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.

Fringe - "Immortality" (3.13)

We shift back "over there" in this episode of Fringe, and the episode begins with a scene that I personally love. Bolivia is at an airport (for lack of a better word) and looks out the window as the zeppelin on which Frank is arrives overhead, and she watches the zeppelin with a look of interest, and the lights and everything about this scene just makes it very beautiful. I don't know how much time, precisely, has passed "over there" since "Entrada" (3.08), but Redverse Olivia is attempting to maintain her relationship with Frank, obviously hoping to keep him open as an option, since we do find out in "Reciprocity" (3.11) that she was definitely developing feelings for Peter. I was afraid of this because I want to like her; she is, after all, another version of Olivia, and I love Olivia. However, I told my boyfriend Ray before having seen this episode (since I knew that we would be seeing Frank) that if she didn't tell him the truth and pretended to maintain a relationship with him, then my Redverse Olivia disapproval would sink even deeper. She even lies to him when he asks about why it was that she was distant before he left. How can she do that and then accept a marriage proposal? Do you think Olivia would do that? I really don't think so.

When Redverse Olivia pours a couple of drinks in the kitchen, one for Frank and one for herself, my reaction was that she was drinking in Frank's presence, so it would have raised a few questions. Firstly, would it be because she developed a taste of alcohol while she was here, since she most likely found some in Olivia's kitchen? Secondly, why wouldn't Frank have said anything? He knows that she doesn't drink. Would it have a continuity error? I really doubted it because the very fact that that line was written into "Over There" told me that the writers are keeping track of Olivia's behaviors vs. Bolivia's behaviors; something like that wouldn't have been overlooked, especially since Charlie's infestation is consistent. As The Fringe Podcast predicted it would, poor Charlie's team makes fun of Charlie because the case has to do with bugs, and man, are those bugs nasty, especially by the end of the episode when they are ridiculously huge (I also want to point out, however irrelevant that it may be, that Silva looks a lot like Roland David Barrett, the villain from episode 3.09, "Marionette," and I even thought that it was the same guy for a bit, which would have been pretty cool).

Something that I really like about this episode is that even though most (myself not included) would consider this episode "stand-alone," there are elements of even the case itself that really help move the story along, or at least give us some insight into the mythology. For example, we find out that sheep died out ten years ago, and that provides us with a bit more information regarding life "over there," and I would imagine that the extinction of the sheep has a lot to do with the Blight, the same event that we can assume caused the rarity of coffee and avocados. According to this series, sheep are genetically closer to humans than goats, and that really surprises me, because since sheep and goats look more alike (I even used to confuse them when I was a young child), it would seem to make sense that sheep would be genetically closer to goats than humans. I don't know how accurate the science is in this episode, but since Fringe is my favorite series, I tend to make a habit of trusting most of what I "learn" from it. I absolutely love the "bug girl" (I can't recall her name, or even if it was even revealed) that takes a liking to Charlie; she is so funny, and admittedly, Bolivia is really funny, too, when she pokes fun at him (which I guess means that Charlie is not married "over there").

Silva is your typical "mad scientist," incredibly mad with power. Throughout the episode, I couldn't help but wonder where his true intentions lie. Does he sincerely want to save lives (sacrificing some in the process, of course, so don't get me wrong; it's ultimately not noble by any means), or does he just care about power and recognition? I ultimately decided on the latter, because first of all, he demonstrates a great deal of arrogance at the diner, and secondly, his final words before he dies are highly indicative of that. "Make sure they spell my name right." With that, is he successful, and if so, how so? Also, what purpose is there for pretending to have infected Bolivia? Is it just to distract them in order to allow the bugs to take effect, knowing that if he tells the truth, they will attempt to save him? That seems logical, except he says that he doesn't expect any other agents to arrive, despite Bolivia's bluff that some will arrive. Silva definitely engaged me, and I find him to be a very interesting villain, mostly because of that question,what exactly are his intentions? As I said, I think that he wants power, but as a genius, there were a number of ways that he could have acquired it, and he chooses to try to save a great deal of lives.

More insight into the mythology of the series is the very fact that Silva is trying to save lives by curing diseases, and time and time again, we have seen evidence that disease is a much bigger problem on the Other Side than it is here, so it makes sense that someone would be trying to alleviate that, which we know that Frank is trying to do, and he was so funny with Alter-Astrid this week. "Where can I get one of you?" Astrid's response is simply hilarious; the expression on her face is priceless, and, of course, Lincoln is so jealous. My previous notion (based on the revelation that he had once kissed Redverse Olivia, unaware, as he claims, that she had had a boyfriend) was that he was, more or less, over how he used to feel about Bolivia, but obviously, he is not. Despite his having promised Frank that he would not ruin the surprise, he does exactly that, telling her that Frank plans to ask her to marry him, and that makes me angry, just because it isn't any of his business and because he isn't aware of her feelings for Peter, but don't get me wrong; Lincoln is one of my favorite characters, so it isn't like I'm really angry with him. It just isn't cool by any means. He is clever to think of doing what he does with the nitrogen, though.

Unfortunately, however, Frank calls everything off when he discovers the truth, and guess how that is? Wait for it. That's right. I was right; Bolivia is pregnant, so in "The Firefly" (3.10), when September tells Peter that it must be difficult being a father, he is not merely referring to Walter. The twist this episode did not surprise me, because when September said that, Bolivia being pregnant is immediately how I interpreted it, and I am really glad to see Bolivia suffering, because she deserves it; she is partially to blame for the pain that our Olivia is feeling right now, so it's only fair, and for that small amount of time that we see her broken down, she totally looks more like her counterpart. Walternate tells her that she has whatever resources that she needs, but what exactly are his intentions? Initially, I figured that he is referring to issues such as hospital bills and any needs to take maternity leaves, but after my second time watching the episode, I came to the conclusion that he also has a wagenda (courtesy of The Fringe Podcast) because of the scene before it during which Brandon tells him that he may know how to get Peter back.

Walternate also tells Bolivia that her position within Fringe Division will stay intact, but what does he mean by this? Is he simply speaking to a strong work ethic, assuring her that he will not insist that she take time off? Perhaps, he figures that Bolivia would be worried that her having gotten close to Peter and having had sexual relations with him was a breach of protocol; I don't know, but I wouldn't think so because I would have assumed that since she was pretending to be Olivia, that would have been encouraged. Then again, Walternate tells his mistress (yes, that's right; yet another flaw to add to his list of many, since he is, after all, married) that he hadn't factored in "the girl," so he must not have known that the two were in love. He also tells her that "he [Peter] was here of his own choosing," which isn't entirely true; Walternate knew what he had just discovered and took advantage of it. I just feel like the writers, despite their having said that they don't want us to see good and evil, are not doing a very good job of portraying any kind of gray area, as Walternate's mannerisms are very sinister, as are Brandon's mannerisms.

We learn in this episode that the final piece of the Weapon was sent over, but who sent it over, and how? Was it the man who administers treatment to the Shopkeeper in "Entrada" (3.08), since he was seen as being in possession of the piece? Is he a Shapeshifter? If so, how did he get that piece over here? We do see a bit of morality shine through Walternate in this episode, since he refuses to administer Cortexiphan to children, but that is just about deconstructed when we see that he is cheating on Elizabeth. I find it really interesting how, twice now, we have seen Walternate repeat words precisely the way that Bell once did. In a previous episode, he says, "Only those who risk going too far find out how far they can go," which Bell once said to Walter. In this episode, we find out that Walternate's notion is that the mind "is infinitely capable at birth," and Nina uses those exact words when speaking to Olivia in "Ability" (1.14), which she says was Bell's theory. Perhaps, Bell shared some ideas with Walternate while he was "over there." I really like this episode and give it 8.5 "In Yo' Face"s to Darrell (listeners of The Fringe Podcast surely get that). It reminds me a lot of The X-Files episode "Leonard Betts" (4.12), because while the case itself is "stand-alone," it leads to a major, startling revelation regarding Scully's health.

Fringe - "Concentrate and Ask Again" (3.12) (Feedback)

Q: "The episode was yet another masterpiece of plot, film, and well, the series continues to define the genre and TV in general, really." -Nxracer Classified 

A: I completely agree with you; while this is far from being the greatest episode so far for me, I think that it is under-valued, and I really enjoyed the episode as a whole, especially since we finally got to see Sam again. What instantly hooked me to Fringe when I began watching in September 2008 is the complexity of the characters, which I feel is far stronger than what I've seen in any other TV series. There is nothing else like it, and it definitely redefines television. Thank you so much for your feedback; please keep sending it in to fringematters@gmail.com.

Fringe - "Concentrate and Ask Again" (3.12)

There are basically three key elements that save this episode, strong enough to give it 7.5 Pleasantly Surprising Sam Weiss Appearances. The first is the very beginning of the episode, during which time we see Nina looking into Bell's belongings, the second is the fact that we meet another Cortexiphan subject, Simon, and the third is the very ending of the episode, when, as my Bunsen Burner rating points out, we finally see Sam Weiss again (the last time we saw him was episode 2.16, "Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver."). Other than that, it is an average episode, but I do feel as if, according to the feedback that was sent in to the Fringe Podcast, it is wildly under-appreciated. A lot of fans seem to consider this episode a "stand-alone" episode, and I do not, only because of the Cortexiphan subject and because of Nina's phishing for information regarding the First People. Really, there are no "stand-alone" episodes of Fringe. Even "The No-Brainer" (1.12) involves Walter making peace with Jessica Warren, and "Night of Desirable Objects" (2.02) involves Olivia dealing with consequences of her universe hopping-related injury. The only episode that I could really argue is truly "stand-alone" is "Unearthed" (1.21), which makes sense considering the fact that Season 1 works just fine without it.

I immediately caught "Dr. Spock" on one of Bell's books at the beginning of the episode, and I can't believe that Bell has degrees from both Princeton and Yale; he must be a true genius. I had to laugh at the piece of tape on the safe that says, "Stay out - this means you!" Had he been addressing Nina when he wrote that? I think so, because of Nina's line, "You and your secrets." I absolutely love the conversation between Olivia and Nina; that scene gives us such a good opportunity for Nina's character to develop even further, but once again, I have to bring us back to "The Dreamscape" (1.09) because Nina was clearly portrayed as "evil" in that episode, and is the story from that episode ever going to be resolved? That's an episode that is not self-contained and does not wrap up nicely at the end with a bow, and we still don't know what Nina's intentions are. She tells Olivia not to make the same mistake that she did, to ask Peter how he feels, and that really makes me wonder what Bell did to her, besides what we know he did based on what we read in Nina's comic book from the Tales from the Fringe series. I don't think that anyone can deny that Nina is an incredibly interesting character.

Olivia ends up following Nina's advice and tries talking with Peter, since he brought her coffee with milk when, by now, he should know that she doesn't drink it with milk, and it's plainly obvious that it's not easy for her to do this, that she struggles with it, and that's consistent with what we have seen since the pilot episode, which is that Olivia isn't very good at opening up. I love this scene because she, more or less, freaks out, not sure whether or not she should open up. She does, though, and Peter tells her that he does think about the other Olivia all the time, but only as far as to think about how she betrayed him, all of them, and he promises her that there is nothing there, which we end up finding out is yet another lie. In the episode before this one, "Reciprocity" (3.11), he lies about his having taken out the Shapeshifters, and now, he is apparently lying to her about whether or not he still has feelings for Bolivia, which he does. I would say that maybe he and Bolivia belong together, since the both of them seem so good at lying, but that would mean Olivia's heart being broken, and possibly the destruction of her world, based on what Sam says to Nina at the end of this episode, and that's if we are to believe him. My stance is that Sam told the truth, but he didn't tell the whole truth.

It annoys me so much how Sam only answers one of Nina's questions instead of both, and that's for three reasons. First of all, I am annoyed by Sam, because he would do that. Secondly, I am annoyed by Nina because she should know better than to ask more than one question at a time because he's going to pick and choose which he wants to answer, and even then, he doesn't answer the question fully. Why does the machine respond to Peter? Are we ever going to be told why? I thought that we were finally getting that answer in "Reciprocity" (3,11), and we didn't; now, we still haven't. Thirdly, I am annoyed by the writers because they are dragging this out for so long. The secret being kept from Peter last season didn't bother me because I wanted that to be an "end of the season" deal (which it was), and the drama was very intense, but this is annoying me because I want to know. Sam's telling Nina that she shouldn't be so sure that Peter is going to pick this Olivia plays into what we learn in the following episode, "Immortality" (3.13), but I will wait until discussion of that episode to talk about that in detail. I am really happy that we got to see him again, but we had better see him quite a few more times before the season is over because I want answers. Who are (were?) the First People, and what does he know about them? Is he one of them?

I'm pretty sure that I have said this before, but I don't always believe Walter. He claims to have worked with Nixon and that Nixon's wife came on to him, but I think Walter just has a case of a superiority complex. The rooftop chase, in this episode, really reminds me of Smith from "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones" (1.07), who ran across a rooftop and jumped off, only to be shot dead when he pulled his weapon out (which was most likely done intentionally; he knew better than that). In this episode, we also really get a good glimpse of the new Fringe Headquarters, which more closely resembles what it looks like on the Other Side, which is why I don't think that what we see in "The Road Not Taken" (1.19) is a continuity error; I think that Fringe Division "over there" simply didn't have the funding that it does now (even though that doesn't explain the Cortexiphan continuity error). Also, if we are to believe Walter when he says that the reason that Simon can't hear Olivia is that she is a Cortexiphan subject like he is, then we now know that Peter definitely wasn't given Cortexiphan, since Simon can and does hear him. "He still has feelings for her." I wonder if Simon knew who "her" was because if so, then surely, he knows about the other universe.

I can't remember who pointed this out; I think that it was probably someone on Tumblr, but someone pointed out that every twelfth episode so far has dealt with some sort of virus, and that's true. Additionally (this I actually noticed myself), both episode 2.12 and episode 3.12 involve characters wearing their orange hazmat suits because of the virus. Episode 1.12 ("The No-Brainer") involves the computer virus, episode 2.12 ("What Lies Below") involves the previously dormant virus unleashed inside an office building, and this episode involves one that causes bones to deconstruct. We haven't really seen a whole lot of Broyles recently, and that is incredibly disappointing because after he lies his alter-self to rest in "Entrada" (3.08), I was expecting a great deal of development from him, which hasn't been provided, but he does, once again, come in contact with Agent Edwards, who, at the end of "Earthling" (2.06), tells him to stay away. INtREPUS is also in this episode, which is where the first victim, Warren Blake, worked, something that I didn't catch until the Fringe Podcast pointed it out. (It should also be pointed out that he was using an 8-ball, which Ella gives to Olivia in episode 1.11, "Bound.") This episode really comes off as a hybrid between True Blood (with Simon seeming to have the exact same ability as Sookie) and Alias(with Olivia going undercover at a fancy party), and I really appreciate the episode, even though I seem to be a minority in that opinion.

Fringe - "Reciprocity" (3.11)

I consider this episode of Fringe to be on the same scale as the last episode, "The Firefly." It isn't any better for me, and it isn't any worse. I give it the same rating - 8.5 Psychotic Peters. I would like to give it something a bit higher (even though 8.5 is fairly high), but I find myself, once again, feeling rather frustrated. We still don't know why the Machine responds to Peter (which I was really hoping to find out in this episode), and all we really do know is that the Machine is possibly corrupting Peter. Olivia, in this episode, says, "Every time we learn something new, we're still a step behind," and I'm on the exact same page. Walter tells Peter near the end of the episode that the Machine is weaponizing Peter, that when he touched it, it touched him. Now, when did Peter touch the Machine? "Over There," correct? So, why is it that this behavior is just manifesting now? Has he secretly been killing Shapeshifters all this time, or was being in love with who he thought was Olivia enough to slow down the process? Is the Machine even changing Peter at all? Maybe Walter is wrong. Maybe it's just all of the anger and frustration built up from having been betrayed twice now. Personally, I think that the Machine is changing him, but it could be a combination.

I also want to point out that although I don't remember who stated this, someone said months ago that we would see the old Peter start to resurface, the one that existed before he met Olivia and joined Fringe Division, and now, I think that that is what we're seeing. He is sneaking out at night to get rid of Shapeshifters, and he is lying to people (which is especially terrible, because he is lying to Olivia after she has finally apologized for being so hard on him a few weeks ago). I just love how he gets back from killing Shapeshifters and then goes straight to the fridge to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. From the "Previously on Fringe" recap at the beginning of the episode, I thought that this episode was going to deal a lot more with the First People, which is another reason why I find myself disappointed with this episode, since it didn't deal much with them at all. Weeks ago, I saw promotional photos for this episode, and I thought that Carl Lumbly played the part of James Falcon, since he really does look like him in the photo. (If you don't know who Carl Lumbly is, he played the part of Marcus Dixon on Alias, another epic J.J. Abrams sci-fi TV series.) It amazes me how different Nina is, but are we ever going to see "The Dreamscape" (1.09) resolved?

It surprises me that Massive Dynamic doesn't opt to run another test on Peter when they discover that Falcon was a Shapeshifter. Since he was indeed a Shapeshifter, how do we know, how do they know, that he was being honest when he told Peter that he didn't see anything indicative from the results? We definitely see a glimpse of "Walternate" showing his ugly face this week when Walter snaps at Falcon and tells him that he is a graduate of M.I.T., and that really scares me, because now, Walter wants to regrow his brain cells, and God only knows what's going to happen as a result. I'm just afraid that we're going to start to see a very ugly Walter, one a lot more like Walternate, and I really don't want that. It bothers me, because in response to the previous episode, "The Firefly," I said that I sense tragedy at the conclusion of this season, and this episode causes me to be even more convinced of that. I have no idea what we're going to see happen; perhaps, Peter is going to return to the Other Side to stay (as some, not myself, might argue is where he rightfully belongs, anyway), and I also believe (although I don't know who) that someone is going to die. It would also seem like Walter is going to become corrupt; it seems like his position at Massive Dynamic is getting to his head, and now that he is trying to regrow his brain cells, he really could become a dangerous person.

Walter, when he speaks to Nina about his desire to rebuild his brain cells, argues that he doesn't want her help finding a therapist because he needs to help him, saying, "Nina, he's my son." Obviously, this is not really the case, so it is, in a sense, ironic that he uses this as motivation. It makes me wonder how much he repents the decision that he made, and I'm not necessarily saying that his intentions weren't good. However, here's what I don't understand. Walter must have known at the time that there were an infinite number of universes, not just one, so why was it so important to him that that particular Peter live? Doesn't it stand to reason that Peters were sick and dying, so didn't that drive him crazy? It makes you wonder if, all along, his intention really was to take Peter and keep him? That is, after all, what he tells August in "August" (2.08), that he did what he did because he missed his son; he doesn't say that he simply wanted to save him. I don't know; Walter is one of the, if not the, most complicated characters I have ever met in a TV series or a film. I am just really surprised, because this season is not at all how I would have imagined it to be at this point.

Very early in the season (in fact, it may have been before the season actually started), Josh Jackson said that this is "the Year of Olivia." When the season started, that definitely seemed to be the case for the first few episodes. However, it seems like now, we are back to the series being very Peter-centric like it was in Season 2, which is fine (I have no problem with that), but it just wasn't what I was expecting. We do need to know why it is that the Weapon responds to Peter, which is what I was hoping we were going to learn in this episode. That is, of course, not to say that there hasn't been any involvement from Olivia recently, because there certainly has, especially in "Marionette" (3.09), and this week, she reads the other Olivia's case files, which, as Broyles suggests, read like a diary in their explicit statements about how she felt about Peter. I find it really odd, though, how Olivia says that "we're the same," because I disagree with that. I don't think that our Olivia would ever call Peter "PB," for example. I also find it to be incredibly strange that she would have referred to Walter as "kind and brilliant," because did she indeed go soft, after all? My assumption was that she went soft only for Peter, since (a) she fell for him, and (b) he is from her side.

This episode doesn't deal as greatly with the First People as I was expecting based on the recap, but it does deal quite a bit with the Shapeshifters. Once again, we see one do the "face crunch," which is wildly grotesque and disturbing. Needless to say, it's rather obvious that, in this particular instance, Peter is lucky that he is so important, because, otherwise, that Shapeshifter near the end of the episode would have had his head, but, again, it's so sad that now, Peter is deceiving Olivia after she just apologized, and that's especially sad due to something that I know that I won't share, having to do with "6B" (3.14). Although, if I were Peter, I would think, "Okay, but where do we stand? Are we back to where we were when we kissed on the Other Side, and if not, what do we need to do to get back there?" That doesn't, however, justify his lying to her, and maybe that's not even what he's thinking at all; maybe he really wants to be with Bolivia. The last observation that I would like to make is that when Brandon tells Nina that Bell had once been looking for a copy of the First People book, her "Ah" leads me to believe that that meant something to her, but I don't think I agree with some that say it was actually her doing. Until "Concentrate and Ask Again" (3.12), stay on the fringe.

Violet Sedan Chair - Seven Suns

It's easy to understand why Walter loves this album so much; it really is great. The album is loaded with catchy rock 'n' roll tunes that are quite believable; when I listen to the album, I often find myself having forgotten that the band is fictitious and didn't actually ever exist, but the sound that is produced is incredibly reminiscent of the late 60s and early 70s, and it is captured so perfectly. The album opens with "Seven Suns (Rising)," which is rather slow and very relaxing, but I just hate the annoying clicking noise that persists throughout the song. My thought is that the tracks that were made available via the Internet were lifted from a vinyl, which would explain strange noises, and this is why I hope that the album is eventually released officially, digitally and/or via CD; it would be really nice to have this album in a bit better quality, but in the meantime, I'm just happy to have it at all, because I'm in love with it, and it's really going to resonate for a while.

As always when it comes to material related to J.J. Abrams, there is a thick air of mystery. Firstly, we don't even know who this really is. Obviously, Violet Sedan Chair has never really existed; the album is meant to be a viral marketing technique, but we have been told that for now, it is going to be kept a secret as to who it actually is. My thought is that it is just members of the production staff who happen to be musicians, and I wouldn't be surprised if J.J. himself is one of them, since I know that he is a musician of sorts. Additionally, there is a video on YouTube of the guitarist of the band (again, no idea as to who it really is) talking about the song "Slow Vibration" (see video here), and it is creepy if you ask me. His voice is very distorted, and there is noise like static, a combination which prevents him from being understood. Lastly, we were told that the records were placed in select vinyl shops a few months ago, but I read that one person claims to have found it somewhere as early as two years ago. It really makes me think of DriveShaft; is there an album hiding somewhere? 

The album opens with "Seven Suns (Rising)." The song is rather slow and very relaxing, but there is a persistent clicking noise throughout the song which is rather annoying. My thought is that what was made available via the Internet was lifted from a vinyl, and that would explain the strange sounds, and if my thought is right, then my hope is that the album will eventually be released officially, digitally and/or via CD; it would be nice to have this album in a bit better quality. The second track is the aforementioned "Slow Vibration." This track is a bit poppy, and it almost even reminds me of Maroon 5. It's okay, but it's pretty far from being my favorite. My favorite on the album is probably the third track, "Hovercraft Mother." The song can be heard in a deleted scene from "Over There," a scene that comes off as being a Ford commercial, and it's ridiculously fun and catchy. The fourth track on the album is also very catchy. Titled "She's Doing Fine," it very much sounds like a song that the Beatles might have written and recorded.
 

The fifth track is, in my opinion, a rather weak spot. "Long List of Lovers" isn't one over which I'm totally crazy, and it's a bit heavier, kind of reminding me of the Rolling Stones. We then move into "Keep Climbing," and I don't really know what to say about this song besides that, like most of the album, it's really catchy, getting stuck in your head very easily. The seventh track is a bit different from the rest of the album, and I like that it stands out. I love the feeling of this song, which is a very calm, beachy feeling, and it's very serene. The eighth is my favorite next to "Hovercraft Mother." If you listen to the lyrics of "Last Man in Space," it is and could be very relevant to Fringe, which would make sense because we were also told that some of the lyrics would be relevant. The next song is called "Seven Suns (Setting)," and I don't really care much for this one; it is definitely one of the weaker points of the album, of which there aren't too many. Lastly is "Re Fa Mi Si Sol La," a purely instrumental track which closes the album on a good note, pun intended. I love the album and hope that the mysteries behind Violet Sedan Chair will eventually be unveiled.

Fringe - "The Firefly" (3.10)

While I do really appreciate this episode (especially because of Christopher Lloyd's stellar performance as Roscoe Joyce), I do find myself a bit disappointed. I was hoping for a lot more development, a lot more information about the Observers, but all we really learn is that (1) the Observers are not human (something that I assumed but was not entirely sure of), (2) they are capable of bringing people with them when they travel (which is not all that surprising), and (3) they are capable of observing multiple futures (which is interesting but, again, not surprising). However, even though we now know that they are not human, we still don't know what they are, and we still don't know quite what they do. It is a really good episode, though, very action-packed and exciting, and I give it 8.5 Scattered Violet Sedan Chair Records. The first scene with Walter and Peter is absolutely hilarious. The look on Peter's face is priceless, and I love the song that's playing during the scene; Walter would play that. It's quite obvious from this scene, too, that even after everything, Peter still cares; he tells Walter that he doesn't want him to get hurt. We'll have to see how that plays out throughout the rest of the season.

Christopher Lloyd (again) was excellent in this episode, and the interaction between his character, Roscoe Joyce, and Walter is beyond memorable, to say the least. He has definitely aged a lot, since the last time I remember seeing him was in a Season 3 episode of Malcolm in the Middle, in which he played Hal's father, and he looks like he has aged about twenty years since. Lloyd's scenes are so powerful, and he is an incredible actor. To be honest, when I first discovered that he would be guest-starring on Fringe, I was a little apprehensive because just about everything that I have seen him on (Dennis the Menace, Back to the Future, and Malcolm in the Middle), he is some sort of nut, and I didn't think that I would be able to take him seriously, but boy, was I ever able to take him seriously because his performance was Emmy-worthy. I love how Walter can understand him and how there is a connection between the two men because they can relate to each other. I almost became angry with Olivia, though, when her cell phone interrupts Walter's procedure, but luckily, Joyce recalls the remainder of the memory after Olivia leaves.

I can't help but feel terribly sorry for Olivia, which is a large part of the reason why I can't be angry with her. I actually took the minute to find out whether or not the book that Peter gives Olivia as a gift, If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!, is a real book, and it is, in fact. I don't really know what it's about, but based on what Peter tells Olivia in this episode, it sounds, to me, like it is probably a non-fiction book that has something to do with finding yourself. However, Olivia is reluctant to accept the book because it was intended for Bolivia, and she tells him that ever since she returned to this side, everything has seemed different, even Peter opening up to her. She says that the book is just a reminder of everything that she missed, all of the conversations that the two of them didn't have, and it's really sad. Darn Astrid for interrupting their conversation. There is also such a sweet Polivia scene in this episode, which is when they observe the elderly couple at the hospital. Overall, this is just an amazingly beautiful episode.

This episode is very Observer-centric, but (again), we don't really get too much insight regarding them, not insight that really helps me a whole lot. They don't seem to understand seasons because September doesn't know what we call Autumn, a scene that is also very memorable. We also know that they are very strong, as September shows a physical strength that is possibly superhuman. We also see a small tattoo of a star on September's left wrist, and I'm convinced that it is related to the tattoo that we have seen on Redverse Olivia's neck (and now Olivia's neck). The look on September's face when he is apprehended near the end of the episode is priceless, but I was really hoping that Olivia and September would have a scene together because we have never seen the two of them interact; instead, though, September interacts, again, with Peter, and he says to Peter, "It must be very difficult, being a father." The question is, what does he mean? Is he simply referring to Walter, or is Peter a daddy? I think that Peter is going to be a daddy, that Redverse Olivia is pregnant, but we'll find out, I'm sure. I also think that because of how quick September was in this episode, the Observers can teleport.

This episode is beyond decent, but it's definitely not my favorite of the season so far. I guess that I was just hoping for a lot more development. It's quite obvious that Olivia loves Peter, especially due to her panicking near the end of the episode when she thinks that Peter is dying, so that was a good development of their relationship, but other than that, I have, for the most part, always been disappointed by Observer-centric episodes because while I am always hoping that we're finally going to find out what they are and what they want, we learn very little. I absolutely love Christopher Lloyd's character, though, and I want to add that I had an epiphany not too long ago. It hit me that in the deleted scene from "Over There," the Season 2 finale, Walternate tells Peter that Violet Sedan Chair had three albums, and Peter says that they only had one there. Now, we know that that is because Joyce's son didn't die over there, so he didn't break up the band. I really hope that we see Joyce again, and based on the final scene of this episode, it's obvious that this season is headed toward tragedy; I'm dreading it.

Olivia and the Stages of Grief

A common misconception when it comes to grief is that a person only "grieves" as a result of someone close to them dying, and this isn't necessarily always true. Any kind of loss can cause a person to grieve, and Olivia has lost quite a bit. We can start that discussion by bringing the title of the episode into play. A marionette is, according to official definition, "a small figure of a person operated from above with strings like a puppeteer." Obviously, this ties into the "Monster of the Week" story, but it also ties into Olivia and how she feels right now, like someone has had her on strings for the past two months, which I would imagine would be a combination of Walternate and Bolivia. She has lost two months of her life, two months worth of freedom, she almost lost her life, and now, she is losing Peter. The grieving process, simplified, involves five stages, and the process isn't always the same for everyone who endures it. The stages aren't always followed in the same order, and some people even skip stages. What I am going to discuss here, however, is Olivia's individual process, which is incredibly appropriate, because she hasn't skipped any stages. She has, in fact, been following the process relatively rigidly, as I observed even during my very first viewing of the episode. I believe that this was a perfect episode to leave us with before the hiatus because that is ultimately our primary cliffhanger; how is the relationship between Olivia and Peter going to change? Will it be more professional? Will there still be a world of hurt between them? Will Broyles intervene? How will Olivia reach the final stage of her grieving process - acceptance?

Stage 1 - Denial
Before Peter tells Olivia that he has had a relationship with Bolivia unknowingly, Olivia says to him, "I'm here now," assuring him that they can pick up where they left off on the Other Side. Peter, however, then delivers the incredibly shocking news to her, and this is her discovery of exactly what has been taken away from her. She responds, however, by telling Peter that they're okay, that they're good, denying the graveness of what he has told her. The reality of what he has told her simply hasn't sunk in yet.

Stage 2 - Depression
Olivia yanks all of her clothes out of the closet and yanks her comforter off her bed because it's now beginning to sink in. It has now hit her that for the past two months, someone else has had control of her life, using her as a marionette, wearing her clothes, sleeping in her bed, with her boyfriend, and all she can do is sink to the floor and cry, unable to sleep. I definitely think that it would be safe to say that she is experiencing a severe bout of depression after all that has happened and after what she now knows.

Stage 3 - Bargaining
Perhaps, I'd be better equipped to handle this if I had a better understanding of it, is surely what goes through Olivia's mind when she decides to talk to Astrid about Peter and Bolivia. She wants to know how the two of them behaved with one another. "What was he like with her? He didn't seem different, happier?" She is hoping that she can make some sort of a deal during this conversation with Astrid. Maybe a small amount of suffering would be acceptable if the two of them didn't have chemistry. After all, it wasn't really her, was it?

Stage 4 - Anger
Olivia is now angry, taking all of her feelings out on Peter, first when they are reviewing suspects and now at the end of the episode, and she goes back and forth between being angry with her alter-ego and being angry with Peter. She stole my life away from me; how could you let her do that? It's as if she can't decide with whom she's angrier. "I don't want to be with you," she says to Peter. She then adds, "She's taken everything." It is also prudent to add that, again, this grieving process is different for everyone, and often times, the stages, while they may first appear in a sequential order, actually overlap, which is what we see happening here. Olivia's depression blossoms early, but it's something that she is going to have to endure for a while.

Stage 5 - Acceptance
This is what I'm really hoping that the end result will be. As a Polivia shipper, I want the two of them to work this out and start over, but Olivia has obviously not reached this stage yet, but we know that she will because Olivia is very strong; for as long as we have known her, she has been very strong. The question is, however, how will she come to terms with this, and what exactly will it entail? Will she be able to forgive Peter? Will they be able to maintain a relationship? Will she be able to put her anger toward Bolivia behind her? How will Olivia move on? This is something that I am really hoping to see play out throughout the rest of the season because as he says to Walter before he tells Olivia the truth, this will fundamentally change the way that Olivia feels about Peter, which breaks my Polivia shipper heart.

Fringe - "Marionette" (3.09)

Before I begin discussing this episode of Fringe, I want to do my usual, which is advise those who have not yet seen this episode not to read any further until you have seen it, as this does contain spoilers. (At this point, everyone should really be on board with that, so I may do away with the warnings in the future.) I am shocked by the people saying that they are angry with her for reacting the way that she does, but she is in love with Peter. She is in love with him, and she comes home to discover that he has been with someone that wasn't her. Despite the fact that Peter apologizes and says that he legitimately believed that Bolivia was her, she is naturally torn apart. In fact, I recently had a conversation with my boyfriend Ray during which I said to him that if I were Olivia, I would say to Peter, "How could you not have been able to tell that it wasn't me?" and that is ultimately exactly what she does. It wasn't like Peter was oblivious of the Other Side. After all, this happened to Olivia because he went over there in the first place.

I love the conversation between Olivia and Broyles near the beginning of the episode. It is one of a few scenes in this episode that I find to be very powerful. Broyles instantly recognizes that "the friend" that Olivia is talking about is Colonel Broyles (his alter self), and he asks her about him. She tells him that he wasn't unlike him; he was loyal and committed to his cause, to what he believed was right. His death is definitely commemorated in this scene, which makes me happy because I hated that Colonel Broyles had to go, especially the way that he did. When Olivia tells him that he had two children and was still married, Broyles looked very interested but also heartbroken that his alter-self had apparently lived a better life than he has so far. The hosts of The Fringe Podcast have posited the theory that Broyles is going to either bring Diane and the two children over here, or he is going to go there to head up Fringe Division if and when Walternate is overthrown, and the look on his face in this scene strongly supported that theory, but I don't know; last season, I believed that Olivia would go over there to try to retrieve alter-Charlie, and obviously, I was very, very wrong about that. She didn't even trust alter-Charlie when she met him.

Astrid also has a bit of intervention in this episode, which also makes me happy. She has a conversation with Olivia, telling her that Peter is not in love with Bolivia, that he is in love with Olivia and that he acted the way that he did because he thought that Bolivia was her. Olivia tells Astrid that she understands, as she tells Peter, but how could she possibly understand? Obviously, as we know from the second to the last scene, she doesn't understand, and as I have said, I don't blame her; I wouldn't understand either. Peter tells Olivia that there were slight differences, slight but definitely there, and I couldn't disagree more with that. They were major differences. Her behavior, her demeanor, the way that she dressed, the amount of make-up that she wore, and so forth were all different, and Peter never figured it out until it was too late. In fact, he didn't even figure it out for himself. Someone had to tell him, and then, he had to set up an opportunity for something to slip. I have to admit that I am a bit upset with Peter, and then, in this episode, he has the nerve to see that Olivia is crying and then ask her what's wrong. Come on, Peter, seriously? You don't really know her that well if you thought that when she said everything is okay, she meant that.

What Olivia is going through is very realistic. She just came back to her world to the realization that her life was completely taken over by an imposter, and she is grieving. We have now seen her sinking to the floor crying as well as displaying anger, so she is definitely going through the stages of grieving. Now, if she seriously did tell Peter that everything was okay, meant it, and legitimately moved on, then that would be completely artificial. You can't tell me that you wouldn't be upset if this happened to you, and you also have to remember that she most likely isn't truly angry with Peter; she is just angry. I know that a lot of times, when I am completely broken up about something, I display anger because I don't know how else to get it out. Right now, anger probably feels good to her. She obviously can't be happy, so she has to feel something over which she can demonstrate some control. She also must be seriously suffering from PTSD. I mean, how could she not be? Broyles was right on the money to tell her to take a leave, which she really should have taken. The second to the last scene is so intense, and it made me tear up. She tells Peter that she doesn't want to wear her clothes, she doesn't want to sleep in her bed, and she doesn't want to be with him, and then, she storms off. Seriously, can we give that girl an Emmy?

Anna has consistently impressed me over and over again. I know that the hosts of the Fringe Podcast have said that when the series first started way back in Season 1, she didn't really impress them but that she has come a long way, and I disagree with the first half of that. She has always impressed me. In fact, I was one who defended her, saying that her acting was not dry but that she was doing a fantastic job of portraying Olivia's character. I have always loved Anna Torv ever since the start, and yes, she has made cases for Emmy nominations recently, but I wouldn't argue that that is because her acting has come a long way; I would argue that that is because the writing and consequently Olivia's character has come a long way; like I keep saying, I have always been impressed by Anna's acting. I love how in this episode, Olivia looks in the mirror and sees that her bangs are down, which she quickly pulls back, obviously because she doesn't want to be reminded of she-who-must-not-be-named, and then, she notices and therefore remembers the tattoo. I wonder if and how that is ever going to come off. Anna, as always, just brilliantly executed this scene, as she did many scenes in this episode.

The science of this episode seems to be reanimation. A man, Roland Barrett, who emotionally helped a girl, Amanda, via therapy decides after her suicide that she deserves a second chance, so he recaptures the organs that were donated and then attempts to bring Amanda back to life using those organs. It fails, and Amanda seems to be utterly brain dead, which leads Barrett to realize that his attempt was a failure, and he seems to legitimately regret doing what he did because the result was nothing short of a disaster. I love the tie-in to the larger story, how Barrett says that he could see it in Amanda's eyes, see that she wasn't herself, and this obviously reminds Olivia of Bolivia. I just want to say that this was probably the darkest and creepiest episode of the series yet. The scene in which he cuts one of his victim's eyes out is horrifying, and the scene in which he has Amanda walk on strings like a puppet is utterly sick and twisted, the creepiest scene of the series yet, for sure, and I would definitely like to know what the music is that is playing during that scene, because I think that I recognize it. That man really needs some psychiatric help, to say the least, and hopefully, he gets it.

The very last scene of this episode scares me. Walter and Peter are picking up the milkshake that Walter was craving, and September calls whoever his superior is (Nina?) and tells them that he is watching Walter now and that he is not dead yet. Oh, no, I don't want Walter to die. Does this have anything to do with the final scene of "Fracture" (2.03) in which we see September opening a briefcase brought to him by a courier, a briefcase containing photographs of Walter, who is apparently dangerous? What I know of the next episode, titled "Firefly" (oh, yes, the irony), is that one of the Observers (I'm guessing September) contacts Fringe Division to help him fix an event that he apparently meddled with (I am seeing a pattern here, Observers), so I don't know what that will have to do with Walter, but I am so excited. I do have to say that I was very disappointed that we didn't see Nina in this episode. In "6955 kHz" (3.06), Nina pointed out that Bolivia was not acting like herself (since everyone believed that she was Olivia), and now that Olivia is home, I want to see Nina's reaction. Also, is it possibly an inconsistency that Olivia doesn't want to wear her clothes, since the clothes that we saw Bolivia wearing are clothes that Olivia wouldn't, or is it just that Olivia assumes that Bolivia wore her clothes?

I am very surprised that this episode was not directed by Thomas Yatsko, because it really reminds me of "White Tulip" (2.17). There were even a couple of nods to him in this episode, so I didn't know what to make of that. I thought that maybe he recently passed away, but no, research into that matter didn't tell me anything, either. Ultimately, I really enjoy this episode; it is one of the better "stand-alone" episodes in my opinion, and I give it 9.5 Broken Hearts. I really hope that the ratings didn't go down from last week, because they were up a bit from "The Abducted" (3.07). Unfortunately, as you all most likely know, Fringe is moving to Fridays, and the first episode back from the break will be airing on Friday, January 21st, and apart from what I have already said about the episode, I know that it will guest star Christopher Lloyd, and although I heard a rumor that the episode would also guest star Leonard Nimoy, I haven't heard anything since. Obviously, Bell is dead, but what I heard is that his footage would be flashbacks, and the writers did say that should Nimoy opt to return, they would have a storyline for him. There is also a rumor that Fringe has been renewed for a fourth season, but I really don't know whether or not that's true, because we don't yet know how the series will fare on Friday nights; let's stay hopeful and on the fringe.

Fringe - "Entrada" (3.08)

If you have not yet seen this episode of Fringe, then please, do not read any further, as this does contain spoilers. I have to say that this is quite possibly the best episode of the entire series so far. It was definitely the best episode of the season, at least. In a lot of ways, it feels a lot like a finale, seeing as how it brings an epic close to this arc involving Olivia and Bolivia having switched places, something that I have been waiting for all season. Now, I am really starting to think that regardless of the outcome, Walternate had every intention of disposing of Olivia in the end. He told Colonel Broyles that if Olivia's new identity didn't hold, then she would no longer be necessary. Based on the look on his face, I think that what he was thinking, what he wanted to say, was, "We have to make an example of her. We will kill her regardless." I really can't stand Walternate, and at this point, I can't stand alter-Brandon, either. Taking out her brain and preserving some of her organs was his idea, and I'm so happy that Broyles knocked him for a loop. What goes around comes around, dude. What's funny is that, like Walter vs. Walternate and Olivia vs. Bolivia, I love the Brandon from this side. Just about everyone over there is so different than their versions on this side.

This episode showed us some incredibly amazing acting out of people from whom we haven't really seen it yet. In my opinion, John Noble and Anna Torv have always been incredibly astounding with their acting skills. However, I have never been all that impressed with Josh Jackson. His cool, slick attitude hasn't always come off as authentic to me. For example, in Season 1, Walter says to Peter that he may have finally found his calling after all, working with him, and Peter replies by saying, "I certainly hope not." Seriously, Peter? You couldn't come up with something better than that? I just find his attitude to be artificial sometimes, and I also find that his lines are a little lame. However, he has made two major impressions on me so far, the first being episode 2.20, "Northwest Passage," and the other being this one. Josh Jackson is right up there with Anna and John in this episode, and I say that based on a few scenes, the first being the scene after he finds out that Olivia is trapped on the Other Side, and he just lays his head down and looks like he is going to cry. Another is when he is looking out the window of the car, looking completely torn apart, and yet another is the very end of the episode, and it is clear that he has been crying. The poor guy has been betrayed twice now; he is falling apart.

Right after Peter finds out that Olivia is trapped in the other universe and looks like he is going to cry, his bedside clock shows us that he has lied wide awake for nearly two hours, not knowing what he should do. I can only imagine how painful that must have been, the thoughts that must have gone through his mind. When he finally gets up, he seems to want to find proof so that he can bring what the woman said on the phone to light, and I love how we get references to earlier cases, such as the parasite in episode 1.07, "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones," and the slugs in episode 1.11, "Bound." Man, he is a quick thinker, though, saying that he is emailing a friend in Greece which then gives him the ability to bring in what Olivia said when she woke up from her coma in episode 2.01, "A New Day in the Old Town." Obviously, Olivia would have known what that meant, but Bolivia doesn't know it, and she says as much, quickly realizing immediately afterward that she slipped, and I absolutely love the series of lines that follow. Bolivia says, "You going to kill me?" and Peter replies, "No, I'm going to get answers, and if I find out you did anything to Olivia, then I'm going to kill you." Then, we get the intro, which, as I suspected it would be, goes back and forth between blue and red, which I find to be incredibly cool.

I didn't realize that Broyles wasn't aware that Peter and Bolivia (who he obviously thought was Olivia) had been dating, and it is difficult to discern what he thinks of it. I don't think that he cares so much about the fact that they had been dating; I think it's more that he is upset that he wasn't told (although it is understood why he wouldn't have been told, since it is probably against the rules for them to be dating). Over there, alter-Brandon hands Walternate a printed out sheet of what Bolivia had sent them via the typewriter ("Cover blown. Extraction needed."), which I think confirms that it is not Walternate who is on the other side of the typewriter, which I had a feeling was the case, anyway. However, I am not so sure that it is alter-Brandon, either. My theory is that it is alter-Nina. Here, she is now technically working for Walter, since Walter owns Massive Dynamic, and also, we have seen her communicating with William Bell, who was on the Other Side, using an old computer at the end of episode 2.07, "Of Human Action." I think that at some point, we are going to meet alter-Nina, and it is going to be a huge pay-off. Walter owning Massive Dynamic here and our already having seen Nina communicating with the Other Side using an old piece of equipment will be parallels to our discovery.

Walternate indirectly refers to Henry, saying that someone obviously assisted Olivia and that whoever the traitor is obviously does not understand their cause. My hope is that they leave Henry alone; I really don't want him to be harmed in any way. Olivia promised him that there wouldn't be any trouble, and even though it wouldn't be her fault if there will be, the poor guy may not see it that way. It is clear that Walternate just wants revenge. He has some sort of hidden agenda (not vagenda, just agenda) behind wanting to know how Olivia can cross between universes, and I think that it is pure revenge. That is why he lied to Peter in the season 2 finale, and that is why, as I said, his plan all along was to do away with Olivia once he got what he needed from her. What I don't understand, though, is why they need to remove Olivia's brain and study it when apparently, they already have Cortexiphan ready to administer. I just hope that we don't see them giving it to people like Bolivia because it would be in contradiction to what we already know to be true, that (a) it only works when given to children, and (b) it doesn't work on everyone. It would be a major plot-hole, and I really don't want that. What I want is for them to try it and for it to not work, since they wouldn't be aware of those two rules.

I love the reference to "Brown Betty" (2.19) in this episode. Before he makes the ridiculously funny "vagenda" comment, Walter says that he has tried many methods to try to think of a way to cross over to retrieve Olivia and says that he even tried a dose of Brown Betty. I guess that from now on, that will be his drug of choice when during times of crisis. In this episode, the team finally discovers the use of the typewriter in the shopkeeper's shop, but we still don't learn much about it. Walter says that it would make perfect sense that they would be able to use it to communicate with the Other Side, but why? How? How does it work? I really want to know, and I want to know who the shopkeeper is. He tells Bolivia that that is what they do; they make you wait, that they have been making him wait for seven years but that her kind has it easy. Is he a Shapeshifter? Why did the Other Side promise him new legs? Is the guy who administers some sort of dosage to him at the end, the guy in possession of the missing piece of the device that Walternate needs, a Shapeshifter? If so, how is he going to get it to Walternate now that Bolivia is back home? We learned in this episode that the Shapeshifters, once they are here, cannot go back.

I absolutely love the conversation between Olivia and Colonel Broyles in her prison cell. The line "If you let me die, then we will strike back, and we will fight" is so epic. This scene is so sad, though, because Colonel Broyles says that he is sorry, implying that he isn't going to help her, and Olivia cries, begging him to help her. She thinks that she is going to die, and it is so difficult to watch. I do really like Colonel Broyles, though, and it is so sad that he sacrificed his life to make sure that Olivia could cross over, all with the hope (very key word in this episode) that she would fulfill her promise and ensure the safety of both worlds. Is this Olivia's destiny, to bring balance to the universes? I theorized quite some time ago that Colonel Broyles would help Olivia. In the season premiere, "Olivia," he questions Walternate, asking him why it is necessary to convince Olivia that she is their Olivia, and he doesn't seem to like Walternate's methods. Even then, he wasn't fully on board, and I had a feeling that he would end up helping her. I did not, however, expect that he would die. I love the scene during which Broyles puts his alter-self to rest by closing his eyes; it is a very beautiful, heartbreaking scene. I expected that the two men would actually get the chance to meet each other, but I didn't expect that it would be like this.

I love how Bolivia grabs one last cup of coffee before going home, since coffee is so rare on the Other Side. However, on the Other Side, we have seen Charlie drinking what appears to be coffee, so maybe, occasionally, they are awarded coffee for their being heroes. The Shapeshifter tells Bolivia that she has approximately twenty-three minutes until the transfer is to take place, and this, of course, is an Easter Egg, since "23" is a LOST number. I absolutely love the scene in which Peter shoots the Shapeshifter right in the head, and then, the look on Bolivia's face is classic. However, Bolivia was holding on to photos of the two of them together, the same photos that Peter takes a look at at the beginning of the episode, so it was obviously real for her, as she tells him that it was, but that doesn't make a difference to me. Watermelon, you have a man over on the Other Side, and Peter already has a woman; he isn't yours. I absolutely love the scene during which Olivia crosses over. Astrid is in the lab, and I just find it absolutely hilarious that all of a sudden, Olivia appears from the tank, and Astrid, completely alarmed, drops what she has in her hands, and I just find that scene to be hilarious - up until she faints, that is, and don't get me wrong; it is a very happy scene, as well. Finally, Olivia is home.

Over there, Bolivia returns to work, and Lincoln Lee (who I love) enthusiastically runs up to her and says that all of his burns are gone, "just like nothing ever happened." Bolivia agrees, and at first, I thought that Lee had been filled in on what had happened, that this was his way of saying hello to their Olivia, but no, he is just randomly saying that he is now fully healed. Eventually, he and Charlie are going to have to discover the truth because Charlie was suspicious, thinking that perhaps, Olivia had been telling the truth about her not being who she was supposed to believe she was, and that has to come to some sort of head. I do know, based on a recent article that was in the TV Guide magazine, that we will not be returning "over there" for quite some time, and the only reason that I care about that is that I like Lincoln Lee, but I'm sure that going back there will be a huge pay-off. Now, hopefully, the space is cleared for us to learn more about the First People, and hopefully, with Olivia suffering from PTSD (how could she not?), she will be visiting Sam Weiss, who I can't wait to see again. Like I said, I absolutely love this episode, and I give it 10 Alarmed Astrids. Next week's episode is titled "Marionette," and expect another callback to "Brown Betty" (2.19).