Subject 13
I have many feelings about the last episode of Fringe and I'm finally past the keysmashing point.
Wonder Woman wears pants now:
It's possible I have become a lot more zen about retcons ever since getting into comics fandom, because they are so inevitable (I mean, Wonder Woman doesn't even have an origin at the moment), but I was not particularly bothered by the BLATANTS RETCONS in this episode, mostly because it struck such an emotional chord with me. You'll be surprised how much I'm willing to handwave because something made me have feelings. It is all about feelings, after all.
That said, possible concerns:
a. Why does the Jacksonville centre change every time we see it? Was it not a military facility? Why is Olivia older than Olive in 2.15? Is it because they continued with the experiments after Peter's kidnapping, and Walter thought that cortexiphan kids might help him find a way to return Peter? If that is the case, then why are we having to fanwank this? Would a line of explanation hurt?
b. How come Olivia and Peter do not remember any of this? What about Olivia's photographic memory??? If the answer has something to do with Nick's suggestion in S1, that something had been done to their memories, I'm game, but if the answer is 'repression', sorry, writers-we need more than that.
c. Did Olivia's stepfather start hitting her mother after Walter's threat, then?
Putting these issues aside, I was pretty much blown away by this episode. Mostly because of the Walters and the Elizabeths, and Peter, who perhaps for the first time in all three seasons made sense to me.
Lex Luthor would like to have a word with you:
So. Walter Bishop. Lovable genius, mad scientist and child abuser (IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE). I have been told that this episode went out of its way to excuse Walter's crimes and justify them, to which I say, LOOK AT THIS:
LOOK AT THIS and tell me again that Walter is being justified, when all we get is Olivia's confused hurt and Peter's incoherent anger. When Walter, knowing Olivia has been abused, does not call Social Services and chooses to deliver a threat himself, because he cannot risk Olivia pulling out of the program. When the opening scene of the episode involves a boy trying to run away, go home by drowning himself in an icy lake.
Or take Walternate. Who knew where his son was because Olivia told him the truth by accident, and who then went on to use that truth against that very girl, capturing her, drugging and brainwashing her, trying to lobotomize her. I'm sorry, but claiming their actions are justifiable (and justified by the show's narrative) because they love their son(s) does not make sense to me; it's like Snape fandom claiming that the Pensieve scene in OotP justified Snape bullying Harry and the rest of the children in Hogwarts while being in a position of authority.
It helped that the actress who played Elizabeth was incredible, and I hope we get more of her. All her scenes with Peter were heartbreaking, and god, that final scene where she wants to tell him the truth, and you know Peter will call her 'mom' even if she does (and she knows it too), but she can't. Just. Augh.
This cannot be a visual coincidence either:
Because it brings us to this:
Peter the little fairytale boy, who believes his real home is in the bottom of the lake; Olivia the white knight who will take him home; Walter, Lear-like, searching for forgiveness and learning to let go. I can believe now that the story might end with Peter and Olivia in two different universes. I keep hearing that Peter and Olivia deserve 'happiness', which I agree with, but I disagree that all narratives have to end in 'happiness', and more importantly, that 'happiness' for Peter and Olivia = Peter/Olivia happilyeverafter. Their universes are about to be destroyed, and the happy ending here is not personal happiness but the saving of the universes and everyone on them, including their loved ones.
Superman will wish for a happy ending:
The best thing about the episode? Young!Olivia, sad and vulnerable and brave. ♥
'That unique combination of love and terror,' Walter said about her powers.
What does it mean? It means that Olivia hops universes not just when she's afraid-fear, simple fear is fire, and adult Olivia, now, is more or less immune from that kind of fear-but when she's been hurt, when she wants run away because here is no longer home. This is not to say Olivia loves her stepfather, no-it's the absence of love where there should be love. It's oddly poetic, a hurt child's desire to run away from home given a different dimension altogether. A field full of white tulips, imagined and realised.
When you think about it, the first half of the season becomes even more painful.
Only once in the episode does Olivia ask for help, although child Olivia is obviously a lot less guarded than her adult self. Only once does she ask an adult-Walter, abuser/authority figure-for help, and of course, because she was afraid and wanted to run away, she ends up asking the wrong Walter. Later, we know she will pick up the gun and save her mother instead of it going the other way round. (And that's why she gave in to the memories of Fauxlivia when she finally met her mother: 'This is your home. This is your safe house.' Stop making me cry, Olivia Dunham.)
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