Last night’s Fringe was one hell of a jaw-dropper. The season premiere set the bar high, and “In Absentia” met it in a big way. The episode saw the Bishops and Astrid returning to the beloved lab at Harvard in a search for clues Walter may have left behind. You may recall from last week that in 2015, before they were Ambered, Walter had been working with September on a way to rid the world of the Observers. The information was scrambled in Walter’s mind as a precaution against Observer mind-reading, and would’ve required a device to be reassembled. The plans were, apparently, destroyed after Walter was captured by Captain Windmark of the Observers. Convinced that Walter must have left documentation behind during his work with September, the team returns to the lab only to find it encased in Amber, along with Walter’s old Betamax recorder.
In trying to free the recorder from Amber, the team ends up capturing a Loyalist, whom Etta tortures for information. Olivia tries a softer touch with the Observer sympathizer, and Peter and Etta venture deeper into the Observer base to restore power to the lab. While passing through the experimental section, Etta discovers that her friend and partner Simon Foster — the other Fringe Division agent who helped Etta free Peter, Walter, and Astrid in “Letters of Transit” — has met with a shocking fate. When Walter and Astrid finally release the Betamax tape from the Amber, we learn that Walter had created and hidden a number of tapes detailing the steps that must be taken to rid the world of the Observers. At a recent Fringe set visit, Jasika Nicole revealed that Astrid will be instrumental in helping to decipher Walter’s messages.
Until “In Absentia” I had been holding out hope that Henry Ian Cusick would reprise his role as Etta’s partner — well, more than his head, at least. Personally, I am quite disappointed at his demise: I think Simon made an interesting counterpoint to Etta, and I think he would have made a great addition to the team. When it was announced that Cusick wouldn’t be returning to Scandal for season 2, I was even more hopeful that we might see him again in Fringe. That being said, I think that we needed the jeopardy that Simon’s death brings. The dangers are obviously very real, but I think that, as viewers, we can get a little complacent knowing that they obviously aren’t going to kill our main characters — at least, not this early in the season. It also raises the question of Agent Broyles’ loyalty, although his hands are more than likely tied. I’d love to see him starting to subvert the Observers and Captain Windmark, and I hope that Olivia and the team reach out to him at some point.
The more we see of newcomer Georgina Haig, who plays Etta Bishop, the more impressed I am with her performances. I’d imagine that coming into an established show as such a pivotal character must be incredibly daunting, especially one as intricate as Fringe. Add to that the sheer talent evidenced by the main cast, and it’s an even trickier proposition. Haig has been holding her own, and the moment where Etta realizes the fate of her friend is wonderfully nuanced.
I think Foster’s fate — and the experiments in general — serves to highlight the attitude that the Observers have towards humans. Common consensus among fans is that the invaders are evil, and to us, they clearly are. But are they really? The Observers are another stage in evolution: humans are to them as other animals are to us. Many humans have absolutely no compunctions with animal research, especially when it benefits us, and humanity has something of a tendency to lay waste to natural ecosystems, giving little or no thought to the effect we’re having on the rest of the environment. Not to mention the fact that the comparison to the way Europeans treated Native Americans is hardly subtle. This is not to say that I, in any way, agree with the Observers’ actions: I just find myself fascinated by some issues the writers are addressing. I think it makes an interesting contrast, too, with our previous experiences with Observers: in the past, they have been travelling through time solely for the purpose of observing important moments in our shared history. Why would history matter so much to them if humans were little more than animals?
This is, I believe, what is at the core of Olivia’s objections with the actions of the Resistance: what use is fighting if they lose their humanity along the way? How can they judge the actions of the Observers and the Loyalists, if they themselves are no better?
Even as a child, Olivia was highly empathetic, a trait augmented by the repetitive exposure to Cortexiphan. She tends to see individuals as people, even when they may be enemies, and she has a deep-rooted set of morals. By contrast, Peter’s morals tend to be more flexible: he’s willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals or protect the ones he loves. Considering Olivia’s childhood and continual traumas, it’s rather astonishing that she’s been able to hold on so tightly to who she is, and I love the conflict and contrast between mother and daughter. As evidenced by the Loyalist turning to the side of the Resistance, Olivia has a way of getting to people. Perhaps Olivia’s certainty and faith in people will serve to be a turning point for the Resistance.
As sad as I’ll be to see Fringe end, the shortened season is lending itself nicely to showcasing character development. I love that we’re getting to explore the relationships between the characters to such depth, particularly the dynamic between Etta and Olivia, and between Olivia and Peter. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, that they’re both still trying to deal with the very really loss of a child. Even though they’ve been reunited, they still lost their little girl: to them, as Peter points out, it still feels like it only happened a couple months ago. It seems as though the events of that fateful day in 2015 may slowly be revealed piece-by-piece: I’m still holding out hope that we’ll learn more about Etta’s backstory.
As viewers, we’re still learning about what this new world looks like in 2036 just as our characters are. It’s certainly been an adjustment, though our familiar characters make for a pretty good touchstone. The writers have also been great at throwing in references to the past, making a nice nod to people who’ve followed the show from the beginning. Not only that, but there are long-running themes that TPTB seem to find new and increasingly fascinating ways to address. The one that stands out to me from this episode is: are there lines we should not cross? From Walter’s experimentations on the Cortexiphan children to the Resistance’s attitude towards prisoners of war and civilian casualties, this question has been a long-running theme in Fringe.
I thought “In Absentia” was a solid kick-off to what seems to be our characters’ final mission. I’m a bit worried that the search for the tapes may feel a little too much like a treasure hunt, but I’m certainly willing to trust the team behind Fringe! Grade: B+
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I don’t know, I’m not a big fan of this season so far. Maybe I just have a particular distaste for this nomadic Mad Max apocalyptic future storylines. I also miss some of the more intellectual touches of Fringe. This season feels like the usual ‘aliens are taking over dribble.’ I loved the ‘parallel universes’ and William Bell character and continue to enjoy the acting of the main cast. But I really could care less about Etta. Yes, the actress playing her is decent and looks like a perfect cross between Peter and Olivia. But I’d prefer to see Peter’s character explored more (which it hasn’t yet been). Olivia’s nuances were explored in this episode and as always, through the brilliant acting skills of John Noble, we get so much. But overall, I’m sad that this is the note we end on. I almost wish it had ended last season (perhaps with an additional episode to wrap it up). But who knows, maybe things will get better.
In complete agreement with you yvesklein. Something feels off. It’s not the Fringe I know and love, and almost everything that’s happened previously seems to have been swept under the carpet. This could have been any other ordinary sci-fi show, so it’s dissapointing that this is the direction that the writers have decided to end it on.
What really annoys me is how the characters are just like “meh, whatever”. I’m sure being woken up 30 years in the future would have a lot more emotional side effects, and they have just jumped straight into trying to save a world they don’t understand without much time to think about what the feck is going on.
That said, seeing Simon’s head was an unpleasant but brilliant surprise. Not many things on Fringe have freaked me out, but this certainly did, and was the first thing this season that I liked (as gruesome as that might sound)
Oh yeah and Eric Lange was really good in this episode too. It took me ages to realise who it was. I’ve only ever known him from being on Lost, and it was cool to see him play a sympathetic character as opposed to his arrogant character on Lost.
I agree that this final season started off a little iffy with the alien cliché, but In Absentia helped alleviate some of my concerns. I was talking about it with a few of my coworkers at DISH, and we think In Absentia simplified things, and focused more on the characters (Etta is my favorite). As long as the season continues in that vein, and doesn’t overemphasize the aliens, it should be pretty good. Since this is the last season as well, I’m recording it on my Hopper to re-watch later. It’s great that I have enough memory to save the entire season, so hopefully the writers won’t disappoint and center on the aliens. I’m looking more for character development, and seeing how Etta changes now that she has Olivia around to influence her.