Fringe - "The Day We Died" (3.22) - Season Finale

So far, "The Day We Died" has definitely been the most confusing finale yet, and I still don't fully understand it. I had initially come to the conclusion that at the end of the previous episode, "The Last Sam Weiss" (3.21), Peter was not confused because he jumped to the future; he was just disoriented because of the injury that he sustained. However, Ella asks him, "Do you remember what you were saying in the field about the machine and being from the past?" With that being said, I have no idea what to think because near the end of the episode, we learn that Walter is the one who pulled Peter's consciousness from 2011 to the future, but Peter seems to suddenly come into the Peter that he would have been in that future, in 2026. Did the 2011 Peter simply watch all of this just as we did? When did Walter send the machine back, and why? Who created the machine? I wonder if in 2026, this side has very advanced healing, too, because Peter was cut up, and in very little time, we see him completely healed. My guess would be that, based on the conversation that Peter has with Olivia about wanting a child, the Other Side was destroyed before Peter discovered that he had a son, which is really sad. Doesn't he ever wonder, at least, or does he simply prefer not to think about it?

Walternate obviously told the End-of-Dayers what exactly they were doing. He even says to Moreau, "Soon, this world will join mine," so why are they willing to destroy their own world? Did they cross over with him when the Redverse was destroyed? If so, then who are they? Why haven't we seen them before? We learn from this episode that Astrid (whose line, "How come no one respects my desk?" I absolutely love), unless she was adopted, is not Broyles' daughter, because she mentions her father, who is obviously not Broyles. Speaking of Broyles, in 2026, he is a senator, and I would really like to know what happened to his eye. I read that the writers know what happened to it, but they did not say whether or not we are ever going to find out what happened to it, but I have a feeling that we will because I think that this finale is going to end up being far more pivotal than it seems it will be at this point. This episode, in a sense, really reminds me of the pilot episode because in the pilot episode, Olivia, under very different conditions, mind you, approaches Broyles about obtaining Walter's help, and Broyles is very reluctant; the whole idea, in general, of Walter being incarcerated and freeing him to obtain his help is reflective of the pilot episode.

I love how Peter says to Walter in the future that "no matter who's at fault, you're my dad," and I love that scene, because while I do think that what Walter and Elizabeth did in 1985 was terrible (even though it is definitely not that simple), the issue of where Peter belongs comes down to where he wants to be, and I think that that is pretty obvious. I love the conversation between Peter and Walternate; it's something that I would consider epic, and I think that it really speaks for Walternate's character because while Peter wants to negotiate with Walternate and make peace with him, Walternate kills Olivia instead. Walternate was not really sitting in that house; he was using some sort of technology to make himself appear to be there, and that was pretty impressive technology if you ask me. Ella, clearly upset with Walter for doing what he did in 1985, says, "There aren't any happy endings nowadays, are there?" I love this line and really feel that it's worth mentioning because it's definitely an intentional reference to "Brown Betty" (2.19), in which Ella changes Walter's ending to his story by making it happy. It is definitely interesting that we see a future Ella in this episode, and I definitely get the impression that, for whatever reason, in this future, Rachel is not alive.

In 2026, Walter tells Peter that something for which he never accounted is that the two worlds are inextricably linked; if one world dies, then the other will, too. He therefore says that the day that they triggered the machine was essentially "the day we died." I wonder why these two world are linked, though. Why aren't all universes dying (assuming they are not all dying)? Is it because of what Walter did in 1985? Is that why that universe was the one in which he chose to observe a Peter? Was it the easiest to find in a search for a parallel universe? Olivia (who, by the way, doesn't really look fifteen years older) has apparently learned to control her abilities in that particular future, and she stops a box containing fragile material from hitting the floor, which is pretty neat. On the Other Side, apparently, the drawing of Olivia exists there, as well, unless someone somehow made a copy of it here and then sent it over there because we see Walternate with the drawing of Olivia, and he seems to think (or know, I'm not sure which) that the drawing applies to his universe's Olivia. I love what she says to him. "They outsmarted you, didn't they?" she mocks him. "They know you turned the machine on, so they put Peter in theirs, and now, we're the ones that are going to get destroyed." She is basically saying to him, "Look what you did now."

Broyles says, when we come back to 2011, that Peter has been in the machine for sixty seconds, so apparently, time did not pass the same way for him as it did for them. I absolutely love the confrontation scene near the end of the episode because I have been waiting for the two Olivias to confront each other once again for a long time, in hopes that they would now be friends, but unfortunately, they don't say anything to each other. I get the sense, however, that they will be working together because our Olivia definitely wants to be cooperative. She interrupts the quarrel between the two Walters and says that they are all together now, so they need to work on solving their problems, and the other Olivia, based on her facial expression, seems to be in agreement. I have waited even longer for a confrontation between the two Walters (which David Wu has cleverly referred to as "waltercation") because we hadn't even seen that yet, and as far as we all know, this is the first time that these two men have met each other, and obviously, there's bad blood. Now, though, Peter never existed, which definitely has me scratching my head because I can't think of what he did to cause that to happen. He only changed from 2011 on, so how does that affect the past? Precisely as Anna Torv said her reaction was, what does this mean? What does it mean in context of the series thus far and of the series in the future?

I close by saying that I really like the new intro. The "fringe sciences" listed are cellular rejuvenation, thought extraction, cryptozoology, neutral partitioning, brain porting, temporal plasticity, dual maternity, chaos structure, clonal transplantation, biosuspension, water and hope. I put "fringe sciences" in quotes because those last two are obviously not even sciences, and I don't know what to make of them, especially not "water." What significance does "water" have to this episode? Is it maybe that (clean) water is not as easy to come by, since the universe is dying? I appreciated this finale in a lot of ways, but it is not as good as last year's finale, "Over There," and, in my opinion, it's going to be very difficult for them to ever write and film a finale that tops (or is even as good as) "Over There" (a television epic). What primarily makes little sense to me is that the other Olivia stole a piece of the machine on this side so that we couldn't use it, yet we douse it. I'd suggest that the function of Olivia's ability takes the place of the function of that piece of the machine, but the machine is activated before Olivia intervenes, so is it that without that piece, the machine doesn't create but destroys? There are so many questions, and I can't wait until season 4. I give this finale 7.5 Kate Dunhams (NCIS fans surely get the reference).

Fringe - "The Last Sam Weiss" (3.21)

I definitely prefer "6:02 AM EST" to this episode because I feel like a lot of hype was built up for this episode before it aired, and the episode simply doesn't live up to the hype. Yes, we get some answers, but while I expected to discover everything there is to know about Sam Weiss, we don't. For example, am I the only one bothered by the fact that in "6:02 AM EST," Nina tells Olivia that Sam told her that the fate of their universe would depend on which Olivia Peter picks, and then, Olivia never questions him about that in this episode? We still don't understand why Sam said that, or if he was telling the truth, and I have a feeling that if we ever do see Sam again, it won't be for a good while. Sam also did not write the manuscript, which is disappointing. I would not have written Sam's story this way; I would have written it so that Sam was a First Person and found a way to use soul magnets to keep moving from body to body. How do we know that is the last, though? I was really expecting him to die, and although I am glad that he didn't, the episode title is definitely a bit misleading, because as of now, he might not be the last. He is the last as in the most recent but is not the last as in the final, not definitively, anyway.

I also find it interesting how Sam feels guilty for having intervened because apparently, he is not supposed to intervene, which is frustrating. I really was expecting to have all of my questions regarding Sam answered, and they definitely were not answered, and it's frustrating that Olivia doesn't push him when he makes cryptic statements such as this one. Why can't he intervene? Who said that he can't intervene? What consequences does intervention have? It reminds me a lot of the Observers, since they are not supposed to intervene, even though they seemingly do intervene. Also, how does he know where the key would be? Who put that there, and why? Did one of his ancestors put the key there? If all along, Sam knew that that key would be essential, why did he wait so long to take action? Is it because, as he tells Olivia, he is not supposed to intervene? At this point, I have seen the season finale, so I don't want to say too much, because I would rather wait to talk about the finale. All I will say is that while Sam is not in the finale at all, we learn who the First People are, and it completely wrecks my theory regarding the soul magnets, anyway. I don't like how they wrote Sam's story but like how they explained who the First People are, which, interestingly enough, are in conflict with one another.

Regarding the museum scene, though, why would the museum director allow Olivia and Sam to do what they do, go into the museum and take an artifact? Did Olivia simply have to say that what she is doing is classified, and that was that? How is all of this being explained to the public? I wouldn't imagine that the public is aware of the parallel universe, because after all, the public on the Other Side is not aware of the parallel universe, and it's a lot worse over there. How do they explain the amber to the public? I love the scene during which Olivia and Sam need to get out of the museum because the lightning strikes are getting really bad, and Sam intricately stops a gate from closing on them by rolling something to cause a jam, and when Olivia expresses stunned amazement, Sam says, "I work in a bowling alley." That is a great line, and I'm sure that under different circumstances, Olivia may have found it funny (we have previously seen her lighten up around him) but not now. This is definitely a very Olivia-centric episode, but overall, I would still argue that despite what Josh Jackson said at the beginning of the season about this being "the Year of Olivia," I would say that this season has definitely been more about Peter than it has been about Olivia. So far, Season 1 was Olivia's season, for sure.

Now, we know that both Peter and Olivia have a connection to the machine, but why? I really love that in this episode, we see some parallels to season 1. For example, Walter mentions David Robert Jones, and we finally find out what the "lightbox" was and why ZFT was using it on their subjects. Additionally, Olivia is very reluctant to believe that she is capable of getting the typewriter to work, which is consistent, seeing as how Jones does tell her in season 1 that it's expected that Cortexiphan soldiers will be unwilling. However, as much as I love the idea that Olivia, much like Peter, is tied to the machine in some way, we still don't fully understand why, and my fear is that we won't for a good long time because I fear that the series will not explore this for a while. Olivia can apparently bend energy with her mind, which Sam identifies as telekinesis, something that surprisingly, he doesn't seem to have known already. It's really nice, as well, to have more or less discovered how the typewriter works, and I am so glad that the “quantum entanglement” story of “6B” (3.14) has not been dismissed, as I feared that it would be. I love how the writers plant seeds like that, and sooner or later, I think that we are going to realize that many seeds were planted a long time ago, seeds that we didn't even know were being planted.

In this episode, Walter encourages Olivia as she tries to get the typewriter to work, and I love what he says. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you,” he says. “You have no idea how extraordinary you are.” I think that this really helps demonstrate the difference between Walter and Walternate, not that we really need help seeing that difference, and I love how he refers to Astrid as Ostrich, something that I didn't catch until the second time I watched the episode. He is definitely very negative during other scenes of the episode, but I can't really blame him for that because, after all, he doesn't have a whole lot of reason for hope, since the situation isn't looking too swell. I wonder, however, what happened to wanting to reconstruct his missing brain cells. Did he simply give up on that idea when he had Bell as a lab partner? After discovering that Bell's consciousness was inside of Olivia's body, did he figure that, instead of reconstructing his brain cells, he would simply secure Bell's help? If so, then why don't we see very much interaction between Walter and Bell regarding the Machine? I am just kind of disappointed that that story was thrown away because I was expecting Walter to regrow some of his missing brain cells and become more like Walternate, something that would have likely had tragic results, which is not what I wanted, but I think that it would have made a great story.

Peter is confused throughout much of the episode, apparently thinking that he was on the Other Side, and that is a bit confusing. Is it that something caused him to temporarily be the Peter that would have existed “over there” had Walter never taken him, or is it simply that the concussion confused him? He knows that the situation “over there” is worse than it is here, so maybe waking up and seeing the electrical storm caused him to think that he was on the Other Side. I was really expecting the cab driver to be Henry and was kind of disappointed that it was not Henry, but maybe Henry is not a cab driver in the Blueverse, if he even exists at all, for that matter. The electrical storms are pretty epic, and I wonder if they happened “over there.” Vortexes happened “over there,” and so did the Blight, so it stands to reason that severe electrical storms did, as well, or, for that matter, do. I would really like to know more about the Redverse and really hope that we will indeed learn more about it and its problems next season because we definitely do not know as much about life “over there” as we do about life here. Just how severe can the fringe events get, and are they glimpses of what will happen here eventually? I think that that has more or less been confirmed, but I would really like to know if the Other Side experienced such severe electrical storms, and I would really like to know more about the Other Side's history.

When Olivia finally does get the typewriter to work, it seems that it is Olivia having concentrated on the sentence “Be a better man than your father” that gets it to work, and I wonder why that is what gets it to work. Could it have been any phrase, and that's simply the one that happened to work? Why does the typewriter start working when it does, when Olivia is not around it? Is it that it needed Peter and Olivia together in order to work? I remember two years ago, when fans theorized about Peter and Olivia having some sort of connection after having seen “Bad Dreams” (1.17). Olivia, in her mind, is living as Nick Lane, and Walter tells Peter to comfort her. I personally didn't think much of it, but there were fans that suggested that it indicated some sort of connection between them, and now, it's plain to see that they might have been right, since there is a connection between them, and maybe that is what Sam meant when he said that whether or not their universe would survive would depend on which Olivia Peter would choose, since the Machine apparently needed the both of them to operate. What doesn't make any sense about the Machine, though, is that it is operative on this side even though the other Olivia stole a piece of it. I thought that the purpose of stealing that was so that the Blueverse couldn't use theirs, and seemingly, Walternate isn't even taking that into account.

I am so happy that Olivia finally says “I love you” to Peter, but, of course, he doesn't say “I love you” back, which is annoying, and the expression on her face seems to indicate that she is waiting for it, too, which is really sad. When Peter makes his way to the Weapon, I really love how we see the flashback sequence, but it is obviously merely intended for us and is not intended to be something that he is actually seeing, because it shows a glimpse of the scene at the end of “The Plateau” (3.03), during which Peter kisses Olivia while she is “over there” thinking that she is the other Olivia, something that obviously did not actually happen. I love it, though, because it has such great sentimental value to us. It kind of makes sense now why the drawing of Peter depicts him with fire coming out of his eyes, because it was intended to depict him seeing an apocalyptic future, and the drawing of Olivia, which we see for the first time in this episode, was intended to depict her using her ability to bend energy to manipulate the Weapon so that it would allow Peter inside of it. I really like this episode, but because I did not receive some answers that I was expecting to have received, I give the episode 8.5 Lightning Bolts, something that you will recognize as a respectable but not exceptional Bunsen Burner rating if you know me and how I rate Fringe episodes. Obviously, there will be more to talk about discussing the season finale, but until then, stay on the fringe.

Fringe - "6:02 AM EST" (3.20)

The Fringe season 3 finale is approaching (in fact, it's right around the corner), and the pace has picked right back up. I really liked the arc involving Bell inhabiting Olivia's body. It was really funny and was very interesting, but it slowed down the pace of the season and didn't serve much of a purpose, at least not yet. I really love this episode and give it 10 Electrocuted Peters. Near the beginning of this episode, we immediately learn why Walternate wanted the other Olivia's baby's (named Henry, which is awesome) blood sample, and my prediction was correct; he needed it to turn on the machine, which is why he accelerated her pregnancy. Interestingly enough, he seems to be beginning to feel guilty, admitting that it is wrong to be doing what he is doing, destroying an entire universe. He proceeds to say, "May God have mercy on us," which I think is intended to be a parallel to what this Walter says near the end of the episode (a scene to which I refer as the "chapel scene," an incredibly powerful scene that pays tribute to episode 2.17, "White Tulip"). He says, in prayer to God, "I know my crimes are unforgivable. Punish me; do what you want to me, but please spare our world." The crew behind Fringe certainly knows how to deliver powerful television, and this scene is nothing short of exemplary of that fact.

I don't really appreciate the inconsistency of the intro, though. Even though the episode alternates between both universes like "Entrada" (3.08), unlike "Entrada," the intro is only blue instead of alternating between blue and red. I know that it's not really a big deal, but it is inconsistent, which I don't like. I love the scene near the beginning of the episode, however, in which we see a shirtless Peter (always a good thing), and Olivia gets out of bed and runs into a naked Walter, which is so hilarious because she does her absolute best not to look and to keep her cool. Olivia then returns to bed and says that she loves early morning, that it's her favorite time of the day because it's when the world is full of promise, definitely a memorable line. I also think that this episode shows us that at this point, Peter has definitely forgiven Walter for what he did (even though Walter has definitely not forgiven himself), and I think that this is really evident when Walter tries to say something to Peter before Peter attempts to enter the machine and Peter says, "I know," indicating that he was going to tell him that he loves him, which is also probably what Peter was going to ask Astrid to tell Olivia. As I had already known we would, we see Sam Weiss in this episode, and that's a joy (no sarcasm intended).

I don't know if anyone else noticed, but Sam definitely looks older in this episode than he did the last time that we saw him, which was at the end of episode 3.12, "Concentrate and Ask Again" (3.12). Darrell of The Fringe Podcast pointed out that he looked younger when we saw him in "Concentrate and Ask Again," and I think that that is more obvious than ever now because now, he definitely looks a lot older. I'm not sure what to make of that, but even though this theory probably doesn't have anything to do with that simply because it doesn't do much to explain it, I am wondering if Sam's body is just a vessel for the real Sam Weiss, much like Bell used Olivia's body as a vessel. If you think about it, it would totally explain what he means when he tells Olivia in "Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver." (2.16) that he is older and taller than he appears; it could be that he is ancient, since I think it's totally safe to assume at this point that he is one of the First People, and that when he was in his original, "real" body, he was a lot taller than the body that he is currently inhabiting. As I said, though, it doesn't explain why his age seems to fluctuate; that shouldn't have anything to do with it. Whatever the case may be, he has apparently known that some kind of end would be coming.

Firstly, the fact that the bowling balls hit one another without any obvious kind of disturbance causes him to conduct some kind of test at the bowling alley with a device that looks handcrafted. Then, later in the episode, we see him looking through some kind of window, and the window makes the sky really colorful, as a couple notices from their vehicle; he then proceeds to add to an equation on which he is working, and I really want to know what exactly he is doing in that scene, and hopefully, we will find out in the next episode, "The Last Sam Weiss" (3.21). I love how Nina tells Olivia about Sam having told her that the fate of their universe would depend on which Olivia Peter would choose because it's typical Nina. She says that "there's a man" and continues to say that he is a man in whom Bell told her to have confidence because he is very knowledgeable, working her way to saying that Olivia has already met him instead of simply immediately saying that she is talking about Sam. I also didn't realize it until my second viewing of the episode, but in this episode, the typewriter is sort of explained; Walter says that, like the typewriters, the Doomsday Device may have turned on due to quantum entanglement, which means that Walternate would have activated the Doomsday Device "over there" in order to activate the one here; that's apparently how the typewriter works, too, and I do know that the typewriter will come into some kind of play very, very soon.

"Over there," we see Olivia with her son Henry, and I have to say that seeing the two of them together is so beautiful, especially when she sings to him, and I have to say that between that and seeing her rebelling against Walternate, I have really warmed up to her. What I really want to see is the two Olivias meeting again, only this time making peace with one another. I would absolutely love to see that before the end of the season, but I have no indication as to whether or not that is going to happen. I love how she takes control of Brandon, and when he tries to tell her that she isn't going to get away with it, she says, "I did not ask for your opinion." As my boyfriend Ray pointed out, she really reminds me of Ziva on NCIS when she says this. There are some neat parallels in this episode, such as when the other Olivia narrowly escapes gunfire by using the elevator, which is an almost identical scene to one in this season's premiere, "Olivia" (3.01). Also, the other Olivia is imprisoned in the same room as our Olivia was at the very end of the season 2 finale, "Over There, Part 2" (2.22). This last one may not have been an intentional parallel, but near the end of the episode, Olivia running into Sam (for whom she had been looking), who tells her that she needs to trust him because there isn't much time, reminds me of her running into Bell, who says the same, near the end of "Over There, Part 1" (2.21).

I have always loved Lincoln, but I don't really see how anyone has any excuse not to love him now. Near the end of "Bloodline" (3.18), he and Charlie discuss the fact that Broyles went missing right around the same time that their Olivia returned from the other universe, and they therefore suspect that Walternate is corrupt, but for whatever reason, Kirk Acevedo is not in this episode. I did read that Acevedo will be in a new series, so maybe we will not be seeing him on the series anymore, and since there was no death scene (and we know that he is currently alive), perhaps the Redverse will not survive. I don't want that, so don't get me wrong; I want peace, but I'm just saying that that is a pretty "in your face" clue. It's very clear that, like Olivia, Lincoln does not want to destroy the Blueverse, since he is fully aware of what Olivia is up to and supports her. I love how when Walternate tells him over a communication device that they don't need to go to Liberty Island for a Fringe Event, he says, "Understood, Mr. Secretary," and there is a strong tone of sarcasm in his voice. Walternate tells Olivia that if it were anyone else who had done what she did, he or she would be charged with treason, which really makes me worry about Lincoln. For now, though, stay on the fringe until "The Last Sam Weiss" (3.21)!

Fringe - "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide" (3.19)

This is the showcase of an episode that we were promised, and I have to say, I am very impressed, ultimately giving the episode 10 Animated Leonard Nimoys. When The Fringe Podcast interviewed Jasika Nicole a few weeks ago, she said that Astrid, in a way, stands up for herself when Walter gets her name wrong, and this episode is obviously what she was talking about because in this episode, Walter, once again, calls Astrid something other than her name, and she then calls him Wally. I love the look on his face, the utter confusion. At the same time, though, it is kind of frustrating, because we are three seasons in, and throughout these three seasons, Walter and Astrid have developed a pretty close relationship, yet he doesn't seem to make much progress when it comes to getting her name right. He has definitely made some progress because it used to be that he almost never got her name right, and he gets it right a lot more often now, but it really annoys me when he still calls her something like Astro, even though I find it amusing, especially when Astrid responds in the various ways that she does. I am really excited for the finale, and one reason for that is because we are supposed to learn something about Astrid's past, but that is all I will say, in order to spare those who try to avoid spoilers.

The opening of this episode is pretty powerful if you ask me because Bell faints and then says in the hospital that if he is shocked again, he and Olivia will both die. Anna is, as usual, beyond amazing in this scene, and I love that she is so modest. I read recently that she felt very nervous impersonating Nimoy's character, and she went into it not really knowing what she was doing and is still unsure of the results. That is definitely modesty, because even Nimoy has said that she is wonderful, and I wholeheartedly agree with him. This scene has a fantastic line in it, or a double-line, I guess, would be the best way of putting it. Peter says that Olivia is his girlfriend at the exact same time that Walter says that he (referring to Bell) is his partner; it's definitely some comic relief much needed during a pretty intense scene. I love the reference to the pilot episode, when Walter says that they have sort of done this before when they linked Olivia to John Scott's consciousness, and I absolutely love the look on Bell's face when he takes the LSD; it is one of pure mischief, and it just another scene in this episode that exemplifies Anna's incredible acting ability. It's too bad that no one captured any of it on camera to show Olivia when she returned.

Then, of course, you have Peter's reaction to the LSD first taking effect. He tries to touch Broyles' head and says, "You're bald." Then, to Astrid, he says, "I think he's an Observer." What doesn't make any sense to me, though, is why he would be so spaced out and "out of it" like that when he is "awake," but then, inside Olivia's consciousness, he is completely himself and seems to be thinking completely clearly. Maybe it's just that I don't know that much about drugs and how they work, especially not something like LSD, but it just doesn't make any sense. When we do see Peter and Walter enter Olivia's consciousness, we see that Walter is sitting on top of a bus and says, "I think you'll want to help me down!" What an awesome scene to see before a commercial break; it certainly gives us a good idea of just how crazy the episode is going to be. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the episode, though, is Broyles' behavior after he accidentally takes some LSD. Broyles, as we all know, is usually incredibly stoic, but he certainly is not in this episode, and I love the expression on his face throughout most of the episode, that open-mouthed expression of awe, and the scene in which he sees an animated bird land on Walter's shoulder is probably the funniest scene in this episode. This episode certainly exemplifies Lance Reddick's acting ability, too. He says that he he saw death, which makes me wonder if he is eventually going to die.

I experienced a pretty major revelation during my second viewing of this episode, and that is that if Walter remembers Olivia's stepfather, then it would stand to reason that he remembers Peter and Olivia having met when they were children, and that helps support my theory that his tendency to ship Polivia so strongly has meaning to it. Further insight that this episode provides is that it would appear as if Olivia definitely doesn't trust Nina; after all, Nina tries to kill Peter and Walter in Olivia's consciousness. It isn't too long before we see that Bell is animated and so are Peter and Walter, and then we see a speech bubble above Walter that says, "How wonderful!" I laughed so hard when I first saw this because just when you think that Fringe can't possibly do any more to thrill you and surprise you, it does something like that. This has been hinted at, too. Last season, Wy-Pi were asked in an interview if there would ever be an animated episode, and they responded by saying to ask them that again near the end of the third season, so obviously, they have been planning this for quite some time, and that is simply awesome. In my opinion, they certainly pulled it off, just like they pulled "Brown Betty" off, also a fantastic episode in my opinion, although not as good as this episode.

It would make sense that Olivia would think that everyone is trying to kill her, which is why everyone tries to kill Walter and Peter. I also love how the zombies are Brandon look-alikes because obviously, she had a very traumatic experience while she was on the Other Side, and she is probably well aware that he was behind a lot of what happened to her. What I don't understand, however, is why she would have an image of the man that she says is going to try to kill her if she has never met him before. Is it that she briefly saw him while she was on the Other Side and had some sort of reason to believe that he would eventually try to kill her? If that were the case, you would think that given Olivia's track record involving her good memory, she would remember the man's face, yet she says that she has never seen him before, but then again, I have to take into account that for a long time, she thought that she was the other Olivia, and that would probably be enough to confuse her. Also, we learn from this episode that Olivia does remember her biological father, since she apparently told Peter that her father painted the door to the house red even though it was against regulations. That means that since she obviously remembers her biological father, my theory that her biological father is David Robert Jones has unfortunately been shot down.

I didn't notice the green-green-green-red sequence on the doors at first, but it's definitely there. After Olivia and Peter began dating, the two of them obviously shared a lot with each other, something of which I wish we would see more. One scene that I both love and hate at the same time is the scene in which Peter recognizes that who he is talking to is not really Olivia. I don't mean to be playing a double-standard here, but even though I'm sure that I would have been able to tell that the other Olivia was not my Olivia, the "fake" Olivia in this episode definitely had me fooled. I don't really see anything that would have given it away, and I think that it's just an effort on the part of the writers to show that Peter has completely come around since "Marionette" (3.09), especially since he even says that he can see in her eyes that she is not her. I love the scene in which Peter and Walter hug; that is incredibly powerful (I think that it's safe to assume that Peter has done a great job of coming around to trusting Walter again), and Walter's wanting to be alone after finding out that Bell is gone for good is definitely indicative of his journey to find independence. I absolutely love this episode, but I still don't understand why Nina wasn't involved at all. Did they, for some reason, choose not to tell Nina about this? Next is the beginning of the end, on episode 3.20, "6:02 AM EST," and I am so excited.

Fringe - "Bloodline" (3.18)

As promised, "Bloodline," a "red" episode, is quite a stunning episode, dealing with a lot that I was not expecting. Who would have ever guessed that we would be seeing the baby's birth so soon? I certainly hadn't; in fact, Wy-Pi even said that they wouldn't be dealing with the pregnancy until the fourth season, which I am now assuming meant that Peter and this Olivia will not find out about the baby until the fourth season. This episode is definitely very exciting and suspenseful, and I love how it has so many parallels to earlier episodes, too. For example, this episode takes us all the way back to the second episode of the series, "The Same Old Story," an episode in which Olivia seems to have some kind of vision involving what is happening to the victims, only it's happening to her, and that is an accelerated, apparently painful pregnancy. We have to wonder (as some, myself included, wondered shortly before we even received the official confirmation in episode 3.13, "Immortality," that Bolivia was indeed pregnant) if that was some sort of glimpse into a possible future, and I say that because of what September says to Walter in "The Firefly" (3.10), which is that he is capable of observing multiple futures but can't determine which will unfold. Is this the same as seeing multiple universes?

We find out in this episode that the reason that Rachel died giving birth is that she had a disease, and in this episode, we learn that Olivia has the same disease and therefore can't give birth, either (following up on the fact that the Redverse seems to be very prone to disease). At first, I wondered if this helped support David Wu's theory regarding Ella, that Ella was actually Peter and the other Olivia's child and that the Observers somehow intervened, and that was a theory that I was sort of starting to buy into because Wy-Pi said that what we see September do in "The Firefly" (3.10) (moving Roscoe Joyce's son forward in time) planted a seed for something that we will see later down the road; however, that theory has now been disproven because the child is a boy, and I doubt that the Observers have the ability to change someone's sex. We learn in this episode that Lincoln is apparently not happy with the fact that Olivia is pregnant, which doesn't surprise me in the least bit, since I didn't think he would be. He has his sights set on her, and not only does a pregnancy decrease his chances, but even if he does have a chance, being with her would mean raising a child of whom he wouldn't be the father.

Apparently, Charlie is now dating "bug girl" (whose name is actually Mona), and based on what he says to Lincoln, he seems to have really gotten along with her; that was a really happy moment of the episode, seeing as how I really like Mona and wasn't expecting her to ever be mentioned again. Walternate is still refusing to experiment on children (even though he is more than okay with experimenting on and imprisoning adults), and the fact that the other Brandon is still pushing for the child experimentation to take place indicates that Brandon really is a bad, bad guy, and it makes me wonder about the Brandon in the Blueverse; perhaps, as red Brandon is Walternate's right-hand man, blue Brandon is Nina's right-hand man and has had a great deal of involvement in the immoral experimentation that Massive Dynamic has conducted, such as the cloning of the Tylers in "Of Human Action" (2.07). (I recently saw the actor who played Tyler, Cameron Monaghan, in an NCIS episode, by the way.) I spotted blue, red, and yellow on Walternate's wall, which was probably there before, but I didn't notice it until now.

In this episode, Walternate is definitely very driven, and we even see him in tears. As usual, John Noble is amazing, but I won't say much more than that because that has been said over and over and over again; he and Anna both need Emmys. An Observer is seen near the beginning of the episode, and he is watching Olivia enter her apartment complex. What's really interesting, though, is that it definitely doesn't look like September; he looks like he is a bit older than September, so maybe he is October or November? I don't know, but it is odd. At the end of the episode, after Walternate gets his hands on the baby's blood sample, September says into one of those strange communication devices that it's happening, and I was teased a bit beforehand. I read a review that I believe TV Guide had published saying that we would see the Observer and would even hear him speak, saying something that would be incredibly game-changing. I think that it has something to do with getting Peter back to the Redverse and has something to do with what September and December say at the end of "The Firefly" (3.10), but I guess we will see; Wy-Pi recently said that we will find out a lot more about the Observers in Season 4 (which, as you all know by now, is officially happening, so we can take a few breaths and relax), so that is really exciting.

This episode also has a parallel to this season's premiere, "Olivia." In that episode, we start to see the effects of season 2's cliffhanger, which, of course, is the revelation that Olivia (as in Blueverse Olivia) is being held captive in the Redverse, and Bolivia being held captive against her will really reminds me of what Olivia has to endure during the first part of season 3. In fact, for the second time now (the first being the end of episode 3.13, "Immortality"), we have seen Bolivia as a very vulnerable person, a lot like Olivia, and in this episode, she reminds me a lot of Blue Olivia. She tries to reason with the blonde woman, tries to convince her to let her go, and this reminds me of Olivia trying to reason with Colonel Broyles in "Entrada" (3.08). This episode also reminds me of both Alias and LOST in that both shows also deal with a pregnancy, and both of those pregnancies are handled in similar fashions. When I first saw the promo for this episode, in fact, I suspected that the abduction was related to the pregnancy and even said, "How much do you want to bet that they are somehow trying to save her baby?" I just know J.J. too well. One scene even reminds me of Stargate SG-1 (which, by the way, J.J. was not involved with at all), because in episode 5.11, "Desperate Measures," of Stargate SG-1, Samantha Carter is abducted and tries to use a scalpel to free herself from her restraints.

We see Chinatown in this episode yet again, which is probably the fourth or fifth time that we have seen Chinatown in this series. I have to wonder what's up with the creepy masks that Olivia comes across on the streets. Is she hallucinating, or is this some sort of cultural custom? Something that I love about this episode is that we see Henry again, and I am so happy that they haven't just dismissed his character. When we first see him in this episode, he is reading a comic strip on his computer titled Opus, and when I saw that, I knew that there must have been something significant about that, and sure enough, there is, which is that Opus was discontinued here and is no longer published, so it was intended as another differentiation between the universes. It is kind of tragic how Henry still thinks that the Olivia that he has been watching over (which I do not see as creepy; he was concerned) is the same one that he had previously met. Red Olivia says before giving birth, "It's nice to meet you, Henry," and you can see that Henry doesn't understand, which is sad. Lincoln and Charlie confront him, but I'm not sure whether or not they told Walternate, and I hope not because if so, Henry may end up dead, and that would be truly, truly tragic. I sincerely hope that that is not what happens.

I absolutely love the scene near the end of the episode in which Lincoln and Charlie have an epiphany, realizing that Broyles went missing right around the same time that the Olivias switched to their rightful places, consequently wondering what else they have been lied to about. They are getting very close to the truth, if they are not there already. I wonder if this will affect their friendship with Olivia; my guess is that it will, but I am also wondering if they will say anything to her. My thought is that they will not, that they will pretend like they don't know for a while until it somehow comes to fruition. I knew early in the season, when Lincoln and Charlie have that conversation in which Charlie suggests that Olivia was telling the truth about not being who they thought she was, that they would definitely receive official confirmation that she was indeed telling the truth, and now that they have, I wonder if they will become more sympathetic toward the Blueverse. What about Sam Weiss? He obviously knew about Bolivia's pregnancy because he told Nina that she shouldn't be so sure that Peter would choose Blue Olivia. I do know that Sam will have a major role in the season's last two to three episodes; I can't wait, and I'm sure that the finale will have a lot to do with why Walternate wanted the baby's blood sample."Bloodline" is a fantastic episode, and I give it 9 Agonized Alters.

Fringe - "Stowaway" (3.17)

This episode, while definitely not my favorite episode of the season so far, is a decent episode, and I ultimately give it 8.5 Plastic Explosives. The case, while more or less "stand-alone," is very compelling and emotionally riveting, and I would even go as far as to say that it is oddly beautiful. If there is any area at which Fringe excels (and, believe me, there is), it is storytelling, and this episode is certainly no exception. Anna Torv, as always, is amazing, and it surprised me when I discovered that her performance has actually been controversial, as some people didn't like her performance and have even been rather harsh about it, saying that there is not a single spark of Bell's character existing, something with which I totally and completely disagree. I think that she does a fantastic job of capturing Nimoy's mannerisms, and she is utterly hilarious, as well. Her mannerisms and her facial expressions are simply priceless, and while it may be true that, for the most part, Bell's character has never really been very fun-loving, cheerful, and mischievous like it is now, it would stand to reason that Bell is thrilled that his "soul magnet" idea was valid and that his life has therefore been extended.

The opening scene of the episode explains when Olivia had the "soul magnets" implanted, and I was right about that; it happened when she visited Bell on the Other Side at the end of the first season, and, in fact, that is part of the reason why he brought her "over there" in the first place. The opening scene also explains where Olivia is right now, a question that I had previously posited, seeing as how she is obviously not present in her body right now. Bell says that her consciousness simply lies dormant, and that causes me to wonder where Bell's consciousness has been during these past few months that he has been "dead." In "6B" (3.14), Walter says that Bell posited the idea of "soul magnets" and said that if he were right, he would contact Walter "from the Great Beyond," so what is meant by "the Great Beyond," I wonder? When I first saw that scene, I didn't think much of it, but I think that we should (if we aren't all already) pay very close attention to everything from now on, which Redverse Olivia does tell "us" in "Over There, Part 1" (2.21) when she says, "If you could tell me what you saw; I mean, even small things could be important." I definitely think that we should be listening to her.

Now that Bell (who has, by some, been cleverly referred to as Bellivia) is back (well, for now), he really is so funny. He is mischievous and is incredibly gleeful, like a child. He says that he had never previously imagined how binding a bra would be, and the first time that I saw this episode, I didn't catch that; when I did catch that, I died laughing. He also really seems to like Astrid, if you know what I mean. He tells her that she has really beautiful hands, just in case no one had ever told her that before, and he puts the binding of magnets that he uses as a demonstration for Lincoln on Astrid's wrist as a bracelet, saying that it really suits her, and I love how Astrid then proceeds to button up her shirt. He then smirks mischievously, and this scene is an example of Anna's genius acting talent. I can only imagine how much fun this episode must have been to film, seeing as how they all probably lost control and laughed quite frequently. Bell promises Broyles that he will only be inside of Olivia's body temporarily and says, "You have my word, young man," and I found this interesting, because we know that Bell had had a relationship with Nina, and based on the incredibly strange kiss in "A New Day in the Old Town" (2.01), we can assume that Nina had had some sort of relationship with Broyles, as well, yet Bell refers to him as "young man." Just how old is Broyles?

It is outrageously funny when Bell has the idea of implanting his consciousness inside of Gene. The expression on his face, especially with the glasses, is utterly priceless, and you can see the sinister mischief that is blooming in his mind. I would imagine that Anna and John, particularly, had a lot of fun filming this episode, seeing as how they spent a lot more time together than they usually do. Astrid says on the phone that she can't really figure out what conclusion at which they are arriving because "they're doing that thing again where they don't finish sentences." I would imagine that this was their typical behavior "back in the day" when they were lab partners, which we got a much closer glimpse at in this episode, which makes it a pretty meaningful episode in that sense. We certainly get to know Bell a lot better than we ever have before. He is apparently adventurous, and (as we had already known) likes to experiment. This is why, for a short while near the end of the episode, I thought that he was going to suggest having sex with Peter, figuring that Peter would agree since he is in Olivia's body; I just totally got that vibe when he said that Walter said that it would be a good idea if he stayed there for the night and then offered a cup of tea. I wouldn't put that past Bell; I really wouldn't.

I really like what Bell says at the end of the episode because it opens two different doors of possibilities; either the magnetic charge of the bomb finally made it possible for Dana Grey to die, or she couldn't die prior to the explosion (which was pretty powerful; how was she not blown to smithereens?) because she had a purpose to fulfill, and that purpose was to stop all of those people from dying on the train. Science vs. faith definitely comes into play here (which it also does in regards to Dana connecting the story of Azrael to her own situation), and I think that we also have to wonder whether or not the Observers are involved if Bell's latter thought is true. I do like how Bell's positing of these two ideas is consistent with the season 1 tagline, which is "Imagine the Impossibilities," which is certainly not the first time that that tagline has come into play on the series. Olivia returns, but it's only for a few seconds, and then, Bell says, "I think that I may have been wrong; this may be a little more complicated than I first thought." At first, I said, "Oh, no!" However, I think that all that that probably means is that there is a variable for which Bell didn't account, and now, he needs to make some new considerations. I don't think that Olivia is in any danger, just for the record, but we probably won't be finding out until Fringe returns from its lowatus on April 15th, since "Bloodline" (3.18) is an "over there" episode.

After season 2 had concluded, I feared that Bell would be another Jones, not mentioned even once during the course of the third season, but obviously, I was wrong, which I am really happy about. Leonard Nimoy has even said that he will be returning to the show, and even though I don't yet see how that is possible, this is Fringe, so I have to "imagine the impossibilities," right? What I don't understand about this episode is why Nina is not in it. After all, she and Bell were business partners and lovers, were they not? However, Bell has returned, yet she has no involvement whatsoever and doesn't even "meet" him, so what's up with that? It would be something if Broyles made the decision not to involve her for that very reason, but you would think that there would be a scene in which he explicitly says that, because it is kind of a major point to overlook. I love the look on Broyles' face when Bell introduces himself to Lincoln; it is yet another priceless look, and it is one of agitation and annoyance. 

Something that I do absolutely love about this episode is the fact that the Lincoln on this side is finally introduced to us, something for which I have been waiting a long time, since I love Lincoln. This Lincoln is definitely different, and I honestly can't decide which Lincoln I like better, as they each have their charms. I love when he arrives at the lab and sees Gene, obviously wondering why there is a cow in the lab. He later says to Peter that his work with Fringe Division was "a lot more exciting than Hartford," and this makes me wonder whether or not he will be back on the series. I really hope so, and I wish that Seth Gabel would just be regarded as a series regular already. I love the Peter and Lincoln bromance in this episode and really wish that it would develop into something further, even though I know that that obviously is never going to happen. Lincoln, interestingly enough, refers to the Sesame Street song "One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)," and that's not the first time that that song has been mentioned; the first time is in "Jacksonville" (2.14), when Olivia discovers her ability to identify objects that belong on the Other Side. Overall, despite the annoying convenience of the bearded man who had been sitting next to Dana on the train showing up just in time to say that he recognized her from the photo, this is a really satisfying, emotionally compelling (both really funny and really tragic) episode.

Fringe - "Os" (3.16)

There is nothing extravagantly special about this episode until the very ending, when I experienced a shock of a lifetime, as I was not expecting to see Olivia's body being used as a vessel for Bell's consciousness. What a cliffhanger, and I can't wait to see how this plays out. I am just really disappointed that this happened to her now because I found out weeks ago that we would finally meet this Lincoln Lee in "Stowaway" (3.17), and not only was I excited of that discovery in and of itself because I love Lincoln Lee, I was excited to find out how Olivia would react since she met the Lincoln "over there," but now, that isn't going to happen exactly because she is William Bell. I am wondering how that is going to play out and am really excited about that for that reason, but I am also wondering where Olivia is right now; is a part of her still in there, and if not, then where is she? Where is her consciousness? For a minute, I thought that it had actually worked on Nina, since her mannerisms seem to change, but no, it did not work on Nina, and it having caused Olivia's consciousness to be dominated by that of Bell definitely serves as a much more satisfying cliffhanger than that would have, and this cliffhanger was one of the biggest surprises of the series so far.

The week before and the week during this episode's airing, I posted on both my Facebook and my Twitter account that LOST fans should tune in to "Os," since Jorge Garcia (who played the part of Hurley) would be guest-starring, and if I did hook any LOST fans who were not Fringe fans, then hopefully, I didn't disappoint you, since he was not in as much of the episode as I was expecting (and I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that he is in 3.16). The purpose was purely aLOST nod, basically serving no other purpose since he is only in the very first scene, a relatively useless, unimportant scene, but it was a lot of fun seeing him. It definitely gets the LOST fan in me feeling a bit nostalgic, even though Fringe is my love and is considerably better than LOST. I wonder if Walter is still trying to regenerate his brain cells, of if he has given that up due to Bell's "soul magnets" theory giving him a new idea. I ask that for a few reasons. Firstly, he hasn't mentioned the regeneration in a while. Secondly, the "soul magnets" idea seems to be a reasonable substitution. Lastly, while he was quite angry and irritable in "6B" (3.14), he now seems really happy, which I'm sure has a lot to do with Peter and Olivia being together, but that can't be the entire reason, because in "6B," even Astrid irritated him easily, which is not usual by any means.

One observation that I made is that Walter tells Nina what situations would likely be like "if William were here," which is likely supposed to be a parallel to "Peter" (2.15), except now, their roles are reversed. He then breaks the news to Nina that Olivia and Peter are dating, and Nina seems pleasantly surprised and then later tells Peter that he made the right choice, which we know, of course, has a lot to do with what she talks with Sam about at the end of "Concentrate and Ask Again" (3.12). I wonder, however, if they are allowed to be dating via FBI rules and regulations; after all, Walter had apparently been covering the relationship between Peter and Bolivia up (who Peter obviously thought was his Olivia), and when Broyles finds out, he seems very "put off," if you will, which could have just been that he was upset that he wasn't told. In this episode, Olivia has a lot of the same mannerisms as the other Olivia, which is because she is, "for once in her life," happy, and the other Olivia usually seems to be very happy (with the exception of the scene during which Frank breaks up with her, that is, a scene during which we see a glimpse of our Olivia).

Olivia and Peter are so adorable in this episode, behaving like teenage lovebirds, and it's so funny when they walk out of the lab holding hands, and Olivia says, "Don't look now," when she sees Nina approaching. At the same time, though, it was all kind of heartbreaking to watch because I knew that Peter was keeping something from her and was lying to her in the process, and that really made me fear for Olivia's happiness because she always ends up having her heart broken somehow. She was happy with John Scott, and that didn't work out (episode 1.01, "Pilot"). She finally told Peter how she feels, and then she was imprisoned and was therefore not able to go back to her world with him (episode 2.22, "Over There, Part 2"). Then, she finally comes home after months of hell, for lack of a better word, only to find out that Peter had had a relationship with her doppelgänger; needless to say, she really can't afford to endure any more heartbreak. The scene during which Olivia says, "It's about trust, so it's a great game if two people are playing," was difficult to watch because it's easy to see that Olivia is very happy while we, as the viewers, know that Peter is lying to her, and also, the scene is nearly identical to a scene in "Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver" (2.16), except in that scene, their roles were reversed; Olivia was keeping something from Peter.

I do, however, have respect for Peter for finally telling Olivia the truth. Again, it is disappointing that Bell's consciousness dominates Olivia's consciousness when it does, not only because she would have otherwise met the Lincoln on this side but also because Peter finally tells Olivia the truth, and now, we aren't going to see her reaction right away. Will she even remember when she comes to (which I read, by the way, won't happen until a couple of episodes down the road)? My thought is that Bell did this when he pulled her over to the Other Side in "There's More than One of Everything" (1.20) and then sent her back, as we see in "Momentum Deferred" (2.04); I think, in fact, that he planned that so that he could store his "soul magnet" inside of her. Like I have said before, I really don't think that Bell is the "nice guy" that we were led to believe he is in "Over There, Part 2" (2.22). After all, he has had a lot to do with the inhumane experiments that have been taking place at Massive Dynamic, as we see in "Of Human Action" (2.07), and he even refers to Olivia in "Over There, Part 2" (2.22) as if she is still a scientific specimen. Now that he is back (based on what we see in the very last scene of this episode and based on the promo of "Stowaway"), it looks like he is still wanting to "play games," if you will.

The case in this episode is kind of interesting, and it was really neat to find out that the two components being combined which produced an ability to float has to do with the physicality of the blueverse beginning to fall apart like that of the redverse. The episode kind of reminds me of "Safe" (1.10), since in that episode, the "bad guys" conduct robberies in an unconventional manner, and Peter even tells a museum employee in this episode that the "bad guys" didn't come in through the front door, as he tells the bank employee in "Safe" that they were able to get around the bank's security blockades. This is yet another "bad guy," however, who seems to have good intentions, which is why I put "bad guy" in quotes. I love the Icarus reference that Walter makes, and it's an allusion that I probably never would have made myself had Walter not made it, and the soda explosion is incredibly hilarious, mainly because of Astrid's reaction, which is actually why Walter is so funny a lot of the time. Despite the incredibly annoying Ford commercial in Olivia's vehicle, this is a decent episode, and I give it 7 Volcanic Colas.

Fringe - "Subject 13" (3.15)

"Subject 13" is definitely one of the best episodes of the series so far, and I know that I don't speak prematurely when I say that. We get so much backstory, more than we get in "Peter" (2.15) even, and we finally get something for which I have been waiting quite some time, and that would be an episode exploring Olivia's childhood. After having seen "Peter," I expected us to see another 80s episode called "Olivia," and although that's not exactly what happened, I'm satisfied all the same. What is ultimately key in this episode is that Olivia and Peter met when they were children, but it really surprises me that so many people didn't see that coming. Fringe fans, for quite some time now, have been speculating that the two of them met when they were children because it would be inconceivable that they wouldn't have met, and, in fact, although we don't yet have this information, I think that the Peter who died was given Cortexiphan when he was very young. If Olivia and other children were given Cortexiphan when they were very young, why wouldn't have Walter tried Peter? Maybe he did, and it didn't work? I don't know; it's obviously all speculation, but I love throwing ideas out there; that is, after all, what this website is all about.

When I first saw the sneak peek that showed us Peter walking out on the lake trying to break the ice, I was shocked and horrified; I couldn't believe that he had tried to kill himself, but obviously, we now know that that is not quite what he was trying to do. He thought that that would bring him home, which it obviously would not have done. Now, something that I had not considered (silly me) before listening to The Fringe Podcast's episode regarding "Subject 13" is that this episode takes place six months after "Peter," and we know that for two reasons. Firstly, the episode was originally titled "Six Months Later," a title that I actually prefer (just because the "Subject 13" title implies that the episode is about Olivia, when really, it is about Peter, too), and secondly, Elizabeth explicitly says that it has been six months. Here is the problem, however; the lake is still frozen over, and that is incredibly unlikely. Also (something that I noticed myself), the video footage that Walter documents for Bell is dated April 1, 1985, which would mean that "Peter" takes place in 1984, not 1985, which we know it doesn't. Firstly, we know from "There's More than One of Everything" (1.20) that Peter died in 1985, and secondly, the "Peter" episode tells us that it is 1985.

Let's also not forget the fact that the actor and actress who played young Peter and Olivia are much too old. Peter was born in 1978, and Olivia was born in 1979, which means that they should have been approximately six and seven, when they were clearly pre-teens. I absolutely love this episode, but I almost had to knock it down a bit from my rating of 10 Tormented Tweens (which I ultimately did not) because of all of the annoying continuity errors. As for Peter and Olivia not remembering having met when they were children, however, that is not a continuity error, and it surprises me that people are perceiving it as such. We have had so many clues that Peter's memory has been altered somehow. In "Dream Logic" (2.05), Peter says that when he was about nine years old (if I am getting the age right), Walter conditioned him to stop having nightmares, and he even says in "The Man from the Other Side" (2.18) that being from the Other Side must be why he can't remember his childhood. We also already knew that Olivia doesn't remember much, because in "Jacksonville" (2.14), she says that she usually has a freakishly good memory but that she doesn't remember anything that happened at the Daycare Center. Obviously, their memories were altered.

Additionally, Olivia having set the room on fire is not the same incident that we see happen at the end of season 1 and in season 2 on the VHS. In that recording, Olivia was much younger, and she was not in the same room. Additionally, Bell was there; this has obviously happened on different occasions, which I think could account for part of the reason why Walter orchestrated what happened in a locked room (leading to the "Please let me out!" parallel to "Over There, Part 2," of course); he knew he was running the risk of that happening again, and he didn't want anyone to get hurt, but don't get me wrong; I am not defending Walter's actions, because this episode emotionally stirred me beyond words; it disturbed me. Obviously, I knew that what Walter put these children through was terrible (especially her, apparently), but I never knew that it was this bad. I mean, he forced her to run on a treadmill, he locked her in a room and turned the lights off, and then turned the lights back on to show her the "corpse" of Nick Lane. When I first saw this scene, I shrieked, turned away, and cried, because it was that difficult for me to watch, and it's still difficult. Olivia had a difficult life as it was, having to deal with her stepfather beating her, and now, Walter was emotionally tormenting her.

What I'm curious to know, though, is if the trials were simply still continuing or if Walter reopened them to try to get Peter home. It looks like only Olivia's consciousness crosses over, because when she briefly crosses over and sees the zeppelin, her stepfather does not seem to have perceived her having disappeared when she comes back; that is so strange. I don't know how many people caught it, mainly because I have no way of knowing how many Fringe fans are Alias fans, (If you have never seen Alias, I strongly suggest that you do see it because it's incredible. Both J.J. Abrams and Jeff Pinkner were heavily involved in it.) but we do get a little Alias nod in this episode, which is the tower that Walter demands that Olivia put together even though she can't figure out how to put it together. It's funny, because I have always said that the Cortexiphan trials remind me of Project: Christmas. There is also a great deal of red and blue in this episode; there are the red and blue bins in which the children keep belongings, there is the painting in the office, and there is the monster that Olivia drew, which is red and blue. Additionally, there is a frog on the desk in the office, which I think may have been a way to confirm the theory that the frog glyph represents Olivia, so there are definitely plenty of Easter Eggs to go around in this episode.

Yet another is the significance of the White Tulip, which was, of course, introduced in the "White Tulip" episode (2.17). In this episode, it represents something a bit different, but, of course, the implication is still there, since this episode is all about the actions that Walter takes that will lead to his seeking forgiveness later in life. In this episode, Elizabeth (May I just say that Orla Brady is a brilliant actress and that she is amazingly beautiful?) tells Peter to imagine the world the way that he wants it to be, and this is definitely a parallel to the season 1 tagline, "Imagine the Impossibilities." Also, are we to believe that Peanut M&Ms did not exist on the Other Side in 1985? Peter apparently had never had them, and what kid has never had Peanut M&Ms? This is at least the second time that we have seen M&Ms on the series, as the other instance of which I am thinking is in "Inner Child" (1.15), when Olivia tells the Child that she didn't like yellow M&Ms when she was a child because they reminded her of medicine. Is that supposed to mean anything? I just love how Peter, as always, is there for her and helps her emotionally, just like he does now. In season 1, when Peter tells Olivia that he is there for her and she says that she knows, does she, perhaps, subconsciously remember how he was there for her as children?

This episode plants a lot of seeds, which is another reason why I love it. It, of course, plants the seed for the Polivia relationship, but it also plants the seed that grows up to be Walter's position as Secretary of Defense as well as his anger. In 1985, he was Architect of the Star Wars Defense System, and this is obviously how he later became Secretary of Defense. I think it's also now safe to acknowledge why Walternate chose to use Shapeshifters as soldiers, since Walter went "over there" and pretended to be him. Elizabeth, angry and frustrated, suggests that maybe the man who stole Peter was an alien and/or someone who had the ability to "take on any shape he wanted," which is obviously what planted the seed in his mind. Bishop Dynamic, interestingly enough, was (is?) located exactly where the Daycare Center is located on this side, and I wonder if it is still open. My thought is no, just because Walter, says to the other Brandon in "The Plateau" (3.03) that he is still a scientist but that he has a much larger laboratory, so he most likely does not need Bishop Dynamic anymore. Additionally, Peter says to Walter in this episode, "I am not your son!" which, as we know, he will say again approximately twenty-five years in the future.

So, Walter now knows that what he did has caused damage, it would appear, since he says as much to Elizabeth. Did Carla finally convince him, or did he realize as much on his own? Did he know before even going "over there" that he would cause damage but didn't care because he was too fixated on saving another version of Peter? Something else that the Fringe Podcast pointed out that I didn't catch (believe it or not) is that near the end of the episode, no one seems to find it odd that it is snowing in Jacksonville, Florida, but I digress. I had a pretty good feeling before having seen this episode but after having seen the promo that Olivia crossed over as a child and met Walternate, because that's why he refers to her as "the girl." I think that that is why Olivia is a member of Fringe Division; I think that after having met this Olivia, he sought out the Olivia "over there" and watched her and then took her under his wing when she was ready. This scene is a bit haunting, just because I came to the realization that Olivia unknowingly helped start the war, that this is what set everything in motion, and it really makes your head spin when you think about that, and if you haven't thought about that, I strongly urge you to watch the episode again.

In a way, it helps me better understand Walternate, because he probably would have assumed that that little girl knew that Peter was taken and that as a woman, she has always been aware of it, too, and that that is why Peter is on her team. Now I understand that when he tells Fringe Division on the Other Side that they are "monsters in our skins" and "cannot be trusted," he probably wasn't lying; he probably believed that. Additionally, since this Walter was aware of his side and since this little girl was reporting to him regarding what she saw "over there," Walternate probably thought that they were planning some kind of war. However, it is still difficult for me to feel much for him because none of that justifies locking Olivia in total darkness without even a willingness to listen to her side of the story, and it definitely doesn't justify efforts to take out billions of people, nor efforts to use your son (the very son that was stolen from you in the first place, mind you) as a weapon, killing him in the process (as I'm sure we can assume would happen). Yes, the area is definitely grey (or, at least, a lot more grey than it was), but what I'm looking at, primarily, (since Walter himself made some terrible, terrible decisions, as we see in this very episode) is what kinds of men they eventually turned into, because life is all about choosing the right path.

I love how at the end of the episode, this Walter threatens Olivia's stepfather (I guess this is what was meant when we were told that we would be seeing him this season, and if so, then Fringe Bloggers, you were a little misleading.), because she was ultimately his only hope, and it led to Peter having to stay here. This, of course, turned into a disaster, a war, but it showed strength on a level because he realized that he could not use Olivia for his own means any longer. Was Olivia's experimentation stopped at this point? Yet another seed that this episode plants is Elizabeth beginning to drink, which I'm thinking is probably the beginning of the end for her. This really is a tragic episode because you know going into it that it's not going to have a happy ending, but as I said, I absolutely love it, and I disagree with Clint of The Fringe Podcast. I think that the child actors (Karley Scott Collins as Olivia and Chandler Canterbury as Peter) did a fantastic job, especially Karley as Olivia, who I felt really captured Olivia's mannerisms. I just wish that they had been younger, and I wish that Quinn Lord had played Peter again. John Noble is once again excellent, and I was really happy to see the retro intro again (although I was expecting it to have red in it). Overall, this is a fantastic, memorable episode, for sure.

Fringe - "6B" (3.14)

"6B" is a pretty decent episode, and I give it 7.5 Disappointments Due to "Guest Starring Seth Gabel" Not Meaning THIS Lincoln. At the very beginning of the episode, I saw "Guest Starring Seth Gabel" and got so excited because just a few weeks ago, Wy-Pi said that we would see the Lincoln Lee on this side very soon, so when I saw that, I thought for sure that we were going to meet him, but nope, the episode shifts "over there" at the end of the episode, which is so disappointing. Early in the episode, I developed a new theory, one that I am surprised I have never developed before. For a very long time now, Walter has shipped Polivia, and if we are to believe what Sam tells Nina at the end of "Concentrate and Ask Again" (3.12), maybe that was intentional, an effort to save this universe as opposed to the other universe. It's really funny how we still see Walter and his food preoccupations persist, since when Peter tells him that his attempts to help him and Olivia only made the situation worse, Walter says that he should have tried a different kind of food. It's always good to see character consistencies throughout the series, and it is also good to see parallels being drawn; this series is a lot more fun when there are character consistencies and parallels.

There are many parallels in this episode, especially to episode 2.14, "Jacksonville." To begin with, Olivia runs away, scared, when she kisses Peter, which is kind of what happens in "Jacksonville," and she also sees him glimmer, which she does in "Jacksonville." In addition, Walter angrily and sarcastically suggests that they hook Olivia up again and terrify her in order to get her to identify objects from the Other Side, which is obviously the plot of "Jacksonville." In "Jacksonville," Broyles says to Olivia that there are times in which the only choices you have left are bad ones, which parallels what Olivia says in this episode about the possible need to Quarantine the apartment complex; she says, "I understand this is a last resort, but it's a bad last resort," and it was Broyles himself who had to make a very difficult decision in this episode. Once again, we hear that "there's got to be another way," which seems to be a key line in the season, since this is, I believe, the third time that we have heard it so far. Brandon works under Walter in this episode, referring to him as "sir," which is obviously yet another parallel being drawn, since, needless to say, Brandon works for Walter on the Other Side and always addresses him as "sir," and this Brandon, for some reason, behaves a lot like the other one in this episode.

Additionally, every fourteenth episode so far has dealt with a building being evacuated for some reason, starting with "Ability" (1.14), in which a building needs to be evacuated due to a bomb, then "Jacksonville" (2.14), in which a building needs to be evacuated because it is being sucked into the other universe, and now, "6B" (3.14), in which a building needs to be evacuated so that it can be encased in Amber 31422. There are definitely plenty of parallels to go around, which I very much appreciate. Did anyone else, by the way, notice the green-green-green-red sequence of dots on the equipment used to initiate the Amber 31422 gas? I don't know what to make of it, but I noticed it. Walter, which is what I was afraid of, seems to be turning into Walternate, which causes me to believe that he is successfully beginning to grow some of his missing brain cells back. He is very impatient and is even incredibly harsh in correspondence with Astrid, which is not like him at all. He takes on the role of a leader and gives orders, and like I said, we are seeing the old Walter, Walternate, which I don't like at all. This is what I dreaded when I saw him ask Nina for assistance with growing his missing brain cells back in "Reciprocity" (3.11).


Although I feel incredibly sorry for Mrs. Merchant and really, really like her, I don't know how I feel about this whole idea of the universe being damaged because of a strong emotional bond shared between two people on opposite sides, assuming that I am even understanding that correctly. It makes no sense; what would emotions have to do with the fabric of the universes? I just find it utterly ridiculous and actually had to knock my rating down, just for that reason. The reasons behind my rating still being relatively high, though, are (1) everything else about this episode is incredibly admirable, and I don't feel that that one aspect is bothersome enough for me to give it a low rating, and (2) the writers, as they have pointed out, are planting a lot of seeds for events to come, so this very well could be something that will eventually make sense in the long haul, and I'm going to be patient. I also don't understand how what was happening in the apartment complex had anything to do with appliances turning themselves on (was Mrs. Merchant's husband doing that?) or with people falling to their deaths through the floor of the deck, even though the floor stayed intact. It simply makes no sense to me at all.

Peter and Olivia finally try to fix their relationship in this episode, and although there are still some issues, such as Olivia's fear (another character consistency that I was happy to see), ultimately, they seem to be successful. What Peter says to Olivia near the beginning of the episode, which is that he thinks about her counterpart because he finally had the opportunity to see what a relationship with her would be like, is so unbelievably sweet, and if I had been Olivia, I totally would have dropped the issue right then and there, because that would have been enough. I just hope that he means what he says, because if not, if he legitimately does have exclusive feelings for the other Olivia, then I am going to hate him, not only for lying but for jumping in bed with her (which, by the way, means that this Olivia is now pregnant, too; I guarantee it). I really love the kissing scene (especially with the Velvet Underground playing underneath it), but I couldn't understand why the FOX promo didn't show the kiss, since the Canadian City TV promo did. That's something that is going to attract viewers, something that we need, and FOX is getting lazy again; I watched House on Monday night, as I do every week, and not once during that whole hour was Fringe promoted.

At the very, very end of the episode, we shift back "over there," and we see Lincoln and Bolivia investigating the same apartment complex, only to find out that there is nothing wrong, despite Astrid's findings that there was something wrong, and I wonder why that is. If there was such a catastrophe here, then why wasn't there one there, especially since, as we have seen, the Other Side seems to be in much worse shape? Someone on Twitter posited the theory that Peter and Olivia's relationship contributed here, but I don't think so, only because they are not separated by the distance of two universes, not now, anyway. I didn't at all care for the title of this episode, since it only seems to pertain to the apartment number. Next week's episode, titled "Subject 13" (originally titled "6 Months Later") looks like it's going to be really, really good, but I'm not at all happy about Quinn Lord being replaced as young Peter, since I was and am very happy with his performance (in reference, of course, to "Peter"). This actor doesn't even really look like him, but the episode itself looks like it's going to be an unforgettable episode; someone's memories have definitely been altered. Stay on the fringe, and remember to watch live because the ratings need to be back up if we are getting a fourth season.