Fringe 303: The Plateau
Thoughts (and spoilers for the episode) under the cut:
The main story this week was truly excellent, because while it was a standalone it tied in perfectly to the main plot and set up many great character moments. I was nervous about having standalones over there because I thought it would put the main plot on hold and I would be too busy worrying about Olivia to care. However this episode gave us plenty of opportunity to explore Olivia/Altlivia and her connections with other people, and showed the subtle ways in which she remains out of sync with a foreign universe even when unaware of it. It also referenced Flowers for Algernon, making it an instant winner for me.
There's an interesting double parallel between Milo and Olivia. The effects of the drugs on Milo's brain were permanent, just like the effects of Cortexiphan on Olivia, and it remains to be seen whether the memory treatments will also be permanent. Olivia knows all the facts about Altlivia's life, but seems unable to connect emotionally: she is confused when she remembers Rachel's death and wooden when Frank tells her he loves her. Milo detaches emotionally and succumbs to his new state, while Olivia's emotional connections with people she half remembers from her original universe are what keep her from being consumed by Altlivia entirely. Once again, an Abrams show emphasises the importance of love and relatonships with others.
Are they going to use Milo as a Looker? Others have also drawn parallels with the Observers, which may give us an insight into their nature. Lookers such as Altstrid calculate the probabilities of events; are the Observers doing the same thing on a far larger scale? Are they are race of beings who once had emotions, who once 'got involved', but who became so clever that they dispensed with emotion and replaced it with rationality and detachment? There are some wonderful references to quantum mechanics and multiverse hypotheses here. The question is, if everything that could happen does happen in some universe, why are the Observers so keen to ensure that a particular version of events plays out?
I'm really warming up to the Alt-Fringe Division. There's such a great camaraderie between them, and each character has their own lovable quirks and strengths. I loved Altstrid getting tetchy! It's interesting how in the red universe Lincoln appears to take on the role of the thinker rather than Olivia. It's official: he is Altlivia's Peter. Don't get me wrong, this episode showed Frank to be a great guy, but I'm afraid I'm really leaning towards Lincoln for Altlivia. Charlie was amazing this episode, picking up on the little clues that all is not as it seems, and surreptitiously testing out his theory. I don't think we can be sure of his conclusion yet either way. I loved the Charlie and Lincoln's discussion about the two Olivias, with yet more Peter parallels in Lincoln's certainty that Olivia is Altlivia. I think we can definitely say that Lincoln is seeing what he wants to see (hello, perception!). After the trauma they've both been through, Lincoln needs his Olivia both to be ok and to be there for him. This gives us some insight into Peter's point of view, although I don't think the two situations are the same at all. Olivia believes she is Altlivia, whereas Altlivia is acting, and poorly at that.
The only problem is that I'm feeling what I felt after seeing 'Olivia' even more strongly - I find it hard to reconcile the cold, manipulative Altlivia on our side with the glimpses of her life that we see in these over there episodes - her great friends, devoted boyfriend and loving mother. Right now her character is a little difficult to understand.
On that note, how much of what we saw this episode was Altlivia, and how much was Olivia? Obviously Altlivia was predominantly in control, but there were aspects that I definitely thought came more from Olivia, such as making obscure connections when solving the case and spotting Milo in the video. Altlivia/Olivia was far more vulnerable here than Altlivia on our side, but it's difficult to know who to assign that trait to.
The final scene
Do I even have to say it? This scene was just beautiful - the perfect mix of unsettling and sweet and devastating all at once. Olivia's love for Peter is turning into such an epic and tragic story over there. I'd heard some of the dialogue in a promo and was already really excited about it (Olivia hallucinating Peter!), but the kiss was a complete surprise. A lovely treat, but heartbreaking at the same time.
Miscellaneous:
The main story this week was truly excellent, because while it was a standalone it tied in perfectly to the main plot and set up many great character moments. I was nervous about having standalones over there because I thought it would put the main plot on hold and I would be too busy worrying about Olivia to care. However this episode gave us plenty of opportunity to explore Olivia/Altlivia and her connections with other people, and showed the subtle ways in which she remains out of sync with a foreign universe even when unaware of it. It also referenced Flowers for Algernon, making it an instant winner for me.
There's an interesting double parallel between Milo and Olivia. The effects of the drugs on Milo's brain were permanent, just like the effects of Cortexiphan on Olivia, and it remains to be seen whether the memory treatments will also be permanent. Olivia knows all the facts about Altlivia's life, but seems unable to connect emotionally: she is confused when she remembers Rachel's death and wooden when Frank tells her he loves her. Milo detaches emotionally and succumbs to his new state, while Olivia's emotional connections with people she half remembers from her original universe are what keep her from being consumed by Altlivia entirely. Once again, an Abrams show emphasises the importance of love and relatonships with others.
Are they going to use Milo as a Looker? Others have also drawn parallels with the Observers, which may give us an insight into their nature. Lookers such as Altstrid calculate the probabilities of events; are the Observers doing the same thing on a far larger scale? Are they are race of beings who once had emotions, who once 'got involved', but who became so clever that they dispensed with emotion and replaced it with rationality and detachment? There are some wonderful references to quantum mechanics and multiverse hypotheses here. The question is, if everything that could happen does happen in some universe, why are the Observers so keen to ensure that a particular version of events plays out?
I'm really warming up to the Alt-Fringe Division. There's such a great camaraderie between them, and each character has their own lovable quirks and strengths. I loved Altstrid getting tetchy! It's interesting how in the red universe Lincoln appears to take on the role of the thinker rather than Olivia. It's official: he is Altlivia's Peter. Don't get me wrong, this episode showed Frank to be a great guy, but I'm afraid I'm really leaning towards Lincoln for Altlivia. Charlie was amazing this episode, picking up on the little clues that all is not as it seems, and surreptitiously testing out his theory. I don't think we can be sure of his conclusion yet either way. I loved the Charlie and Lincoln's discussion about the two Olivias, with yet more Peter parallels in Lincoln's certainty that Olivia is Altlivia. I think we can definitely say that Lincoln is seeing what he wants to see (hello, perception!). After the trauma they've both been through, Lincoln needs his Olivia both to be ok and to be there for him. This gives us some insight into Peter's point of view, although I don't think the two situations are the same at all. Olivia believes she is Altlivia, whereas Altlivia is acting, and poorly at that.
The only problem is that I'm feeling what I felt after seeing 'Olivia' even more strongly - I find it hard to reconcile the cold, manipulative Altlivia on our side with the glimpses of her life that we see in these over there episodes - her great friends, devoted boyfriend and loving mother. Right now her character is a little difficult to understand.
On that note, how much of what we saw this episode was Altlivia, and how much was Olivia? Obviously Altlivia was predominantly in control, but there were aspects that I definitely thought came more from Olivia, such as making obscure connections when solving the case and spotting Milo in the video. Altlivia/Olivia was far more vulnerable here than Altlivia on our side, but it's difficult to know who to assign that trait to.
The final scene
Do I even have to say it? This scene was just beautiful - the perfect mix of unsettling and sweet and devastating all at once. Olivia's love for Peter is turning into such an epic and tragic story over there. I'd heard some of the dialogue in a promo and was already really excited about it (Olivia hallucinating Peter!), but the kiss was a complete surprise. A lovely treat, but heartbreaking at the same time.
Miscellaneous:
- Yet more pens - the confused teenager was hilarious
- No avocados? :(
- I feel very sorry for Frank. I disliked him initially, but I now think he's a nice guy that doesn't deserve this deception. Altlivia doesn't seem to care for him as much as he does for her, judging by the way she (in our Olivia's body) talked about him in 'Olivia'
- Milo was very much focused on killing Olivia rather than Charlie. Why did he see her as a greater threat?
- Olivia is shown to be unpredictable and changes her own destiny - could there be a greater significance to this?
- Walternate shows a rare moment of humanity on seeing Peter's clothes. It's easier to relate to his position than Altlivia's, but if he really cares about Peter why was he willing to feed him to the doomsday machine? I'm not quite sure whether to buy it.
- The tank is coming back! I hope this will backfire on Walternate and give Olivia an opportunity to purge Altlivia's memories in much the same way as John Scott's.
- Edit: Walternate 'just [has] a much larger laboratory.' Chills.