Fringe returned tonight from an interminable hiatus with ‘Back To Where You’ve Never Been’. It quickly becomes apparent why this episode was supposed to be the winter finale (before it got delayed by baseball): the episode is jam packed with mythology, character development, the re-introduction of a familiar enemy, and an ominous Observer visit. One of my favourite aspects of Fringe is when new developments cause everything to begin to coalesce into a clear image of where the story is going, and tonight’s episode had some fascinating revelations.
Fringe’s winter finale ‘Wallflower’left us with a cliffhanger of sorts, with the revelation that Nina Sharp, Olivia’s adoptive mother, is actually the one responsible for her escalating migraines. My guess is that Nina is dosing her with Cortexiphan, presumably in an attempt to activate Olivia’s powers. As horrifying as the breach of trust is — it also makes me question this new Nina — I do hope that something comes of it: the topic of the Cortexiphan kids and their powers has always intrigued me. It’s clear that Olivia really has no idea what she’s capable of, and I can’t imagine that it would be something the writers would ignore. I assume that Nina’s motivation is much the same as Walter and Belly’s was originally, that she is ‘preparing’Olivia for the coming threats. I doubt Olivia will take it much better than she did in the original timeline, however, especially considering that the person she trusts the most is the one dosing her.
Speaking of breaking trust, I was rather disappointed in Olivia for deceiving Peter and instructing Lincoln to use the trip to the Other Side to steal information on Walternate. Not that I can really blame her, but it just serves to highlight again how different this new timeline is. I miss the dynamic between Olivia and Peter — well, between all of the characters, really — and I’m torn between what I want this new reality to end up being. That is, whether ‘our’characters are in the original universe somewhere frantically searching for Peter who can indeed get back there somehow, versus this being ‘our’reality rewritten. There seems to be support for both, and I can’t get past the fact both Walter and Olivia clearly have some sort of connection with Peter, which wouldn’t make sense if this were an ‘alternate’universe of sorts. As we saw in ‘One Night in October’, there are people who leave a mark on us, whether we’re conscious of it or not. If it truly is the original universe rewritten, I’d love to see Olivia, at the very least, start to remember what things were like before the Observers erased Peter; perhaps the doses of whatever Nina has been giving her could facilitate such a shift. I think it’d be fascinating to see Olivia trying to reconcile memories of the original reality with the relationships and experiences she’s had in this new universe.
One of my absolute favorite moments in tonight’s episode was the scene between Peter and Walternate. In some odd way, Walternate actually reminded me a bit of Walter as he was at the end of season three, at least in terms of his relationship with Peter. I’ve been missing that connection between the father and son that was such a cornerstone for the show. I love the decision to alter Walternate a bit, but I do wonder what precipitated the changes. I assume that Peter’s death as a boy would change the Other Side far less than Our Side, because he disappeared when he was just a boy anyways.
If I had to hazard a guess, it would be that David Robert Jones is responsible for some of the changes we see in Walternate. Near as I can tell, since Peter wasn’t around to prevent Jones from crossing over at the end of season 1, he made it to the Other Side as he had originally intended. Evidently, he’s been up to no good ever since, given the humanoid shapeshifters we’ve been seeing. If Walter had been suspecting a new threat for quite some time, it could have diverted some of his ire away from Our Side: he’d be too busy fighting on another front at home. I also wonder if some of Walternate’s fury in the original timeline stemmed from jealousy or bitterness. Not only did Walter kidnap Walternate’s son and trigger a cascade of detrimental effects to his universe, but Peter himself kept choosing to side with his own father’s enemies. I can’t imagine that would be easy for anyone to accept.
As always, I’m intrigued as hell about where the story will go from here. I love the idea that the two sides will have to work even more closely together in order to combat a common threat. Not to mention the ominous warning from September, our friendly neighbourhood Observer, to Olivia regarding her own death. And how does a man (I use the term loosely here) who can catch bullets end up getting shot, anyways? September has always seemed more human than the other Observers, and I assume it’s due to his continuing involvement with the Bishops and Olivia — he has let himself become invested in them, and for someone who is only supposed to observe, he does an awful lot of interfering.
Between the reappearance of David Robert Jones, the new threat to both universes, Lincoln and Peter remaining Over There, Walternate’s new status as ‘not a bad guy’, Peter’s deepening involvement in this new timeline, threats to Olivia’s life, and Walter’s continued instability and denial of Peter, I have no doubts that ‘Back to Where You’ve Never Been’is only the beginning of what promises to be a fantastic back half of season 4. A
Follow Us
How is Broyles still alive “over there”?
New timeline?!
In this timeline, Olivia also shot dead her step father. Whereas in the previous timeline he was still alive.
@James: Exactly! I’ve actually talked about her stepfather in one of my other reviews… Initially I was curious about why Peter being dead would affect that, but I guess it has something to do with them not meeting during the Cortexiphan trials.
Broyles is still alive Over There because it’s a new timeline, as James pointed out… I’m actually curious myself still about how that exactly played out, because we know Olivia was kidnapped by Walternate, but as to how she escaped or crossed back over, I’m at a loss.
It seems this new timeline redverse Broyles is a mole for Jones. Whether he's been a shapeshifter the whole time or is a recent convert or is a human working for them, that isn't clear yet. But it's a different timeline, so the course of events obviously played out to where he never died. It remains to be seen how Olivia got back home. She seems to not be aware that she actually can cross over at will or the fact her doses were lower in this timeline means she's not as powerful as the prime timeline Olivia is…so I'm assuming also since Peter was out of the equation maybe it was as simple as Altlivia did her mission and then came home and maybe they just did a straight swap. Maybe this Walternate, in his less bitter ways, just did an even exchange for the two once she got the machine pieces. But then there's still the big questions. A) Who turned on the machine[s] in the first place since neither Peter nor that whoops magically grown child Henry existed to turn it on to begin with?
It's definately a much stronger episode than most of the first block of episodes. The continous breaks in schedule thanks to the Baseball (I think) didn't help matters either. After being a fan for so long, I found the first block of Season 4 a struggle and didn't care too much for what was happening. This episode is hopefully where it picks up again I can enjoy what will most likely be the final season of Fringe :(
@DomCruise I know what you mean: while I love what they’ve done from a story standpoint, I really miss “our” timeline. That being said, it’s a fascinating way to change and explore the characters. I am curious about where they’re taking it now – and trying to remain optimistic about the ratings!
Nina has in fact been dosing Olivia with Cortexiphan, I capped it and it clearly says it on the vials that they injected into her "Cortexiphan". So it makes sense there. I'm also wondering if the prime timeline, our blueverse, is occurring right now and they are actively searching for him. It's easier for my brain to think of it like that but…sometimes I'm not sure. Either time shenanigans are in play and when Peter does return, no time or not as much time as he's been gone has passed (it was only actually 60 seconds that he was in the machine but he sort of lived a few days when he ported there even if his 2011 mind didn't stay and his 2026 mind is what we saw the perspective from) or they are truly running alongside each other and the two universes and the two timelines of those two are all on the same arrow of time, one could say.
Anyway, it does make sense this Walternate isn't as bitter, either. It's not that his own alternate (our Walter) took him even by accident and raised him and had the son side with that universe but since he knew Peter had died he had closure in a sense. A painful memory but not something you'd harbor a lifelong vendetta for. What makes me so greatly dislike Walternate in the prime timeline is his desire for revenge. And everything he did to Olivia and pretty much everyone in the process to get that revenge. In the course of events, he ended up murdering Olivia. So luckily it's a future that will never have happened because of Peter changing it. But yes, this Walternate has already had something to set his sights on, fighting this own battle at home with Jones, who is clearly responsible for the humanoid shapeshifters.
But yes WHY OH WHY is September shot. And what happened to him, where di he go, who shot him and why and what on earth makes him think Olivia has to die. I do hope and think we'll get more answers but I'm just up in arms about this now. If that had been the midseason finale, I'd have gone truly insane.
I agree with domcruise. First 2 eps of this season I hoped it would be cool in regards to exploring different character facets through alternate timelines etc.but what had in fact happened,at least for me,they'd broken the continuity in so many ways and so much to the point that I started losing interest in this seemingly almost completely new show.I'm positive they've waited too long for Peter's return,then waited waay too long for him to become an important player once again,as well as waited too long to start reuniting the stories again.The tv schedule didn't help either and now I'm afraid that'll be the cause of show's demise.I certainly hope though,that will not be the case because last night's episode was finally the one I and obviously many others have been waiting for so long..too long.It was amazing in every way as Nadine explaines and it totally reminded me of how great this show can be and how much I love it.Fact I had started to forget unfortunatelly,due to the first half of this season.Here's hoping we got our show back!
I really wish they could find a way to make the product placement on the show less obvious. The Nissan Leaf references was so over the top. It wasn't the dialogue per se, but the static shot of the steering wheel and nav display. It was shot differently than the show is normally shot so it was so clearly a commercial. But if it keeps Fringe on the air I guess illhqve to live with it.
From this season One night in October and Subject9 were the best, I did not like much of this episode.
The Walter/Peter scenes, how many times the same story, 100 or more, lost count, sick and tired of them.
Boring Walternate/Peter scene, only livened up with the Brandonate bit.
And I am always surpirsed that people see John Noble as the great actor, yet he needs all this backstory and items, clothing, younger version of a wife , a phobia, an apron, to show the different Walters.
Anna Torv on the other hand almost has nothing to work with, a few facts for Olivia and Altlivia even less, but still every version has its own depth and is a real person, awesome.
So Fringe still has done nothing with the backsory and life of Olivia, father, mother, stepfather all non issues with her, with Peter and Walter everything. What a waste.
And Olivia has now been reduced to the victim and girlfiend.
Best scene of 4.08 Olivia and the Observer, since this is the 3rd time that is has been anounced, expect them to follow it , and be prepared for Olivia dying before 4.20 to create a new universe, it will kill Fringe.