NICHOLASGRAFF.com

FRINGE RECAP 13

Season 3: Episode 14 “Subject 13”

“You couldn’t fool your mother on the foolingest day of your life if you had an electrified fooling machine.”

RECAP, finally! It’s been a busy couple of weeks my friends.  Let’s get started:

I thought this was a great episode, especially for one that only featured ONE member of the main FRINGE cast. Not a lot of shows could pull that off.

I thought the little girl who played Olivia was bad-ass, and really captured the spirit of her older self – same with the kid who was playing Peter, though he had already shown us his acting chops last year during the flashback episode Peter.

There were some amazing moments in this episode. I actually got chills when Walter walked into room with Olivia and you realized that she had revealed everything to Walternate. I truly did not see that coming, and I love that FRINGE is always able to surprise me.

I also really do like the little things they throw in, as they really show how much thought goes into the show. Did anyone else notice the FRINGE symbol flicker with static right after Olivia’s fireball, just like the machines in the lab? My roommate was the first one to point it out to me, and after seeing it again I thought it was a really cool effect.

ARE YOU MY MOTHER?

Ok, question on everyone’s mind: Why can’t Peter or Olivia remember this period of their lives? Obviously it was an upsetting time for Peter, as he clearly doubted either the trustworthiness of his “parents” or his own sanity, and I feel like he should definitely remember. I understand that some people will say that it was such a disturbing part of his life that he might have just blocked it out subconsciously, but in that case, I have anther question.

Was Peter so pissed off last season when he realized he was from Over There because he finally remembered this time of his life and suddenly all his doubts were confirmed? Is his continued anger toward Walter about the whole thing confirmation that he does remember now what had happened and is very pissed off that his parents forced him to repress the whole thing all these years.

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!! (HOPEFULLY)

This episode was pivotal in that, at least for me, it changed everything about the way I perceived Walter’s experiments on those kids, what kind of person he was back in the 80’s, and what kind of scientist he was (and still is.)

He did not experiment on those kids just to see the results, or for some crazy idea of training super-powered warriors for the coming war. No, he did it to find a way to send Peter back to his rightful parents, sacrificing time, energy, and the well-being of these other kids in order to help this family from another universe that he had inadvertently wronged.

As for the kids being experimented on against their will, it seems to me that none of them was in any kind of danger, they were open and accepting with what Walter was doing, and seemed keen to help him cross universes. They even knew about the other universe! We could see this clearly by Olivia’s speech at the end of the episode.

As for the kind of man Walter was at the time, it seems to me that he was as good a man then as he is now, moral to a fault, as seen when he chooses to protect Olivia instead of using her fear to get Peter home. He sacrificed his own family’s well being to protect Olivia, something I had not suspected he would be capable of doing back then.

From all of Bell’s warnings and his removal of Walter’s brain matter, I seriously thought that Walter in the 80’s was a monster who needed to be stopped, and this showed that he clearly was not. At that time. There is still a chance that we’ll see another flashback some point in the future, and it will reveal what happened to make Walter into the danger Bell saw, and lead to that fateful brain surgery.

I also read an interesting recap that claims this episode was set up for a potential series finale, especially if FOX stupidly decides to cancel FRINGE before the season is over. With the information we now know, it is conceivable that since the whole reason for Walternate’s war against our universe, Walter’s kidnapping of Peter, was just an accident that Walter could not reverse, they might be able to work things out and resolve their differences. Of course, it is a drama, and I’m sure they’d only be able to work things out AFTER the device has been activated and both universes are in peril, perhaps combining their intellects to find a way to stop the machine. During the course of this I suspect that it will be necessary for one or the other to sacrifice himself to save the day. Or something like that.

GREEN EGGS AND SHAM

After Peter from last season I always just assumed Elizabeth couldn’t let Peter go and that’s why they kept him. It’s fascinating to see her and Walter planning together to find a way to get Peter home, and it makes it even more heartbreaking that their failure to do so led to her suicide. She knows it’s wrong to keep Peter, and to lie and in reality brainwash him, but neither her nor Walter know what else to do.

The scene with him finally calling her mom was a truly depressing moment, as she saw Peter break and begin to go along with the lies, and we could see how much she hated herself for brainwashing this little kid, fully knowing the heartache her alternate self must be feeling at losing a child. It’s no wonder that she killed herself down the road.

However, it must be noted that she did say something to the effect of, “No one is ever going to take you away from me Peter.” She was basically telling him that she’d always be there for him. In that case, I now wonder if her death truly was a suicide. We know from past episodes that when she died Peter had already grown up and was in Europe somewhere, and that Walter had been in the nuthouse for a few years. No one was there, no one could really know what happened. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out that Walternate arranged for her death. That fact alone would drive Peter against his real father more than anything else. He loved Elizabeth Over Here, and even though he knows now that she lied to him, I think he will always remember how she took care of him, and would want to get revenge if her death was not a suicide.

WALTERNATE HEARS A WHO

Poor Walternate and alternate Elizabeth, I thought it was really interesting to see them dealing with Peter’s loss. Walternate especially just seemed so much more human, and similar to the Walter we know. It just confirmed my thoughts about Walternate not being all bad, and that perhaps he might be turned around before he destroys the world.

I do find it strange that they appear to still be a couple in the present, especially after all the drama we saw in this episode. I now wonder if maybe their quest to find Peter was the only thing holding them together as a couple.

On a lighter note, I thought Bishop Dynamic was awesome, if a little far-fetched, and I really enjoyed the trivia of hearing that Walternate designed the Star Wars defense system Over There. (it’s a real thing, look it up)

MISCELLANEOUS

Did Bell watch the tapes and then come back to wipe the minds of Walter, Peter and Olivia (we’ve seen him do it before when he removed pieces of Walter’s brain)

I really like the callback to Nick during the session with Walter and the kids, as well as him practicing with them the circle chant that would allow them to go Over There last season.

Ok, that’s it for this recap. I did miss seeing adult Olivia and Peter, as well as Astrid and Broyles, and I’m glad tomorrow night we’ll be getting back to some classic FRINGE.

Keep watching, and keep telling people you know to watch!

FRINGE RECAP 12

Season 3: Episode 14 “6B”

“You know, you remind me of a poem I can’t remember, and a song that may never have existed, and a place I’m not sure I’ve ever been to.”

So, Monday was President’s Day, and I had it off, therefore I put off doing a FRINGE recap. Tuesday work was busy, and Wednesday I took off again to go see a live taping of CONAN. I could have done a recap Thursday, but I’m thinking it might be better if I wait to do my recaps till Fridays.  Fridays are never as busy as the rest of the week, and it gives me a week to mull over each episode before I do a recap, which will be up just in time to get everyone who reads it back into FRINGE mode before they see the latest episode later that night (or weekend, I’m aware that most of us DVR FRINGE since it is on during the weekend drinking hours.)

I’ve heard quite a few mixed reviews about this episode, but despite that I still enjoyed it, though I may just be a sucker for the bits about Peter and Olivia finally getting together, as well as all the old people angst (reminded me a lot of UP).  One interesting comment I heard from a reviewer named Ken Tucker was that the episode was too “Twilight Zone” for him, a remark that I think bears merit, but also simplifies the episode too much for me. As I’ll discuss later in this recap, I think the idea of quantum entanglement is very important for FRINGE, and this episodes sappy emotional themes were mere distraction from a concept that will come into play later in the series.

Last note before I begin, I love that I was right when I said a few recaps back that Broyles using the words “quarantine the area” might be foreshadowing that our Fringe department might one day have to use the amber. Although they didn’t end up doing it in this episode, they were about to, and I think we’ll see some amber on our side before the season is out.

WHO’S THE FRINGE BOSS?

Is our Fringe team better than the team Over There? Was the message at the end of the episode concerning what would have happened Over There if they would have had people like our Walter, Olivia and Peter, who attack the Fringe situations before they become catastrophic and manage to prevent vortexes? More clearly, is our Fringe team superior because it’s able to solve the problems before they become a vortex and kill people, while Walternate’s team is usually too late and can only cover it all up with the amber?

I mean, at the end of this episode we saw Lincoln and Fauxlivia stride into the apartment complex Over There fully expecting to quarantine the whole area, only to be pleasantly surprised that the problem had been fixed. Seriously? How did they not know something was up beforehand? How was our Fringe team able to get there, investigate, and FIX the problem before Lincoln’s team had even arrived on the scene? I think there’s something to this debate, but for now, we don’t have enough information to continue.

WALTER IN CHARGE

I thought it was very interesting seeing the bossy, condescending asshole side of Walter come out in this episode, and I wonder if it has anything to do with his experiments to restore his brain to what it was back in the 80s. He did seem a bit more like the Walter we saw back in the episode Peter, and even from this brief glimpse, I can see why he and Bell might have wanted to suppress it.

I know I briefly discussed this in the section above, but could our Walter be better than Walternate? Would he and Massive Dynamic have been able to solve the vortex problems without amber if they’d been given all the years that Walternate had? It seems like Nina thinks so, which is what she and Walter were discussing at the end, which does make me wonder if Walternate had the ability to solve the vortexes without amber, but chose the easy way out because he was busy with his political ascendancy and preparations for his war on our universe.

GROWING OLDER PAINS

This will be a short section, as I don’t have much to say besides a few continuity things that bugged me. Ok, so the old entangled couple, they didn’t talk the whole time they were staring at each other? Would they just sit there for hours staring oddly at one another? That just seems weird to me, and somehow I think they should have figured out that something was odd about the other person after a few meetings. I just have a hard time buying into the fact that the first time they realized they were different was at the end.

And this was a good point brought up by my roommate, how come the old man’s apartment wasn’t as messed up at the old woman’s apartment? When Fauxlivia and Lincoln showed up it looked fine, whereas her place was all cracked with papers flying everywhere and furniture moving, but his place had nothing. That just doesn’t make sense.

FAMILY TIES

So I’ve noticed FRINGE has a habit of introducing us to concepts during the “case” episodes that are later used in the mythology, such as the crazy guy who could see the probabilities of various outcomes which ended up being very similar to how the Observers act in our world. I’m wondering now if we’re seeing this whole emotional quantum entanglement thing in order to introduce us to the concept for later episodes. Meaning that perhaps the two Olivia’s are quantum entangled, which might lead to our Olivia becoming pregnant with a Bishop baby precisely because her counterpart is in the same situation.

It would make sense, especially as both physical relationships started in the same way, with an Olivia leading Peter to a bedroom, by the hand. Visually, it seemed to me that the producers were deliberately imitating the scene from earlier in the season with Peter and Fauxlivia, when there relationship began which we all know led to Fauxlivia’s pregnancy.

MISCELLANEOUS

Soft spots, wholes and Vortexes? Why now? What’s changed in our world that suddenly made us vulnerable like Over There? Why was it that when Walter opened the hole between worlds only Over There was seriously effected with consequences like vortexes? I go back once again to my theory that Walternate’s own experiments to get to our world and retrieve Peter exacerbated the situation, making it possible for vortexes to occur. Perhaps now, with Walternate’s continuing experiments in both his universe and ours, he has wrecked the balance in our own world, leading to the possibility of vortexes that our Walter worries so much about.

Ok, that’s it for this week, check back on Thursday (maybe earlier) of next week for my next recap (Thursday because I’ll be out of town on Friday). Have a good Friday, and make sure to tell people to watch FRINGE!

FRINGE RECAP 11

Season 3: Episode 13 “Immortality”

“[Marge] I’m going to miss you so much. And it’s not just the sex. It’s also the food preparation.”

Well, I moved this weekend, so I didn’t even get a chance to watch FRINGE till this morning, and I feel bad about that, as this was a pretty cool episode. Despite my hatred of bugs, I got past it pretty quickly and enjoyed the fast pace of this episode, and enjoyed the fact that we had an entire episode without ANY of the main characters of FRINGE. Not every show can pull that off.

NO TIME TO MOURN

Poor alt-Broyles. I figured Lincoln would be in charge, but I was very surprised by the attitude of everyone in the Fringe Department. I mean, do people think Broyles is dead? Or just missing? Why does no one seem that sad about it? There were one or two small moments where he was mentioned, but I just can’t help but feel the office would be a bit more somber with Broyles gone.

My other big question, does Fauxlivia really not know what happened to Broyles? Why would she be kept in the dark about it? Was this done so we don’t completely hate Fauxlivia, distancing her from alt-Broyles death so we don’t cast any of the blame on her? Or is she just pretending to be clueless, but knows and just doesn’t care?

NO CHILDREN

I really liked the cortexiphan demonstration with the telekinesis guy. For some reason, it almost felt like we were watching a flashback to what it must have been like when Bell and Walter discussed the cortexiphan trials, and the conversations that led to their use of children in the trials.

And Walternate’s firm answer of “No children,” is an amazing comment for someone who’s being set up as one of the primary villains of FRINGE. He won’t cross that line to experiment on kids, and he’s as close to evil as we get on this show. What does that say about Walter before Bell removed those parts of his brain? Could he have ended up worse than Walternate?

Walternate is an adulterer, surprise? I think not, especially after seeing how our Walter is. However, I do wonder if this decision was mainly made so they wouldn’t have to get the woman who plays his wife to come back for this episode.

NO TIME TO WASTE

I’ll admit, the pregnancy was kinda predictable, especially after the Observer’s comment a few episodes ago, but I did like the bug mislead and how they got to the reveal in a very FRINGE way. It was a good episode for the amount of things that were confirmed, but not really that many twists that we as fans and theorists hadn’t anticipated.

I do however wonder if the child really is Peter’s. I know the timing matches up, and its clear Walternate thinks so, but I dunno, the whole thing just seems really convenient, and I would like to think that FRINGE would have some kind of crazy twist on it. Also, be on the lookout for signs of our Olivia being pregnant, as the rumor mill is buzzing that next episode shows how things are being duplicated in both universes…

MISCELLANEOUS

Why did sheep die out 10 years ago Over There? Are we ever going to get details on some of the craziness that occurred Over There? Or will it always just be random information and details that happen to go along with the story they’re currently telling?

Will Fauxlivia’s ex hook up with alt-Astrid? He seemed really into her while he was at Fringe HQ, and she seemed to enjoy his attention.

Ok, I know this week’s recap was short, but its been a long weekend and I’m tired from moving. Keep watching, keep spreading the word, and I’ll be back next week refreshed and with new ideas and theories.

FRINGE RECAP 10

Season 3: Episode 12 “Concentrate and Ask Again”

“Boy, I know you can read my thoughts. Meow meow, meow meow, meow meow, meow meow, meow meow, meow meow, meow meow, meow meow.”

This week’s episode definitely felt like another bridge episode, which may be a definite negative with other shows, but with FRINGE it still meant we were in for a great ride. From the book ending Nina Sharp scenes to the continuing pangs of the Faulivia invasion (which I’m glad is now tied directly into the mythology and is not just some sappy romantic side-plot), this episode moved fast, and even with all the mythological implications it still had a case for our characters to work on, which I’m always happy to see in FRINGE.

NOT A CORTEXI-FAN

First off, this section heading has become my favorite of any I’ve used so far in these FRINGE recaps. I don’t know why, maybe I’m just crazy, but it makes me laugh every time I read it.

Anyway, in regards to said cortexiphan, I really like when they call back to all the kids that Walter and Belle experimented on, especially as it opens up a lot of possibilities for future episodes and seeing more of these kids and their abilities.

I do wonder why Olivia didn’t try to persuade the mind-reader to allow himself to be taken and helped by the FBI, like they did with the other cortexi-kids the Fringe team encountered (empathy guy, fire girl, cancer guy), as they all learned to control their abilities with the government’s help.

Also, I would really like to know what question Walter thought to the mind-reader at the end, and what the answer was, because in the looks they exchanged right after the assassins were killed, its clear something was expressed. One recap I read stated that he was pretty sure it was a silent apology from Walter, but I can’t help but wonder if it was something else. Maybe Olivia wasn’t the only one interested in Peter’s thoughts, and Walter had been wondering something like, “Will he [Peter] ever forgive me for what I’ve done?” Just something to think about (no pun intended)/.

OLIVIAS TWIST

In regards to the big reveal that Peter still has feelings for Fauxlivia, I had a feeling this was going to happen from the moment Fauxlivia was arrested and told Peter how the assignment had become personal for her. While last week I commented on Olivia’s thoughts about how she and her doppelganger, so similar mentally and emotionally, would obvious fall for the same guy, it’s just as obvious that he would fall for both Olivias for the exact same reason. However, I don’t think Peter at the moment is thinking that he wants to get back together with Fauxlivia. I think something else would have to happen for him to reconsider that. Such as….

Is Fauxlivia pregnant? The Observer hinted at it a few episodes ago, and now I’m thinking it more and more likely, especially as it would make for a really good reason for Peter to want to be with Fauxlivia (wanting to be there for his child and be a real father as he never had). And with next week supposedly taking place Over There, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps we are going to be seeing Fauxlivia taking some kind of pregnancy test.

As for our Olivia? Is she dooming her world by holding on to her anger at Peter? While I can see her point, and understand why she’s angry and everything, I think its about time she start to get over it, especially as Peter’s made every effort to show her that she’s the one that he wants, and that he wouldn’t even be Over Here if not for her.

SHARPER THAN SHE LOOKS

While I was excited to see Nina examining the First People books, I couldn’t help but think: It took you that long to figure out an anagram Nina? She’s the head of Massive Dynamic for Christ’s Sake, she should be smarter than that.

And while we’re on the subject of Sam Weiss, how the hell did she meet him in the first place? There’s a flashback story I wanna see, as I’m sure it’ll also entail some of the other secrets Nina and Belle kept, as well as give some insight into just how many men Nina had a relationship with. I mean, did she really have feelings for Belle, Walter and Broyles? And which of them did she hook up with?

One other question I have with her is, and this is a big mythology question, how many Fringe teams have her and Broyles been involved with? Either in the 1^st or 2^nd Season I clearly remember a board meeting with upper level government officials (and Nina!) in which they discussed the current Fringe team and “hoped it would last longer than the others.” Who were these others? What happened to them? And why does Nina have such a vested interest in the whole Fringe department? (Besides hooking up with Broyles)

WEISSING UP

It’s about damn time we saw Sam Weiss, we’re more than half-way through the season and I’ve had just about enough of this “will they won’t they” crap about Peter and Olivia and Walter’s whole guilt trip, I just wanna know more about these First People!

I loved how Sam knew exactly what was going on as soon as he realized that Nina knew he wrote those books, and seemed to be all caught up on everything that was going on. Does this mean there’s some kind of First People network spying on the whole Fringe team? Or, if Sam is a First Person, are they somehow psychic, and able to see the future and the past as the Observers do? I want answers FRINGE producers!

Also important, did Nina seem at all surprised that Sam was a First Person? I think not (although, to be fair, we’re still not sure ourselves, as him having wrote the books doesn’t necessarily prove he’s a First Person). She seemed more interested in why he wrote all the books and what they meant than in what he actually was, which makes me wonder if Nina knew all along about the First People and who Sam was. Perhaps this was why Nina sent Olivia to him last season?

My last question of this section, what was the point in writing all those novels in different languages? Was Sam trying to ensure that Peter could be born in a handful of nations and still be able to find a copy of the book he could read?

MISCELLANEOUS

There was a point in the episode with Broyles mentioning something about setting up a quarantine zone, which made me wonder if it was foreshadowing, or just playing with words? I thought it was great as it definitely reminded me of what the Alt-Fringe team did, and made me wonder if perhaps someday soon (if the machine is at least partially used against our world) our Fringe team might be amber-ing some areas to protect the fabric of our universe.

This was kind of an Astrid light episode, perhaps I was wrong about her impending doom? I’m not sure, but I do enjoy her screen-time and I hope she’s featured a little more in the alt-universe episode.

Also, I am damn excited that next week is in the alt-universe. I’ve been wondering how things have been faring Over There ever since Walternate killed Alt-Broyles, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how things are developing with Fauxlivia. (MY first guess, I think she might be the new head of Alt-Fringe)

Ok, this was kind of a random moment, but when mind-reader man was hearing Walter’s thought, I distinctly heard Walter say: “You assume that we were the first homo-sapiens?” When did he say this? Is this foreshadowing that Walter knows something about the First People that he hasn’t revealed? Or was this a part of Walter’s old personality that he lost; First People knowledge that was destroyed with his missing brain matter?

Alright, that’s it for the week. Keep watching, keep reading, and keep praying for FRINGE to get renewed!

FRINGE RECAP 9

Season 3: Episode 11 “Reciprocity”

“Marge, it takes two to lie. One to lie, and one to listen.” “What does that mean??”

Another week, another win in the ratings, and another extensive entry into the FRINGE universe. Though I will admit that this seemed like a bit of a bridge episode, I still enjoyed the character development within and look forward to next week’s outing.

As for terms, it seems Fauxlivia wins as the show’s answer to what we’re calling Olivia’s alt universe self, which means I’ll no longer be calling her Bolivia. On a production note, its kind of a weird season for all the episodes that don’t involve a case or Walter using Fringe science to figure something out – the show seems to be becoming much more action/adventure sci-fi, which I think I’m ok with.

THE MAN WITH THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE

OK, to start off, what’s the deal with Peter? Was anyone else wondering if he’d maybe been working for Walternate all along? Why didn’t he just let the FBI arrest the shape-shifters and interrogate them?

I made the prediction last week that we’d see changes come over Peter this week due to his ingestion of Walter’s brain serum, but though I was correct, it seems it was for different reasons than the serum. Throughout this episode I wondered about how quickly Peter had agreed to come back Over Here, how quickly he had forgiven Walter, and just jumped right back into the Fringe team, except for his obsession with the machine. I just can’t help but wonder if perhaps he is still working with Walternate. Even if he’s not, I can’t help but ponder if maybe he only came back to our side to test this machine out himself, and that he may not be entirely decided on whether or not he wants to help Walternate (who is, after all, his real father.)

WALTER, GET SMART

Personally, I thought the monkey DNA in Walter’s brain was an odd choice for FRINGE, maybe just an idea they had to add some comic relief this week. But I didn’t like it. Plus, it was just another way to stall the whole Walter rebuilding his brain issue, and I want to see where they are going with that.

If William Belle made an antidote to restore Walter’s brain, than I have to ask why? If Walter was afraid of who he was becoming, he clearly didn’t want to leave a way to return to that person. Maybe Belle only developed the anti-dote because he knew Walter would be needed again against Walternate? And would Walter become the same person once more even though the regenerated brain pieces would not contain the same memories of the original pieces?

THE SPY (FROM OVER THERE) WHO LOVED ME

I am fascinated by this odd love triangle between Peter, Olivia and Fauxlivia. And I’m actually a little disappointed in myself for not coming up with the logic that Olivia expresses in this episode for why Fauxlivia was falling in love with Peter. They are the same person, and everything Olivia loves about Peter would obviously be appealing to her doppelganger.

The real question is: Does Peter now have feelings for Fauxlivia? Especially with

Olivia giving him the cold shoulder these days, I wonder if Peter ever thinks about returning Over There to be with an Olivia who loves him, as well as his true family. It’s kinda tempting, especially if Fauxlivia turns out to be pregnant, a theory I presented last week.

ASTRID POWERS

I am only including this section because I want to point out how essential Astrid is becoming to the team for her deciphering abilities, especially as this is the second episode of the season that her research was more important than anything Walter was working on.

However, I am not too sure on the whole O-L-I-V-E code, and why Fauxlivia was even using a code like that in her own journal. I’m no spy, but I would think that a journal that was for one’s own use and was not meant to be broadcast would not need ciphers and encryption like that. What worries me is that it almost seems like they’re working really hard to show how important Astrid is, and how much everyone on the team relies on her…. which is an early sign of a show getting ready to kill off a character.

THE BELLE IDENTITY

What exactly did Belle know about the First People? Why was he also actively seeking out the First People Book? Could one book be different? Are there books about the first people Over There?

I have recently heard a rumor that Belle might make reappear on FRINGE, which I truly hope for, as he could shed the light on some of this First People business, and I’m sure he knows something about that infernal machine.

MISCELLANEOUS

Why wouldn’t they just tell Olivia what was going on at the end? Isn’t it pretty clear that eventually they’ll figure out it was Peter?

Why does Olivia keep saying that it feels like they’re two steps behind? Is that some kind of clue from the producers?

Also, when Nina Sharp says that Peter should see a professional to help him cope with everything that has been going on, did anyone else wonder if they were laying the foundation for Peter to meet Sam Weiss, who we all suspect is a First Person? I certainly hope so, for Weiss’s absence this season is suspicious, and I don’t know how else they would tie him back into the show.

That’s it for today. Keep watching on Fridays and keep those numbers high, and please comment below if you have any of your own theories or problems with one of mine!

FRINGE RECAP 8

Season 3: Episode 10 “The Firefly”

“They say the greatest tragedy is when a father outlives his son. I’ve never understood why that is; frankly, I can see an upside to it! Ha ha!”

Welcome back to the freaky FRINGE phenomenon, which I’m happy to report opened very well this past Friday. Despite the time-slot change it appears that FRINGE not only kept its audience, but also seemed to do better than it was doing on Thursdays.

In regards to these recaps, I’d like to apologize, as I was mis-numbering my episodes, this is indeed episode 10 of Season 3, and I didn’t skip an episode over break.

Lastly before I begin, I’d like to comment on the episode’s title, and how ingenious/ironic it was to have the first episode of FRINGE’s Friday slot be titled “The Firefly.” For anyone who didn’t already know this, FIREFLY was also the title of Joss Whedon’s cult favorite cowboy/sci-fi show, which also aired Fridays on FOX, and which was sadly cancelled all too soon. Hopefully the same won’t be said one day about FRINGE.

OBSERVING THE FUTURE

Ok, first off, the Observers would make a bad-ass crime-fighting team. Just imagine it, heading down to a bank that’s being robbed, pulling bullets out of the air, shooting bad-guys with their air-guns, that’s a FRINGE spin-off I would watch.

On a more serious note, while I loved to see the Observers back in the FRINGE universe, I can’t help but feel we really learned very little about them or what they want in this episode, aside from the fact that they were preparing Walter to let Peter die at one point in the future. I understand that they can’t reveal all their mysteries at once, but I don’t want to get LOST’d on this, meaning I don’t want this mystery to be dragged out over the next few seasons and then get lost in the fray of answering dozens of other questions. I loved LOST, but I feel like FRINGE is not about mysteries the way LOST was.

I was intrigued though, by the concept that the Observers visit various futures, and that no one future is fixed. It gives back Free-will to our characters, as we now know nothing is set for sure, and it also makes the Observers more interesting as it seems that they do play an active role in choosing which future will happen, at least in the case of Walter and Peter.

WALTER AND THE DOC

I thought it was very interesting to see Christopher Lloyd in an episode that involves time travel, and I definitely got a chill down my spine when he mentioned the word “science,” as I suddenly heard Doc Brown and thought about how incredible it would have been for Doc Brown and Walter Bishop to actually meet.

I really like the idea of unseen consequences in this world to Walter’s saving Peter, as we’ve only really seen the consequences Over There. It really worked for me that Walter saving his son resulted in his musical icon losing his son. I think Walter seeing Roscoe Joyce manage to survive the loss of his son demonstrated to Walter that losing Peter would not be the end of the world, reinforcing the fact that his selfish choice to kidnap Peter and save him was not as noble as he once thought.

PATERNAL PETER

Could Bolivia be pregnant with Peter’s child? Is that why the Observer made the comment about how hard it is to be a father to Peter right before he shot him? I know it sounds awfully clichéd to have a whole ‘evil ex-girlfriend is now carrying his baby’ scenario, but if you stop and think about it, it could really work well on FRINGE. First of all, Bolivia wasn’t necessarily evil, she was a soldier who was following orders, and the producers made sure to show us her softer side, and that she wasn’t entirely a bad person. She was just misguided by Walternate’s hatred of our world.

What could FRINGE do with Peter’s bastard child? Well it would be born Over There, meaning Walternate could use it to either a. Lure Peter back and put him in the machine, or B. perhaps use the baby itself (which carries Peter’s DNA) to power the machine. Either way, it’d be an interesting plot device, and I don’t think it’d be nearly as cheesy as it might turn out on another show.

DEUS EX MACHINA?

Ok, here’s my big question of the week. Do the observers want the machine to work? Or do they want Peter to die so it won’t work? And if they wanted him dead, why did September save him in the ice in 1985?

I get that the Observers aren’t human and don’t operate as normal people do. I think that was part of the point of the episode, showing how the Observers mainly set up a chain of reactions to fulfill their goals, much like the guy in the earlier Season 3 episode ‘The Plateau,’ who I think may be returning this season or next to work with, or counter, the Observers skills with setting up chain reactions.

What I really want to know is why September saved Peter to begin with? Did he feel sorry for him? Or was Peter supposed to live? How did the original timeline play out? We know that September inadvertently caused Walternate to miss the anti-dote to Peter’s illness, which Walter then saw and set out to correct. But if September had not interfered, even by accident, than perhaps none of this would have happened? Will we one day get a flash-back episode with September’s point of view showing what caused his screw-up? And I also must ask… was it a screw up? Perhaps September meant for Peter to die all the way back then? Or he knew that Walter was supposed to raise Peter in order to avert the apocalypse or something, so he distracted Walternate and set all this in motion. I don’t know, but I have a feeling the answers to these questions will make for some great FRINGE episodes.

MISCELLANEOUS

Will Peter’s mind be enhanced after drinking Walter’s serum by accident? That was my initial thought after Olivia saved him, but there was no immediate sign that Peter had grown smarter. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if next week we saw Peter showing signs of enhanced intelligence. Peter so far in the series has shown himself to be bright, but not like Walter, not even a de-powered Walter. But if this serum did work he could be right up there with Walter and Walternate, and I think it’d be interesting to see him matching wits against Walternate at some point in the future.

All right, that’s it for this week, it’s good to be back, and I hope we have many more episodes to recap in the future. Keep watching, and spread the word! FRINGE is too good for people not to be watching!

FRINGE RECAP 7

Season 3: Episode 8 “Marionette”

“Dad, what’s a Muppet?” “Well, it’s not quite a mop and it’s not quite a puppet… but man (laughs). So to answer your question, I don’t know.

I cannot believe that this is our last FRINGE episode until after the holidays! (if you just got Déjà vu reading that line, its completely understandable, as I re-used it from last week’s recap which I had thought was the final episode before the winter break)

Anyways, another great outing for FRINGE, and even though it wasn’t mythology heavy, it did help direct us onto the course of the where all the relationships on the show currently are and perhaps where they might be leading in the future. Definitely one of the more emotional episodes of FRINGE, (have we ever really seen Olivia break down like that?), and a great set-up for what’s to come when FRINGE returns next year.

BUCK UP BROYLES

I really enjoyed the powerful scene where Olivia is telling Broyles about his alternate self, and his face when she told him about his alternate family. I think it meshes nicely with my theory from last week about how Broyles might travel into the alternate dimension to meet his alternate family.

I did feel sorry for Broyles as it almost seemed as though this revelation confirmed to him that he might have made a few mistakes in regards to his family, as his alternate self seemed to have made it work. Even more credence to why he would want to speak to his alternate family and see what it was that held them together.

Also, does anyone else remember Nina’s relationship with Broyles? Are we going to get any more information about this? I only bring it up because we are discussing Broyles’ personal life and it’s good to know he still has one, even if it’s completely off-screen.

PETER, TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

I wasn’t sure how they were going to handle Peter telling everything to Olivia, but as always with FRINGE, they got to it quickly, and made it very succinct. Even though it seemed a little insensitive of Peter to just blurt it all out so quickly, especially as it seemed he was almost complimenting Bolivia, it was necessary for him to show that he’s not like his father and was not going to keep secrets even if they protected those he loves.

I also really enjoyed the scene when Olivia and Peter are profiling suspects as it becomes clear to Peter that Olivia is upset and I really enjoy the metaphor about profiling and how good she is at it and how he sucks at it, and how it pertains to what happened with Bolivia.

Overall story note, I do wish they’d get on with the whole crazy machine storyline and how it involves Peter, as its definitely been pushed to the backburner for the time being, but hopefully they’ll get to it when the season returns.

SHUT IT DOWN OLIVIA

I thought it was such a sad scene when Olivia is ripping down her clothes and washing her bed sheets, as she realized how easily she was replaced and that her own inability to really connect with people was why no one realized she was missing. Great imagery with the all black clothes in the closet to really hit home her distant personality and how easily it would be for someone to slip into her life and impersonate her. It’s just sad that she’s putting back up all her walls now and pushing Peter away because of what happened.

And I think my favorite moment of the episode was when the Mad Scientist told Olivia that he could see it in the Frankenstein girl’s eyes that it wasn’t his girl – and you knew she was asking herself why Peter couldn’t tell the same thing about Bolivia. It hit me way before she and Peter had their argument, and I knew she wasn’t going to be forgiving him anytime soon. But I’m ok with that, as FRINGE has never really been about their relationship, and I’m ready for it to return to it’s sci-fi freaky roots and not dwell any more on the will they/ won’t they of the couple (even though I’m pretty sure, as we all should be, that we haven’t heard the last of their feelings for one another).

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was seriously creeped out by ballet puppet scene, and the dead eyes on the Frankenstein girl. Also, the science this week was not really all that well explained and I’m not 100% sure if I buy into the whole reviving the dead storyline. But even if the tech was more for a throwaway Fringe case, I like that even cases like this contribute to the overall story of FRINGE and help sell a point, such as Olivia’s reasons for ending it with Peter.

Also, was the Observer at the end looking at Peter or Walter? And was one of them supposed to die recently? Or has Walternate finished the doomsday device now that Bolivia has given him the final piece, and the Observers are watching Peter to see if he’s yet rejoined his father and activated the machine.

And if they were looking at Walter, was this some scary foreshadowing of what might happen as the season progresses? We know the Observers can see the future, perhaps Walter is going to die, leaving the rest of the team to carry on his work. Who knows? Maybe we were introduced to the “reviving the dead” tech this week solely for the purpose of Peter finding a way to revive Walter at some point in the future.

Ok, that’s it for now, for sure this time I won’t be writing another recap until FRINGE returns in 2011.

Happy Holidays!

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!

FRINGE RECAP 5

Season 3: Episode 7 “The Abducted”

“No one listens to you when you’re a kid.” “No one listens to you when you’re old.” “I’m a white male age 18 to 39, everyone listens to my ideas!”

First off, apologies for the late posting of this recap, busy day of work, not helped by the fatigue of seeing Harry Potter at midnight last night. Moving on, and I know I say this every week, but man was this a great episode, and definitely one of my favorite endings this season. Not to shortchange the beginning though, with the freaking psychopath shaving his head with a straight blade! That made me cringe.

BONDS OF BROYLES

I had heard that this would be a kind-of Broyles centric episode, but I did not realize how well it would dove-tail with Walternate’s own back-story and give them a common bond of both having lost their sons and having them returned not exactly the same.

I had guessed earlier about Broyles coming around to Olivia’s side and eventually helping her (which I’m sure we’ll see more of when she actually needs rescuing from Over There in upcoming episodes), but I love that it’s her dedication to helping the innocent and those in need, which included Broyle’s family, that made him see that she was a good person. I think he realized that even though she had figured out what was going on, she still made the choice to help his Fringe division, and the only reason for her to do that was because she felt it was the right thing to do.

My next hope: I would LOVE to see our Broyles and the Over There Broyles team up at some point in the future to lead their teams against Walternate. That would be awesome.

TAXI-CAB CONFESSIONAL
I was wondering when we’d see Olivia’s cab friend again, though now I kinda worry that he’s done and won’t be coming back, especially as he now thinks Olivia has escaped. I did find it a little odd how easily she found him and his cab, and I wasn’t sure what he thought of Olivia since she just disappeared after their last adventure and he hadn’t heard from her since.

I also wonder now, knowing about this whole “First People” business and how Sam Weiss (another random character that helped Olivia), if perhaps this cab-driver is more than what he seems, and his helping Olivia is more than just him being a good person.., perhaps he too is “older than he looks.”

OLIVIA’S ODYSSEY

I knew it was too easy for her to just jump in the tank and go home. I knew that her getting home was going to be a major task and require a lot of resources, and it all just went way too fast and way too smoothly for that to be her return trip.

However, I do really like how she managed to appear and get the cleaning woman to call Peter, who in all honesty should have figured out the whole Bolivia thing episodes ago, either that or believe that she was getting stupider with all her lack of knowledge about easy things that everyone knows in our world. Ronald Reagan in Casablanca? Honestly? I am very intrigued to see how he handles this new information and what Bolivia does now that she’s been found out.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Toomy was the name of one of the bad guys? A bad guy who stole youth? Was this a Spiderman/Vulture shout-out? (Adrian Toomes) Whatever the explanation, I still thought it was pretty cool.

Stupid Thanksgiving, FRINGE isn’t coming back till December 2^nd, but at least it’s only a 2 week wait, and with the quality episodes we’ve been getting, it will be well worth the wait.

FRINGE RECAP 4

Season 3: Episode 6 “6955 kHz”

“Why don’t we listen to the radio?” “Well put something on, I’m starting to think!!”

Anyone else remember when FRINGE first started and we had a weekly “case” the team was investigating and at the end of the episode we’d get like 30 seconds of some of the show’s mythology, information that tied everything together but really had very little to do with the plot of that particular episode?  Looking back, didn’t that suck, especially when compared to this season where the “case” is secondary to the mythological implications seen through the episode? Nowadays, we see that all the cases are tied into Walternate’s plans, which just makes everything mesh so much better in the show, and makes me wonder if perhaps every case thus far had tied into Walternate’s plan, meaning there is not nearly as much randomness in FRINGE as it initially seemed.

BOLIVIA

So, just to be clear, I am now firmly a believer that Bolivia will rebel against Walternate’s plan in the near future, as she now realizes that the people in our world (which I shall refer to from now on as “Over Here”) are not the monsters that Walternate made them out to be, as evidenced tonight by her questions to Peter about whether he would destroy the “Over There” world to save his own, and his response that there must be another way. Not to mention her killing of the shape-shifter to prevent more “innocent” people from being killed (her exact words, which meant in my mind that she recognizes that there are innocents in both worlds now).

Based on a lot of her reactions though, I do wonder what Walternate and the people “Over There” know about the FIRST PEOPLE, and how exactly they came to know it. I’ve heard one theory floated out that the First People might have survived a little longer Over There, sharing some of their technology with their replacements, which might explain why the technology is a little more advanced Over There.

FIRST PEOPLE

First of all I’m going to pat myself on the back for including a mention of the First People in my last recap, and swear that I had NO IDEA that they would play so heavily into the plot and mythology of this week’s episode.

If you’re an anagram fan like I am (and yes, I’m a nerd, deal with it), you’ll already have undoubtedly noticed that Seamus Wiles (the author of the First People book) is an anagram for Samuel Weiss (Bowling Alley Yoda himself.) My guess is that we will most definitely be seeing more of that character this season, and that he is one of the First People.

The real question is the motives of the First People, whether they will side with Over Here or Over There, or whether they have their own secret agenda that will not benefit either side. Perhaps the doomsday device, or Vacuum, is a trap they set for humanity itself, in both worlds,  which will destroy both universes and create a new one for The First People to inhabit by themselves.

Or if they are indeed the Observers, perhaps they will end up being some kind of wise and helpful organization that will shepherd humanity through the technological age and help humans to avoid the mistakes they made in the past. Which kinda makes sense considering that the Observers are obsessed with being there for every human technological innovation.

ASTRID KICKS ASS

First of all, I love how Walter toward the end of the episode was basically Astrid’s assistant as she went to work to solve the code. It was a great moment for the character, yet again proving her worth to the team, but also a great moment to see how much Walter respects her intelligence and skill, and is willing to defer to her insights on a subject that is her specialty.

Did anyone else notice the weird look from Nina Sharp toward Astrid when Nina visited the lab? Does Nina even know Astrid? I mean, based on that look it certainly seemed so, but to my conspiracy and theory shrouded mind, I couldn’t help but wonder: Could Astrid have been involved in cortexiphan trials? Is that why she’s so sharp with numbers? And is that why she was assigned to the FRINGE team? Or is she some kind of other FRINGE anomaly, like a super-powered brain math genius type thing, a trait that was found in both Astrid and her Over There counterpart. I hope I’m not just grasping at straws here, but I can’t help but feel there was a reason they put Astrid front and center in this episode, and I hope it’s because they want to go into her back-story, and not for something like setting up her death.

FINAL THOUGHTS

LOST numbers anyone? I saw an 8, a 15, and a 42 when the woman was typing into her computer in the opening, and those numbers were definitely confirmed as being part of the First People’s numerical code.

Other than that, I can’t wait for next week’s episode, feel free to comment or theorize below, I would really love to hear what someone else thinks.