Perhaps to make up for his almost criminal underuse in last week’s “One Night in October,” the third episode of Fringe‘s fourth season focused almost entirely on Walter Bishop. The show’s resident mad scientist dealt with some real demons in the episode, from his hallucinations of his erased son Peter to his fears of returning to a mental institution. And, as the episode’s end revealed, he tried to resolve these issues by putting a metal spike in his brain. Drastic, no?
While the fate of Walter’s eye seems unclear (will he be wearing an eyepatch next week?), it was hardly the most important point of the episode. In fact, surprisingly, the show’s case of the week took front and center stage over the season’s overarching storyline. Naturally, it was pretty allegorical of the situation our heroes found themselves in.
Gus, perhaps, was supposed to represent Peter, with Aaron playing the role of our two main heroes, Olivia and Walter. Like Gus, Peter began to appear to them in a way that made them believe he was a figment of their imagination — Walter was deathly afraid of returning to the mental institution because he believed that he was hallucinating Peter. The idea — of a lonely creature attempting to connect with others — seems to almost directly apply to Peter, who seems to be getting stronger. After all, we did see him flood Walter’s mind with voices for the first time in the episode. That means that, like Gus, Peter is growing more conscious of how lonely he is, wherever he is (nonexistence is probably pretty dreary stuff). And that means we’ve got a Peter Bishop who is trying actively to return to existence.
That couldn’t be more apparent than in the episode’s final scene, when Olivia and Walter suddenly realize that they’re both being haunted by the same man. They vow to find out who he is, and suddenly it feels very reminiscent of the behavior of the fungus when it travelled down the drain of the sink: slowly, but surely, the show is leading us back to itself, back to a show that includes Peter. What a reassuring fungus. B
Fringe will return next week with the new episode “Subject 9.”
Follow Us
FINALLY, the search for Peter begins. btw, why didn't you have a review for the Doctor Who finale?
I hope Peter finally comes back next episode, I can't wait any longer. Even if it's at the end of the episode and it's a cliffhanger, I need to see him back.
I’m afraid I cannot be so sanguine. I still have hope they will get us there, but they seem in no particular hurry. To be really harsh towards the writers – “Recontectualize your perception of this”…. since last season’s finale, you’ve messed up one of the best series of all time. These monster of the week eps are getting worse and worse, no matter how cutesy a metaphor of Peter’s predicament is tied in. There’s little genuineness to the characters. Everyone except Walter was just going through the motions this week. There was an effort at some poignancy with the kid and Walter and NerdLee’s near death experience, but it didn’t pack any emotional punch because these are not the same characters we’ve invested in or rooted for. And now, it will take most of the season for this new world to play out and accept Peter? Sounds more like a device just to get new viewers up to speed. Given what goes on in Fringe Div, I mean why wouldn’t they believe Peter? Even more frustrating, this isn’t the middle of the 5th inning for this series. More like 1 out in the bottom of the 8th, i.e the last season. I believe what fans tuned in for was the human interest over the horror. At least I did. Without characters to believe in and anchor the SyFy, it just becomes a hollow exercise. Other than when both Olivia’s were on screen, these first three were mostly annoying distractions while the series needs immediate saving. Instead of reaching higher, it seems to be drifting back to the ‘meh’ episodes of Season One. They say that the first 3 years DID happen, but where’s baby Henry then? Maybe the second most poignant moment of the whole series never happened. Even Peter has no knowledge of it. There’s still time to do whatever to make this show magical again, but this ain’t it. Not even close. Don’t make us second guess why we needed a 4th season. I wouldn’t be so upset if I didn’t cherish what this series can be at the top of its game.
The good: Young Aaron was masterful casting. He was exceptional. Some of the dark humorous moments were spot on and the end scene was traumatic to say the least. I'm also happy they're attempting self contained case of the week episodes. However, it just doesn't feel like the right time to be doing that. Yes, I appreciate the show runners are caught between a rock and a hard place (self contained cases help draw in new viewers) but it just seems off. The bad: Who's POV are we dealing with now? I was confused by this. Olivia experiencing dreams of Peter but we the audience are not privy to this as we would have been in past seasons. I feel like Im observing the characters now rather than seeing things through Olivia's eyes (for the most part) which feels confusing. As much as I'm trying to buy Lincoln and Olivia as colleagues or whatever I just can't. It doesn't have anything to do with Peter, it's just an odd pairing that doesn't work. It feels as though Gabel hasn't been given enough insight or direction into that character. What the heck was their 1st scene about other than being a class in awkwardness? Personally, I think they painted themselves into a corner by making Peter not exist. Yes, re-contextualization is awesome when you make the characters significantly different but there isn't that much of a difference with them. When Fringe gets its MOTWS right (Marionette) then it flows beautifully but in this instance I was tiring of the case and wanted to get back to what I love about the show; the character relationships. I know that alienates new viewers but that's where fringe's strength lies. I think they could have done something like they did with season 3 and this time show Peter trying to get back home juxtaposed with our world and what's going on there. It would have been more energetic and exciting. I never thought I'd miss Peter Bishop but I'm craving his return so that things and the pov go back to normal. Also, someone needs to tell the make-up artist they're not doing Anna Torv any favors.
I agree on all points . . . including the make up!