Fringe unraveling

     The amount of reveal and discovery on the season finale of Fox's Fringe made it feel like a series finale instead of a season finale.  Perhaps the two-part episode, "Over There", was made that way in case the show wasn't picked up for a third season, which it has been.  Of course, the ending would surely have been different, were the show to be over.  As it was, it was an awesome two hours of television.

     Peter (Joshua Jackson) fled from Walter (John Noble) a few weeks ago when he discovered that his father had kidnapped him from other other reality.  Walter and Olivia (Anna Torv) discovered that Peter could be used to destroy their (our) universe, and their want to find him was increased exponentially.  So Olivia, Walter, and three humans with abilities like Olivia's crossed over to track down their missing comrade.

     Beside the obvious physical characteristics, the other universe is quite a bit different.  For one thing, there are huge pockets of energy and forces ripping at the fabric of their universe, and they have to be quarantined in amber.  Boston and Madison Square Garden, to name a couple, are no longer accessible.  The Statue of Liberty has been kept polished bronze.  The World Trade Center was never taken out by a terrorist attack.  Charlie (Kirk Acevedo) is still alive, and is still Olivia's partner.  And most striking of all is the other Walter Bishop.

     Walternate, as he is so cleverly nicknamed, driven by anger at the kidnapping of his son, has become a tyrannical Secretary of Defense, in charge of the Fringe Division that deals with this episodes.  All of this was cause by the original kidnapping act.  It makes you wonder how our Walter would have turned out different had William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) not taken out pieces of his brain.  Bell's self-sacrifice was regrettable, as he was such an interesting character, and having spent years crossing back and forth, surely had plenty he could have shared with our heroes.

     Of course, people tune in for the romance, and this episode delivered.  Olivia practically confessed her love for Peter, in her way.  I think that, more than anything, was what convinced Peter to return home, and what will keep him there.  However, we must depend on Peter to now save Olivia, considering that the real Olivia is imprisoned by Walternate in a small, dark cell.  I think he's up to the challenge.