Fringe: There’s More Than One of Everything


By Rhea Dee

Now, that’s how you end a season. With a minor arc wrap-up, a hint of things to come, and one gigantic suckerpunch that has you screaming at the TV for a very very long time.

I’ll just dive straight in, yeah?

Minor Arc Wrap-Up: David Robert Jones.

So Mr. Jones, the man who teleported himself out of a German prison (and then suffered side effects after teleporting) decided to waltz back onto the scene, looking very much like the Invisible Man, with bandages covering his face and a pair of sunglasses.   Turns out Mr. Jones used to work for William Bell and now he’s on a vengeance mission to kill Bell.  And where is Bell, exactly?  Why, he’s in the alternate universe of course!  It’s so fitting too, given the plot of latest Star Trek film, that William Bell (played by Leonard Nimoy) would be in an alternate universe.  To get to the alternate universe, Jones is using a device to open portals in designated soft spots, where the layer between the two realities is the most susceptible to prodding.

Meanwhile, during all of this, Walter arrives at his old beach house with Baldo (again easy to spot).  Baldo tells Walter he has to find something and then walks off.  Cue mysterious alien music.  Peter ends up joining Walter at the beach house and after Walter reveals that he once stepped over to the alternate universe to retrieve something he lost, he remembers what he is supposed to find: a remote that will permanently seal any open portal to the alt universe.  And it turns out there’s one close to the beach house!  Peter and Walter jump into the Action Station Wagon and head over to the portal soft spot at Reiden Lake.

And then, the Mexican standoff.  Jones is there, doing his best to open the portal, and Olivia and Francis are there doing their best to stop Jones.  But, it’s Peter who saves the day with the magic remote control, and he closes the portal while Jones is only halfway through, scissoring the man in half.  Goodbye, Mr. Jones.

Hint of Things to Come:

After harassing Nina for a bit, Olivia is finally given the ok to visit Bell in Manhattan.  She goes, waits, and Bell doesn’t show.  Frustrated, she gets on the elevator but is transferred to the alternate universe where the Twin Towers still exist, and the White House doesn’t –the newspaper on the table said “Obama’s move into new White House.”  Man, I can’t tell you how happy I am that they didn’t go with the standard alternate universe twist of the rival candidate winning the election.  Ugh, can you imagine how effed up the McCain/Palin governed universe would’ve been?  Pretty effed up.  Also I like how Obama is so awesome he wins the candidacy for President of the United States in both universes.  Also, we finally meet Bell, who actually seems like a really nice guy (or I’m just soft for Spock).  And did you notice the oxygen tank on the table?  Is Bell sick?  How long will Olivia be in this alternate universe?  Will the other members of Team Fringe cross over?

Suckerpunch:

You may be surprised that my suckerpunch moment wasn’t the fact that Olivia is standing in the alternate reality Twin Towers.  Not that that wasn’t mind blowing, but I’ve always kind of suspected that the season would end with Olivia in the alt universe.  And really, I see it more as a promise of things to come rather than a ‘WHOA MY GOD!’ moment.

No, the thing that suckerpunched me was the fact that Peter is an alternate universe Peter and the real Peter died a long effing time ago!! WHOA MY GOD.  When Walter first visited the grave at the beginning of the episode, I thought it was his wife’s.  And when he spoke to Peter about going to the alternate universe to get something he lost, I also assumed that it was a mission to get alt universe wife (that ultimately failed).  I had NO IDEA that regular universe Peter died and that Walter up and STOLE alt universe Peter.

After a bit of reflection, I realize that I should’ve seen this coming.  Walter has alluded to a childhood sickness of Peter’s a few times (once in this episode even) and Peter always claims that he knows nothing about that.  Well, that’s because it didn’t freaking happen to him!!!!

I gotta tell you, I can’t get enough of this twist.  I want to know how Walter stole alt Peter and I want to know if there’s an alt Walter out there looking for his Peter.  Also, was original Peter’s death a contributing factor to Walter’s insanity?  Just the fact that Walter was so driven by grief that he passed over into another universe just to have his son again is so incredibly moving, and it sheds a new light on Walter as a father.

And so ends Fringe Season one.

One last thing–I got a HUGE laugh when Walter said you could go alternative universe traveling…if you took LSD.  Only Walter, people.  Only Walter.

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Rhea Dee teeters between hipster and geek (at least that’s what that one quiz said).  She spends her time collecting vintage junk, daydreaming about Eli Roth, and pondering the genius of John Carpenter soundtracks.  She really likes horror films.

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