Fringe: Season 5 Episode 12 Liberty & Episode 13 - An Enemy of Fate

Hello Fringe fans!  Welcome to our final recap of this wonderful show that we were treated to for 5 years.  I'm still working out some confusion from some of the events that transpired in our final 2 hours.  But overall, WOW!  What a great send-off for this show!  So many great scenes to wrap up character arcs and even provide a few more answers along the way.  And in the end?  It ended just like we thought it would 12 episodes (or more) ago.  But the fun was getting there.  Lots to discuss since we have 2 hours to cover, so we'll get right into it!

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 11 - The Boy Must Live

Happy New Year Fringe fans!  And WOW, what a way to set up the series finale!  A lot of our predictions are certainly becoming part of this grand finale to this 5 season epic tale.  But, even while we may have been able to predict it, they are delivering the information to us with some surprising twists.  And the best part about all of it, it all makes sense.  I love the fact that they are attempting to close some of the unfinished work from season 4 in these final episodes to deliver an even bigger emotional punch to our guts in the end.  It's all working splendidly for me and the long and slow build up to the Observer takedown is finally starting to pay off.  (We knew it would, but we thought we'd never get here)  I mentioned it in my tweet last night, but if the final 2 hours are anything like this past one, we're sure in for a treat!  Well, no sense in delaying, let's dive into this penultimate final recap of Fringe.

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 10 - Anomaly XB-6783746 (Discussion)

Hello Fringe fanatics and Happy Holidays!  As we've discussed over the past few weeks, we know FOX is not reserving special dates for these final episodes of Fringe, so they're burning one off at the end of the year.  Of course, we can't blame them.  We should just be thankful we have these episodes to close out the show!  On the downside though, I am traveling to see family for the holidays so will be unable to provide a recap for this episode.  But, I figure we'll all be catching up on the episode at our own pace.  So, just jot down your thoughts from the episode in the comments and that's how we'll handle this episode!  I'm planning to download the episode on my iPad and watch at my earliest convenience and will try to provide some comments!  I do plan on recapping the final 3 hours of the show in January, so I'll see you then.  Merry/Happy whatever holiday you celebrate and Happy New Year!

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 9 - Black Blotter

Hello Fringe fanatics!  Welcome back as we count down to the end of the series.  Last night, we got our infamous "odd man out" episode of the season.  If this were a full season of Fringe, it would have been episode 19, but since this is an abbreviated final season we have to settle for episode 9.  A couple of the episode had dealt with Walter in an induced state and this episode was no different!  But, it was a nice device to allow us to explore the inner workings of Walter's complex mind and the internal conflict he has probably been working through for some time.  But, the most important thing that happened in the episode for me?  They addressed the timeline discrepancies!!  And anyone who has read my recaps all season and comments know that this was a big sticking point for me.  I'm not saying they resolved anything with it, but at least they addressed the issue was still there.  And we'll dive more into that in the recap/analysis below.

I'll put the disclaimer out there, I was pretty tired watching the episode last night as I had just come back from a 3 hour Hobbit viewing.  (In my defense, Fringe usually would be off the air by this point in December, but Fox is totally burning off episodes as the ratings do not help them at all)  So, if I miss something go easy on me.  And for the fact that I fading to sleep during some moments of the show, I'm going to assume that the episode was fantastic from start to finish and give it my trademark WOW rating!  So, let's dive into the recap and see what I can come up with and more importantly, what everyone else can add to the conversation!

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 8 - The Human Kind

Welcome back Fringe fanatics!  Well, depending on what you look for in your Fringe, last night's episode was either a sign of relief or a big disappointment.  For me, it was just another hour heading towards a climactic conclusion.  I've probably said it before, but this season definitely has a different feel to it due to them abandoning their formula with the "case of the week" and slow build of mythology over the season.  We have gone full-on mythology to tell one continuous tale for 13 episodes.  (They refer to it as a 13 hour movie)  I'm sure there will be a reason for taking us down the path that they did.   We must remember that Fringe, at its very core, is a love story.  And the science fiction part is just the backdrop to tell that story.  I don't think I'll have many theories or analysis this week, but we'll see when we take a deeper dive.  Let's get into it!

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 7 - Five-Twenty-Ten

Hello Fringe folks! Well, we're halfway through the final run.  How are we feeling?  Last night's episode was pretty darn crazy and equally creepy.  I'm going to give it a "WOW!" review just because I don't know how they're going to get out of this mess they're creating (and because I was entertained, obviously).  We certainly have our theories and we'll retouch on them below.  But, I keep feeling there's another twist up their sleeve that we're not seeing.  Peter with the tech has been pretty darn cool, but obviously it's concerning to fans on his fate.  And it was great to see ol' Nina Sharp again!  Halfway through the season and we've finally seen all of the remaining regular cast members.  It's a 13 hour movie, and since we're 7 hours in, things should start heading towards an inevitable climactic showdown and conclusion!  Here's hoping it's going to be one for the ages.  But, until then we have a job to do.  Let's recap and analyze the episode at hand!

Fringe and The Walking Dead Recaps 11/9/2012-11/11/2012

Hello Time Traveling Zombies!  I appreciate your patience over the past couple weeks as life has gotten in the way of me recapping on a timely basis.  I think we still were able to have some good discussion on our favorite shows.  I had another busy weekend, so you're ending up with a 2 for 1 deal in this post.  We're going to catch up on the latest episodes of Fringe and The Walking Dead!  Let's not waste time and get right into this thing!

Weekly TV Discussion - 11/2/2012 - 11/10/2012

Hello TV Addicts!  Per our new tradition, here's where you can discuss any and all TV.  This week is an exception though.  Since I'll be out of town Friday through this Monday, feel free to comment on Fringe, The Walking Dead and Revolution here too.  I'll catch up when I get back!  See you in the comments! 

11/8 Update: Wasn't able to recap our usual shows but there is plenty of discussion on each of those in the comments below.  So this blog posting features discussion on the following normally recapped episodes:

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 5 - Origin Story
The Walking Dead: Season 3 Episode 4 - Killer Within
Revolution: Season 1 Episode 7 - The Children's Crusade

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 4 - The Bullet That Saved the World

Okay, now THIS is what I'm talking about!  Hello fellow Fringe fans and welcome back to the show we have loved for the past few years.  Even as I was commenting on the'seemingly sub-par 3rd episode of the season, I knew they were pacing out a 13 hour movie and that the whole thing can't be non-stop intensity or even interestingness.  I know that the seeds planted in that episode will eventually pay off.  But just looking at that week alone, it certainly was a bit boring.  They more than made up for it with the 4th episode which closes Volume 1 of our 3 volume final season.  I had a feeling someone was going to bite the "bullet" in this episode, but I really didn't think until close to when it happened that they'd actually go THERE.   What a great setup for the rest of the season.  Lots to discuss in our "Observ'er'ations"on where they go from here, but for now we have to just say WOW!  Let's get into the recap!

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 3 - The Recordist

Hello Fringe fanatics and history buffs!  We're here to discuss episode 3 of our final Fringe season.  I have to say, I'm not getting very excited to recap this episode.  It was quite a bizarre episode and with the exception of some great Walter quotes, it felt very un-"Fringe"-like to me.  I'm willing to give them a mulligan though.  They've told some pretty consistent quality stories for 3 straight seasons and change.  I'm definitely feeling a change of pace to this season with going for straight mythology episodes for the entire season.  And, I'm sure what they achieved by the end of the episode will no doubt be important but it was a tad painful getting there.  We'll, see what I can come up with in the recap below!

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 2 - In Absentia

Hello fellow Fringe Loyalists!  Welcome back to our ongoing coverage of the final season of the awesome show.  I've been enjoying our time in 2036 and even though we're a bit more serialized it still feels very FRINGE-esque.   Though, this episode got more into our usual formula.  There was a bit of a  "Case of the Week" feel to it while tying into the overall themes that our characters are currently going through.  And Walter got to mess with SCIENCE so that's always a +1 for a Fringe episode!  The episode was, and I'm sure most of this season will be for me, a WOW worthy endeavor so I'll get that out of the way.  Let's move onto the recap so we can get into the discussion!

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 1 - Transilience Thought Unifier Model - 11

Hello Fringe loyalists! We're back for one more round of awesomeness and it's thanks to the extreme loyalty of the fandom that this 13 episode final arc was allowed to happen.  I have read that these 13 episodes will act like one giant movie bringing the saga/series to a close.  You know what that means.  No more "Monster of the week" Myth-a-lone episodes that Fringe excelled at.  We are embarking on a serialized Fringe adventure to bring the 5 season long mythology to a close.  And, obviously, we're focusing on those crazy Observers and their takeover of the world.  (in their past, our future)   The first episode out was pretty darn entertaining, and I'd like to label it with my trademark WOW!

But enough of my rambling, let's dive into this recap!

Fall 2012 TV Kick-off!

Hello TV Addicts! It's been a long summer of TV blogging hibernation.  But, we obviously haven't been too quiet around here.  With summer catch-up TV and LOST rewatches there has been plenty to discuss.  (See the 3 Summer 2012 Blog posts to read up, if you're bored.  But, alas, we are once again embarking on a brand new television season!  A lot has changed in my personal life, as I alluded to last year.  With my son getting older and more mobile by the day, my spare blogging time is getting smaller and smaller!  But, you guys know I can't just quit talking TV cold turkey.  So, I will still find ways to discuss.  As for super-elongated recaps?  They may be a thing of the past (until LOST gets a reboot or somehow returns 10 or 15 years down the road or something).   Anyway, I wanted to discuss my plan in this post for at least the FALL portion of the TV season.  As always, the plan is detailed after the jump!

Fringe: Season 4 Episode 22 - Brave New World Part 2

Welcome, Fringe Fandom, to the final recap of the season!  We were treated to quite an awesome hour of television.  One that the producers thought could have sufficed as a series finale if it had to be.  Now having seen it, I can see what they mean.  But, obviously, there were plenty of loose ends from episode 19 as well as a few tidbits in this one to have us salivating for the next step!  But, they went all out in this one and it was AWESOME!   I'm going to share a few links here that contain interviews with the producers on where things may be going.  I may be referring to them in my commentary below.  Basically, it sounds like they are very excited to bring us a 13 episode "no filler" season that brings great conclusion to their 5 year story.  I figured as much, but it's great to hear it from them.  Here are the links:
TV GUIDE
TV LINE
Give Me My Remote

Okay, homework done?  The show definitely ended on a quieter, happier note this season than the last 3 (of course it didn't seem so at one point!).  But, it is just the calm before the coming storm.   We were treated to a preview of that storm in episode 19.  And we'll speculate at the end on how we think season 5 will be laid out.  But for now, we need to bring this season to a close!  Let's do it!  Oh right, and of course the episode earned a well deserved "WOW!!!"

Fringe: Season 4 Episode 21 - Brave New World Part 1

Hello my friends!  Welcome to the season 4 finale part 1 recap of Fringe!  We had another crazy episode on our hands.  Of course, it's only half of the story that will be told so we're kind of left hanging for the big conclusion.  But, WOW, didn't see that twist coming!  I guess we should have after the future vision we got a couple episodes ago.  But, the advantage the writers had was a logistical thing with a certain "retired" actor returning that somehow they kept secret from the media (or at least me).  Anyway, it led to things taking an unexpected turn in the final moments of this season, let alone series.  I'm guessing this recap might be a little lighter than usual as we will have more to dissect after part 2 airs next week.   But, you know me, I do like to ramble on about things.  So, let's see where this thing takes us!

Fringe: Season 4 Episode 20 - Worlds Apart

Hello my multi-dimensional friends!  We're here to recap one emotionally charged episode of Fringe.  But, first we have to take a brief pause in celebration to discuss Fringe's 5th and final season renewal!  WOO HOO!!!!!!  Maybe Fox and WB timed the announcement to come after last week's pivotal 19th episode that gave us a brief glimpse at a possible future and what the series end-game might be about.  Regardless of how it happened, the 2 big studios came to some kind of compromise to give us a 13 episode send-off.  Fringe will have closure folks!  And judging by how this series has always seemed to dot its i's and cross it's t's I think we're in for a real treat of a final season.  No word on if we'll get the 13 episodes in the fall (to be split up when the MLB playoffs come to town) or if they'll save it for some kind of Jan/Feb to May run, but it IS coming!! Well done to the dedicated Fringe viewers that have stuck with it this long and kept the discussion of the show alive in order to show the studios we mean business!

Of course, even knowing that the series is drawing to a close, it would seem like a lot of closure to some major arcs is happening this season as well.  When we first were introduced to OVER THERE, who would have ever foreseen the final 10-15 minutes of this episode happening?  It was a very powerful sequence and I will admit, there was a bit of welling of eyes going around in this house!  But WOW, what a great episode.  And that's only part 1 of the 3 part finale!  Of course, now that we know a little bit about the FUTURE, we can discuss where this season is going and perhaps its implications to said future.  Let's dive into the discussion!

Fringe: Season 4 Episode 19 - Letters of Transit

Well, my friends, this is one weird, wacky and AWESOME show!  As anticipated, this season's "19th" episode took us on a wild ride and made us question a lot of things about the "future" of the show.  It seemed like this episode was just randomly plucked out of what would be a season 7 of Fringe.  (or season 26 for that matter)  First, let me get my WOW out of the way because of course it's deserving of it!  Second, I just want to speculate at what the brains behind Fringe are doing here.  They had always envisioned a 7 season show, but with the ratings so low they may have known that time is short and are speeding up the plot a bit.  So, while the remaining 3 episodes of this season will close up this season's plot as they always planned, they used episode 19 as a chance to give a sneak preview of where the show was/is heading.  (We still don't know about renewal)   Maybe season 5 and 6 would have gotten us to 2015 (considering the show follows a calendar year pretty much) and we would have seen Walter encase the team in amber.  Maybe a season 7 would have taken place 20 years later when they finally take the world back.  But, we have already been told that this episode was a preview of what a shortened and final season 5 may look like.  So maybe they showed us where the plot is going and we'll be leading up to that in a fast-forwarded story in season 5 (as well as continuing that 2036 plot).   All speculation of course. They could have always planned to show us this peak into the future in season 4.  We have seen other peaks into the future too.  With an infinite amount of timelines, nothing is certain.

But, my intro paragraph is way too detailed in speculation and we haven't even recapped yet!  So, let's get to it!

Fringe: Season 4 Episode 18 - The Consultant

Welcome back Fringe-dom!  We had a decent episode last night that resolved some questions that have been growing over the season.  But, mostly it was basically a setup for things to come.  It actually seemed to be a mostly Alterna-Broyles centric episode which is probably a character we never thought we'd spend too much more time flushing out.  But, the episode was very effective in helping us sympathize with his predicament.  Anyway, let's get into the recap!

Fringe: Season 4 Episode 17 - Everything in its Right Place

Hello Fringe fans!  We had yet another great episode of Fringe last night.  It probably wasn't everyone's favorite since there was limited Walter, Olivia and Peter.  But, I was happy to visit the OVER THERE world again and catch up with what was going on.  And we finally got a bit of resolution to one of season 2 and season 3's big plot lines.  The case was definitely mythology driven with us following one of Jones's shapeshifters and setting up some chess pieces for the final conflict of the season.   And there were some other interesting developments along the way.  Let's dive in and discuss!

Fringe: Season 4 Episode 16 - Nothing as It Seems

Hello Fringe-dom!  We were treated to a quite interesting episode last night.  If it's been awhile since you've seen season 1, you may have been feeling some deja vu but not quite pinpointing that the opening clip of the episode was reshowing us something we've already seen.  Of course, since we're in a revised timeline (of sorts), things were a bit different.  But call me totally confused.  The big point I couldn't get over is that it is 3 years later, so I'm not sure how any of it could be EXACTLY the same.  But, if we can all get past that, then the other points brought up in the episode are very interesting.  Plus, the title of the episode pretty much seems to be telling us, "don't worry, it's okay to be confused."  So, I'll try not to harp on that too much in the recap.  And, I should mention that the comedy and heartfelt moments were at an all time high in this episode, making up for the questionable case.   Let's get to it!