Fringe 3.22 - The Day We Died - Review

Fringe 3x22 - In Which There Are No Happy Endings and Peter Doesn't Exist

A week later and my brain has finally been rewired after last week’s MIND-BLOWING Fringe finale. From the first five minutes to the last five seconds, I was enraptured. The last time I was this engaged by a season finale, an island disappeared. This time, it was a man…



Things That Made Me Happy:

The Beginning of the End - We began where we left off, with Peter catapulted 15 years into the future and rather severely injured. But with fancy future technology, he’s patched up real good and sent on his merry way into a world full of worm-holes, quarantined-zones, amber and terrorists. Welcome to 2026 folks!



The new, grey-opening titles added to the darker, apocalyptic feel, with words such as neural partitioning and thought-extraction replacing the familiar ones. Hope was also a new word.



We were immediately introduced to a grown-up Ella, played by Emily Meade who, though still cute as a button is now a junior Fringe agent. Then Olivia strutted in, giving a new meaning to the term, “LIKE A BOSS” and it was all “Hair! Heels! Skirt!” before Peter and Brazillian-Blowdryed Astrid made their appearance. At this point I was expecting Peter to retain his 2011 consciousness, so the fact that he was fully future Peter was interesting. It was fascinating seeing these future versions of our characters and the roles they have taken on.



In this new world, we also have Moreau and his band of merry terrorists. Though one episode was far too short for me to find them threatening, I found the introductory scene in which they vaporised the opera house beautifully shot and rather haunting.



Prison Break – Seeing Walter’s worst fear realised was utterly heartbreaking. And the parallel to the Pilot, so beautifully done - unlike their first meeting, this time, despite the pane of glass between them, Peter and Walter were closer than in the Pilot, where the emotional distance between them was far greater. The notion that Walter had spent all years atoning for his sins is tragic, yet plausible. The world would have needed answers so I’m glad we got reference to a trial.



Back to the Lab – The interesting thing about this episode is that we as viewers immediately took on the characters sense of time and separation. So, even though we had been in the lab in the episode before, seeing Walter enter it for the first time in fifteen or so years was a moving experience. As was his reunion with Olivia. John Noble and Anna Torv light up the screen in any of their scenes, but this was especially heart-warming as Walter whirled Olivia around and belatedly welcomed her to the family - a nice call-back to 'The Bishop Revival' when he asked an amused Peter, “Do you think she’ll call me dad?”



Olivia then showed off her X-Men powers by levitating a box WITH HER MIND, thus earning the official title of superhero. I was curious to know what else she was able to do now that she had“learned to control them”. Here’s hoping that we see more of that development in whatever timeline season 4 will be following.



I’m just going to come out and say it: 47-year old Peter Bishop, is a major hottie. He’s got a certain self-assurance that his younger self lacks. He’s at peace with himself; he’s even got a bit of a swagger going on. When he spoke to Walter in the lab, there was no resentment, no anger. He saw what we saw: a broken old man, who has paid for his crimes and lives with his sins. Peter leaving the Red Vines for Walter and ending with “No matter whose at fault, you’re my dad,” had me reaching for Kleenex and felt like a satisfying pay-off.

Where the Heart Is – Despite the world literally falling apart around them, Peter and Olivia were the picture of domestic bliss. After 15 years, they were not only still together but happily married. Out on the field, they made one hell of a power couple, but what I really liked was the intimacy and tenderness of the kitchen scene. They really sold the easy banter and comfort that comes with years of marriage and also the challenges faced with living in a world as uncertain as the one they inhabit.



Walternate & Peter – Putting a whole new spin on ‘daddy issues’, Peter and Walternate finally had their showdown. Walternate, bitter and vengeful after losing his universe basically just wanted to destroy everything and make everyone miserable. I admit, I found this rather unrealistic and tiresome. Before, his motivations were understandable – he was trying to save his world. But putting so much time and energy into destroying the Blueverse simply because he was mad seemed…shallow. Then, going after Peter fifteen years later? I’m not sure I quite buy it, but their scene was intense, and I did enjoy the dynamic between Peter and Walternate and John and Joshua knocked it out of the park. Also, I did not expect the hologram trick, so from that point onwards, I was basically hyperventilating.



The Death of Olivia Dunham – This was shocking and cold and brutal and the most undignified way for Olivia Dunham to die. Whether you expected it or not, seeing Olivia shot in the head without a chance to fight back was one of the most horrific images Fringe has ever, ever delivered. The aftermath was beautifully done, with Chris Tilton’s score sweeping over the faces of the heartbroken. Anyone who didn’t shed a tear when Peter lit that barge has their heart encased in amber.



Gene – The Gene reference had me tearing up all over again, as did the little moment between Walter and Ella. “There are no happy endings anymore,” said the young agent who once changed Walter’s story because it had no happy ending.

Going back – Eventually, after running diagnostics, Walter deduced that it was he who sent the Machine back in time. I’m still not sure how exactly he came to this conclusion, but whatever it was drove him to find Peter and convince him that there was still a chance to save both universes and Olivia. So presumably, Peter’s consciousness from 2011 got brain-ported (another one of those neat new words in the opening) and he was able to see the damage that destroying the red universe would do.



Seeing Double – Once back in 2011, Peter, positively giddy to see his love alive and his universe still intact, somehow “chooses” to tear holes in both universes, thereby creating a sort of common room, where our characters and their alternates can freely interact. As Peter’s explaining what he’s just done, he disappears as in POOF!



My confusion was temporarily pushed aside by the awesomeness of both Walter and Walternate sharing a frame. Then, as the Olivias circled each other I thought, “Wow, that’s some sexual chemistry right there!” before I remembered it was the same actress. So I’m pretty amped for the alt-team-ups in the fourth season and the implications of whatever Peterlessness might entail.



Where in the World is Peter Bishop – There are a thousand theories buzzing around at the moment. Some of them good, some of them incredibly stupid (I’m looking at you, Jeff Jensen). So, I won’t presume that mine is the ‘right’ one, or that it even comes close , but the way I understood what happened in those final moments and the way I can rationalise Peter’s disappearance is as follows:



Point A on the black line vertical represents the moment Peter stepped into the Machine. From that moment on, in 2011, the future of the Redverse was doomed and eventually ceased to exist. The future of the Blueverse continued, represented by the grey line, until 2026, the year which we saw in the finale. When Walter brain-ported Peter’s consciousness from the past to the future, Peter’s 2026 self was sent back to 2011 (see 1a) to make a different choice than the one his 2011 self had previously made. By making this different choice, his 2026 self now does not destroy the Redverse, immediately creating a future for the Redverse which previously did not exist. Similarly, the because of the Redverse’s future has changed, the Blueverse’s future has also changed. The grey timeline which 2026 Peter has travelled from no longer exists. Thus, 2026 Peter can no longer exist, and since he is the only Peter at point B, he disappears, leaving only Walter, Olivia and their alternates. The new timelines created by 2026 Peter’s choice now have different futures to the original timelines we’ve been following. These futures don’t include Peter.

THINGS THAT MADE ME NOT HAPPY (OR, QUESTIONS THAT WERE NOT ANSWERED)

Science Mumbo-Jumbo – Now usually I cut Fringe a bit of slack when it comes to science jargon and so-on. It's sci-fi show, not a science text book, they’re allowed to bend the rules. But I felt the lack of explanation in terms of Walter and the First People was a low-point. So, somehow, with very little explanation, Walter figures out that he sent the Machine back in time, through the wormhole (see 1.b) Now, the physics relating to this is rather complicated and the conditions would need to be quite specific (the pressure surrounding the hole would not only have to be extremely large but also negative - implying antigravity). I would also have liked a bit more understanding as to how they planned on actually going back and transferring Peter’s consciousness. The fact that this was sort of skimmed over bothered me. Also if Walter was indeed one of the First People, then why the mystery? Why not make the instructions more explicit, thus preventing the confusion in a billion or so years.



Mr X – In retrospect, I think it was a poor decision to bring this up if it was not going to be dealt with by the end of the season. Olivia was killed, but by Walternate. If Mr X still has us guessing in season 4, he could have been introduced early in the season. It was left as the kind of cliff-hanger that should have been addressed and wasn’t, which makes me uncomfortable and craving toast.

OTHER NOTABLES:

BROYLES’ CYBER-EYE – Did it have to glow so much? I mean really? He looked like something out of The Terminator.

NINA – At this point, I’m convinced that Nina was been using Massive Dynamic’s endless resources to fund her rejuvenation skin-care range. Either that or she found an anti-aging device somewhere in Bell’s office, because I swear she is the only character who looks 15 years younger. Damn.

END NOTES:

Since its inception in 2008, there has been the obvious comparison to the X-Files and more notably Lost. Yet, despite the fact that this episode may have invoked certain elements of the latter, I feel as if this season finally embraced Fringe’s own mythology, pulling it away from comparisons and firmly securing its place among the greatest sci-fi shows of our decade. The writers have consistently delivered on their promises, something which is becoming more and more important in an age when the line between fandom and producers is thinning. This season was not without its flaws, at times the plot felt rushed, at other times, it felt stagnant, yet the overall themes were never forgotten, the acting has never been better and I don’t think the fans have ever been more invested. And as a fan at this point, I couldn’t be happier to be coming back for a fourth season.



RATING:


9.6 OBSERVERS OBSERVING

Find the rest of my Fringe reviews at The Red Vine