Fringe throws another curve ball at the fans

I don’t normally bother with spoiler warnings, because I’m one of those people who thinks that you should be visiting a television and pop culture commentary site if you’re avoiding spoilers for a particular show. But in this case, I’m going to make an exception. If you’ve not watched this weeks Fringe, you should move on now.

No, seriously … don’t keep reading; you’re not going to be happy with me.

Now that you’ve made it this far, I have a question for you: did anyone see that happening? Despite wondering all summer why Georgina Haig wasn’t made a series regular, I know I sure didn’t. Even as word started to circulate on my Twitter feed that there was big happenings in this episode – including potentially a major character death – I didn’t think Etta would be in any type of danger. Frankly, I thought that Broyles was the character in the most danger.

Think about it: Broyles hasn’t been connected to the core Fringe team since the time jump. He’s been working behind the scenes on their behalf, and the reunion that we saw tonight was a foregone conclusion. What kind of emotional rollercoaster would result from Broyles reconnecting with the team only for him to die in some heroic way the character deserved? As a fan of the show, it feels weird to say that I would have preferred the death of a character that has been around since the first episode, but I’m still pretty shell-shocked from Etta’s death – and I watched the episode on two days ago.

In many ways, Etta represented the union between Peter and Olivia that the audience was never really privy to. Fringe has done a wonderful job reinventing itself several times during its run, but a complaint that many fans had was that these changes interrupted getting to see their favorite couple together and happy for any extended period of time. Even in the timeline that we’re now watching, Peter and Olivia were separated by time, space and amber for many years. Their happy time raising young Etta was cut short – and we didn’t even get to see that.

But Etta was the living symbol of a time that Peter and Olivia were together as well as an emotional anchor that both characters shared in this tumultuous future. She a wonderful dynamic with both of her parents – though her relationship with her mother, with its interesting give and take, was on display much more often. I can only imagine the lasting effects her loss will have on both Olivia and Peter. One thing forgotten in this time jump is how many of their friends and family the might have lost as well. Unless I’ve missed it, we’ve not heard anything about Rachel and Ella. Etta’s death might be in the forefront, but its far from the only loss they’ve had to endure.

From a more practical perspective, their mission of saving the world just got much more difficult. Etta was their guide in the future, doing everything from translating to teaching. Broyles is the obvious candidate to step into that role where he can, but Peter, Olivia and Walter are going to need to be a great deal more self-sufficient moving forward.

Considering the many characters that have come and gone as Fringe transitioned through multiple worlds, universes, realities and timelines, I was surprised at how much of an impact Etta’s death had on me as a viewer. While I think that she obviously important to the story – and to her parents – I think it’s more than that. Georgina Haig did a wonderful job in a tough role, and will be missed as Fringe comes to an end this season.

Did you get attached to Etta as I did?