Having closed the bridge between the two realities last week, how could Fringe have topped itself this week, in 4.21 the first of a two-part season finale? Fringe did this in at least four ways:
1. First, let's bear in mind that the two realities we've been watching this season are not the two realities of previous seasons. The two Season 4 realities are realities in which alt-Peter was not successfully rescued by Walter and drowned in Lake Reiden. Our (alt) Peter did indeed come back to our reality, as an adult, in mid-season, but differences between the two realities of Season 4 and earlier seasons can continue, and indeed are ...
Take William Bell, for example. He apparently died in the Season 1-3 two realities. But he need not have died in Season 4's, and indeed he did not. And, he's not only alive, but apparently the evil mastermind behind David Robert Jones. (I never took seriously the report that Leonard Nimoy was never going to play Bell again - an actor can change his mind.) Bell tells Jones that in order for Bell's plan to succeed (presumably, to become creator and master of a new universe), the "bishop" on the chessboard has to be removed (killed).
2. When I first heard that, I just had a feeling that Bell was talking about Jones removing himself, but my wife pointed out that Walter is a Bishop, and she had a point. For that matter, Peter is a Bishop, too, and it looked as if Jones was planning to eliminate Peter - setting a trap for him and Olivia - and indeed comes close to overpowering Peter when Olivia helps Peter dispose of Jones. In his dying breath, Jones realizes that he, Jones, was really the bishop to be eliminated.
3. The way that Olivia helps Peter against Jones was also cool and noteworthy - Cortexiphan has now given Olivia telekinetic powers (moving objects at a distance via sheer mental will and direction), and she directs Peter, on a nearby rooftop, to literally beat Jones. He falls back into an electric grid and is electrocuted.
4. But there's one last stunner. When Bell's bad guys get the drop on Walter and Astrid (whom Walter has a little earlier called "Alex"), she pivots into ass-kicking FBI mode - great to see - knocks down a bunch of villains - and then is apparent shot dead.
I certainly didn't see this coming, and have to hand it to Fringe to still surprise and shock, just when you think you have it figured. Looking forward to Part 2 next week.
... Fringe 4.2: Better and Worse Selves ... Fringe 4.3: Sanity and Son ... Fringe 4.4: Peter's Back, Ectoplasm, and McLuhan ... Fringe 4.5: Double Return ... Fringe 4.6: Time Slips ... Fringe 4.7: The Invisible Man ... Fringe 4.8: The Ramifications of Transformed Alternate Realities ... Fringe 4.9: Elizabeth ... Fringe 4.10: Deceit and Future Vision ... Fringe 4.11: Alternate Astrid ... Fringe 4.12: Double Westfield / Single Olivia ... Fringe 4.13: Tea and Telepathy ... Fringe 4.14: Palimpsest ... Fringe 4.15: I Knew It! ... Fringe 4.16: Walter Likes Yiddish ... Fringe 4.17: Second Chances ... Fringe 4.18: Broyled on Both Sides ... Future Fringe 4.19 ... Fringe 4.20: Bridge
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The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
1. First, let's bear in mind that the two realities we've been watching this season are not the two realities of previous seasons. The two Season 4 realities are realities in which alt-Peter was not successfully rescued by Walter and drowned in Lake Reiden. Our (alt) Peter did indeed come back to our reality, as an adult, in mid-season, but differences between the two realities of Season 4 and earlier seasons can continue, and indeed are ...
Take William Bell, for example. He apparently died in the Season 1-3 two realities. But he need not have died in Season 4's, and indeed he did not. And, he's not only alive, but apparently the evil mastermind behind David Robert Jones. (I never took seriously the report that Leonard Nimoy was never going to play Bell again - an actor can change his mind.) Bell tells Jones that in order for Bell's plan to succeed (presumably, to become creator and master of a new universe), the "bishop" on the chessboard has to be removed (killed).
2. When I first heard that, I just had a feeling that Bell was talking about Jones removing himself, but my wife pointed out that Walter is a Bishop, and she had a point. For that matter, Peter is a Bishop, too, and it looked as if Jones was planning to eliminate Peter - setting a trap for him and Olivia - and indeed comes close to overpowering Peter when Olivia helps Peter dispose of Jones. In his dying breath, Jones realizes that he, Jones, was really the bishop to be eliminated.
3. The way that Olivia helps Peter against Jones was also cool and noteworthy - Cortexiphan has now given Olivia telekinetic powers (moving objects at a distance via sheer mental will and direction), and she directs Peter, on a nearby rooftop, to literally beat Jones. He falls back into an electric grid and is electrocuted.
4. But there's one last stunner. When Bell's bad guys get the drop on Walter and Astrid (whom Walter has a little earlier called "Alex"), she pivots into ass-kicking FBI mode - great to see - knocks down a bunch of villains - and then is apparent shot dead. I certainly didn't see this coming, and have to hand it to Fringe to still surprise and shock, just when you think you have it figured. Looking forward to Part 2 next week.
... Fringe 4.2: Better and Worse Selves ... Fringe 4.3: Sanity and Son ... Fringe 4.4: Peter's Back, Ectoplasm, and McLuhan ... Fringe 4.5: Double Return ... Fringe 4.6: Time Slips ... Fringe 4.7: The Invisible Man ... Fringe 4.8: The Ramifications of Transformed Alternate Realities ... Fringe 4.9: Elizabeth ... Fringe 4.10: Deceit and Future Vision ... Fringe 4.11: Alternate Astrid ... Fringe 4.12: Double Westfield / Single Olivia ... Fringe 4.13: Tea and Telepathy ... Fringe 4.14: Palimpsest ... Fringe 4.15: I Knew It! ... Fringe 4.16: Walter Likes Yiddish ... Fringe 4.17: Second Chances ... Fringe 4.18: Broyled on Both Sides ... Future Fringe 4.19 ... Fringe 4.20: Bridge
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, Garden.com, eMusic
The Plot to Save Socrates
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
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1 comment:
Like your wife (and Jones), I immediately picked up on the possibility of the chess piece reference applying to Walter or Peter, but I immediately rejected it as a clumsy red herring. It wasn't necessary to be cryptic since the two of them were alone and what device could he possibly have resorted to if he'd wanted to allude to somebody other than a Bishop? ('I'm having BROILED herring for lunch. BROILED, geddit?')
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