Monday, February 21, 2011

Fringe: Season 3 Episode 14 - 6B


Hello fellow Fringe freaks!  I apologize for the delay on this recap.  Had some company over the weekend and it was difficult to find time to sit down and type something up.  I enjoyed Friday night's episode, but not without some minor complaints.  With the 2nd half of season 2 going into season 3, Fringe has done an excellent job of tying the Case of the Week into the ongoing mythology of the show.  This could be directly related to character drama or just advancing the overarching plot of the show in general.  I think in this episode, they may have taken some liberties with the case of the week in trying to find a way to make it all tie together.  Don't get me wrong, it made for great drama but it was pretty heavily handed.  But the episode was still an enjoyable ride.  The Peter/Olivia drama, the Walter identifying with Walternate's dilemmas and faced with the same decisions, bringing season 1 cases back to the forefront, etc...  And the ratings were back up a bit!  No complaints here if we can keep getting our FRINGE on for every foreseeable weekend from September to May!  (with a couple hiatuses here and there of course)   So, without further adieu, here comes my abbreviated recap!



Fringe Case of the Week
Okay, so the case of the week had to do with an apartment building where some freaky things had been going on.  Intense emotion led to a woman seeing her husband that just died a few months ago.  Ahh but it was NOT her husband!  It was Alternahusband from the other side!  Apparently, the reverse had happened to this man.  On each side a coin was flipped to go change a fuse or circuit breaker.  On our side, the husband lost the coin toss, went to change the fuse and died.  On the other side, the wife lost the coin toss, same result.   Both Wife on our side and Husband on our side were in such a grieving process they were able to see the other side.  2 strong emotional connections.  However, this was the cause of almost opening a vortex that would suck in our whole universe if not contained.  At the end of the day, Peter and Olivia figured out what was going on due to them having some emotional entanglements themselves.  They convinced the old lady that she was not seeing her husband.  She eventually figured it out when the man said that the girls miss her and they never had children.   Crazy stuff.  Crisis averted but not without leaving Walter with some dilemmas to resolve in the near future.






The final scene of the episode had Lincoln and Fauxlivia investigating apartment 6B on the other side.  They could not find any activity of a vortex opening, talked to the old man who lied and said he knew nothing about what was going on.  Of course, we knew that they were saved by Peter and Olivia on our side.  Possibly hints of these teams working together to avert crises of universal catastrophes?  Time will tell.


Mythology Stuff
Peter/Olivia
  • Thanks to Walter's meddling, Peter and Olivia began talking about their drama this week.  Olivia told Peter that he knows he still has feelings for Fauxlivia.  Peter stuck to his usual case.  He does still think about her because he saw what their future would look like.  The future he wants with Olivia.  He blames Olivia for holding them back now.  Kinda true, but can you blame her?  There is not one person in this world that can walk in her shoes unless they have been duped by an identical twin before!
  • While doing some investigations, Peter and Olivia decide to hit up a bar near the apartment building.  Things get hot and heavy and Peter and Olivia end up kissing.  Uh oh, Peter is glimmering again!  Olivia is terrified and is subconsciously stopping their relationship from advancing.   Of course, this leads them to resolving the case of the week.  Intense emotion leads to people seeing the other side.  Replicating the effects of cortexiphan or something like that.


  • Peter gives a big speech to the old lady about there being evidence of a life shared with someone else.  Something many people dream of.  Olivia takes notice and it helps her drop her issues. 
  • At the end of the episode, Olivia invites herself over to Peter's place while Walter is hanging out at Massive Dynamic in New York.  They have a drink and then Olivia tells Peter how she wants the same things he wants.  A life shared together.   Next thing you know it they start smooching again.   For some reason this reminded me of the first time Ross and Rachel "you know".  She laughed and laughed the first time (Peter glimmered because Olivia is afraid), and then they got beyond their issues and "this time it's not so funny" (no more glimmer, not so afraid this time)    So sue me, I like FRIENDS!   Anyway, Olivia reaches for Peter's hand and they go upstairs to "play scrabble" if you know what I mean! 




Well, this would be the case of the WRITERS getting their cake and eating it too.  They're putting Peter and Olivia together but already knowing that the audience knows there is more drama awaits them in the near future.   Fauxlivia is still preggers!  Now, I'll be the first to admit that if OLIVIA becomes pregnant too that is just crossing the line of ridiculousness!  So, let's just keep one universe's Olivia pregnant and see what happens there.  But the Peter/Olivia fans are at least having their temporary moment.  I won't pretend to be for or against the Fringe couple getting together.  Yes, even in season 1 I figured eventually it would happen.  And with most shows I usually do support the main characters reaching that romantic conclusion (I was always rooting for Jack and Kate on LOST), but with Fringe, it always seemed secondary to me to the major storyline.  Of course, they have gone ahead and made it the central focus of FRINGE, so I may not have a choice but to root for these 2!   Without getting too spoilery on next week's episode, if the previews are any indication, Fringe may make a pretty convincing case for their relationship's importance.  We'll see! 


Walter's Walternate Issues
So we get our first crack in our universe in this episode.  This episode was a case study in "what would you do if you were in Walternate's shoes?"  Walter realized that he had no idea how to stop a universal vortex from sucking in their universe without resorting to AMBER containment.  Do you remember back in season 1 the episode with the bus encased in amber?  Well, Walter did too.  And he realized it was the same substance Walternate had commissioned to use to contain holes in the universe OVER THERE.  


  • Walter fears that this is their only option.  Olivia thinks this is a last resort and an awful option at that.  She had spent more time OVER THERE and had first had experience at watching people get encased in it. (There was that episode where the twins swapped places)
  • In the end, Walter and Broyles were faced with a decision to save their universe but at the same time, encasing Peter and Olivia in the amber (as they were confronting the old lady).  Naturally, the crisis was averted but not without leaving Walter with some decisions to make. 
  • He and Nina Sharp have a heart to heart at the end of the episode.  Walter does not know how to stop these vortexes in a safer manner.  Nina advised him that he better start finding a way.  

  • Perhaps whatever Walter may discover can be technology shared with Walternate and making BOTH sides able to coexist?  Eh, we'll see! 
  • One interesting thing to bring up is that this is 2 episodes in a row where we see the humanization of Walternate.  It happened easier with the other OVER THERE characters, but now we see that Walternate does not want to experiment on children.  And now we see that encasing these people in amber most likely was one of the most difficult decisions of his life.  What else was he supposed to do?  The fact that Walter said he convinced himself that Walternate was an evil man because it was just easier to function that way, speaks miles of where they are going with this story.  



Observ'er'ations
  • Glyph Code of the week: HEARTS - Seems pretty self-explanatory this week.  Peter and Olivia shared a big moment.  And the central storyline this week was about loss of a true love.  Thanks to  fringepedia for the image.  But I must note that the final glyph in this picture had a HEART under the hand instead of the usual circle.  Pretty crafty! 



  • Observer spotted!  - He was right in the beginning of the episode when that couple was going to a party in the apartment building.  

  • Food of the week - PANCAKES! - Per Peter, Walter's blueberry pancakes are fantastic.  We do catch Walter eating a hot dog on the way to the crime scene as well.  

  • Walterism of the week - Walter was pretty serious and somber for most of this episode but he did have a great line in the beginning.  "Breakfast!  The most important meal of the day and I proved it in 1973!"

    Then again, the Flash Mob Suicide line was pretty classic too.  
  • Fauxlivia says that their Astrid is NEVER WRONG and she identified the tear in the universe.  I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not because we have seen that Alternastrid has been wrong A LOT! 
  • Broyles got a little joke in this one.  When discussing unleashing the amber, Peter jokes with Broyles that this isn't exactly the way you want to meet the President.  Broyles responds with "I already know him.  He doesn't like me, I beat him at golf."   This goes down as the most random line EVER on Fringe!  But, I still laughed.  

Well, that's all I have for this week.  Again, sorry for the delay.  I hope to be more timely with this Friday's episode, especially since it looks like it's going to be a big one!  That's all I'll say.  I look forward to any comments you have and I'll see you later this week for the next episode! 

End Credits


  • Follow me on Twitter for any future blog postings and any interesting news I find. @TVAddictsBlog
  • I don't have faith that the ratings are going to return for The Event due to NBC's lousy scheduling, but I'll still continue to recap! NBC just confirmed it's returning on March 7th.  What a travesty!  No one is coming back to watch this one, but if you do please keep checking for my recaps! 
  • I'll definitely be there when The Walking Dead returns, but that's most likely in the fall! AMC has been reairing the show though so if you ever catch it, you can find my recaps at the link. DVD/Blu comes out in March as well.
  • Shows I'm watching right now (and might comment on time permitting): Episodes, Shameless (both Showtime), Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, V, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Big Bang Theory, The Office, Community, 30 Rock, Smallville and others that I won't mention out of embarrassment!
  • Upcoming shows I'm looking forward to: Game of Thrones (HBO), Terra Nova (FOX - Pilot airs in May but show begins in fall), Breaking Bad (AMC), Several JJ Abrams shows launching in the fall (Alcatraz with Jorge Garcia, Odd Jobs with Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn to name a couple)  It looks like Odd Jobs may get put on hold indefinitely now that Michael Emerson has signed up for a JJ Abrams pilot on CBS: Person of Interest  Naturally, I'll have to check that out too. 
  • I know it's sometimes looked at as a blemish on my beautiful blogging record, but I am still watching American Idol and while I've cut back on my dedication to blogging about the show, I'm still posting some comments about the auditions on my latest post. If you watch the show, feel free to praise and make fun of the show with me!

22 comments:

MJ said...

I know that we have laughed before about how shows seems to move characters so quickly around the country - but this show was just blatant with it. They acted like going from Massachusets to Brooklyn was a 10 minute drive. LOL I can assure you that getting into Bklyn is NEVER quick.

And they make such assumptions - there is no way any one can know that the couple tosses coins on the other side just like they do here. They also assume his wife is passed away.

I enjoyed Walter coming to the realization that Walternet might not be all bad. Similar to Walking Dead and Survivors - you just can't say what you will do when forced into a situation that needs action.

Loved the people just dropping to the ground - that was freaky as hell. Could be very interesting to have the 2 sets of teams on each side have to coordinate and work together.

One of the best lines ? 'Is this back-talk Walter Day ? Because no one has informed me' - or something similar to that. I remembered the exact line earlier - but now can't get it off the tip of my tongue.

Still watching the show on Friday, after DVRing it - afterall - they have no clue when I watch since I don't have a Nielson box.

Mike V. said...

Oh yeah, Fringe always seemed to be the prototype for suspending disbelief of traveling across the country or even from state to state. I remember the Fringe team travelling from Boston to Philly as if it was nothing in season 2. Good times. But for some reason, I let the show slide on this. Even Peter made the observation at the end of the episode that Walter STAYED in New York for the night. So, I guess there is the chance that they traveled to NYC and stayed there until the mission was over or something. I dunno. lol

Yep, the whole coin toss thing is one of those things where I was suggesting they really stretched this story to fit their needs. I should have gotten into more detail, but I wasn't feeling like taking a deep dive into that storyline! lol

Yeah, agreed on the analogy to Walking Dead with Fringe. I even go one step further and compare it to LOST. But in a different way. LOST would introduce us to characters and make us think the worst of them, but then after several seasons, or just several episodes, they make us change our mind about them and the justification for their motives. (Jin, Sawyer, Ben, Man in Black are great examples. They tried to do it with Ana Lucia but I think people just hated her regardless lol) Of course, with the Man in Black - even if we could see where he was coming from, he was still the villain that needed to be dealt with!

Yeah, the people dropping through the ground was a good time too. Another sacrifice from me not really recapping the case! (I'll admit it, I may have had a few drinks on Friday night and probably shouldn't have tried watching the show that night! lol I finished in on Saturday but didn't rewind!)

Hmm...i don't remember that line! (see previous paragraph)...I may have to go back and check that one.

Yeah, I'm the same way. I don't have a Nielsen box either, but I still feel better about myself if i watch on Friday. They really need to get their acts together and find a different way to measure television ratings. I know it's all advertising based, but they already have product placement galore in television shows now. It should all be factored into what people are watching. I mean, I wonder how accurate that system really is in the modern world anyway? Was it really 4 million people watching Fringe live? what about people just watching on a DVR live? It's still on a 3 second delay because everything on a DVR is recorded! I dunno...I'm just blabbering but come on it's 2011 and this is still how we measure television? And this is how the networks make their decisions on what lives and dies? come on.

Okay, off the soapbox for now!

Anonymous said...

MIke,
After the The Event fiasco(and others), I was pretty turned off on TV series shows.
But my 15 year old daughter got me to watching Fringe and now I'm trying to catch up.
BTW if you have some good sources for seasons 1 and 2 online that would be great.

I am way behind the curve on this show, but I do recall someone saying that Peter will have to choose one or the other world's to survive. And that would likely be determined by his choice of Olivias. Until last night,with the pregnancy and Fauxlivias relationship with him, I really thought it would be the other world, also since Walternate is his real father. In some ways Olivia has to have reservations about Peter since he's really Fauxpeter.

This show deserves a much better time slot.

Richard

MJ said...

Oh I agree - in 2011 how is it that Big Brother does not know exactly who and how many people are watching a show live or on DVR that night ?!? Or DO theyy ? LOL j/k But they do seem to know every other thing we do.

Won't comment on HIMYM til I know you watched. Chuck was great though

Mike V. said...

@Richard - Glad to hear you're catching up on Fringe! I'm actually rewatching season 1 and 2 as we speak. (well not literally as we speak, but I am working my way through them). As for reference or blogs...hmmm...I would really just look at fringepedia.net. They have great reference material for anything coming up on the show. I'm sure there are blogs out there if you just google Fringe Blogs. Are you looking for a place to watch the episodes? I don't know any trusty "free" sources off the top of my head but Netflix is always a good option! (disc only though) Based off a quick search I found "http://www.watch-fringe-episodes.com/" but I have no idea if the site is safe or if it's going to throw a bunch of spyware on your PC somehow lol There's a website I used to get Friday Night Lights episodes, but I'll have to check my bookmarked link at home. I'm sure they have referenced the fringe eps for download. Great show though. Season 1 is a bit different from where we are now. But it's great background and setup for where we are. The show started really hitting its stride in the middle of season 2.

It sounds like you're watching the most recent episodes too which is great. But yeah, it may throw you off on some things without having the background yet. We inherently feel like OUR WORLD are the "GOOD GUYS" and where Peter belongs (even though they are doing a great job of humanizing the alternate universe crew and making us root for them too). We feel like if he has to end up with one Olivia or the other (after all the back and forth drama is all said and done), it should most likely be OUR Olivia because that's what we have seen for 2 seasons prior. We saw them building a relationship not this little Unknowing Fling he had with Fauxlivia. As far as Walternate being Peter's real father, Walter was only trying to help Peter when he brought him over here and it looks like this week's episode will delve into that further. There is definitely some conflict between Walter and Peter that I'm not sure is fully resolved yet, but I don't think peter feels like he really has any relationship to go back to with his REAL father. But, on the flipside (or really just another side) Olivia had also promised Alterna-Broyles that she would attempt to save BOTH worlds. There is also the whole "don't trust sam weiss" information out there. Sam is the one that said Peter would have to choose. It could be a load of bs! I think using that machine is going to do OPTION C. Not A - Destroy Our World or B - Destroy Their World. C would be either somehow combine both of our worlds or CREATE something new. Whatever it is...I would think it would be setting up whatever season 4 will be.

Definitely deserves a better time slot, but we have to move forward with the hand we're dealt. I really think FOX will AT LEAST renew it for 1 more season. Beyond that, it will really depend if the viewers stick with it. I like how TV Guide's Matt Roush likened it to FOX's version of Chuck. Both shows have rabid fanbases that will stick with it through thick and thin. While the ratings aren't super high, it's still good press to keep the show alive. I think FOX likes the fact that they have a consistent audience on Fridays. If they plopped some new show in there or a show that they're just trying to burn off episodes, of course it's going to fail. I don't think they're trying to set Fringe up to fail.

I really have no idea what I'm talking about anymore! Definitely just rambling lol But hey, like I said, I'm glad you're on board! The more the merrier!

Mike V. said...

@MJ - They very well COULD know how many people REALLY are watching TV, but maybe those numbers still don't matter and aren't made public. Because all that really matters is who are watching those commercials? And that's where I cry FOUL! It's such an outdated system. WE BEAT THE SYSTEM people! DVRs have rendered traditional commercials ALMOST irrelevant. So, advertisers and studios have battled back with product placement. Hey, I'm fine with it! But, if we are putting products into shows AND the people who are DVRing those shows are seeing those products and, in turn, buying them WHY aren't they getting credit for watching the show? Sure, they do get some credit in the DVR + 7 day numbers. But I dunno. I'm not marketing genius, but I think everyone knows that measuring TV AND Advertising by Nielsen is very outdated. We need to resolve this ASAP!

SPOILER ALERT FOR OTHER SHOWS that aired last night:

HIMYM - Watched it, loved it! Very interesting in the final moments. Did we know that Marshall was a groomsman too? After thinking more about Zoe/Zoey, I knew she couldn't be the mother. Whoever the mother is has to be whoever Rachel Bilson's roommate was at the college Ted teaches at. Definitely wasn't Zoey! Anyway, she's a fun person to have around for now. But whose wedding is this!? And is he really going to meet the mother AT the wedding? My wife said that it isn't necessarily where he meets her because we all know Ted likes to go the long way about telling a story....so the Wedding could just have been where he decided to start the story at the airport. But in any case, the wedding will play a pivotal role in the wedding. So Marshall and Ted are both groomsmen (unless it's a black tie wedding) and Ted is the best man. We know that Ted will be best man at his college friend's wedding and also potentially be the best man at Robin's wedding. Have we seen Barney in a tux yet? Because we don't know yet if it's Barney and Robin's wedding. But now Barney may be dating this other girl. Do we think this wedding will be the finale THIS season? Or will it go into another season? Or perhaps even the end of the show?

CHUCK - Loved it again also. The whole opening sequence with V-Day at the Bartowski/Grimes residence was hysterical. Casey walking into it all was icing on the face---errr cake (morgan's face that is LOL). The mission was a good time although did they just fly to England to get Vivian and bring her back and forth to Burbank for debriefings? Or is there an area of California where people drive on the wrong side of the road with british cars? (definitely saw Chuck driving in our shotgun seat! lol) Another show that just goes from point a to b to a unrealistically! Oh god and the Han and Chewie "TOYS"???? LOVED IT!!!! (tiny high five lol)

BTW - loved the finale of Episodes. Cliffhanger ending was predictable but still great. But I love how it sets up some fantastic drama for season 2! Still haven't watched Shameless.

Anonymous said...

OK, This may sound a little dejavu, but when I watched this episode and how Olivia and Peter were able to stop the vortex with people and feelings vs technology, I wondered--is this about love or something similar(re LOST too)

The vortex/vortices as I understand it will be how we see the destruction of the worlds begin. Maybe between Peter's powers, Olivia's powers(dont' know if Fauxlivia has any) and presumed Peter jrs powers--the destruction can be beat???

BTW, for me this is kind of like Lost in that I didn't like the first season of Lost either--on it's own. But in this season, due in part to my daughter, I am kind of getting hooked.

Mike V. said...

Richard, I'm guessing that's you again right? lol If not, I apologize! Yeah, the past few episodes I've been starting to get that vibe too. I think even a couple episodes ago I wrote about how I was okay with this for LOST so I should be okay with it for Fringe (LOVE or FEELINGS influencing events). For me though, it seemed like Fringe was always able to go the extra mile with Science where LOST always treaded the line between Science vs. Faith. We'll have to see where they go with it but I am hoping they ground things more in science and not make things as mystical. With LOST, it was okay because that always seemed to be part of the show (albeit, definitely more in the end than in the beginning). We'll see!

Well, I think we're lead to believe that this Ancient Technology machine is what is going to be one of the world's undoings. The vortex/ices though are another thing that could cause it. When Walter stole Peter, it started to tear away at OVER THERE which is why they are always plugging holes in their universe with amber. Now we may be facing the same issue OVER HERE. I think it was foreshadowed at the end of this episode that our Walter is going to work on a way to fix the situation without mass casualties.

You totally just put an idea into my head and it has partly to do with the previews they have been showing for this Friday. I don't want to give anything away still but it might be tough so MILD SPOILER ALERT!!

When you mentioned Peter's Powers in the same sentence as Olivia's powers it brought all of this stuff to my mind. I have been wondering why Peter is so special. Why is this random kid drawn to this machine? What scientific explanation could there be to that? Then it just hit me. CORTEXIPHAN TRIALS. Walter and William Bell experimented on many children including Olivia and many others that we keep seeing popping up. This goes out to everyone, not just Richard. But have we ever learned why Peter didn't remember being taken as a child? I think we're gonna get more this week on it. But I'm thinking that maybe somehow Walter erased his memory of the event. And didn't Olivia kind of not remember being experimented on as a child either? So, who is to say that Walter didn't inject Peter with his fair dose of cortexiphan too? Making him into the SPECIAL BEING that has the ability to create/destroy universes. Why not? We have already seen other cortexiphan children with special abilities. It would be the best explanation they could come up with other than "HE WAS DESTINED TO DO SO" Because that my friends, is all LOST, not Fringe!

Mike V. said...

Anyway, back to Richard - I can't believe you didnt' like the first season of LOST by itself! I have to ask though, did you watch as it aired or were you catching up afterwards? I was HOOKED on LOST after a few episodes. They weren't heavy into the mythology yet but just the way they unveiled the characters to us and how they slowly started taking us down the rabbit hole. Character crosses in flashbacks. All of it intrigued me. I had become an obsessed fan by that season finale. But I think my obsession really kicked into high gear after the summer of waiting between season 1 and 2. Watching the dvd of season 1 and the special features and being totally amped up for the premiere of season 2. I remember being tied up at work in the mornings and unable to discuss what happened the night before. I got so frustrated I started typing up emails to try and hit all of the points that people were discussing because I didn't want to miss out! And of course, not too many episodes later I decided to throw it all on a blog and the rest is history! Ahh good times. Not even sure why I just explained all of that, but sometimes I get on a roll :-) Oh yeah, you mentioned season 1 of LOST and it triggered some great memories!

Anyway, Fringe needs all the fans it can get so I advise you to go from "KIND OF" hooked to "FULL FLEDGED GEEK" hooked! Seriously, if you can get your hands on season 1 and 2 you're in for some entertaining stuff. Season 2 more than 1, but 1 is still good stuff.

Anonymous said...

Mike,
Yea, that was me, Richard. Sorry for being so anonymous. Thanks for the replies, great stuff.

I didn't like Lost the first season mostly due to the actors. The ones I didn't like were gone by I think midway second season, I'm not sure. But I didn't really start watching Lost until partway season 3.

One good thing about Fringe is they kind of have the story of the week where cameos of known actors happen and so that mixing it up helps the show to me. It also gives those who don't watch the show regularly, something to grasp. I've rewatched the pilot, and ep2, ep3 and season finale from the first season. Now on ep 7 of 2nd season, will have to go back and finish season 1--I know, I skipped around, but honestly after watching the season finale of S1 and the first of S2, I didn't want to go back to S1 since S2 was so much better. At least to me.

In S2 I've noticed a lot of mind control, mental capability stuff going on with Peter jokingly? saying it's probably due to LSD(at least when it comes to his Dad). It's kind of strange how he's got all these illegal narcotics in his lab while the FBI stands around and let's him do his thing--maybe another story entirely. The point I was getting to is there seems to be a kind of mental capability paradigm shift going on, where the show's writers want you to know that the power of the mind is limitless. Particularly when enhanced with drugs and/or machines. Which butresses your point on a possible Peter experiment. Could have been either or both Walter's

However Walter had a "window machine" as shown in S2, Peter ep where he could observe Walternate and other stuff going on in the other world. So, our Walter would know if Peter had been given hallucinogens.

BTW, where is that "window machine" they could use it now.

Richard

Mike V. said...

@Richard - no prob with the anonymous. Was just curious! very interesting to start watching these kind of shows in the middle. It definitely could change your perspective on how you enjoy the show. That's pretty funny that the characters you didn't like are the ones that weren't there in season 3 (Talking about LOST btw). I could see if you're used to seeing certain characters how you'd be annoyed if you went back and didn't see them. When I started from the beginning, I couldn't figure out who they were going to kill off even though they promised by the end of season 1 that someone would die. I had my guesses, but at that time everyone seemed important. If you watched season 3 and went back and didn't see Juliet, Ben or Desmond it probably would be pretty annoying. It was the same concept with the start of season 2 and 3 having all of our main characters separated and having to meet NEW characters that didn't interest us. We wanted to focus on the people we spent a season getting to know. That's hysterical that it worked the other way for you!

Anyway back to Fringe - Totally hear you on season 1 vs. 2. I think you're doing it the right way. Season 1 was mostly Stand-alone episodes where not much mythology advanced. There was the introduction to the Observers episode and others but it's basically a homework assignement. Getting to know the main characters and some of the cases they dealt with before the BIG story begins. Season 2 is definitely more exciting and you're getting close to when it really picks up. So enjoy!

Agreed, there is definitely an emphasis on the power of the mind with the show. Walter is such a great character. It wouldn't be the same without his comments on narcotics, food and flatulence. lol I would think that the Feds are giving Walter whatever he wants because he has such a good track record of resolving these impossible cases. It is hysterical though that his crazy demands are always met though!

Hmmm...I wasn't even suggesting that WALTERNATE gave Peter the drugs. I was saying that maybe Walter drugged Peter when he was over here. He pay have put Peter through the same cortexiphan studies that he did with Olivia. I dunno, I think we'll know more after this week. Good question on the window machine. I could have sworn I remembered it being destroyed, but I might be remembering things wrong!

MJ said...

I keep harking back to the Watchers' little test of whether Walter will let Peter die this time. Very ominous - and it just has to be very pertinent !

Don't know why Peter is so important but now I'm feeling that Walter has to let Peter die. He will somehow not stay dead though. But I'm feeling that somehow Walter stealing AltPeter has to be erased - but Peter will have to choose which world to live in ?

HIMYM - can't remember now but I thought we saw Robin and she was in just a plain dress - not like a bridesmaid or anything. I just hope it's not Barney and LaserTag girl - they just met so that would be ridiculous. And Robin is dating no one - so again ridiculous. Can't figure where they are going.

Eps - the fight between the guys was hysterical. Yeah - typical cliffhanger - but done well.

Shameless was outrageous - as always. I was shocked a couple of times. All I will say.

Mike V. said...

Interesting ideas about needing to let Peter die. So you think Peter will actually die...interesting! It seems though that if Walter didn't cross over and save Peter then the big plans in store for Peter would never come to fruition. So, was it the fact that Walter didn't RETURN Peter after curing him that is the issue? If so, then it's Mama Bishop's fault isn't it? Anyway, definitely an interseting thought for how this stuff will play out. If we trust Sam Weiss...Peter's "choice" will be in who he is more connected with and what kind of mood he's in when he's hooked up to the machine (sounds so ridiculous lol) ....but do we trust Sam Weiss?? I jsut don't know!

HIMYM - Hmm..you could be right about Robin. Of course, she could be a less traditional bride who won't wear a wedding dress. lol Again, do we know if this wedding will be at the end of THIS season? I think we assume, but maybe it isn't?

EPS - The fight was fantastic. Can't believe I didn't bring it up! lol

Shameless - ugh..still haven't watched. I have a feeling I'll be pulling a double header this weekend. Of course, with the Oscars that doesn't seem very probable either!

MJ said...

I'm not sure what I think ! I just feel that that test was pretty ominous and we do know that Peter should not be here. But - which Walter has to be the one to 'let him die' !?!

I do not want to start down the rabbit hole of Lost with the endless guessing to wind up never being right ! LOL And I DO believe they will have a twist we do not see coming. LOL

Chuck - yeah, forgot to mention Chewie and Han 'toys'. Hysterical. Considering they have lived together for about a year I thought it was all over the top - but good fun too so. I was positive that when they started to have Morgan in on the spying that it would be the ruination of the show - but they have done it very well. Morgan has truly grown as a character.

Anonymous said...

In a way for Peter to pick the world where the people reside, that he loves--basically makes sense--therefor, in a way Sam Weiss points out something a little obvious.

But who that ends up being could change as truths are revealed and relationships change.

Walternate is so excited about his grandson makes me wonder if it's just about a relative or maybe something scientific.

Richard

Anonymous said...

Why are there only 16 episodes for season 3?

Richard

Mike V. said...

Hey I'm writing from my phone so I'll get to longer comments later. Just wanted to say that fringe will have 22 eps this season. But I think they're only working on ep 16 now. They're not too far ahead from what we are watching.

Mike V. said...

@MJ - I hear you with not getting too "LOST-IE" with Fringe! They're totally different shows. Just makes me realize how special LOST was that we all had our own theories and wanted to share them. I can't think of another show that has ever made me think that much. And I really want that feeling again. Of course, I'd rather just have it with more LOST episodes lol But, there is hope. Lots of promising shows are on the dockett for next fall. I think at least 5 from Bad Robot (JJ ABRAMS' company). I have high hopes for Alcatraz, but I really hoped Odd Jobs would be on there too (with Emerson and O'Quinn), but Emerson is already picked up to lead another Abrams show on CBS - Person of Interest. Crazy. I guess we'll just see how it all goes!

As for Fringe - yeah, I totally agree that the observer scenario needs to come into play, but I just assumed Peter would survive whatever was going to happen. But Walter has to be willing to accept that Peter is GOING to die in whatever event transpires (but like I said, Peter will live). Just my thought!

I thought the same thing with Chuck - they really didn't live together for too long. So I thought that maybe the toys were purchased earlier during their friendship, but that wouldn't make sense considering they wanted to keep them together lol As for Morgan, totally agree. I thought it would get old after a couple episodes, but they have done a great job with it! Putting him with Alex was a great move too. I can't get enough of this show, I don't care if the critics feel this is a weak season lol. Although, it has been better after the initial 12 I think.

@Richard - Totally agree that Peter's loyalties may change once he finds about about his unborn child. And I think that is WHY Walternate is so excited. But it could be dual purposed excitement. He could be just excited to have a grandson. It seems he does love children enough to not experiment on them! I agree Sam may have pointed out something a little obvious, but I think where he might be fibbing a bit is that ONLY one world can surivive. I really expect a different outcome from using this machine. Something we may not even be thinking of yet. But we'll see! We can only hope that the machine won't send them all back in time leaving us to fend with another Time Travel season on another show with all new rules LOL (That being said, I LOVED season 5 of LOST but man did it fry our brains with all of the crazy conversations! lol)

Mike V. said...

Excited about tonight's ep!

http://watching-tv.ew.com/2011/02/25/fringe-subject-13-fox/

MJ said...

I have avoided all spoilers on tonight's ep. I do know it takes place in the past, and that there are some pretty big revelations - but have avoided hearing too much.

And don't you know that Supernatural also has a big ep tonight ! UGH

Maybe since Smallville is done this year Sup will move to 8pm so I can watch them both live.

Anonymous said...

Well, I've finished season 2. I am left with a big question that our side is on the good side.

When looking at the alternate universe, Walternate, Peter's mother,Peter's kidnapping, the various destruction points, the dead vegetation, etc--it's hard to see us as the good guys. It's obvious that Walter has destroyed a large part of their world and he even knew it might happen.

So can you blame Walternate for believing that we are destructive and must be stopped? This show has me practically rooting for my own destruction. I may have to pretend I'm in the alternate universe when I watch now.

I'm not sold that Walternate wanted to use Peter to kill the our universe. Maybe so, I would understand why for sure.

The last ep was a little light in that I don't understand why Peter didn't want to say goodbye to his mother, someone he seemed to immediately get close to. Other examples, like it would have been great to have had a back and forth between Peter and his real Dad on the machine subject, etc.

Richard

Mike V. said...

@MJ - That wouldn't be a bad idea to move Supernatural to 8 when Smallville is done.

Good job avoiding spoilers! You know pretty much what I know, but there is one additional layer to that that I know from the previews which has let me speculate on some stuff lol

@Richard - Agreed that it's hard to see OUR universe as the good guys after the finale. But since all we have seen is OUR characters up to that point, it was hard to see them as anything BESIDES the villains. Even the events in the beginning of season 3 help suggest that. But you have seen more recent episodes in season 3 so you saw them humanizing OVER THERE characters before you saw the end of season 2. Having that information helps you see the season 2 finale from a different perspective.

But in the end...I really don't think there are good guys or bad guys on either side. We see the justification on both ends. We know that Walter only took Peter to cure him. He was going to bring him back, but his wife was the one that convinced him to keep him. But because Walter crossed sides, it caused the destruction OVER THERE. And we also know that Walter is devastated that he caused that.

You could be right that Walternate never wanted to destroy our universe. But he did want to learn the ability to cross over to our side. And he did create the shapeshifters that our killing people on our side whenever they need to, in order to accomplish their mission.

To your last comment - I think the Olivia that Peter knew made a pretty convincing case for why he had to go back. She crossed worlds because she was convinced she needed to save him. And she loved him. Yes Peter talking to his real parents more would be great conversations, but having been away from them for so long....it probably didn't feel like where he belonged anymore. I wouldn't count out future meetings and discussions though. Afterall, there's a baby on the way OVER THERE.