Alternate Universes, all the cool kids are doing it
Fringe 1.20
I love a good turn around. The first half of the season was a mixed bag. I felt it started off weak, then it got meh, but then it had some great moments. And then it went on hiatus, and ever since it came back, it's been really spot on. The showrunners really learned to play to their strengths: that means great standalone plots that emphasize the characters and slowly move towards the greater themes.
And now we have alternate realities! Hurray! It's hardcore sci fi. It's the kind of plot device that separates the Sci Fi fans from normal people (trust me, it changed my sister's opinion of Star Trek). I only hope the Fringe people can pull it off in a very palatable way. But the showrunners (still not at that level of obsessed to know who that is) made it clear that they are ready to go. The end shot of Bell's office in the alternate universe, the shot of the Twin Towers, it said "we mean business". I've praised that kind of pre 9-11 imagry in television in the past, so it's no surprise that I loved it here.
Now for the nitty gritty plot stuff. Peter's dead. Well not the Peter we know, but Walter's son. It makes a lot of sense, Walter kept talking about how sick his son used to be and how he was always in the hospital, but older Peter never seemed to react to this much. So my running assumption is that Walter stole a Peter from a parallel universe, a Peter who was healthy. Could Peter's death have sent Walter off the deep end? Did the parallel baby stealing make him loony? Did crossing the universes do it? Or did Walter always have a screw loose?
Final thoughts about Olivia. I still don't know 100% what is up with her. She was able to go to the other reality, probably with comparative ease due to the Cortexiphan trials. How did Bell get over? He blow a hole in the space-time continuum like Mr. Jones? And what else can Olivia do? All I know is next season cannot come soon enough.
I love a good turn around. The first half of the season was a mixed bag. I felt it started off weak, then it got meh, but then it had some great moments. And then it went on hiatus, and ever since it came back, it's been really spot on. The showrunners really learned to play to their strengths: that means great standalone plots that emphasize the characters and slowly move towards the greater themes.
And now we have alternate realities! Hurray! It's hardcore sci fi. It's the kind of plot device that separates the Sci Fi fans from normal people (trust me, it changed my sister's opinion of Star Trek). I only hope the Fringe people can pull it off in a very palatable way. But the showrunners (still not at that level of obsessed to know who that is) made it clear that they are ready to go. The end shot of Bell's office in the alternate universe, the shot of the Twin Towers, it said "we mean business". I've praised that kind of pre 9-11 imagry in television in the past, so it's no surprise that I loved it here.
Now for the nitty gritty plot stuff. Peter's dead. Well not the Peter we know, but Walter's son. It makes a lot of sense, Walter kept talking about how sick his son used to be and how he was always in the hospital, but older Peter never seemed to react to this much. So my running assumption is that Walter stole a Peter from a parallel universe, a Peter who was healthy. Could Peter's death have sent Walter off the deep end? Did the parallel baby stealing make him loony? Did crossing the universes do it? Or did Walter always have a screw loose?
Final thoughts about Olivia. I still don't know 100% what is up with her. She was able to go to the other reality, probably with comparative ease due to the Cortexiphan trials. How did Bell get over? He blow a hole in the space-time continuum like Mr. Jones? And what else can Olivia do? All I know is next season cannot come soon enough.