Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman answer questions about this season; Hints for season 4!
OLIVIA DUNHAM (ANNA TORV)
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The Fringe Division’s mainstay, Olivia Dunham, has been put through the ringer this season after getting stuck “Over There” at the end of last season while her doppelganger from the parallel universe stole her life and formed a relationship with Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson). Managing to get home, Olivia was shocked to discover that Peter couldn’t tell the difference between her and the other Olivia. (Or Fauxlivia, for short.)
In “Subject 13,” we learned that it was Young Olivia who first alerted the other world’s Walter Bishop (John Noble) to the existence of parallel worlds after she crossed over and gave him a drawing of her and Peter among the white tulips. So will Olivia realize that her unwitting confession unleashed the war of the worlds?
“No time soon,” wrote executive producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman in an email exchange about plot specifics. “That’s a part of a history she has long forgotten. I think we love the notion that we all do things as children that have far-flung butterfly effects of which we cannot possibly conceive or imagine.”
TWO WORLDS
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So far, we know of the existence of two worlds on Fringe, with the action this season bouncing between Over There and Over Here, two worlds that appear similar on the surface but have wide-ranging differences, both in terms of people and the state of the world they live in. Walter’s travels between the worlds have created “soft spots” with dire consequences for the inhabitants of the parallel universe, while the prime universe itself seems to be in danger as well. Only one universe can survive, it seems, so which one will it be?
Can we expect to see other universes down the road? And is it possible that the season’s endgame involves pushing these two worlds together or creating a third, separate reality?
“Maybe in the future we will see a third world (or more),” wrote Pinkner and Wyman, “but our story-telling really involves THESE two worlds, based on the fact that Peter was stolen from Over There and brought Over Here.”
PETER BISHOP (JOSHUA JACKSON)
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In both worlds, a Doomsday Device is in the process of being constructed, components of which have been buried around the world. This device-which seemingly will destroy one of the universes-is thought to be artifact of the so-called “First People,” an ancient race of humans whose existence pre-dates the dinosaurs and who were wiped out after some cataclysmic extinction event.
Given Peter’s past-the fact that he originally came from Over There before being taken by Walter-it makes sense that he should play a pivotal role in the war between the worlds, with both versions of Walter Bishop desperate to regain or hold onto Peter. But why is this ancient Doomsday Device keyed to him specifically?
Pinkner and Wyman: “A great question, and one that will be answered before the end of the season.”
CORTEXIPHAN
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Olivia Dunham was one of dozens of children that Walter Bishop and his then-partner William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) experimented on in Jacksonville, Florida, in the 1980s. They posited that children’s brainpower was not yet limited by external stimuli and that, using a drug they invented called Cortexiphan, they could unlock the brain’s full potential.
Walter believed that the Cortexiphan study patients could use their abilities to take the cured Peter home without any ill-effects. Throughout the series, we’ve seen former test subjects manifest a wide array of abilities; even Olivia has displayed not only the skill to travel between worlds, but also pyrokinetic abilities as a child and the ability to discern objects from Over There.
What is the range Olivia’s powers and will we see her display any beyond traveling between the worlds going forward?
“Olivia’s ‘powers’ all come from Walter (and Bell’s) Cortexiphan experiments,” wrote the producers. “They were trying to augment the part of her (and every child's) brain that controls a whole host of ‘extrasensory’ abilities-telekinesis, pyrokinesis, mind-reading-but they were trying specifically to access the ability to cross between universes. Triggering any of those other abilities in the kids was an unintended side-effect.”
FAMILY HISTORIES
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A subplot was introduced in Season 1 about Olivia’s stepfather, whom she shot as a child after he severely beat her mother. After disappearing, her stepfather would send her a card on her birthday each year, with three words written: “Thinking of you.” We got a glimpse of Olivia's step-dad in "Subject 13," when he arrives to pick up Olivia at the day care center, itself a false front for Walter’s clinical trials.
Will this subplot continue to develop and might we meet her step-dad in the present day?
“We will see her step-dad again soon,” wrote Pinkner and Wyman. “Not to be purposefully mysterious, but he won't be exactly in [the] present day.”
THERE’S MORE THAN ONE OF EVERYTHING
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Getting a glimpse into the parallel universes via the Over There installments, we’ve been able to see alternate versions of Olivia, Walter, Broyles (Lance Reddick), Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo), and Astrid (Jasika Nicole).
Will we ever get to see Over There’s Nina Sharp or (in flashback) William Bell? Conversely, is there any chance of seeing the prime universe’s version of Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel)?
“The William Bell [from] Over There died in a car crash years ago, so Walternate never had Bell as a partner,” wrote Wyman and Pinkner. “Nina exists Over There-we just haven’t met her yet. And we will meet the Lincoln over here very soon!”
(In fact, we’ll meet him in the March 18 episode, “Stowaway.”)
THE OBSERVERS
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Just who are The Observers, those mysterious bald-headed individuals who seem to show up whenever something significant or is occurring? Hallmarks of Fringe since its early days, The Observers are still shrouded in mystery, even as the viewers have learned details about some of its individual members.
So just when will we learn more about the Observers? And what is their relationship to the multiverse?
Wyman and Pinkner were loath to reveal too much, saying only when we’d learn more about these intriguing entities: “Season 4!”
SAM WEISS (KEVIN CORRIGAN)!!!!!!
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Nominally a bowling alley manager whom Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) sent a recovering Olivia to, Sam Weiss (Kevin Corrigan) is far more than he appears to be. While he was responsible for helping to rehabilitate Olivia after her accident at the start of Season 2 (and later help her with her sleeplessness), he also appears to be the author of a book on the First People, written under several pseudonyms that are all anagrams for Sam Weiss. He doesn’t deny that fact to Nina when she figures it out, but he does ask her about the doomsday device.
While Sam seemed to be a benevolent character last season, we've now seen that he's a far more mysterious and pivotal character than we realized. When will we learn more about his motivations and whether he is a member of the First People?
“Sam will play a very significant role as we get closer to the end of the season,” answered Wyman and Pinkner. “All will be revealed.”
Ya'll know I'm dancing like a madwoman rn! More Sam Weiss can never be a bad thing!
So excited for tonight! Happy Fringe Friday everyone!
I'll be honest, I just made this post cuz I still have over 3 HOURS before I get new Fringe :(
sourcery