Fringe - "Worlds Apart" (4.20)

"Worlds Apart" is such a good episode, a major step up from "Letters of Transit" in my opinion, which I wasn't crazy about like everyone else seemed to be. We see the two Walters together, finally, which we haven't seen since the season 3 finale, and they have a fantastic scene together near the end of the episode, a memorable scene that reminds us of just how amazing John Noble is as an actor, not that we really ever need that reminder. Two earlier episodes - "Welcome to Westfield" (4.12) (which is one of my favorite episodes of the season) and "Nothing as It Seems" (4.16) are mentioned, and Nick Lane comes back, who is apparently alive in this timeline, which is yet another reason why it doesn't make sense that Redverse Lincoln was still blown up in this timeline. We also have some great scenes between the two Olivias. It's just all-around a great episode, and don't get me wrong; I don't regard it as perfect, as it does have its flaws, but any episode that reduces me to tears at the end is a really good episode in my book, and I approve. I know of someone who went as far as to say that she hated the episode because of the problems that she had with it, and although I am definitely inclined to respect her opinion, it is not an opinion that I share. I know many, like myself, did like it, and, in fact, I know of some people who said that it could have been a finale, and while I do agree with that, I don't think that the ending would have been a proper close to the season, but then again, it may have been better than the actual closing that we got. Ultimately, I give the episode 9.5 goodbyes that "I want to believe" didn't happen. Initially, I gave it 10, but I felt that it needed to be bumped down just a tad because of the minor problems that I have with it.

I'll start with that - the minor problems. First of all, apparently, Nick Lane's birth year is given, and it's different than it was before, which is definitely a continuity error; there's no way that Peter affected that. I didn't notice that, but someone else did, and I have to admit that this series has not been good when it comes to years. For example, as much as I loved Karley Scott Collins and Chandler Canterbury in the roles of Olivia and Peter respectively from the "Subject 13" (3.15) episode, there is no way that she was only six or seven and he was only seven or eight. Age-wise, that was not good casting. Another example is that Olivia's birth year has been shown to us as two different years. Apparently, she was born in 1979 here in the Blueverse and in 1981 over there in the Redverse, which doesn't make much sense. I suppose that it stands to reason that she could be two years younger over there, but I see that as being very farfetched. It's more likely to me that, if it isn't a continuity error (which I unfortunately think it is), the 1981 birth year was issued by Walternate (since we saw it while Olivia was over there brainwashed into thinking that she was their Olivia) as an effort to do everything that he could to take her identity away from her, lead her to believe that she was someone else. I mentioned in an earlier review how Sally Clark is seen on a recording during this episode, and Olivia and Peter are the only two who know her, which means that she didn't go to the Redverse during the time that "Over There" takes place, which means that Lincoln shouldn't have been blown up, but I digress; maybe, he got blown up in a different manner. I also found parts of the episode difficult to keep up with, as it was a little bit confusing as to which Nick Lane we were dealing with at what point and which universe we were in.

My only other problem with the episode is that all of a sudden, the two Olivias come to terms with one another, as do the two Walters, and that's not development that we really got to see happen throughout the season. It was very nice to see; the scenes between the two pairs were excellent, so don't get me wrong, but I would have liked to have seen that development progress throughout the season. Instead, it comes off as kind of sudden. We finally learn how Redverse Lincoln knew Nick Lane, and he actually knew the Redverse Lane, as they grew up in the same neighborhood and went to school together (even though Nick was a couple of years behind), and Lincoln dated Nick's sister Kendra. Granted, Redverse Nick mistakes Blueverse Lincoln for Redverse Lincoln, but that's probably because he doesn't know about the other universe; I guess that, in that case, it's a good thing that he apparently didn't hear of Redverse Lincoln's death, which you'd think he would have. Initially, as usual, the two Olivias being together was awkward, but, of course, they certainly warm up to each other by the end of the episode. In fact, we more or less learn that they've admired each other. It's a great scene, especially the "rainbow" line when Olivia tells Redverse Olivia to keep looking up, but like I said, it did seem a little forced just because we didn't see a whole lot of the Redverse this season, and the development wasn't really shown to us. This especially seemed forced between the two Walters; the last time that they were seen together, they looked like they wanted to kill each other. I noticed, though, that the two of them were were wearing the same kind of shoes, which, of course, is a very important, very crucial, observation to have made.

There were a lot of questions racing through my head during the episode, but they were answered. How would Jones escape the two universes collapsing? The answer was right in front of our noses the whole time; he would do exactly what he did during the "Westfield" episode; he would use "the eye of the storm" as it was called, a safe zone. How did Jones get the Cortexiphan subjects to agree to do this? He lied to them, told them that he was preparing them for the war with the Other Side. At first, I thought that Nick was referring to a war with the Observers, and I got excited. Jones was a mentor for Nick, and Nick seemed to have a similar affection for him as Canaan from "Everything in Its Right Place" (4.17) did, but unfortunately, he fell for his lies. I immediately knew that he was going to attack Tim by unloading emotions onto him. I wonder if Tim died; that was never stated. We see Lincoln giving serious thought to staying over there, which was absolutely no surprise to me because I knew from the end of "Everything in Its Right Place" that he was going to stay; in fact, I had initially thought that that was confirmation. Throughout the episode, I kept thinking, I hope that they don't have to turn the Machine off. Unfortunately, they did, and the final scene of the episode is so sad. Redverse Olivia says to Blueverse Olivia, "There's a lot of things about you I wish I had," which was totally unexpected, and then Blueverse Olivia says that she was about to say the same. I was really hoping that they would share a hug, but no such luck. Unfortunately, I think that we've seen the last of the Redverse. Seth Gabel will not be a series regular for season 5 (which could mean that we won't see him again at all), and the Redverse is neither seen or mentioned at all in "Letters of Transit" (4.19). Walter's "I had a dream" line reminded me of Martin Luther King, Jr., and I also absolutely love his "Have you ever tried LSD?" I love the look on Nick's face. There are a couple of minor flaws, but overall, this is a great episode.

"Ghost Writer" (Part 2) (Beyond the Fringe Chapter #6A)

The second part of the "Ghost Writer" story is somewhat interesting, and although it is far from being my favorite (I ultimately give it 6 your faces), I am happy that Jhonen Vasquez designed a two-part Fringe comic story. Initially, I was sure that these two comics take place in the Blueverse of the TV series, and the main reason for my having thought so is because the other comics in this series (apart from the first three "A" stories) have been stories that take place in other universes and feature something such as "Imagine If…" or "What If…" at the beginning of the titles, which this two-part comic does not. However, I am now sure that this is, indeed, a different universe because we know from the "Letters of Transit" (4.19) that Nina still has her mechanical arm in the year 2036, which means that this story couldn't have happened. Perhaps, it is a possible future event that would have happened before  Peter disappeared at the end of season 3? I am really not sure whether this is a parallel universe or an alternate timeline or what, but I am sure it is not the TV series Blueverse that we know now.

I really like the art. Younger Bell, for example, looks very realistically like a younger Bell and even somewhat passes as a young Leonard Nimoy. I really would have expected to like Vasquez's art, though, and there are certain "scenes" that are so obviously done by him. I also love the 0-5-2-0-1-0 easter egg. Walter is his usual self, for the most part, although he does seem more stable and collected than the TV series Blueverse Walter, but I love how his mind goes to the gutter when Nina gets the "my office, your face" message from Bell, saying that it sounds perverted. I might be a bit confused by what happened, but I think that I understand it; my understanding is that Bell had a more organic arm building itself and had messages being sent to her mechanical arm in an effort to help her locate it in the event that something should happen to him and he couldn't show her himself. He is always looking for ways to become immortal, isn't he? I found the comic to be a bit slow, but it isn't too bad; it is an average Fringe comic.

Fringe - "Letters of Transit" (4.19)

"Letters of Transit" is an episode that I honestly wasn't too excited about. Usually, I am really excited about the "out of the box" nineteenth episode, but this wasn't too "out of the box" for me. We've been to the future before, and I didn't much care for that episode, either. I'm honestly not all that interested in futures that might be or could be but that won't necessarily be. Additionally, now that we have seen the entire season, I feel like this episode is a lot better to watch at the end of the season, after the finale, because it pretty much gives most of the finale's revelations away. When I watched the season with my brother, we watched this episode after the finale, and that made a lot more sense to me. It was also frustrating watching it because at the time, we weren't sure whether or not we were getting a fifth season, and there is no closure at the end of the episode; it just ends, and at the time, we didn't know if we ever would get closure. Even so, though, I know many people that absolutely loved the episode. I wasn't too crazy over it, but I do admit that I liked it a little better my second time watching it because, as I said, I watched it at the end of the season the second time, and it made more sense and had a better flow. I gave it 6.5 bullets on a necklace, obviously referring to the necklace that Etta wears, but I don't think that I'm going to bump it up at all because it wasn't aired after the conclusion of the season; it was aired before the finale and gave too much away, so I'm basing my Bunsen Burner rating on when it was aired and what it did for the season as a whole.

Josh Jackson did say that if the series were to be renewed for a fifth season, this episode would open the door for that story, and now, it has been renewed, so I'm sure that a lot of the unresolved questions that this episode asks will be resolved during season 5, but like I said, at the time, we didn't know if we'd be getting a fifth season, and neither did they, so giving us an episode like this jumped the shark a bit. However, I have to hand something to the writers because they really pulled a fast one. I loved "The End of All Things" (4.14) because I thought that we had finally found out who the Observers are and what they want, but then, this episode tells us that that wasn't the whole truth. Apparently, most of them have come to conquer us, and September is a "good" one who tried to assist Fringe Division. When September tells Peter about who he is and what his intentions are from "The End of All Things" (4.14), did he not know about this, or did he feel it necessary to leave out most of the truth? The latter could make sense because it could very well be that he saw Peter as important and believed that he was supposed to be with Blueverse Olivia because it would be Etta that would bring the Observers down, and he may have felt that if he told Peter that, it wouldn't have happened. I immediately figured that Etta was the daughter of Peter and Olivia; it certainly was no surprise when it was officially revealed at the end of the episode, and I think that most everyone felt that way. I remember how Courtney, formerly of the Fringe Podcast, said that there was a big revelation that was on par with the revelation from the Empire Strikes Back when we learn that Vader is Luke's father, and I can only imagine that it was that the Observers are here to conquer us.

Walter is so funny when he first wakes up, before the missing pieces of his brain are placed back inside of him. He tells the loyalist, when he, Simon, and Etta are apprehended, that "these aren't the droids you're looking for" and then to "move along," which is hilarious. Then, however, when the pieces of his brain are placed back in, he is kind of a jerk, which is what "Grey Matters" (2.10) showed us. With the brain pieces, he is more like Walternate. I found it interesting that the weapon that Walter had been designing before the team was ambered is referred to as a beacon because nothing in this series ever seems to be a coincidence, and the machine that we first see from "The Arrival" (1.04) is known as a beacon. Is it possible that, like the Machine, the Beacon was built by Walter, yet he hadn't realized it yet? The holograph of it didn't look the same, but it's just a theory, and it would be quite interesting if true. Another thing that got me wondering is why coffee is a rarity in this future. Two thoughts come to mind. I think that either the Observers forbid it for some reason, or the Observers have damaged the environment just like they did their own from the twenty-seventh century, and coffee, much like it couldn't be on the Other Side, can't really be grown as easily anymore, but they're just thoughts. It's kind of annoying how that was stated but then not explained. I love Fringe, but sometimes, they leave far too much to be explained by us the fans, wanting us to fill in the blanks ourselves, and too much of that isn't good; LOST did the same thing.

We obviously had a new opening for the episode, which was cool, and the words seem to be liberties that we currently take for granted - community, joy, individuality, education, imagination, private thought, due process, ownership, free will, and freedom, many of which remind me of liberties that are usurped within Orwell's 1984 universe, and I definitely got the impression that education is deprived of citizens when Broyles said to Windmark, "I can count." The episode is an interesting Dystopian episode, and in that regard, I suppose that it does sort of bend the genre a bit like "Brown Betty" (2.19) and "LSD" (3.19) do, but it wasn't as "out of the box" as I would have liked. I would have preferred a sitcom or a puppet show, something like the "200" episode of Stargate SG-1, perhaps, which I love. We are left with so many questions that I'm hoping season 5 will answer. Where is Olivia? We see from the finale that even though she was shot, she didn't technically die, so why was she not ambered with the rest of them, and what did Bell do to her? Did he kill her for good? Now that we know of Bell's evil plan to destroy the universes and create a new one, why was he with them? Is the bullet around Etta's neck the same one that was taken out of Olivia in the finale? Why did Walter need Bell's hand? Is this future a possible future, or is it destined to happen? Will we return to 2036 at all during season 5? The ending is really sweet, but it just seems to end, and I know that many people felt this way. There is no closure, and it seems like it needs a second part. My final observation is that it's funny how we have Desmond in this episode and then Charlotte in the finale, and only those who are LOST fans will know what I mean. To conclude, this isn't an episode that really did much for me.

Fringe - "The Consultant" (4.18)

"The Consultant" is another really good episode, and we get a lot of answers from it. We finally learn what Jones' jagenda is, sort of, and at first, I was a bit confused. When Walter says that Jones is trying to "collapse" the two universes, I thought that he meant that he is trying to combine them, and I couldn't figure out why he would possibly want to do that, but obviously, I now understand that he was trying to destroy them, and now that we have seen the entire season, I have a clear of understanding of why that is. The funeral scene at the very beginning of the episode is deeply reminiscent of the funeral of John Scott from "The Ghost Network" (1.03) near the beginning of season 1, and I'm sure that that was intentional. Some people were concerned because we see a woman and a man as Redverse Lincoln's parents at the funeral, when the season 2 finale teaches us that Redverse Lincoln's father is dead. Walternate says something to him about his sorrow that he had died because he was a good man. Some countered that that was a different timeline, but I don't think that that is a very strong argument because I don't see how Peter could have affected that; Redverse Lincoln's father supposedly died prior to Peter being brought to the Other Side at the end of "Northwest Passage" (2.20). I see it as being more likely that the man at the funeral is a stepfather; his mother could have remarried. I see that as a stretch because the man seemed to be deeply affected by Lincoln's death the way that someone who had known him since a child would, and it looked a lot to me like he was supposed to be his biological father. Given the fact that Redverse Lincoln didn't mention his father having died in the last episode, this is most likely an annoying continuity error, but I digress. 

The scene near the beginning between Redverse Olivia and Meana reminds me a lot of the scene between Blueverse Olivia and Nina from "The Dreamscape" (1.09) after Olivia speaks to Morales and he tells her that Massive Dynamic is hell and William Bell is the Devil, and I also love how Walter is so giddy about Olivia and Peter being a couple. I do hope to see them get married in season 5, with Peter, of course, wearing the purple tuxedo. Meana says that things are about to get a lot worse, and I don't think that she is directly referencing people becoming "in sync" with one another like they do in this episode; I think that she is talking about the eventual revelation that the universes are going to collapse. She tells Olivia that she doesn't plan on being imprisoned for very long and later says that that's because Jones will come for her. By the end of the episode, of course, after seeing Colonel Broyles locked away and knowing that she still hasn't been rescued, she realizes that she, too, may just be a pawn. She sees that she's in the same boat as Broyles. I knew that Broyles wasn't a Shapeshifter; I was sure that he was being manipulated, but I wasn't correct about how. I had thought that Jones was holding his family or at least just his son, but in reality, he was helping Broyles cure Christopher of what the Candyman had done to him. I wondered what Jones wanted to do to the Machine, but obviously, we now know that he had planned to use the Machine to collapse the universes. When Broyles turns himself in, Blueverse Broyles is there with him, and at first, before I saw that he was turning himself in, I thought that Blueverse Broyles was involved, too, and I was taken aback, but that obviously was not the case. Walter and Redverse Olivia definitely connect on a deeper level than they ever have before, which was nice to see.

Walter calls Redverse Olivia his escort and then clarifies that by that, he does not mean prostitute, which is absolutely hilarious. He wanted to make a casserole for her because he figures that since she is grieving as a result of Redverse Lincoln's death, food would be helpful, but he didn't because it is apparently not permitted to bring perishable food to the other universe. Redverse Olivia even offers to share her apartment with Walter for the night, which is also absolutely awesome. "I'll have to refrain from sleeping naked," Walter says, which is also hilarious. Redverse Olivia, during a scene that follows, drinks and becomes tipsy, and that is definitely a memorable scene. She is frustrated as she tries to look for clues regarding Lincoln's murder. We learn from this scene that apparently, Sherlock Holmes doesn't exist over there, and I wonder if this line was to pay tribute to the Game of Shadows film, since Jared Harris plays Moriarty. I wonder if Dixon Hill exists over there. During this scene, Walter suggests that Colonel Broyles may be their culprit, and eventually, Olivia realizes that he may be right and does something ridiculously smart; she's certainly really smart and resourceful just like Blueverse Liv is. She goes to see Meana and lies to her, telling her that they apprehended Colonel Broyles to see what her reaction is, and sure enough, Meana confirms, saying that Phillip is only a pawn. Astrid brings some more coffee to Kick-Astrid, and at first, I had a silly thought. I thought, if coffee is rare over there, coffeemakers are probably hard to come by and I doubt Astrid owns one, but the container actually looks like it may be instant coffee, not that that really matters a whole lot; it was just a thought that occurred as I watched.

There is yet another memorable line from this episode. Jones points out to Colonel Broyles that even though Broyles knows that what he is doing is against his morals, he can't lose his boy. "Love makes us vulnerable," he says, "but it also makes us human, I suppose." Both sides of that statement are definitely true; when we're in love, whether it be romantically or not, we're vulnerable to hurt and manipulation because our hearts are under control, but that's part of being a human being. It also fits the overall theme of the series, the question of what a person will do, how far he or she will go, for someone that he or she loves. Walter, for example, tore a hole in the universe and stole a child that wasn't technically his to steal and inadvertently started a war. Colonel Broyles now aided a very dangerous criminal and caused the deaths of many, including a beloved agent, to protect the life of his son. This is, in fact, why Walter and Colonel Broyles connect, and Walter asks Redverse Olivia not to judge him too harshly, to try to understand him. We see Jones display his love for tea yet again, just as a side note, as he says that tea is something that he is going to miss. We see characters changing; Olivia shows concern for Redverse Olivia, and I think that part of the reason for that is because she understands the pain of losing a partner. Walter, near the end of the episode, says to Redverse Olivia, "Take care of this universe; I've grown quite fond of it," and I think that the writers were allowing us to speak through him, something that they do quite often, which I love. The episode, as usual, features yet more great work from Chris Tilton; it's a great episode, and I settle on 9 "escorts" as my Bunsen Burner rating.

Fringe - "Everything in Its Right Place" (4.17)

"Everything in Its Right Place" is a good episode, and I ultimately settled on 8.5 cornered vipers. At the beginning of the episode, we see that it is apparently "Grazing Day" as Gene is dressed in an FBI robe and is being prepared to be taken to her favorite pasture because Walter thinks that she is depressed due to the fact that she hasn't gotten enough sunlight. This is actually a good point, as I wouldn't have thought that a cow would be happy being inside all of the time like she is. I love the look on Broyles' face when Lincoln mentions "Grazing Day" to him, as if he is unaware of the idiosyncrasies of the Fringe Division team. It's really sad, though, when we learn that Olivia's memories are continuing to be lost to her, that is, her memories from the new timeline, and it's sad because it's obviously drastically affecting Lincoln, since he cares a great deal for her and is losing the relationship that he had established with her. She brings an emblem that he had previously given to her, something that his partner Robert had given to him, and it represents making the right decisions throughout your lifetime to make it to the center of the maze, which is home. He ends up giving it to the Shapeshifter Canaan (who is interestingly a Shapeshifter vigilante), who only accepted Jones' "help" because he felt like he didn't have a purpose, and he does so even though he doesn't explain to him what it means. This nicely parallels Lincoln's current path because ever since Peter returned, he hasn't felt like he belongs, something that is shown during the previous episode when Walter says that he loves having a family as he gazes upon everyone but Lincoln. I like this episode because I really like Lincoln, and I strongly consider this a Lincoln-centric episode, and that is ultimately in regards to both versions.

For starters, we learn that Lincoln's middle name is Tyrone, of which Redverse Lincoln is apparently not proud. I love that scene. Redverse Olivia asks Blueverse Lincoln what his middle name is, he tells her, and then, when she meets up with Redverse Lincoln, she says, "What's up, Tyrone?" The two Lincolns also have a discussion about their lives as Blueverse Lincoln tries to determine why it is that Redverse Lincoln is so much more confident than he is, and while there doesn't seem to be an ultimate determination, there seems to be a discrepancy that I know has bothered some people. It's mentioned during their conversation that both of their fathers opened up a hardware store, yet in the season 2 finale, we learn that Redverse Lincoln's father was some sort of government official who was killed during a Fringe event. My explanation is that it's quite possible that the hardware store was opened earlier during his life, or even while he worked for the government. The hardware store could have been a side job or even a hobby. There is also another discrepancy, and this one kind of does annoy me. We learn from this episode that Batman apparently doesn't exist over there; in his stead is Mantis. However, the season 2 finale shows us a Batman comic book that is unique to the Redverse. My only explanation is that he does exist over there but that he just isn't as popular and neither Redverse Olivia nor Redverse Lincoln is familiar with him. Speaking of Batman, though, the Blueverse Fringe Division is apparently regarded as heroes now that the Redverse is healing as a result of the Bridge having been opened, which shows us that things have certainly changed, and when Reynolds approaches Lincoln to thank him, I totally thought that he was going to hit on him, not that that is directly related at all.

Although, as I said, the two Lincolns don't seem to come to a definite conclusion as to why it is that they're so different, there are two possibilities. The first is what Redverse Lincoln suggests, which is that somewhere along the line, he chose to be a different person, as he doesn't believe that we're strictly victims of our environments. The second possibility, which is what I think is more likely, is that Redverse Lincoln was exposed to Redverse Olivia's confidence. Obviously, it's not just Lincoln who seems to be more confident and carefree over there; the same is true of Olivia, and Redverse Lincoln has had Redverse Olivia in his life. This possibility was never directly stated in the episode, but it is indirectly suggested. Blueverse Lincoln tells Redverse Lincoln that he is still getting used to being around the kinds of things that he is around, and Redverse Lincoln says that it took him a while to get used to it, too, but that Olivia, "she's the tough one." This suggests that in Redverse Lincoln's eyes, she is the "tougher" out of the two of them, and the fact that Redverse Lincoln says that he may have just chosen to be a different man somewhere along the line strongly suggests that he remembers a time when he was more like Blueverse Lincoln. Redverse Olivia is more confident and more carefree than Blueverse Olivia because she didn't have the rough childhood that Blueverse Olivia had, so it's funny how we affect one another like that, which is ultimately what this season's theme as a whole has been centered on. The look on Blueverse Lincoln's face when the head of the body snaps off, though, is priceless. Also, is it me, or does Blueverse Lincoln seem thinner than Redverse Lincoln? It's not the first time that I've noticed it. Obviously, they're both played by the same actor so it isn't really possible, but it definitely seems to be the case, which I rest.

I love how Redverse Olivia says to Blueverse Lincoln, "Come on; you're with me." She does so knowing full well that Broyles hadn't officially given him permission to assist, and she certainly has a spine. There is also yet another possible discrepancy in this episode. Redverse Lincoln says that he had exploded before and ended up being fine, but that shouldn't have happened in this timeline. We learn from "Subject 9" (4.04) that prior to Cameron James, the team had never encountered a Cortexiphan subject before, which means that Blueverse Sally Clark would have had no business being over there, and we know that Walter didn't cross over like he did during the previous timeline because he hadn't left the lab (except, for some reason that was never clarified, to be at Liberty Island at the end of the third season). Additionally, three episodes later, during "Worlds Apart" (4.20), Olivia and Peter are the only two who remember Sally Clark. Lincoln does bring up a good point, though; he did survive being burned to a crisp before, so it's interesting that now, he doesn't survive a gunshot wound. I have a potential theory, but I warn you; it's farfetched. Okay, here goes. The "Os" (3.16) episode teaches us that some Fringe events are scientifically impossible but happened because of the condition of the universes making otherwise physically impossible events occur. When Redverse Lincoln was burned to a crisp, the Redverse was in terrible shape, but it has since done some healing, so is it possible that his survival was a Fringe event, something that otherwise would not have been possible? It's just a theory and, as I said, a farfetched one, I admit. For a few minutes, I thought for sure that it was Blueverse Lincoln that was going to die because I thought that he was going to be sniped while he was talking to Canaan, but thankfully, that was not the case, which is not to say that I am happy that Redverse Lincoln died, but I prefer Blueverse Lincoln.

Redverse Lincoln's death is definitely foreshadowed when Blueverse Lincoln successfully tries to convince Redverse Olivia to allow him to speak to Canaan for five minutes. He says, "If it were your partner, you'd do the same." I love how Canaan says, "There are these people you come across, these bright, bright lights. They drift through life effortlessly, unforgettable." I love that line, and it's so true; those people are special to us. It's really sad when it's revealed that Redverse Lincoln has died, and the look on Redverse Olivia's face is yet another example of what an amazing actress Anna Torv is. His death was a sacrifice, though, as the title of the episode tells us. He had to die for everything to be in its right place. Blueverse Olivia and Peter are supposed to be together, and now, they can be without it hurting Blueverse Lincoln because now, there is the possibility for something to develop between him and Redverse Olivia. Now, Lincoln has a place where he belongs, and much like Peter once said that Blueverse Olivia gave him a place to call home, Redverse Olivia has given Blueverse Lincoln a place to call home. It was cool seeing Meana again, and I was not expecting her to be apprehended so quickly. I really expected her to play a part in the season finale. Canaan is an interesting character, but I don't understand the disgusting chord-like object that comes out of his mouth. Is this a new method of shapeshifting? I also unfortunately doubt that we'll ever see Canaan again. I also wonder why he doesn't have a number as a name like Seven (Nadine Park) did. Maybe, he was given a number as a name but doesn't use it. The ending of the episode is really sweet, and, as is usual, Chris Tilton's score is absolutely beautiful. Blueverse Lincoln says that they now have a way of finding all of Jones' Shapeshifters, so have we now seen the last of them? Season 5 doesn't show any promise of having anything to do with them, so I'm thinking so, but if they found a way to shut all of them down, then, that isn't necessary, I suppose.

"Imagine If… Walter Outlived the Earth" (Beyond the Fringe Chapter #5B)

I find this comic to be rather confusing, as it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, and that includes the title. The year is 2027, and the condition of Earth is dwindling rapidly. The environment is in such bad shape, in fact, that it seems to face the very real threat of being permanently destroyed. However, Walter Bishop seems to have a solution, and he is found by Astrid stored in some sort of container, which she refers to as a chamber, a cold one. Soon, we are transported to 2194, when Walter is a captain on a starship (obviously very reminiscent of Star Trek, as is the gelatinous "strange matter" as it reminds me of the Changelings' gelatinous form from Deep Space Nine), and that's where I'm confused. Did he time travel, or did the chamber allow him to stay preserved for 167 years, sort of like how he, Peter, and Astrid were preserved in Amber for twenty-one years on the TV series? I also wondered if Walter, like the Olivias and the Joneses, was a clone, but there seems to be only one of him, and memories of 2027 seem to remain intact, so I don't think so. In 2027, I kept wondering if the woman whom we eventually see find Walter on the spacecraft was Astrid, and sure enough, it was. We also see Broyles, and Brandon is briefly mentioned. Peter and Olivia are mentioned, which initially made me wonder if Etta were alive, but we learn in 2194 that in this universe, Peter and Olivia had a son, not a daughter, and named him Henry (which still makes me wonder why the name Trevor was significant in the #3B comic, but I digress.

When "the Olivias" are first mentioned, I was confused, and my initial thought was that Blueverse Olivia and Redverse Olivia were being referenced, this being a universe in which the two Olivias had become friends, but no, we are, of course, talking about clones, many of them. There are also clones of David Robert Jones, as aforementioned, and they work as slaves below decks to account for the crimes of their original, which, of course, is unfair. Why clone someone only to use the clones as slaves? It violates living beings' rights, but much of what we've seen on Fringe has asked the question regarding when we take our abilities too far and develop a god complex. In 2027, for example, Dr. Helman says, "When will they understand some amount of risk is necessary for science and humanity to move forward?" which is spoken like a true scientist. When President Farnsworth is mentioned, I had thought that Astrid had made it to the future, as well, but no, Astrid is this woman's great-grandmother. I'm confused by that because what exactly is President Farnsworth the president of? The title strongly suggests that Earth no longer exists. Is there something that is the equivalent of the Federation of which she is the president, or is she the president, perhaps, of a land on Euthenia? Also, how is Belly on the ship? Is he a clone, or did he do whatever Walter did? I give the comic 6 Fringe: The Next Generations; the ending is depressing and carries no resolution, leaving you wanting more, and it's very confusing.

Fringe - "Nothing as It Seems" (4.16)

I can't say that I'm absolutely crazy about this episode because while it does have its redeeming qualities, all of which I will discuss, it just didn't make the headway that I was expecting it would make, and it wasn't as good as I had expected it to be. When I saw from the promo that Porcuman was back, I was immensely excited because first of all, I really love "The Transformation" (1.13), and secondly, it meant that even more effort was being made to pay off those who had been sticking with the series since the beginning, and don't get me wrong; I do feel that there was a lot of resolution. We now have confirmation (even though I think that I more or less already knew) that Porcuman from season 1 was Jones' doing, and we have a much better understanding of why. I can't fully explain it, but there were just aspects of the episode that were off, and I thought that Porcuman having wings was a bit silly, even though I do fully understand its purpose within the storyline, especially now that the season is over and we have seen the finale, but I won't really talk about that until I review the finale. I do know some people that immensely enjoyed this episode, and although I can't say that I'm one of them, I don't hate it, either. I ultimately gave it 7 Jeepers Creepers, so I guess that I would ultimately consider it an average episode.

The very beginning of the episode is nearly identical. Some shots are slightly different, and there is dialogue that is cut out, but it is nearly identical. People are wearing the same clothing and everything, and it looks like a lot of the footage was directly lifted from "The Transformation" (1.13), which I'm sure saved a little bit of money. However, it doesn't happen the same way. Marshall Bowman (which, I reiterate, is a combination of Marshall Flinkman and Carrie Bowman, an Alias couple) doesn't transform on the plane and instead transforms in a bathroom near an air marshal's office. Peter says that it stands to reason that some of what happened during his timeline would also happen in this timeline, but why didn't it happen three years ago in this timeline? How did Peter affect that change? I hate that no asks that, and it isn't even addressed. I have a theory that it could have to do with who we now know was working with Jones, but I'll hold off and talk about that when I review the finale. I also wonder if Olivia remembers the woman she speaks to near the beginning of the episode? We know her from "Olivia" (3.01), the season 3 premiere, because the Redverse version of her tried to convince Olivia that her believing that she was from another universe was delusional. She doesn't tell the woman that she remembers a different version of her, and she doesn't mention her to anyone else, but then, Olivia might not.

We learn from the scene between Olivia and Broyles that follows the scene between her and the psychiatrist that Rachel and Greg never divorced and proceeded to have a second child named Eddie, and Olivia says that Eddie was their grandfather's name. A lot of people seemed to be troubled by this because they couldn't see where Peter would have had anything to do with this, but I totally disagree, and with all due respect, people who can't make that connection weren't paying close enough attention to season 1. During Rachel's struggles with Greg, she was spending a lot of time with Peter. They were talking on the phone and whatnot, and you could easily see that it was making Olivia jealous. There was also the scene during which Peter held Ella on his lap, and Rachel said something to the effect of, "You would be really good at throwing parties." To me, it's obvious that she saw a good man in Peter and saw that she could do better, so she didn't make any effort to work through whatever problems existed between her and Greg. In this timeline, she didn't have Peter. Speaking of parties, we see Walter give a whole bunch of gifts that he had collected for Peter over the years, pretending that he was still alive, and although I would have preferred that it had actually been Peter's birthday, that is a really touching scene, and you can tell that Peter is deeply heart-warmed. I love how there is a porn magazine and an old bottle of beer; you just have to love Walter, honestly, and I say that like a broken record.

I feel so sorry for Lincoln during this episode. He doesn't feel like he belongs, and that's obvious that that's why he has been a little cold toward Peter lately. Peter suddenly showed up literally out of nowhere and took his place, and we see just how rejected Lincoln feels when Walter sees Olivia, Peter, and Astrid working together happily and comments how much he loves having a family while Lincoln sits in the sidelines. Walter tries to comfort him, telling him that he has never met a better match for chess, but Lincoln doesn't seem to feel too comforted, and of course, this all plays out in later episodes, but again, I will refrain from jumping ahead. The following episode, "Everything in Its Right Place" (4.17), is a great Lincoln-centric episode, and I'm looking forward to reviewing it. When I showed the episode to my brother Cody, he really loved that episode, and yeah, I have to give it credit. It has a lot of action, shows us somewhat of a relatable shapeshifter that we're more apt to like, and, of course, like I said, we get insight into Lincoln, and it's interesting how the two Lincolns don't really come to any conclusion as to why they're so different. I know that some people said that Redverse Lincoln had Redverse Olivia in his life, and I think that that might be hitting the nail directly on the head.

Seeing Markham in this episode (as pictured in the photo included with this post) was really nice, since, unless I'm mistaken, we haven't seen him since "6995 kHz" (3.06). It's so funny how even though he has never met Peter or Olivia before, he is still hitting on Olivia, and, as Olivia says, she is still taken. I love how when we first encounter him, she tells him what she's reading (he is the book expert, after all) in response to his attempt to guess what's on her nightside, and she says, "I keep it next to my gun." We learn a lot from this scene, such as more about what Jones' endgame is. It would appear that part of what he's trying to do is create an advanced breed of life; he certainly has a God complex much worse than Walter's ever was, and this is foreshadowed in "A Better Human Being" (4.13), something that I didn't fully notice until my second time watching that episode. Of course, again, we now have a clear understanding of how that fits with the Westfield incident and whatnot, but again. I will wait. Again, I thought that Porcuman having wings was kind of silly, but at the same time, it was definitely unexpected, and my jaw did drop. That was definitely insane. I love how when Olivia finally fills Broyles in on the fact that she disobeyed orders and assisted in the case even though she was told not to, she says that Broyles told her that he would deal with her later, and I love that because I can actually hear him saying that in his deep, stern voice, but I'm happy that he changed his mind about her and decided to allow her to stay on board. The very ending of the episode, the very last scene, that is, is really cool because it makes sense of episodes that we had previously regarded as "stand-alone" episodes, such as "Unleashed" (1.16) and "Snakehead" (2.09), and the ship sailing away with the creatures on board really reminded me of the "Vienen" (8.18) episode of The X-Files. Again, "Nothing as It Seems" is not a terrible episode, but it's nothing special either; it's average.

Fringe - "A Short Story About Love" (4.15)

"A Short Story About Love" is an episode for which I was really excited because I (like most everyone, I'd imagine) have been itching to find out what the Beacon is since the fourth episode of the first season ("The Arrival"), and finally, we find out what it is. Those of us who saw the promo at the end of "The End of All Things" (4.14) knew that the Beacon would make an appearance, and I was really excited. I can't say that I'm wholly satisfied, and that is for a number of reasons; firstly, I'm guessing I was expecting a bit more of an expansive answer. For example, if the Beacon was now used to trap September outside of the universe, what was its purpose back during the first season? If it had the same purpose, who were the Observers locking outside the universe? What does it mean to be locked outside the universe? Does that mean outside of all universes, or just the Blueverse? I would think all universes, because they don't seem to have any problem crossing between universes, at least not the Blueverse and the Redverse. Does it mean back to when the Observers come from? Where was September during his entrapment? Was he out of phase? Who is Mosley, and why did he have an interest in the Beacon? What is the science behind the Beacon? There are so many unanswered questions still remaining.

To some extent, I'm not sure why I hadn't seen that coming because as much as I love Fringe (obviously), that does tend to be the case; if and when we get answers, they are through foggy glass, not an open doorway through which we can easily walk. The answers are a bit unclear and don't always explain everything, and I don't know if that's because they want us to make some inferences on our own, but at any rate, I'd be glad to give a couple of examples other than the Beacon. We had been wondering who Sam Weiss for a very long time, and when we finally did, it was disappointing; the explanation doesn't explain why he and Nina had a strange connection or how Bell knew him, and it certainly doesn't explain what he meant when he told Olivia that he's older and taller than he appears (and it's annoying that she never questioned him about that). Unfortunately, I don't think that we're ever going to see him again, either, but we'll have to wait to see; it's plausible. Another example, of course, is the Observers, but I went into pretty detailed discussion regarding that during my last review ("The End of All Things"), so I won't bore you again. Is it possible that "The Arrival" is directly linked to this episode, that Mosley was hired by the Observers to prevent September from freeing himself? I don't think so, but I'm just throwing it out there.

I love how at the beginning of the episode, Nina refers to Meana as "that woman" as if she is a stranger. Don't get me wrong; she essentially is, but I still find it funny, as it's certainly not that often that we have the opportunity to refer to different versions of ourselves as strangers, and, of course, as is reasonable, Olivia hasn't always been too warm and fuzzy with her double, either. I love how, during this scene, Olivia says that she just wishes that time would move a little bit faster, and Nina says, "Well, that's a coincidence because we just found a patent on that last week." It's unclear as to whether or not that's true or if she just said it as a joke, but either way, it's pretty clear that she was trying to be funny, which isn't like the Nina that we used to know. It is now that Nina realizes that Olivia is losing her memories of what she and Nina used to have, and she seems to be scared, unwilling to let Olivia go; I'm still not sure if there is an ulterior motive, but if so, she's definitely doing a good job of concealing the truth because she seems to genuinely love and care about Olivia. On a somewhat similar note, we're definitely seeing Walter becoming more like his old self, as it is clear that he is developing fatherly feelings for Peter. "All I care about is what he [September]'s done to you," he says to Peter. A few months ago, that wouldn't have mattered as much to him; he'd be more invested in the mystery.

That leads me into a question, one that I'm wondering if anyone else has asked. Why does Walter seem to trust that September isn't leading Peter into some sort of trap? Peter is a grown man and doesn't need Walter's permission to go to the address afforded him, anyway, but Walter doesn't even voice any protest, and it was my understanding that Walter didn't know the Observers in this timeline. Are his memories starting to resurface, too, and he's not telling anyone? The character Tommy/Timmy (I can't remember which is correct) makes a comeback from the premiere episode, and since I can't remember if it's Tommy or Timmy (I think that it's Timmy), I'm not sure if Walter gets his name wrong (but I think that he does, since he calls him Tommy). We also see Walter watching Scooby-Doo, which is a really neat reference to our beloved Fringe team investigating "weird" cases. I love the scene during which Walter has Astrid smell the scent of roadkill, especially because of Astrid's response; then, it gets even better when, later, Lincoln wonders whether he should smell, and Astrid says, "Uh-uh." My last observation directly involving Walter is whether or not he and Walternate gave up on the Machine because that seems to be the case; Peter tells September that there is nothing that anyone can do for him and consequently begs him for help, so if they gave up on trying, why didn't we see them tell him that?

When Lincoln says to Olivia that if she needs anything, he's there and she says that she knows, I was totally reminded of the scene from "The Dreamscape" (1.09) during which there is nearly identical dialogue between Peter and Olivia, and I'm willing to bet that that is identical. We've all seen what road Peter and Olivia have gone down, so maybe, the writers are trying to show us that Lincoln truly loves Olivia in a way similar to the way that Peter loved her then, meaning that had Olivia and Lincoln been allowed to pursue a relationship without the interference of Peter, they would have had something special, too. Near the end of the episode, Olivia waits at the wrong woman's house for the killer, and she listens as the woman explains that she and her husband didn't love each other, that they were ultimately just best friends, and this seems to awaken Olivia. Initially, I was wondering what she learned from this, but she tells Nina that she doesn't want to be like that, doesn't want to give up on love, which makes perfect sense to me. "I could see myself in her," she says. "I didn't like who I was." Nina looks like she is going to cry, and it's actually kind of heartbreaking.

I'm not sure if I totally understand the "case of the week" of the episode, though. Michael Massee (whom I know best from FlashForward and Rizzoli & Isles) guest stars as Anson Carr, a serial killer who seems to be severely burned, due to his appearance. He targets straight couples, seemingly in an effort to secure the love of the woman by using the pheromones of the man, ultimately killing both, but I don't understand why. We can infer that he lost a woman to whom he was very close (due to the photograph at which he looks), but why does he kill the woman? Is it because he wants to end the pain that is undoubtedly similar to what he feels? At first, I was wondering how he wasn't scaring the living daylights out of his female victims, especially since he is so disfigured, but then realized that it was probably because the pheromones of their loved ones being on him. When I first discovered that Michael Massee was going to be on the series, the article that informed me said that he would be a very compelling baddie of the week, but I can't say that I agree, as I'm not very invested in him and don't care about him at all, which is another reason why this episode didn't live up to everything that I was expecting. When I saw that Beacon in the promo, I was expecting a killer of an episode, but it's just a letdown in a lot of ways.

I'm also annoyed because this episode would have been the perfect opportunity to feature a LGBTQ character, and that kind of opportunity was once again wasted; this episode is about love, and it only focuses on heterosexual love, doesn't even mention homosexuality; in fact, Walter speaks of attraction as if only male-female attraction exists, and no one cares to ask how homosexuality factors into his explanation. A lot of people were creeped out when Carr tells Olivia that he can smell that she's in love, and yes, Massee was really creepy on Rizzoli & Isles, too. "We're not meant to be alone," he says to her. "It's every human being's right to know love." I love this quote, but I can't understand why he would tear couples apart if he values love so much. He says that he didn't just do it for himself, and I can't make sense of that, and I fear that maybe it's because I don't fully understand just what he was doing. The very last two scenes are absolutely beautiful, when Peter frees September, they talk, and Peter then reunites with Olivia as they run toward each other and embrace after September ensures Peter that "she is your Olivia," that he has been home all along, which is pretty much what I have been saying all season. September tells Peter that he suspects that the people that he loves couldn't let go of him and he couldn't let go of them and that that's why he wasn't erased, but I'm wondering why he doesn't seem to be considering the fact that he didn't hit the switch on that machine near the beginning of the season; that is why he was locked away, after all. At any rate, I'm very happy to have heard the "Man in the Mirror" theme, and I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Chris Tilton is a genius. Overall, I give this short story about love 7.5 love-stricken Hoyts.

"Ghost Writer" (Part 1) (Beyond the Fringe Chapter #5A)

I was really excited about this two-part comic because it was designed by Jhonen Vasquez, and to those of you who don't know who he is, he created one of the best animated series of all time - Invader Zim, something that becomes rather apparent when you take a look at some of the artwork (see example below). I was very excited by the fact that Vasquez is apparently a cortexifan. Perhaps, we will see more Fringe comics by him in the future? In this comic, Nina's arm is writing messages beyond her control, and she therefore consults Walter for help solving the problem. Walter theorizes that deja-vu is caused by neural messages being sent out by people that are alive and also says that this is also to account for why some people claim to see and hear ghosts. This is quite interesting, considering the fact that on the TV series, he explains deja-vu by saying that when we think that we've been somewhere before, it's because we actually have in another universe (an explanation that, in my opinion, makes a lot more sense). However, as becomes apparent by part 2 of this comic, this is not the Blueverse, so I digress. I thought that since the title doesn't start with something such as "Imagine If…" or "What If…" that maybe, this is the Blueverse, but it's not; it can't be. With that being said, however, I am curious to know how much of what happens in this universe also happened in the Blueverse on the TV series.

For example, we learn from this comic that Bell built Nina's arm with his own genetic material, not Nina's, which is why she is receiving messages through it, and this is quite interesting to me because it makes me wonder if the same is true in the Blueverse. Did Blueverse Bell also equip Blueverse Nina's arm with his genetic material? If so, has this kind of situation, Nina's arm sending her messages, happened in the Blueverse, too? Walter, more or less, seems to be his normal self, unaffected by anything that most human beings would deem as disgusting. In fact, after conducting something incredibly gruesome, he has his mind on food, wanting yogurt-covered pretzels, which he secures from a vending machine. It's interesting to see the apparently closely-knit relationship between Walter and Nina, and I think that on some levels, we have seen that on the TV series, as well. For example, during the episode titled "The Cure" (1.06), Nina tells Peter that she and Peter used to spend a great deal of time together when he was a child. Then, during "Of Human Action" (2.07), Nina, simply by touching him, calms a very nervous, worried Walter, so we know that they have history. Near the very end of this comic, Nina says, "It's William texting me through my arm?" which is a funny analogy but, as we learn from part 2, not quite accurate. This is a somewhat decent, not overly exciting, and I give it 6.5 yogurt-covered pretzels.

Fringe: "Brown Betty" [theLOSTpassenger TV Soundtrack]

[Thanks to @frozenaura on Twitter for the cover art.]

1. J.J. Abrams Fringe Main Title Theme
2. Chris Tilton Brown Betty Suite
3. Yes Roundabout
4. Frank Sinatra For Once in My Life
5. Tears for Fears Head over Heels
6. Rachel Luttrell Let's Do It
7. Kerli The Creationist
8. Brian Minshew The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
9. Lady Gaga Brown Eyes
10. The Cranberries Dreams
11. Marilyn Monroe I'm Gonna File My Claim
12. Django Reinhardt Blue Moon
13. Alanis Morissette Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)
14. New Found Glory Head over Heels
15. Frank Sinatra Two Hearts Are Better than One
16. The Fringemunks Epis. 2.19: Brown Betty

*Download links are no longer being provided; please contact me via thelostpassenger@live.com if you wish to secure a download.*

DISCLAIMER: I do not own rights to ANY of the music that is featured on this compilation, and I do not claim to. I am not profiting from this compilation by any means and am using this music merely to represent Fringe, episode 2.19, titled "Brown Betty." No copyright infringement intended. All rights are reserved.

SPECIAL THANKS TO (You all know what for): @frozenaura on Twitter, David Wu, Darrell and Clint of the Fringe Podcast, FOX and J.J. Abrams, as well as everyone else who is responsible for providing us with this masterpiece of a TV series. This list is not in any particular order, as this project would not be possible without any one of your contributions.