UPDATE: After a day to reconsider this Fringe season finale, I went back and edited the review fairly extensively. The initial airing of the episode had me in such a state of shock and confusion that I should have waited a full day to mull it over in the first place. Here’s my revised review.
Holy smokes, what a bizarre way to end the season. Although the producers said they wrote this episode with the intention of seeing a fourth season, the way the episode ended made me feel it could go either way. By that, I mean it could have worked as either a season or series finale. It sort of covered bases, but in the end, it was a big disappointment.
I’ll start things off by admitting I enjoyed seeing the future of everyone. It was all very interesting and emotional. John Noble was incredible as Walter Bishop once again. Noble deserves some sort of award for his performance. He’s overdue if you ask me.
Watching the future Olivia (Anna Torv) was a shock. She was clearly wiser and more in control of her abilities. I would not have expected she would continue to work on them after abandoning them for so long prior to just recently.
Together with Peter, they made a great couple. It’s too bad it didn’t last for very long…
Olivia was gunned down by a brilliantly-executed sequence of events which transpired when Walternate pulled a fast one on Peter. That hologram twist was brilliant, even if the setup of that scene felt very strange. I had an uneasy feeling about the way Peter sat down.
Still, I loved the twist, followed by Walternate’s cold-hearted killing of the future Olivia. It was gut-wrenching to see it happen.
I used to enjoy time travel stories, but as I’ve grown up, I’ve grown tired of them and the complicated paradoxes that come with it. In the Fringe season three finale, we learn that Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) never existed. What?!
To me, the finale brought back memories of Lost. Everyone hoped that Lost wasn’t going to be about some dream sequence or something nonsensical like that and that’s exactly what Fringe turned out to be, in a manner of speaking.
If Peter Bishop never existed, why did Walter go over to the other world and bring Walternate’s Peter over? The war between the two universes was sparked by Walter’s kidnapping of Peter. If Walter never had a son who died, why would he feel compelled to visit the other world?
For a while, I was curious about learning more about what happened in Detroit between Broyles (Lance Reddick) and Peter, but after learning Peter’s no longer in existence, I find myself caring less about the events that transpired in Detroit and more curious about where the writers are going with the series in the larger sense.
We’ve spent a great deal of time and emotion getting to know two different universes and the versions of characters who occupy them and now Peter’s suddenly gone, having fulfilled his mission according to the observers.
The way “The Day We Died” was as confusing as it was frustrating. That scene with the observers left me scratching my head, wanting to know more. What connection, if any, did/will Peter have with the observers.
Peter’s bridging the two worlds together was definitely a clever way to reboot the series. I just don’t have a friggin’ clue where they’re going to go from here though. The Fringe producers messed with Fringe’s mythology so much with this episode that it immediately changed the entire show.
There are only a handful of shows that have thought-provoking episodes. Fringe cemented its name in that very short list with “”. There’s no way you come away from this episode not blown away and wondering what the hell just happened.
Rating: 8.5
I’d be curious to see what you thought of the episode. Please use the comment form below and share your thoughts on this episode and where Fringe may go from here.
9 Comments, Comment or Ping
Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver
Bringing both universes together, or using the machine to “heal” the fractures in each of them was the only way forwards. I think it was very clever to have shown the future with just one universe, so that we understood and realized that. I agree with you that John Noble’s performance as Walter was incredible. There are many things to explain there, from to how he ended in prison, which has not totally been explained, to why his right side seemed to be paralyzed.
What is totally surprising is the disappearance of Peter Bishop. You mention the development of the episode to cover both continuance or series ending, but I think it was developed as a series ending, and when they learned that the series was continuing they decided to remove Peter and show the observers to explain it. If the series would have not continued, removing Peter makes no sense. The grand finale would have been the scene with the main characters from both worlds and Peter bringing them together. However, leaving it like that gives the sensation of ending, with no real intrigue of what is to come. Thus, we remove Peter, to have something to start developing the next season on.
May 7th, 2011
James Chamberlin
Well said, Alfonso.
I too noticed the paralyzed side of Walter’s face. It took me by surprise too. That whole episode was surprising. It felt like a huge curveball, taking me in a direction I wasn’t expecting whatsoever.
It’s kind of refreshing when you consider how few shows are crazy/brave enough to try something like that. Only time will tell if it all works out. I still intend to watch next season, but it’ll take me a while to recover from that mind-blowing finale.
May 7th, 2011
Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver
The real question is if Peter is really gone forever. That is what I’ve been chewing on since last night. On the one side I don’t want to see him go. Peter makes Walter human, because of his continuous concern of losing him. The clear example of what Walter would have become without Peter is Walternate. There is also a long relationship between him and Olivia, a relationship we have all been following, pushing, and debating for over three years now. I can’t believe that is gone. Are we really going to be deprived from Peter’s reaction to learning that he has a child with Folivia? Seriously? What about the fight between Olivia and Folivia for Peter? That was something I was so much looking forward to!!!
On the other hand I would feel betrayed if they bring Peter back in a cheap way, because that would definitely proof that this season’s ending was a rushed-up job, without real consideration. I’m obviously going to continue to watch, because there is really no other series that I would rather watch. Walter is just the best TV character out there, and could never stop watching John Noble develop it.
May 7th, 2011
James Chamberlin
After a day to reconsider the episode, I decided to edit my review fairly extensively. I admittedly should have taken a full day before writing my initial review. It was pretty poorly done.
May 7th, 2011
Giedrius
can someone tell me if there is going to be more series or seasons?
May 8th, 2011
bobby
As others have mentioned, I think the removal of Peter was an unexpected move. However I do agree with the author in the sense that the fundamentals and the ‘mythology’ of Fringe have been substantially altered.
In short, the cliff hanger of the potential “end of the universe(s)” and Peters intimate relation with Oliva, Folivia and the end of the universe is what kept us watching. With peter gone, the producers have a large gap to fill.
The author’s confusion on Peter’s disappearance is understandable, but it is the fundamentals of time traveling paradoxes. It is a circular event in which A cannot exist without B, and vice versa. Of course the author knows that, but what the series illustrates is that they intercept the course of actions between A -> B, making a parallel universe with option C, the merge of the two universes. Peter can exist, and not exist at the same time simply because time is not two dimensional. The past exists at the same time as the present, and the future. These terms are all relative. So in short, Peter exists in the past, but not in the future in option C.
Season 3 has been the most intense season for me and in my opinion it will be difficult for season 4 to beat it. I suspect they will hook the audience with the gradual explanation of the role and disappearance of Peter, but that infers no season 5 unless they tweak around with time traveling again.
May 8th, 2011
James Chamberlin
Giedrius: Yes, there will be a season four, presumably this fall.
May 8th, 2011
Giedrius
@James Chamberlin thank’s for the answer
May 9th, 2011
Annie
Thanks for this review…I have been spending the last couple of days wondering the the heck just happened. I love Fringe…its been my only solace since LOST ended
. I am so confused about what happened to Peter….I figured that the finale would bring the two universes together and Peter to be the bridge…I also thought Peter would act as the “Kissenger” between the two dads. I was looking forward to seeing what would happen between the two Oliva’s and Peter’s son….but now I guess the son never happened. Can’t wait until next season…but if they don’t bring Joshua Jackson back soon into season 4…I’m not sure how long I will last
May 9th, 2011