Saturday, April 23, 2011

Fringe: Season 3 Episode 20 - 6:02 AM EST


Hello Fringe Fanatics!  Welcome back as we continue our season 3 discussion with the latest installment.  This installment happens to be what can be thought of as Part 1 of an epic 3 hour finale that will culminate in an event with consequences of universal proportions!  Naturally, part 1 is just setting the stage and giving us a small taste of what's to come in the coming hours.  But, man it was awesome!!  (almost broke out that "W" word reserved for LOST recaps.  And I just might have to before this season ends)  We spent some time in both universes in this episode and I'm guessing that will continue for the remainder of the season.  Soon we will find out how this conflict will be resolved and then we'll have to focus on the bigger question.  What happens after that?!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  That question probably doesn't come into play until the actual FINALE recap!  So, let's take things one step at a time and dive into this episode.

6:02, a time that will live in Fringe infamy.  It will be remembered as the time that our universe started to break apart.  Walternate has found a way to activate the machine and start the process of destroying our universe and saving theirs.  This episode dealt with the repercussions of that action on both sides.  And, I'm guessing the next 2 episodes will follow suit.  Let's do this! 

Over There
Walternate
In the beginning of the episode, Walternate arrives to meet with Brandon on an update of his grandson's blood sample analysis. 
  • It turns out that they wanted to try and extract Peter's DNA from the blood sample.  It appears maybe Walternate will keep his word and not try to use his grandson as a lab rat.  The DNA is split 50/50 between Peter and Fauxlivia giving them 23 chromosomes of Peter's DNA to work with.  (I'm going to let the LOST number slide by without referring to it.  Ahhh too late!)
  • So Brandon has found a way to activate the device using the DNA and not an actual person in the machine.  Of course, we don't know that for sure since we haven't actually seen how they activated the machine, but we can assume it for now. 
  • Brandon is thrilled to be a part of this historical event that will save their universe.  Walternate does not share in his excitement.  He, like Walter had before, referred to Oppenheimer who is referred to as the "father of the atomic bomb".   I guess events transpired similarly over there in that respect.  He even quotes Bhagavad Gita like Oppenheimer did "Now I have become Death, destroyer of worlds."  Of course, in this scenario it's quite literal.  Walternate seems like he'd rather have an alternative than doing this to save his world but that he has no choice.  He even asks for God's forgiveness.  
  • Later on in Walternate's office the 2 are monitoring their own world's statistics and it seems that the environmental degradation levels have not changed in the hours since the machine had been activated.  It would appear that Walternate's hope is that by destroying the other world it should RESTORE their world back to normal.  He himself seems to be losing faith that this will actually happen but he tries to justify it by saying that years of destruction will take longer than a few hours to repair.  Hmmm...is this foreshadowing of failure to come?   Maybe Walternate has initiated something that may impact both worlds?    Just a thought. 

Fauxlivia
  • We join Fauxlivia with her baby's nanny where we see that the trees have no leaves on them (but in our world they did).  We do see eventually that the greenery is reflecting all different kinds of seasons in our world as the universe starts going berserk.  So, maybe this is just showing us the result of that already having happened OVER THERE.   


  • Anyway, we find out it has been 3 weeks since the baby was born and this might be the first time she is taking him outside.  She's concerned about it being too cold for him.  

  • Then Liv gets paged on her antique pager (I still don't get why they use them when they have all of this advanced technology.  Maybe because their cell phones are the size of earrings?   The page says that there was a Fringe event on Liberty Island.   She leaves the baby with the nanny and heads off to her assignment.  
  • Lincoln explains on the way how severe this event is and labels it a class 10 event.  From their expression that seems to be much bigger than normal.  However, he gets a call from the Secretary (aka Walternate) and is ordered to stand down.  That it's a false alarm.   This doesn't sit well with Fauxlivia so she heads to Liberty Island anyway for answers. 



  • Fauxlivia interrupts Brandon and Walternate's scheming ways to ask Walternate a few questions.  It is here that we learn that Fauxlivia named her child Henry.  We can only assume that this is after our favorite cab driver! 


  • Fauxlivia explains that she's there on business and recalls being asked to retrieve an item during her time in our world.  A piece of tech that was part of a weapon that could be used to destroy our world.  She wanted to know if the machine was activated.   Walternate doesn't come out and say it but it is implied.  Fauxlivia implies in return that she is not to thrilled with killing billions of people to save their world, especially when one of those people is Walternate's son.   
  • Walternate states that Peter has chosen his allegiance, so he, himself, has chosen to give up his son so that she could keep hers.  Daaaamn, he's going to let his son die for the sake of their universe?  Pretty crazy!  That Walternate is one internally tortured man.  Then again, so is Walter! 


  • Fauxlivia has decided that she has made her allegiance too and she wants to do anything she can to stop the other world, the world of Bono, from being destroyed.  And she needs to find Peter to do that.  Maybe, just maybe, she'd tell him that he's a father too!   Anyway, in the biggest insult ever, she asks Lincoln to babysit while she goes galavanting across universes and find the man she loves.  Poor Lincoln and his not so secret love for Fauxlivia!   



  • By the way, I know Lincoln and Charlie had pretty much figured out that the Olivias were swapped a couple episodes back, but they never discussed it with Fauxlivia to my recollection.  It seems that they are all caught up to speed at this point.  
  • So Fauxlivia, heads back to Liberty Island and doesn't hesitate to pull a gun on Brandon.  She refers back to a season 2 episode when Walternate crossed worlds to get Peter.  She wanted to know HOW this was done, because she's going to use it as well.   After a bit of lying on Brandon's part he is finally forced to reveal where the devices are, but not without a warning.  He said they are highly unstable and Walternate took a big risk in crossing as it impacts the molecular levels in the person crossing worlds.  But Fauxlivia takes her chances and takes 2 of the devices.  One for each trip.  And then she knocked Brandon out with her gun.  I think we've all wanted to do that this season! 



  • Oh by the way, who actually found themselves excited and rooting for Fauxlivia during these scenes?  She has come a long way from being the character many hated and the character to come between Peter and Olivia.  
  • Anyway, the guards spot Fauxlivia and she makes a run for it.  She finally runs herself into a corner and tries to activate the device, but either she didn't do it right or the device didn't work. 

  • And then, she found herself locked in a cell very similar to how Olivia finished off last season.  Walternate pays her a visit.  They exchange pleasantries (not really).  Walternate tries to explain how they're a lot alike.  Willing to give up their sons for what they perceive as the greater good.  Fauxlivia doesn't see how anyone can justify killing billions as any kind of greater good.  Walternate explains how she has her ideals but he has been stripped of those by reality.  So Fauxlivia will remain in that cell until everything is over. 


So, will she really be stuck in that cell for the next 2 episodes?  I guess it's possible.  But I'm going to guess she's as crafty as OUR Olivia in getting out of a jam.  And if not, there are Lincoln and Charlie who would do anything for her.  And they share a similar contempt for Walternate.  Of course, will it matter where anyone is if universes start evaporating, colliding, merging or some other option!?   We'll find out!  But let's go see what happened in our world first. 

Over Here
6:00 am
It's breakfast time for Joe.  But Rich is seeing some crazy activity with sheep going crazy! Something ain't right in the state of New York!   Joe reluctantly gives up his breakfast coffee and heads on his way only to run into a cloud of locusts!!  Ummm, apocalypse anyone?  





(Sidenote: I did some googling on the signs of the apocalypse only to find out that Judgement Day 2011 is on May 21st!   So, at least we'll get to see the Fringe Season finale.  But, we may never find out what The Event is.  Oh snap!  I just hope we're around to see Judgement Day 2012 and we can make an annual event out of the end of the world.  I apologize to any crazies out there that believe this nonsense.)  

6:05 am

Joe arrives to help Rich round up the crazy sheep.  He acknoweldges that the sheep are indeed crazy and they're gonna need some backup!  But after he makes the call, they see something.  Something crazier than the sheep.   We will find out that this is a vortex, and that vortex will consume anything in its path.   RIP Joe, Rich, crazy sheep.




Sam Weiss
We join our favorite non-trustworthy resource at his bowling establishment.  Donnie is having a rough day on the lanes and is not happy!  But Sam assures him that it's just a bad day. 
  • Of course, perhaps the bad bowling day had something to do with some precursory signs of the end of the world.   Like bowling balls spontaneously bouncing into each other.   Sam gets concerned and goes into his office to get some ancient device.  But, it just ends up being his own rendition of Newton's Cradle.  Usually these things get activated by manually moving one of the balls into motion but this thing just started moving on its own.  The energy of this world is all out of whack!   This is probably over analyzing, but when the one ball hits the other ones it's supposed to come to a complete stop.  While the energy did seem to mostly transfer to the ball on the opposite side, all of the balls were kind of moving back and forth and not completely still.  But they are balls hanging from strings, so I'm thinking that's probably the normal part of the abnormality! 


  • We next join a young couple running around fighting over keys to a truck.  We don't know what they were jokingly arguing about but we sure did find out they were crazy about each other.  And they started kissing.  Awww.   I'm not really sure what this scene was meant to reflect because all it showed was them being in awe at the strange color of the sky!  And Sam Weiss has a strange device out in a field and is taking notes.   Is he causing the sky to be that color with this device or is it the result of the machine?  And will we ever see that couple again!?  (don't worry kids, the last one was a joke!)  




  • The device looks reminiscent of the device Walter used back in the day to view the other universe.   (In the Season 2 Episode 16 "Peter" flashback episode).  Sadly, I could not find a screenshot to see if they are indeed similar.  Anyway, Sam wrote a much of crazy formulas all to finally get it all to equal zero.   Hmm, wouldn't 5 minus 5 have been easier?  It remains a mystery what Sam is up to for now! 

Olivia and the Bishops (around 6:30 am)
  • Olivia has woken up in the arms of Peter and is quite happy.   A sight we have rarely seen with our Olivia.   We see a picture of a kid with a soccer ball (my bad, FOOTBALL for any Non-US readers!) that looks absolutely nothing like Peter did as a kid.  Are we to assume it's Peter?  And why would have have this picture from his childhood on display?  Eh, I'm not going to worry about it too much.  


  • Olivia sneaks out and runs into Naked Walter!  Fantastic scene, and I go into more detail further below!  She returns back to Peter and is just so happy with their status and could get really used to it.  She mentions how sunrise is her favorite part of the day.  So much possibility. Naturally, the phones ring and wake them up to reality.  Off to the next mission! 





  • They arrive in Accord, New York to witness the aftermath of the vortex.  The 2 men and over 500  sheep gone.  

  • Walter noticed that the granite by the scene contains quartz crystal which only appears after extreme pressure or gravitational event, or something like that.  Walter gets one of his crazy devices to analyze the granite and determines it is highly charged.  He fears that his WORST fears are coming true.  The universe is starting to fall apart.  Peter is reluctant to get on board with this hypothesis but it is deemed true shortly after by a video chat between Nina Sharp and Broyles, sponsored by Sprint!  


  • Hey, I know they have to pay the bills and I fully support that if it helps keep Fringe on the air.  But for such a key scene, it did come off a little cheesy.  Complete with Nina turning the phone around and showing Broyles the video of the machine activated.  But, it's not cheesy enough to deter from my enjoyment of the show.  I just got a little laugh out of it.  And that's fine! 

(Yes, you can even do it on 3G, take THAT iPhone!) 


  • So we find out that the machine turned on by itself and without Peter's involvement.  Based on our previous section, we know that Walternate activated the machine(s) with Baby Henry's DNA.  The magical time that it was activated?   6:02 am  3 minutes before the events in Accord, New York.  
  • Walter makes the connection that the vortex was caused by the machine's activation.  
  • Back at the lab, they're trying to understand how the machine was activated without Peter.  Walter does some analysis on the electromagnetic field surrounding the machine and realized it was similar to the field around the typewriter used to communicate with the other side.  They pieced together that Walternate is behind activating the machine.   He activated the machine on their side which triggered a sympathetic response to the machine over here.  Peter referred to it as Quantum Entanglement (which gave me a quick FlashForward Flash "back").  They still don't know how Walternate would have activated the machine but they'll have to get that reveal another day. 


  • Astrid informs them that there are several more incidents reported.  Massive colonies of bats, mini-earthquakes, and acres of land completely decimated (crops completely destroyed).  Olivia refers to that last one as The Blight.  The Blight was brought up by the shapeshifter Newton back in season 2 ("Grey Matters" episode) explaining that their land was destroyed similarly to what Astrid was now describing in our world.   Walter explains that the events will increase exponentially and there is no way to stop it.  He fears that Walternate has won.  

  • Walter, Peter and Astrid still try to figure out a way to stop it.  They debate dismantling the machine but Walter thinks it's too late to even consider that approach.    Meanwhile, Olivia talked to Nina and found out that there was an electromagnetic spike prior to the vortex at 5:45 am.  She recalls the pre-cursors that the Fringe team on the other side measured to prevent these events from spreading.  They are putting these measures along with checking for odd thermal patterns and radiation spikes into place on our side now.   
  • Olivia decides she needs to go to Massive Dynamic to work with Nina on the preventative measures.  There is an emotional parting between Peter and Olivia, which always seems to foreshadow something bad and game changing is coming. 



Activating the Machine
  • Peter thinks that one solution would be for him to try and "turn off" the machine.  This is something that Walter does not even want to consider.  But, Peter is convinced this is what he's supposed to do, and perhaps what is depicted by the drawing. 
  • Walter eventually realizes what the Observer was trying to tell him earlier this season.  "Give him the keys and save the girl."  It was more than just that specific moment when Peter asked for the keys.  He was implying that Walter was going to have to be willing to sacrifice his son for the greater good.  To fix the problems he created.  He must be willing to let Peter die.  This is what the observers discuss at the end of another episode this season when they realized Walter would be willing to let this happen.   The 2 of them share a drink to commemorate the occasion where they agreed to go on with this tragic task. 



  • Peter then mentally prepares himself and suits up for the task at hand, while Walter explains to Broyles why this must be done.  Broyles seems to have developed an understanding of their wacky scientists and wants Walter to confide his true feelings about putting his son in that machine.  Walter blames his selfishness 26 years ago to why this is happening.  His opinion as a father should not matter.   But eventually he does come clean that he is very frightened for his son.  The electrical current running through that machine is more powerful than anything he has ever seen and he just doesn't know what will happen to Peter if he goes into it. 


  • Peter says his goodbyes to Astrid and Broyles.  He gets some super conductive lubricant for his hands from Walter so his hands won't burn.  Ahh Walter, gotta love him!   We got the classic scene we see in so many shows/movies where Peter was going to pass on a message to Olivia through Astrid should he not make it but Astrid cut him off.  "You'll tell her yourself!"  




  • And then we're off.  Peter gets on the lift and is raise up to the machine.  He reaches out to touch it and something shocks him and he flies off of the lift and onto the ground bloody and unconscious!!!  WHAAAT!?!?! 





  • He is rushed to the hospital and Walter is a total mess.  And then we have what I can only imagine as John Noble's emmy submission tape for this year.  Walter, the scientist, in a chapel arguing with and praying to God.  He refers to the White Tulip from last season as being the first sign where he thought he and God were on good terms again after his unforgivable acts in the past.  But now he begs for the world to be spared and for any punishment to come down on him.  Great stuff! 




Olivia
  • Enroute to Massive Dynamic, we see a shot of the changing landscape of our world.  Some trees dead, some alive, some turning.  

  • When we get to Massive Dynamic, Nina is up in arms about not being able to find Sam Weiss.  But first she talks about how the early warning system is in effect but they only have enough amber to contain 8 cases.  Clearly, this will not be enough for the impending onslaught of universal destruction. 

  • Nina explains how this wasn't even supposed to happen.  She was told by Sam Weiss that as long as Peter and Olivia were together none of this should have happened.  We finally get a little background on Sam.  William Bell knew him and had great confidence in him.  He trusted him implicitly.  And he advised Nina to do the same.  When William went missing, Nina would consult with Sam and he knows a great deal about the machine.   Olivia was fired up at this point. Sam has known about the machine and Nina is just bringing it up now!?  Apparently, Sam had advised her to not tell anyone about it or else he'd disappear and she'd never hear from him again.  She kept it secret so she wouldn't lose the connection.  Olivia knows that she needs to find Sam Weiss, like PRONTO!  
  • Nina divulges what she found out about the First People books and how they all appear to have been written by Sam.   But they need more information.  Unfortunately, Sam has gone off the map.  Bowling Alley shut down, phone disconnected.  But Olivia is going to go after him anyway! 

  • Sam had rented an apartment in Boston under the name Seamus Wiles.  Olivia went there to check it out only to find the apartment empty.  I don't know about you, but I always pictured Sam as the type of guy that would have some Brut Cologne on at all times, didn't you? 

  • Olivia gets interrupted in her search for Sam when she finds out that Peter is in the hospital.  She races there to get the scoop from Astrid.  Peter appears to be fine, all signs point to him being alive and healthy.  The only problem is he's unconscious and they can't wake him up.  And that's about all we get with Peter in this episode.  It does remind me of the season 2 premiere when Olivia was in a coma after arriving back from the other side.  The difference was they were going to pull the plug on her because they thought she was a lost cause.  But then she woke up out of nowhere with little memory of her trip to the other side.  This is probably different than what Peter is going through, but one can never be too sure.  With those machines linked between worlds, who knows what happened by Peter touching it? 

  • But while Olivia was waiting for additional information on Peter, she sees something unusual about the sun.  Of course, maybe it wasn't the fact that it was unusual and it was just that sunrise is usually her favorite time of the day.  But in one day, things changed very drastically.   And, out of nowhere who shows up but Sam Weiss!

  • Sam knows the machine is activated and needs to be brought to it right away.  He says that Olivia has to trust him now and that they don't have a lot of time.   In fact, the word trust was brought up many times regarding Sam Weiss in this episode.  And there's one thing we saw as an anagram on a chalkboard in the finale of season 2.  "Do Not Trust Sam Weiss!!!"  
Yikes!!  So, like I said, it was just a TASTE of what's to come.  We have 2 more hours to close out this season and I'm guessing some big reveals and game changers will be coming our way!  But for now, that's all I have to say about it besides our fun stuff below! 

Observ'er'ations
  • Glyph of the Week- AGENT - I'm stumped.   Obviously we have FBI and Fringe Agents on both sides.  Of course the actual definition is "one who is authorized to act for or in place of another".  Perhaps it is hinting that maybe Peter isn't the only one who needs to be in that machine?  Perhaps that's what Sam Weiss wants to be taken to the machine?   Eh, I'm just throwing darts out there and seeing where they land!  There's also the whole Chemical Agent angle but now I'm over thinking it!  

  • Observer Spotted! - He's hanging out OVER THERE this week when Fauxlivia was leaving baby Henry with the Nanny.  

  • Walterism of the Week - Not so much a quote as a way of life.  Cooking Naked on Tuesdays!  Fantastic scene between Walter and Olivia as he's wearing nothing but slippers talks about cooking his "food of the week" Mushroom Frittata and singing about it, and still finding the time to tell Olivia to get slippers for when she stays over because the house gets quite cold!  Classic stuff.  

  • Over There observation:  There was a radio broadcast that Brandon was listening to.   The Montreal Expos were playing the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.   Everyone knows that the Expos became the Washington Nationals and the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.  And Ebbets Field? Well, that was demolished in 1960! 

  • LOST Homage of the week (kinda):  The Lead Shielding around the machine OVER THERE is called the "Faraday Cage".  Are we getting tired of Fringe giving shout outs to its awesome predecessor?  I'm not!   Okay okay....The Faraday Cage is an actual thing too, so this may have been a coincidence this time.   The cage is built to shield objects from lightning strikes, electro-static discharges and things of that sort.  And with being underneath the Statue of Liberty, they're taking all precautions necessary.  Of course, we should note that Walter actually came up with a similar idea in this episode to surround their machine in a lead casing, but then Peter volunteered himself to go into the machine. 

Okay, now your turn!  What did you all think of the episode?  Any thoughts, theories, hopes for what's to come?   I look forward to our discussion as always and I look forward to next week's episode!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you next week! 

End Credits

  • Follow me on Twitter for any future blog postings and any interesting news I find. @TVAddictsBlog
  • The Event has returned!  The show is entertaining (for right and wrong reasons), but I don't think it's looking good for renewal.  I'm still sticking with the blogging though.  So, if you're watching, come on and read 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-Ray of the 6 episode 1st season is now available.  Check it out. You won't be disappointed! 
  • Shows I'm watching right now (and might comment on time permitting): Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Big Bang Theory, The Office, Community, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Smallville and others that I won't mention out of embarrassment!
  • I also have taken up watching THE KILLING on AMC.  Fabulous murder mystery being played out over a 13 episode season.  I highly recommend tuning in! 
  • Game of Thrones has started on HBO and initially airs on Sundays at 9:00.  Check it out! It's sure to be awesome! 
  • Upcoming shows I'm looking forward to:
    Terra Nova
      (FOX) - Pilot moved to air in Fall 2011 with rest of season 1
    Breaking Bad (AMC)
    Rescue Me (FX)
    Alcatraz - with Jorge Garcia in lead role
    Odd Jobs with Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn (If it ever happens.  This has been put on hold.  Both Emerson and O'Quinn have other shows this fall that I will be checking out.)  
  • I know it's sometimes looked at as a blemish based on my other recapping habits, but I am still watching American Idol.  I have recently come out of retirement to do some quick recaps on the LIVE shows.  Just can't resist.  Come check it out if you dare! 

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

how about doing recaps on Merlin?

Mike V. said...

Thanks for the suggestion Anonymous! Actually, I have never seen an episode of Merlin so that could be a problem in me recapping! lol Plus we're getting close to "vacation time" for my blogging life! I'll try to keep going in the summer but I tend to follow the traditional TV season with shows I'm writing about. But with some strong shows coming back this summer, I may not have a choice but to initiate some discussions! (i.e. Breaking Bad, Rescue Me's final season, etc...) Plus, I'm going to keep watching (and reading) Game of Thrones and we'll see if it becomes discussion worthy soon. I'll have to look into Merlin, but I don't know of many people who watch so I'm not sure how much discussion we'd be able to have with it!

Anonymous said...

Mike,
Thank you again, I could see your excitement building in the recap.

Honestly, I had trouble getting into the ep with all of the commercials. There had to be around 7 of them. I really expected a longer glyph code with that in mind. Maybe there weren't that many breaks, but they were just longer?

1.Anyway, obviously with Walternate starting the machine Sam was surprised, he said it shouldn't have started yet. I'm wondering if the machine being started with only 1/2 of Peter's DNA is an issue for Peter now. Or maybe the machine won't work "properly".

2. Remembering that Olivia is the gatekeeper might prove important. I wonder if her and Fauxlivia have the same DNA--you would think they do? Maybe Olivia will have to save the day and her and Peter's goodbyes were the last??? Hard to believe since she's a centraal character, but we have Fauxlivia--whom I like better anyway.

3. Sam's statements on which one Peter chooses, I think is more along the lines of which machine he would have started. So, for Sam this is uncharted water possibly. And it appears that the alt world should survive?

4. In some ways, you can see both world's coming to an end resulting in a new beginning. Which if you follow the premise that the First People predate the dinosaurs that's almost what you would expect. Except at that prior time, were there two worlds as there are now. Didn't Walternate have to get parts for his machine from our world? Which makes me wonder how the two world's came into being. Maybe that is as important a question as any other? Stating it another way, if there were two world's for the first people, they both likely disappeard since we haven't seen it, unless that's a part of future seasons--LOL.

5.Another consideration is, do parallal worlds require each other? Are there always parallal worlds?

6. I'm thinking a key person or people are going to bite the dust, at least in one universe. Probably not Walter/Walternate.

Richard

Mike V. said...

Thanks Richard! Not sure I noticed the commercial break issue. But I'm always fast forwarding through them anyway. (I know...if I had a Nielsen box I would try to watch LIVE more often lol) So, the momentum was just fine for me. Let's get to your observations:

1.) Careful there Richard, I think you've gone ahead into the scenes for next week! Sam did not mention any of that in this episode. But the DNA thing could be an issue. Of course, if Sam is surprised by timelines, it could be more of an Observer tie-in. Perhaps he knows a bit about events to come as well. I dunno.

2.) Olivia is the gatekeeper of what? Does she need the keymaster?? lol (ahhh Ghostbusters) I don't really remember the gatekeeper discussion if it happened but maybe I'm just forgetting something. But yeah, I got the feeling that when Olivia and Peter were saying goodbye, it could be final. Maybe not final...but things won't be the same when next they meet. Even with Astrid asking Peter if he wanted to see Olivia before getting in the machine. and the whole TELL HER YOURSELF bit. The producers, in one of their interviews, provided a pretty cryptic message about what we might expect at the end of the season in regards to certain characters. I don't want to get too spoilerish here, but it made me keep thinking along the lines of "merging worlds" ....So I guess there's a chance that Fauxlivia could REPLACE Olivia...or they become the same person...i dunno. Again, I'm just speculating....this isn't spoiler territory! lol I could be just seeing what I want to see in their comments. And I"d reference the interview, but I forget where I read it!

3.) I still think that "don't trust sam weiss" anagram has to mean something...especially with the "TRUST" thing coming up over and over again in this episode in relation to Sam. So...yeah...I guess it could be which machine started first. I still don't think it's as simple as one world surviving over the other. And of course...we must not forget that Olivia promised Alterna-Broyles that she'd find a way to save both worlds.

4.) When we first heard of the FIRST PEOPLE...my initial thought was their original meddling with the machine CAUSED the 2 universes to exist. Maybe there was only one to start with. But I dunno...now that I've been rewatching season 1...Walter speaks of INFINITE parallel worlds. Now, maybe they've intentionally gone away from that concept for the sake of the audience being able to keep track of the show...but I dunno. As for the PARTS...Walternate took ONE part from our world for their device. Of course, that makes me wonder if OUR machine is even complete....it seemingly should be missing a piece, right?!

5.) That's an interesting though...maybe one universe can't exist without the other.

6.) Oh yeah...it wouldn't surprise me if we see some people die in this "WAR OF THE WORLDS" (pun intended) Then again...it could be not so much dying as in ceasing to exist in their current version lol

Whatever the case may be...I'm excited to see what they have planned! And I hope that I'll need to pick my jaw up off the floor when it happens!

Anonymous said...

1.Olivia has been mentioned as the gatekeeper a few times. She has a unique ability to go between the worlds due to the drugs she took at a young age. Something Walternate was working on too. This is one reason I was wondering about the DNA between Fauxlivia and Olivia. One idea is that if Olivia has special DNA where with the cortexaphine she can go between worlds, I think it might be possible for Fauxlivia's son to do as well. Walternate just needs to give him some cortexaphine. I've been waiting for that to happen a few eps now.

2. Given that the First People were here and then not. Could Sam Weiss have been the First People's Peter? It makes some sense that the only person to survive the vacuum would be the one operating it. Although it would mean the machine affects you with some serious longevity--lol.

3. It will be interesting to know how the machine builds a world/universe.

4. Who built the machine that destroys and creates worlds? It could have predated the First People in theory if there are countless parallal worlds. Assuming the First People are the first people of this world, not of all.

5. You know I've been thinking of the possibility of merging worlds a while now. Creating a third world. Who knows?

Richard

Mike V. said...

1.) Obviously I know of Olivia's abilities and why she has those abilities. I just don't remember her ever being called the gatekeeper! But I'm sure she has. Walternate still seems to have a pretty strict stance on experimenting with children. It's a line he will not cross. So I don't expect to see him injecting baby Henry with anything lately! One thing I think I forgot to mention in the recap, btw, was that it appears that Henry is not on any accelerated growth rate. It was just an accelerated gestation period. I guess Walternate perfected the drug while in OUR universe it was very unstable.
2.) Interesting thought on Sam...that's very possible I guess! We have assumed that Sam might be pretty old or there has to be some other explanation to why he has written these books. The title of the next episode may provide a hint into that. Could be a similar thing to Dempsey on the Event. (i.e. information passed down through the ages...possibly a namesake too) Of course, we still don't even know if that's what Dempsey was on The Event lol
3.) Yep, or destroy or merge or something else lol
4.) Yikes...I think there's a reason they called them the FIRST people. I don't think the Fringe folks will overcomplicate things by saying the First people only existed in one or some universes. Afterall, there are only supposed to be minor details that are different between worlds. Some decisions that are different that create different outcomes. But as far as entire races of humans? That might be a stretch!

5.) Obviously, I've been thinking of merging worlds too due to my commentary in the recaps all season lol There seems to be 3 options, maybe 4. 1.) Destroy Blue Universe 2.) Destroy Red Universe 3.) Universes Merge (whatever that means) 4.) New Universe Created while Red and Blue remain

I'm really not sure what else they could do! lol But, that's why I'm holding out hope that they'll find a way to surprise us with something crazy!

MJ said...

Another great ep! I'm getting so excited for the final shows.

I seem to recall in an interview with the actress who plays Astrid right after we visited the other side that she said the characters on each side all have the same DNA except her doppleganger. So Olivia/Fauxlivia should have the same DNA then.

Great shout out to Ghostbusters.

I was rolling off the couch when poor Olivia ran into naked Walter. Too funny.

Should have known you watched Rescue Me. I'm eagerly awaiting the final season.

Mike V. said...

Ditto here MJ. I can't wait to see how this season wraps up! I'm also, (shh don't tell anyone), excited for my Fridays and Saturdays to be freed up from blogging! LOL I can't believe how much I have gone out of my way to watch that show on Fridays and write about it on Saturdays lol I just don't know when else I would have been able to get it done...and I was so excited to watch the show that I WANTED to do it. Anyway....
Yeah...the DNA stuff makes sense. and thanks for the Ghostbusters shout out...I do what I can lol
The Naked Tuesdays Walter is as classic as they come. Fantastic!
Well, if you ever had any doubt, there is a picture of Rescue me in this site's crazy wallpaper! Which, I know...is severly due for an update! Gotta get some new shows on there!
So, I'm falling behind on some shows with the Mrs. out of town. So just a forewarning...there's a good chance I won't be watching HIMYM or Chuck tonight. I'll have to catch up over this week. The Event, naturally I will watch because I'll be recapping! lol

MJ said...

Your lucky day ! HIMYM and Chuck are both freaking repeats again.

Never noticed Rescue on the wallpaper - but I haven't looked in a long time.

Yeah - I could never be as dedicated as you are about the recaps Mike.

Mike V. said...

Are they really??? That sucks but you're right...totally works out for me! lol

Yeah, I don't really look at the wallpaper either...but then again, I put the pics there so I'm more familiar what's hiding in there lol

Trust me..I get a lot of eyerolls from my wife and friends when I say I don't want to go out because I want to watch Fringe lol Ironically, the thursday night that it got renewed I was texting back and forth with people that I needed to stay home and watch Fringe...but then once it got renewed, I said I'll go out! lol Seriously have priority issues in my life. :-)

Anonymous said...

I agree with MJ, I don't how you do it.

1. Straining my limited brain capacity I am pretty sure it was Bell who said Olivia is the gatekeeper. That was one reason she went over there to see him.

2.I kind of like the idea of their being another universe beyond these two. Makes it complicated though. If Sam is one of the First People, no big race changes. But, with a separation of millions of years, I would expect some race/slight genetic differences between the First People and today.

3.You are right so far about Walternate being steadfast in not wanting to inject kids. But Henry may be different in that with his Mom in jail and worlds being at stake and Walternate having already had him born with accelerator drugs and Henry's chromosomes being used to kill our world--I'm thinking he will. But, that's good--our differences make for great posting and when the show progresses--we will find out--lol.
4. I would also like to add to the comments on the laughter about Walter being naked, except for his slippers--telling Olivia she needed slippers here if she's going to continue spending the nights!!! Did you see his slippers--I thought they were like kids slippers with ears or something?
5. I'm wondering about Sam wanting Olivia to go to the red side to disable the machine somehow?

Richard

Mike V. said...

Richard - Thanks again. I'm not sure how i do it either! It's a lot of work, and I'm sure putting less work in would generate the same amount of discussion! lol But, I'm a perfectionist! :-)

1.) maybe it's in the conversation that Bell and Olivia have that we don't see until season 2. If that's the case...I should be coming up on that episode in my rewatch.

2.) My only issue with exploring/creating a 3rd universe in Fringe land is that it may feel a bit like "Been there/done that" for the next season. I feel like the stakes have to change in a way that creates a fresh perspective for season 4. We'll see!

3.) We definitely will find out! lol

4.) The slippers were hysterical! I tried to snag a picture but it went by so quickly. Definitely were child-like slippers. Good times lol

5.) Hmmm..it would be interesting if Olivia were to cross sides again and come face to face with Fauxlivia and find out the news of Peter's child before Peter. Actually, that sounds like something right up Fringe's alley! All that secret keeping makes for great suspense. Man, I thought Peter was never going to find out in season 2 that he was from OVER THERE. But the suspense and Walter's traumatization over it made for great television!

Anonymous said...

Another good show is 'Being Human' but both it and 'Merlin' just had their season finale. So I think they follow the fall schedule. They are both on SYFY.

Same anonymous as the first post...Susan

Mike V. said...

Thanks for the suggestions Susan. Truthfully, I never really got into the SyFy shows. I caught up on BSG after LOST was over (and totally loved it btw!) and am planning to try out Blood and Chrome when it airs. But with the onslaught of network TV, premium channel shows (HBO, Showtime) and FX and AMC shows crowding up my schedule it leaves me little time to catch up on these shows I'm missing. Plus, I already have my summer catch-up slate filled with The Wire and Sons of Anarchy lol I've heard Being Human is decent, but I've also heard it pales in comparison to the original version in the UK. And Merlin...yikes..it already has 3 seasons!? lol I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything! If only these shows streamed on Netflix!

Forgot the last qualifying factor for a show that I'm going to catch up on...I have to be able to sell my wife on it since we share the TV most of the time :-) lol I'll see what I can do!

MJ said...

Being Human IS an excellent show - both the Brit and American versions. Also like Haven, love Eureka and Warehouse 13.

SO - finally watched Game of Thrones ! Whew - a little confusing when trying to get everyone straight but by the second one I had most of them down. Great show so far. Has to be good when the first 3 characters you meet die in the first 5 mins. LOL

Mike V. said...

Yikes...that is a lot of shows to try to catch up on, but I'll try! I know I had added Warehouse 13 to my queue at one point. If this HBO Go stuff works out that I can stream to my TV through Apple TV, then that may free up my disc queue to get another show while I stream THE WIRE!

Way to go on getting to GoT! Yeah, definitely confusing in that first ep. I was explaining to my wife who everyone was the first time. It's hard to figure it all out in the book too but once you do it's great and it all comes together. That opening credits sequence does a fantastic job at setting the landscape of all the locales and I even noticed this time that every house's crest is next to the actor's names playing those characters too. Good stuff. Yeah, I had watched a "making of" scene and they contemplating skipping that first 5 minute sequence...it was the Prologue in the book and is really not very related to the rest of the first book...but apparently there are underlying themes there that we need to be made aware of. The crazy white walkers (also referred to as THE OTHERS in the book lol) make their appearance. I'm about 330 pages into the book now and still pretty far ahead of the show and I hope to keep at the pace. Great stuff coming. But what they have done so far is VERY faithful to the books. There are scenes that seem to come right off of the pages. Especially the scene with arya, sansa, joffrey and the butcher's boy by the lake. they did that scene perfectly and the fallout from the scene. This would be a tough show to recap since there's nothing really to speculate on what's coming since it is a LITERAL interpretation of the book. lol But it sure is fun to watch and discuss!

MJ said...

yeah - those white walkers were crazy ! Made me miss The Walking Dead.

And what was up with those direwolves growing so fast ? Is it some mystical thing or they'd just do it to hurry the story along ?

My little heart broke when Borimir (?Ned?) had to kill Lady ! But that's what the older sister gets for not standing up for her little sister and lying - but it was hard to watch.

Mike V. said...

I sure do miss the Walking Dead too!

One thing that I've noticed in the George R.R. Martin books is that time passes between each chapter. I think even Catelyn (Ned's wife) mentioned in the first episode that a month went by between a couple scenes and she even commented how the wolves were growing fast. But yeah...apparently, it takes months to transport the King and all of his people from Winterfell to King's Landing. I don't think they're quite there yet in the show. But the direwolves are fictional creatures...so maybe they do grow quickly!

ahh Boromir...now I just want to go watch LOTR! lol But yeah, even though I knew it was coming I just sat there hoping he was going to set Lady free. It was very sad. Yeah Sansa is a little B! lol Arya is an awesome character and hopefully that gets portrayed in the show too. As far as Sean Bean -> his character's name is Eddard but he goes by the nickname Ned. For the first couple chapters I was trying to figure out the difference between Ned and Eddard! lol Fortunately, there is an Appendix in the back of the book that lists the characters by house and shows all of their relations, nicknames, whatever. A very complex story that Martin has weaved. But it's a good time so far!

Mike V. said...

So, I'm at the 4th episode of season 2 in my rewatch...it's the episode where Olivia remembers her conversation with William Bell....and while he didn't refer to Olivia as the "gatekeeper"...he did say there needed to be a "guardian" of the gate because there is someone trying to open a door between worlds and only one world will survive (that is what Bell believes) Then by the end of the conversation he said "you are the one Olivia. You were always the strongest one" (of the cortexiphan kids)

So, I stand corrected on the gate keeper comment lol She indeed DOES need to keep the keymaster from opening that door! And newton was just introduced as the "LEADER" which i guess we eventually find out is leader of the shapeshifter brigade.

I'm loving my rewatch!