Fringe - Season 2 - Page 3

What I don't get is that the other reality is supposed to be desolate and barren, but the one Olivia went had the WTC still standing and otherwise didn't look any different.

Also, WRT these mercury eating soldiers, do they have doubles on this side?

Good ideas and conversations!

I think it is likely that OUR William Bell is the only one.  He's either rid the other side of its' Bell or else its' Bell was already gone.  Otherwise, I doubt he'd be hanging out there full time.

That said, I think the reason he is over there full time is to fight for OUR side...likely against the other Walter.  I mean, who else could even match wits with a Walter other than his pal and partner?

Just because a 'blight' has hit the other side is no reason or indication to believe it should be barren.  I don't recall hearing anyone say it is barren.

I don't think it matters if the mercury eaters have doubles or not.  But, my guess would be that they are constructs of some sort.  They are not fully human.  Maybe they once were and have now been altered by science.

Speaking of altered by science...we've seen that the other side is definitely a place of 'weird' science.  And, the attempts at experiments in OUR world are part of their plan to help cross over.  Another reason I think Walter is the bad guy over there.  I think he's the one creating the weird science on that side.  A true mad scientist.

The one thing I'm not sure about...why does the lead soldier (frozen head) need Walter's brain to build a bridge/portal device?  DRJ built one last season, right?  Other people have certainly figured it out since Walter.

A comment was made that there was no more grass or trees because of the blight.  There was no suggestion of buildings being gone.

An unaired, Season 1 Fringe episode is on tonight I believe.

Plus, there's reason to believe there's another unaired episode, since they ordered 22 season one episodes and Fox only aired 20.  The season one DVD/Blu set also has 20 episodes as well.

Fringe season 2 starts up again this Thursday.

I wish that in every scene with Charlie that they'd have looped a character saying "Hey, aren't you dead?"

This was episode 20 (in production order) so, oddly enough, they shot it after last season's finale (which was the 19th episode shot after the pilot).

Man I was thinking how the f*ck is Charlie back.  I was happy to seem him again but was scratching my head figuring it out.  Then I find out later its an unaired ep from Season 1.  Weird but good.  Much like Fringe :)

And I'm just finding out now (reading this thread). But of course I knew something was going on. It did take me a minute, though. I thought perhaps I'd forgotten/missed something and it was a Bad Charlie.

"...no more grass or tress" on the whole planet?  Did they also mention all the people and animals being dead because of the lack of oxygen?  




Not really odd.  Series routinely shoot episodes out of order, especially pre-planned "arc" shows that know which episodes are likely to be effects-heavy in advance.  Babylon 5 shot its 1st season cliff-hanger halfway through the 22 episode shoot because they knew the FX team would need extra time to deliver the finished episode.  Episode orders get shuffled for other reasons as well.

Regards,

Joe

They should have shot a framing sequence where Walter was in a smoking jacket in an ornate library.  "Come with us as we view an episode from our past, when the raspy guy was still with us."

Sigh.  Another stand alone episode.  With such a fantastic show mythology begging to be explored these are really becoming annoying.

While this was another stand-alone episode, I thought it was quite good.  In particular, it advanced a few plot threads that were best-served in a vehicle like this, as opposed to getting muddled over in a mythology episode:

- Someone else (Astrid) now knows that *something* happened to Peter, and Walter did *something* to get him back.

- There was a flash of the "Real Walter" when he clashed briefly with the CDC honcho.  This didn't appear to be passive-Walter simply losing it, but rather evidence that Walter's full personality is still there, despite the lost brain fragments.  Perhaps the memories are there, too.

If these were tossed into a fast-paced mythology episode, I feel it might have been a case of too much information--some people might have even complained they were "shoe-horned in" when the didn't fit.

We pretty much needed a "I'm not losing Peter again!" episode, and this was it.

The Black oil virus returns!

When a stand alone storyline impinges on one of the running ones it always good.

Great that Astrid has suspicions about Peter.   It finally gives her character something to do besides being Walter's straightman.

Now the question will be how long will the show keep Astrid stewing about this knowledge?  Hopefully, only for an episode or two.

Is there a visit to a certain cemetery upcoming for Agent Farnsworth?

For those who didn't watch, I believe this is a reference to the X-Files.

Astrid also seems to be getting a little more screen time. She also stands out better with her new hair do.

I did not like this episode. Weakest one for me.

^ I kinda felt the opposite. Out of all the standalones from this year, I thought it was one of the better ones.

Another relatively standalone episode, though we did learn something about Walter's father.  It appears next week is the "winter finale", but next week's episode is definitely not standalone.

One thing I noticed off this episode was that the seahorse embedded in the molecular structure of the chemical was the same as the one used in the commerical break title cards--the ones which form a code to be deciphered over the course of a season.

The bladed butterflys from season one also match a card, which raises the question as to whether these standalone episodes are truly standalone, or if their relation to "the pattern" is also related to the other reality?  Perhaps some of the incidents are glimpses into what's going on (or has already transpired) in the other world.  Bladed butterflys killing people, soldiers mutated by using invisiblility technology, cotexiphan-laced people wielding crazy powers, pyrokentetics wreaking havoc, et cetera.  What we've see as experiments and trials in "our world," have been taken to the limit in the other world.

Either way, I really enjoy Fringe, and am looking forward to the so-called winter finale.

Walter is really painting himself in a corner re: his comments about doing anything to protect his family.

I kept on expecting a reveal that the antagonist was a Nazi from WWII who had found some formula for anti-aging.

The Winter Finale episode looks awesome.

Well, you sort of got it, seeing as how he looked exactly the same as in the photograph from the late 30's-mid 40's (except for the haircut, obviously).

Yes and was hoping it would play a part in the episode.  Maybe downstream.

I found myself wondering if the Peter from this universe would have been affected by the toxin where the Peter from the other universe was not.

Of course, the toxin could have been engineered to affect just Walter, but it got me thinking.

That's what I wondered when Walter was affected and Peter wasn't.

Great episode and the ending, though I knew it was coming, was incredible.
 

I can't beleive John Noble wasn't nominated for an emmy.

April can't come quick enough.

Agreed on all counts.   Arrrgh - now have to wait till April for the next episode.  FOX drives me nuts.


I was kind of surprised they went this route. Really thought Astrid was going to be the one to break this story line open.

This revelation will split the team apart.  Olivia is between a rock and a hard place.   If she says nothing and Peter finds out, Peter will be upset at her and Walter.  If she says anything, the rebuilding of the relationship between Walter and Peter is lost.

The salient question is, is there another Walter in the alternate universe?  I hope so, for that is a more dramatic storyline.

Great episode.  I'll echo the praise for John Noble--he really should be nominated (but of course won't).  The cast is really quite good on all fronts--Joshua Jackson is the surprise for me.

Which brings me slightly off-topic, but since the show is done for over a month, I'll allow myself a digression.  I've noticed a trend over the past few years, where actors have really "come into their own" on science fiction shows.  These actors usually come from "cheesy" teen dramas, and have all been pleasant surprises.  In all honesty, I'd personally either dismissed them completely before watching their new work ("oh, so-and-so is going to be crap in this show") or at the very least approached the character with caution ("I'm not sure so-and-so can pull this off").  I was wrong more than I was right, and I've learned to give actors shots on good shows, before I dismiss them.

Here are the ones I am thinking of specifically:

- Joshua Jackson, on "Fringe"
- Brian Austin Green, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"
- Matthew Fox, on "LOST"
- Scott Foley, on "The Unit" (not sci-fi, but still far outside the teen drama role)

Are more and more actors turning to sci-fi and fantasy because they are increasingly becoming accepted as "legitimate," or perhaps because they allow the actor to challenge themselves?  The genre itself has been losing its nerdy stereotype recently, so either way, I'm glad to see these stand-out performances on really great shows.

It didn't occur to me that Olivia would be able to see Peter 'glimmer'. But then it didn't look like it occured to Walter either so I don't feel too bad.

Did the 2 worlds colliding/alt realities thing make sense? The architect dude actually merged with his alt-self so each of them just happened to be in the exact respective space?. Also, they said there were no survivors so each building in each reality had the same number of people and they all merged with someone from the other reality? I need some help here.

It makes sense--at least as much sense as anything else on this show.  I assume there's underlying principles at work, that were best summed up by the brief "the universe seeks balance" explanation.  Yes it means the building had the same number of people/mass, et cetera, but I'm sure there are a great many details that would need to be fleshed out before it makes actual sense (and, quite, possibly, Walter and William never understood everything, anyway--there were playing with the proverbial fire, afterall).

I think it's one of those instances on a sci-fi show where they would have to explain such a large amount of stuff, that they simply opted to explain almost nothing.  I'm fine with that.