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FRINGE RECAP 6

Season 3: Episode 8 “Entrada”

“When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power…like God must feel when he’s holding a gun.”

I cannot believe that this is our last FRINGE episode until after the holidays! Seems entirely unfair, especially as the episode opened up a whole new slew of questions, but I suppose that’s what it was meant to do, set up the plot for the second half of the season. All in all, I think this was perhaps the best episode of the season so far, a lot of action, a character death, and everyone getting back to where they belonged, finally!

I though the opening credits were incredible, flashing back and forth from the Alt Credits to the Normal Ones, and I think it’s little touches like the credits and the flashing between universes exterior shots that really make this show fun to watch.

THE PRESSURES OF PETER

Being a huge fan of shows that reward people that remember little details and pay attention, I loved the Greek Phrase call-back to the first episode of season 2, and how even now its meaning can be applied to the show, especially in regards to Peter being a better man than Walternate.

I do wonder how long Peter has had suspicions about Bolivia, as he was quick to jump to the conclusion about the woman he was sleeping with not being Olivia, and that 2 hours of lying in bed with her after he got the phone call I interpret as him remembering all his previous suspicions about her being different and using them as further proof of her identity theft.

And should he tell Olivia about how intimate his relationship was with her double? Somehow I don’t see her all too happy with the idea, especially as she might be upset that he couldn’t tell the difference after so much time together, perhaps even going so far as to wonder how much their relationship is based on appearances and not on what’s beneath the surface.

BOLIVIA’S VAGENDA

I had to pause when Walter uttered this line because I thought it was immensely funny, and I could not stop laughing. His whole rant about how she’d duped them all was funny and very true, especially in regards to his comments about how she’d used sex to dodge some of Peter’s earlier suspicions.

But I do wonder about her feelings for Peter, as she seemed sincere to me when she said it was more than just an assignment now, and I think her time spent in our universe has changed her perceptions, and she might someday be an ally for our Fringe team the same as Alt-Broyles was, because she has seen firsthand the decent people and humanity on our own side, and knows the lengths that Walternate will go to accomplish his own goals.

BYE BYE BROYLES (ALT)

I should have seen it coming, especially as there was no way he was going to be let off the hook for helping Olivia escape, but I was still surprised when the van door opened and his mutilated remains were revealed.

I really liked the alt-Broyles, and the fact that he had a loving family and home to return to every day made his sacrifice all the more powerful, for unlike our Broyles, he had something to live for. I do however wonder, if we might see a future episode where our Broyles travels to the Alt Dimension to impersonate his dopple-ganger, as it appears no one outside of Walternate and his nerdy henchman Brandon are aware of what happened to the real alt-Broyles.

WICKEDLY WALTERNATE

Sending pieces of Alt-Broyles to our side was downright evil, but giving Brandon permission to slice our Olivia’s brain is what really cemented the whole villain thing for me. Now more than ever I am in the camp that Walternate is evil, that his sympathetic qualities have been crushed by his arrogant and merciless nature, and that he must be stopped if both worlds are to co-exist one day.

However, I will point out that it was not his idea to kill Olivia, but merely an idea his scientist had that he went along with. Perhaps that is the key difference between Walter and Walternate, in that neither of them actually comes up with these diabolical ideas, but Walter says no when it crosses a line, where Walternate goes along with it, blaming the pain of his own losses.

Another thought I wanted to bring up (I read it in the comments section in a FRINGE review I read) was the fact that Alt-Broyles said the water vortex thing in Alt- Manhatan happened 20 years ago, and that Olivia says Walter saved young Peter 25 years ago, meaning 5 years passed before that vortex happened, which was the first FRINGE event of the ALT-universe. The question was asked, perhaps Walternate caused that Vortex trying to get to our universe? And then he blamed everyone on Walter’s crossing? It is possible, and interesting to think about.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Broyles didn’t know about Peter and Bolivia’s relationship? Really? How blind is he?

Also, FRINGE has been bumped to Friday nights, also known as the Dead slot. Meaning it needs huge fan support and viewership to keep going, as FOX usually puts shows in the Friday night slot to die. Keep watching! Spread the word, and get other people to watch, this show is too good to let die!