Fringe started the new year with the episode originally meant to be the mid-season finale. Unfortunately due to baseball we had to wait until tonight to see it. It was well worth the wait!
“Back to Where You’ve Never Been” was perfectly titled to remind us that we haven’t been to this “over there” before. For the first time, we got a look at the alternate universe in the new timeline. And, it was definitely different. Not necessarily better or worse, but a world with changed challenges.
I’m not sure if the opening scene was supposed to trick us or not, but I immediately thought it had to be a dream. I mean … Walter was wearing pants. It was a painful reminder that Peter is lost in a world similar to his, but not the same. Instead of waking up with amnesia, he is living an existence where all those around him have amnesia. The dream awakened him to this reality and pushed him to find a way back home.
It was devastating to watch Walter turn his back on Peter, but at the same time it made sense. This Walter lost everything when he tried to save Peter. His son was dead, alternate Peter was dead, his wife killed herself, and he went crazy and lost a full-functioning brain (a change in this timeline?). Peter had another option — Walternate.
I didn’t expect that both Olivia and Lincoln would agree to go along with Peter’s plan. Were you surprised that Olivia either didn’t know she could or can’t cross-over on her own? Is it possible that Nina isn’t evil and the treatments are to counteract the Cortexiphan she was given as a child? Perhaps they agreed because they always planned on going behind his back to find out more about the shapeshifters.
Peter and Lincoln made a good team. A noticiable change in this new timeline, over there Lincoln is an ass. In the original timeline, I loved Lincoln and thought over here Lincoln was a bit of a bore. Not any more. I’d take our Lincoln over their Lincoln any day! Bummer to see the spunky Bolivia-loving Lincoln gone.
Speaking of changes in the over there world, it is not the universe we came to know. An improvement — Walternate. He seemed to be an honorable and caring man. He didn’t have the hatred for the other side that the original Walternate carried to his core. A true sign that erasing Peter worked. The two sides don’t fully trust each other, but they aren’t out to destroy each other either.
Will the return of Peter be what brings the two universes together?
The shapeshifters aren’t being used by either government, instead the mastermind appears to be David Robert Jones. He was last seen in the season one finale when he was split in half and killed. In this new timeline, he is alive and causing plenty of problems.
For some reason, Jones is infiltrating the government. What is he after? Is Broyles working with him or is Broyles a shapeshifter like Brandon? This new timeline got intriguing!
Will Peter be able to bring the governments from both sides together to fight Jones? Is he the savior of this timeline? I think he must be. He prevented the destruction of the worlds and now it is up to him to heal them.
What about the observer? He said, “I came to tell you. I have looked at all the possible futures and in every one the result is the same. You have to die.” Wow. As is normal with Fringe, I don’t think this means she has to die die, but what does it mean? Guesses?
At least we don’t have to wait more than a week to find out! I guess there was a benefit to the baseball delay.
Odds and Ends
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Jan 13, 2012 @ 23:38 EST5EDT
The correct quote is:
“You are exactly the man I thought you WOULD BE.” – Walternate
;-)
- Broyles has to be a shape shifter, there is no way a real Broyles would become evil like that. Its the one constant thing about him throughout the different universes.
– Maybe the observer’s appearance is setting us up to meet the guy Peter let out of the Zeppelin in the LSD episode last season.
– Does each universe have its own car brand product placement? Original Blue they constantly advertised Ford, in the amber-blue they have Olivia showing off the Nissan Leaf, and in Amber-Over There the arrival of Peter’s mom set up a pretty prominent shot of a Chrysler 300.
The show isn’t making money, so they will gladly take the money from anyone. :)
I’d rather take obvious brand advertising inside the show than no show. Just like Bones does. When your show is being spread through the internet like shows are nowadays it really is the only option.
I wasn’t surprised that Olivia didn’t know she had the ability to cross between universes on her own. IIRC it was Walter who helped her access those abilities through the use of the sensory deprivation tank. Considering how different Walter is in this timeline it’s not surprising that he never assisted Olivia in utilizing her ability, much less even remembering it himself.
I think the way this story is going to play out is that Peter will be the key to stopping the shapeshifters and forming a trust between these two worlds. Once that is done he will have access to “The Machine” in order to get back to his/our timeline. Or perhaps he will somehow use the machine to accomplish both. If it can destroy entire universes, then it may be possible for Peter to focus the energies on wiping out Jones and his shifty minions.
Why is Jones infiltrating the government? C’mon, *every* megalomaniacal evil genius wants to take over the world. What better way to start than to replace the government with your clonetastic henchmen?
Olivia will die…briefly, but be brought back in some dramatic fashion at the last second. I’m not expecting the overused defibrilator scene where they yell “Clear!” a dozen times, give up and then magically the heart starts beating. It’ll probably be something Walter concocts. Maybe a shot to revive the dead. Didn’t he have something like that when “our” Lincoln was first introduced? I seem to recall him injecting a dead bird that then flew around for a few minutes before dying again (much to the surprise of poor Lincoln). Walter could have that perfected by the time Olivia dies and then use it to bring her back, with the possible side effect of Olivia being unable to be killed.
This show needs more viewers, needs a renewal and needs at least 2-3 more seasons. It’s the best show nobody’s watching.