at St. Claire’s are brilliant, John Noble at his finest. The way his demeanor is sitting at his table tracing his hand over his etchings and then when he exits the room is real. You can feel the tension and unease of him. The most brilliant part, though, is when the janitor asks him if he is just visiting or coming back, and Walter’s reaction is visceral his body reverts back to itself when he was at St. Claire’s. That is the stuff Emmy’s are given for…that whole scene from beginning to end is the reason he should get an Emmy.

It is a pleasure to see Samantha Noble as Doctor Benlow in this episode. It is nice to know that the Noble talent has a second generation. John in this scene is hilarious, the way he is snarky towards her and the way he smells and licks the pages of the log book.

It must have been a treat to watch her dad at work, I know it is always a treat for me to watch John work. His end comment of her being prettier than her predecessor is great.

I do have one complaint in the scene with Olivia cutting vegetables; she is sitting down, which is NOT correct. I have never seen any chef that I know (and I know a lot) sit and cut vegetables, it just does not happen.

Anyway, that is the one thing I have a problem with. Her cut finger and the way Peter takes care of her is sweet. His love for he is profound and shows in his actions that have always spoken volumes.

When she explains how she was talking about Jessica and the normal life that she longed for. Of course normal does not exist in Fringe world, but they make do with what they have. Her fear of what she is becoming is palpable, she has this thing inside her that is a mystery to her, but it is the one thing that can possible save her.

She has no idea just how powerful she is, again it reminds me of Jean Grey and the power she possessed was so great that it had to be prevented from surfacing or the fate of the world would be dead. I feel that Olivia has that same power and it will take Peter to stop her from using it, just as Logan did for Jean.

The means to the end was tragic, but necessary, the fate of the world is in danger. Again it reminds me of S2E4 ‘Momentum Deferred’ when Bell tells Olivia that she was the strongest of the Cortexiphan kids, when she needs to keep Peter by her side. Momentum can be deferred but it always must always be paid back and it seems to be doing that now.

The speech that Peter gives to Olivia about all they have been through and he would not lose her again is beautiful. The love he has is absolute and deep, I fear though that something may happen to take her away from him again. This scene is great between Josh and Anna, they have a perfect chemistry on screen. I love how his fingers linger or brush her chin when he takes his hand away, it is very affectionate and makes my point. Epic love stories are always complicated that is what makes them epic, timeless and historical. Boring is never remembered but that kind of love is.

The sun light that destroys the building is cool. I like how it is almost like a beam of light from god coming down and punishing the sinners. Broyles (Lance Reddick) always has the best expressions on his face.

The disco ball comment is priceless, again, another brilliant reason that John’s flawless performance of Walter Bishop is something to behold. He always seems to be just on the surface of crazy, but never quite getting there.

I like the lemon cake scene because it harkens back to my favorite Fringe episode ever. The fact that the cortexiphan is regenerative is exactly what happened in Brown Betty when Olivia was cut by September with that laser and then as Astrid was patching her up, she began to heal…like the wound never happened. That gives us hope that if something does happen to Olivia she will be okay. I mean the only way to really kill her is a bullet to the brain as we saw in the previous timeline.

The peace out and the speech that Walter utters is one of the best that I have seen in a long time. He is so determined to find Bell that he is willing to go it alone. He again proves why John is so freaking brilliant. The fact that he calls Astid, Alex is wonderful and her reaction is perfect. Peace Out Emmy is all that needs to be said.

When Olivia and Peter find the satellites and Peter tells her to turn of the amplifier is sweet. She claims to not know what he is talking about and the smile on Peter’s face is a sign that he loves her very much. Jones and Peter fighting is a great scene, how Olivia connects with Peter and becomes the puppeteer in the fight.

This once again demonstrates Olivia’s abilities and the connection she has with Peter. Her abilities are triggered in the face of fear and love, it is when she is most vulnerable and when she is at her finest. When Jones falls into the satellite and is starting to disintegrate he says that he was the Bishop when I think he is wrong, he was the pawn, the Bishop is still in play.

The ending scene with Walter and Astrid is great, but there is a caution about it. You can feel the creepiness of it. The spaciousness of the warehouse reminds me of mob movies and the place they always take their snitches to beat the information out of them. Meeting the captain and Astrid knowing in her gut that something is wrong is tense; they need to get the heck out of there.

I love that Jasika Nicole gets to be a real FBI for a bit, that she gets to run, fight and shoot. She kicked butt and did it well. She and Walter running through the warehouse and shooting at the bad guys is thrilling…until she gets shot.

I audibly gasped when that happened! Of all the people to get hurt, Astrid is the least expected, and when Walter is holding her and Bell shows up…that is the best. He was right; the whole time when everyone doubted him he was right.

Well, it has been one hell of a season finale, at least part one has. Fandom is anxiously awaiting the second half the season finale and the wait will be excruciating. The final battle begins and a brave new world will indeed be revealed….stay tuned!

Thanks to Kenn for helping with the details and thank you for reading…don’t forget to leave a review. Peace Out!

Thanks to you for visiting and reading my review of “A Better Human Being” while visiting WormholeRiders News Agency.

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Until next time,

Regards,

Lori
May 8, 2012

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