Fringe got to show off its coolest device yet in Friday's "The Enemy of My Enemy," a fun episode that established a major new arc for the season's new universes in a new timeline. Back in September, Season 4 began with the promise of the two universes working together, but unfounded suspicions—like assuming Walternate is sending super-shapeshifters over to "our" side to kill everyone—have prevented the two worlds from fully cooperating with each other throughout most of the first half of the season.
But thanks to the reintroduction of one Mr. David Robert Jones, the two sides have a mutual problem. There has been a lot of gray area within the two universes' characters, and as Walternate reminded us, "Not everything is as it seems." We assumed Walternate was bad because we knew him as a jerk before. Nina Sharp is up to something, but what? And "their side" Broyles isn't anything like the other three Broyles we've met. Everything is riding on an air of paranoia and incorrect accusations. But there's little doubt about Jones, who I feel confident in saying is a dick no matter what universe, timeline, or timeline-iverse you're in.
With Jones stepping in as mutual enemy, Season 4 has its first clear bad guy, and we're finally getting to see what we've been waiting for: Olivias, Lincolns, Broyleses, Walternate, and a Peter all sitting around a conference table trying to figure out how to stop a madman who can jump back and forth between universes! It's the League of Extraordinary Universes, ladies and gentlemen, and it's what Fringe has been working toward since the idea of multiple universes was introduced.
Or is it? Through the use of multiple timelines (multiple universes weren't enough), Fringe can have its cake, eat it, sit on it, smash it with its face, or just leave it out in the rain. In this timeline, producers can create a story where everyone works together. In the Seasons 1-3 timeline, they can keep things bitter between the universes. And if they want to create a situation where Olivia and Fauxlivia have a lesbian marriage, all they have to do is create a third timeline. For a television writer, it must be a blast to explore all your options and ideas with a built-in easy way out.
For a viewer, however, it can be a little weird. One of the most-voiced complaints about Season 4 has been the lack of emotional connectedness to these new characters; though they're different versions of characters we grew to love in the first three seasons, they aren't those characters and they don't share the same experiences those characters were built on. While I don't harbor the same complaint, I get it. And I can only imagine what some people think of anchoring this season further in Season 4's timeline by introducing a compelling bad guy. If things go how I think they will go, Peter isn't getting back to his Olivia and Walter and Astrid anytime soon. Not with Jones messing things up. I had wondered if Peter would be heading home around the midseason point, but now my money is on the Season 4 finale.
Like I said, it's not my complaint, but I get it. I still think all this new timeline stuff is interesting because Fringe continues to add neat wrinkles. It's kind of like backtracking in a Choose Your Own Adventure book and taking a left instead of a right early on to see how things play out differently.
Plus, interesting things are happening in this timeline that are making it seem more like the Fringe of old. The more time people spend with Peter, the more they're connecting with him. Walter, thanks to urging from Walternate's wife Elizabeth (Orla Brady), has agreed to help Peter. It's a big change from running away and screaming like a little girl every time he sees this alternate version of his dead son. Olivia continues to thaw out before Peter's eyes (that smile was more than just a "happy we're working together" smile), and even Broyles is down with having Peter take the field with his agents. It could be the producers' way of appeasing those who've felt disconnected from this season, but I think it was their plan all along. Season 4's biggest task has been to tackle the idea of how a Peter-free universe would react to Peter being plopped in. It touches on themes of fate, destiny, and interconnectedness, and I think it's doing so in a very fun way.
Notes from the Other Side:
– The dissolving hand on the glass was awesome. Really, really, awesome. And gross. Really, really gross. Fringe continues to look great on a shoestring budget, as opposed to my animated GIFs. I can't seem to fix these color issues!
– The final scene: Oh Nina, you've been a bad girl. I presume the "her" you're talking about in "we're working on her" is Olivia. What exactly are you doing with Olivia?
– "I lost a universe!" Peter, don't be so dramatic.
– David Robert Jones' tactic of throwing the Fringe Division's tail by distributing money tagged with the same tracking device to a crowd of people was a bit cornball. But who was that on the $100 bill?
– Can we talk about how awesome and hot Orla Brady is? She's fifty years old. Fifty! If I look that good when I'm fifty I'm definitely attending all my high school reunions.
– "Our" Lincoln seems to be the only character who's really interested and blown away by the whole alternate universe and alternate versions of people thing, and how what's going on in the other universe could affect his life in his own universe. When he asked Olivia if she and her Lincoln were getting it on, he was really clinging to the idea that he could make it work with his Olivia. Poor guy was crushed when Alt-livia said "Not like that!"
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
Nina Noooooooo!
The ending to this episode left my jaw on the floor. We all knew that Nina was somehow manipulating Olivia, but no we find out she is doing so in conjunction with David Robert Jones! Bad, Bad, Nina.
I am also not one of those who have complained about how frustrating this season has been because the characters are so different. I actually am finding that the more time Peter spends with Olivia and Walter, the more the edge closer to the Olivia and Walter we all feel in love with during the first three seasons. I think the actors are doing a MAGNIFICENT job of playing their alter egos, they've nailed the differences down pat. Their walks are even different. This type of acting is what makes the show's alternate universe/ alternate timeline premise more believable and enjoyable.
One thing that I also want to mention is that I actually like this timeline's Walternate. He is much less of as ass than the original Walternate and it was great to see a softer side of him.
Both sides teaming up is a genius move on the writers' part and I cannot wait to see where they will take it.
And I also agree that Peter's "I lost a universe" was super dramatic, but it made me giggle.moreless
Okay, just caught up. Believe me, I'm not trying to wait a week before I watch the episode, I just can't seem to find the time!! Errrgh.
-Dissolving Hand. AWESOME. And so gross I almost threw up. I was eating, man. Could not continue.
-I was WAITING for some Nina Sharp movement. Oh so perfect!!
-I guess maybe I just think that Peter has a right to be dramatic. You'd be, too.
-I don't know what cornball is, but I think it was genius. Also used to very much prove how NOT innocent Other-Side-Alternate-Broyles is.
-I should be so lucky as Orla Brady.
-I'm kind of rooting for Olivia2 and Lincoln to get together.
Man I love this show. Just a little too much.
After this episode, I'm now really conflicted. This next sentence may cause people to comment-shout at me, but please let me explain (again - I keep asking that of you good and considerate people).
If Peter is going to stay in this timeline-iverse (thank's for that Tim) untill the end of the season, then I hope that he remains in this timeline-iverse permanently.
Ok, you settled down again? Good.
If Peter returns to his original timeline after a full season, then this season is basically going to be a complete waste of time (from a story arc standpoint). Presumably (hopefully) it would have some repercussions on his original 'verse, but seriously, what would the point have been in making him (and us) go through a full season of his displacement. I'm now hoping that he settles for makeing one of the 'verses his home - and I'm kind of hoping he and red-head Olivia get it on - she may have been in disguise in his original 'verse, but she still had feelings for him (and had his Son).
I agree with Tim about the (blond)Olivia and Walter in the current 'sort of our' 'verse becoming more at ease with having Peter around and I can see this gradually improving over the course of the season. Maybe, having Peter back in the timeline is slowly making things go back to how they were prior to his minor case of non-existance - ie, more stable Walter, him and Oliver going all doe-eyed for each other (hard luck Lincoln) etc. Maybe this is his original 'verse and there is no other timeline for him to return to?
I truely belive that the writers will send Peter back to his/our original timeline and universe, back to his Olivia and Walter, but right now I can't see that as anything other than a mistake. Unless perhaps he somehow takes DRJ with him?
I'm hoping now that the current 'verses will become the norm, Peter will settle in one of them and things will gradually revert to more or less how they were before the whole timeline saga - but this won't happen - and I guess the writers will have a lot more surprises up their sleeves, so my current line of thinking will probably change by the end of the next episode. I love this show!
An actual note on this episode: I was wondering who would be the surprise possible baddie/conspiritor and I was just starting to consider Nina Sharp, when she was revealed as such.moreless
i'm under the impression that the observers messed with Walternate's attempt to cure his son on purpose... they scheme and tweak to reach a certain outcome. Maybe this is what it takes to save both universes from Jones's mad plans (they lured walter to the other side and saved Peter to get the two universes together for them to have a better chance to survive)... just a thought
Loved this episode, love the way they're toying with multple timelines and universes. You're on the money Tim, its eXACTLY like a CHoose your Own Adventure story...,but they're building the story in subtle ways that if you dont see it you'll miss it. Its good TV. PERIOD.
Is Orla Brady really 50??? Good lord, that woman is absolutely beautiful. A goddess! I figured she was at least nearing 40, but 50?? Good genes are hard to find...
Broyle's a shape-shifter and Nina's a traitor :| Did anyone catch The Watcher on the "other" universe running behind Linc at one point? That means he survived the shot right? I'm pretty sure that The Watchers are unique so he's still alive! Can't wait for this week's episode!!!
That was not September walking behind Lincoln, so there's still a possibility September is dead. Besides, Observers don't experience time the way we do, so it's just as possible that linearly, September hasn't been shot yet in this point in time.
I had three main thoughts run through my head while watching this episode (weirdly they all came near the end).
1. During the scenes with both teams sitting at the conference table, all I could think of was the now-infamous "Ringer" boat-scene and the kerfuffle that it caused on this site.
2. Totally loving the "Saint Crispin's Day" speech, Peter. Really reminded my of Malcolm Reynold. :)
3. OMG! No, Nina, NO! (That last one was actually whispered in horror at the TV).
agree with the disintegrating hand thing. freaky but AWESOME. season 1 awesome. AND that scene with Alternastrid and Peter - how she made eye contact and didnt completely freak out when he touched her shoulder.. that was a great character moment... and of course DRJ is the best villain.
It was a great episode.
And now that the League of Extraordinary Universes ganged up, there's a something I'd like to see happening in a future episode.
http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/8457/fringepoker.png
I so enjoyed Peter and DRJ's scene, love how freaked he looked!
To add a bit:
I just don't understand how everybody got to the conclusion that we are seeing different universes. The ONLY clue is that Peter is apparently trying to go back there. Peter said it. He could be wrong, you know :D
Plus, why then the Observers at the end of season 3 said that Peter is erased, it's as he has never existed. That right there. The observers say themselves that something got changed/edited and not "Oh, hey, let's take a look at a different timeline, where Peter was not saved". Observers did it to fix things. If there simply are two or more timelines (where Peter got saved and where he didn't) then one of the universes/timelines will not be fixed...
Peter messed up bad with Olivia when he fell for Fauxlivia so I think that now he's seen that this Olivia is a little different (different life results in different personality) and he wont make the same "mistake" again and assume that this one is his Olivia. from my point of view this is the basis for his belief that he got lost in some other universe... and nothing else supports it either.
I hope that you are right, because I never thought of Peter being in the wrong timeline either everytime Peter says he wants to get back to his timeline...his family I keep yelling at the TV but Peter you are home. Its just that neither you nor your family knows it.
I've said it in the last review and I still stick to my theory that Peter is home already.
It's not a different timeline, it's the same one with a single "edit" - Observer not saving Peter from drowning in the lake. That's it.
Therefore Peter cannot get back home with the machine since its purpose is travel/connections between/for universes. I don't think the machine can change the past.
I don't feel emotionally detached from these characters because, in my opinion, they are the same characters. I actually feel closer to them, because we saw how their lives got much worse without Peter in them. I think the writers were aiming for a bit of sadness, compassion and to show how much certain people can mean to our lives.
And the only way that the writers could bring Peter back, I think, is with forcing the Observers to undo their undoing - change the past and save Peter again and we're back.
But I really hope that does not happen, because if we get a happy ending like that it would mean that the whole season and story was pointless and useless since nothing happened to our beloved characters (the ones in seasons 1-3) (except for Peter) but to a different version of them which we would probably never see again. That's why these characters, I think, are the same ones.
What, I think, the writers had in mind is to show the importance of Peter, interconnectedness and bla bla. And I imagine the end result would be finally at the end of the season to get our universes to pretty much the same places we saw in the end of season 3: i.e. Peter with Olivia, Peter living with Walter and close again.
moreless
All the more reason for the show to end. It's looking as if Peter is becoming like Sam Beckett and could jump into a new universe each season.
You...you're predicting the future? Preemptive strike much?!
I started out this season thinking this is the same universe minus Peter...it makes sense for Walter, but what about Olivia? I don't see how Peter's existence could have affected her childhood so much. They met once as kids, and Walter was involved heavily in her life, but she was adopted by Nina, for instance, and then there's this weird version of Nina herself. I guess it could all be about Walter and how different he is/would be (?) had Peter drowned in the lake, but then I think about Walternate, whose son was kidnapped and never heard from again in both timelines, so no change there, and yet he's a whole other person. I know I'm rambling here, and probably wrong, observers might have something to do with it and so on, but I'm starting to think this is what Peter thinks it is.moreless
Without Peter meeting Olivia as a child, Walter never threatens Olivia's step-father to back off. The result of this seems to be that she kills her step-father and is raised by Nina. This is a huge change in Olivia's life caused only by the lack of Peter. If Nina Sharp is not a shape-shifter, but has been experimenting on Olivia since her childhood, then it's obvious how her life changed. As for Walternate, he never had any hopes of getting his son back. The Walternate of the original universes went to war to get his son back. This Walternate knew his son was already dead.
Olivia's childhood is different because Walter took different decisions after not saving Peter, affecting the whole timeline and Walternate is better than he used to be because he also lost Peter. The other Walternate was much angrier due to the fact that Walter kidnapped Peter but never returned him if that makes sense, but he was still a good guy despite the appearances. It's hard for Walter to be a bad guy in any universe!
It does seem to me like things are never gonna be the same again, but in some way I like that. As long as Joshua Jackson keeps getting awesome scenes, I'm in all the way for Fringe. Plus, Orla Brady is 50??? Are you kidding me? She looks GREAT.
what if Peter cannot return to his oringial place
what if he is stuck traveling from different places in different timeline in different alternevaie
That would be interesting. Unfortunately, it would also mean that most of what we learn about the characters will be rendered moot every time he jumps to another timeline.
Here's the theory I'd like to float after watching friday's phenomenal episode:
Peter is indeed in his own universe and timeline as it would have played out if he had died on the ice at Reiden Lake. He and the audience will be forced to come to grips with this over the course of the season and learn to reintergrate himself into the lives of his loved ones as they try to stop DRJ from getting his hands on the infinite power of the machine because - MAJOR PLOT TWIST - DRJ is working with the End Of Dayers from s1-s3 reality who used a lightbomb to punch a hole thru to the s4 reality and bring about the end of the universes even faster. Peter is kidnapped by a shapeshifter with cortexiphan abilities posing as olivia. Shapeshifter Olivia unlocks the machine and peter hops in where the machine gives him the option of returning to the s1-s3 reality or saving the s4 reality and everyone he's grown to know there. Throw in a surprise appearance by the s3 future versions of the main characters who traveled thru the hole in reality to stop the End Of Dayers and throw in that whole ominous "Detroit" storyline mentioned in last season's finale into the mix somehow and you would have one insanely deep and action-packed finale to season four that could bring the whole series full circle in a very satisfying conclusion. I haven't worked out all the details as to how all of that would play out, but I know Pinkner and Wyman could make it work.
Of course I could be dead wrong and they could have an even more mindblowing and profound plan for the season/ series. Either way, I'm more excited for this already great and thought provoking season than ever before!moreless
I totally agree with you that there might be a connection between RDJ's gang and the End of Dayers. Jones is smart, but these new shapeshifters ? Smells like future tech ...
Fringe is simply amazing. And John Noble is as well. It was really a touching moment when Peter's mom forgave him. Can't you see what they're doing there? They're giving resolution to the storyline. All that stuff about Walter kidnapping Peter from the alternate universe is getting settled. Olivia is starting to like Peter. I also agree that Peter has no other universe to come back to. This is his real universe, just that he got erased thanks to that machine. People won't get to remember the period since his childhood until he return from some limbo between universes, but they'll grow to love him again and accept him. This is his real universe and where he will stay. And the most amazing thing is that we felt detached from this universe because just like Peter we thought it was not the same, but little by little we're starting to care for this characters because they're the same we always knew and loved.moreless
Currently Olivia doesn't have the ability to travel between universes-or doesn't know she does.
Do we know if she was involved in Cortexiphan trials in this timeline? That could be what Nina is doing-dosing her with cortexiphan. Just a thought.
Olivia is also definitely starting to be a little interested in Peter in this timeline now too. Poor Lincoln is forever friend-zoned. Also did anyone else think Alt-Astrid was going all "He's so dreamy" over Peter as well?
Great show-needs to be renewed for another season PLEASE FOX. Find a way to cut costs to save the show.
That scene was so awkward....
http://image.com.com/tv/images/genie_images/story/2012_usa/f/fringe_leagueofuniverses.jpg
I loved it :)
Eh...still not buying that this is a third universe, or 3rd and 4th... alternate pair... you know what i mean. I think it's the same 2 universes, but Peter was never there, so the Observers made it seem like Peter died when he was a boy and Walter couldn't save him. I doubt they would spend so much time in a completely irrelevant timeline.
I don't believe there is another universe.
I think this brings up interesting questions--ones that the show itself is begging--about what distinguishes one universe from another. The characters in these timelines are different from the versions of themselves with Peter in the world--so isn't this, then, a different universe? How does "timeline" differ from "universe"?
PS: I'm not attacking you, just posing some interesting philosophical questions. Philosophical being a very loose term here.
I've thought about this distinction early in the season. Basically, as far as I can explain it, the Observers are supposed to observe, not interfere. I obviously don't know a lot about their true nature, so I can't say why this is the case, but I believe that if they do interfere, they actually create impossibilities within that universe (and any directly connected to it, like the red universe). Where as an alternate reality is created through any number of possible choices made by people, those universes can only have one timeline, and it can't be built around any impossibilities. Of course, as we've seen in the first 3 seasons, the universe can still continue even if an Observer interferes, but there are probably major consequences surrounding it. In fact... While I was typing this, I came up with a theory which could be completely wrong, and I will feel stupid if I'm over-complicating things which were already given explanations, but I'm wondering if the universes breaking apart aren't necessarily due to Walter crossing over, but rather because of the Observer's interference, and the reason why those problems still exist is because Peter wasn't completely erased from existence. I know it's very likely that I'll be eating my words later, but I thought I'd put that out there anyway.moreless
i really liked this episode as well - it was just well done all around.
Great Episode. It's indeed good to finally have a real plot for this season other than "Where is Peter ?" and "Peter wants to go home but he's already at home... sorry dude, you just no longer exist". The latest one being obviously in stand-by ^^
My only disappointment was the tracker thing. Am I the only who was getting a deja-vu ? I can't recall whether it was a Fringe episode but I recall the same problematic of a person with an internal tracker (radioactive component to be precise) who then spilled some into the milk or water jug. Then people drink it and the guys who were monitoring the whole thing saw trackers popping on the screen. They then wondered how the guy got the exact same isotope. So details are different but the chain of event is exactly the same !
All right, after a bit of searching I found out that this scene is from The Event (don't vomit please). Yes that's a sad conclusion :'(moreless
John. Freaking. Noble. That man can ACT. He's had some fantastic moments, but in this episode, when Elizabeth was talking to Walter, I actually FORGOT for a few moments that the SAME GUY played Walter and Walternate, that's how convincing he's been. Emmy. Emmy. EmmyEmmyEmmyEmmy.
A little tear ran down my cheek when he first saw her, thinking it was his wife and then realized she wasn't. Perfect facial expression. Emmy ffs!
Sitting by myself, watching the episode, I actually cried out when that hand went slip-sliding across the glass and left some skin behind. My upstairs neighbors probably heard me shout 'Oh my god, that's so gross!' but I don't care... 'Cause it was gross but frickin' OSSUM. The best, disgusting thing I've ever seen on the show. But I'm glad there is finally some focus for the characters and for the season. I know it's all been build-up to this moment but I was beginning to think the writers were kinda grasping at straws for a plot. Now that there's a common enemy, and the universes are starting to trust each other, while elements from both sides are working against them, I'm excited to see how it's all going to play out. And hopefully, it plays out to Nina BERNING FOREVER IN A PIT OF ETERNAL BERNING.moreless
It's funny how that disgusting hand reminded me of the lovemaking in Titanic.
The Enemy of My Enemy was another great Fringe episode.
It is getting harder and harder to explain Fringe to those who don't watch it. While watching this week's episode I had to explain that there are four versions of some characters in the show. Sounds a lot sillier than it is :)
I love Peter's mom.
And then, after Lincoln was taken aback by the way Alt-livia said that she and her Lincoln weren't close "like that," he said "You don't have to say it like that, like you pity us."
I've been thinking a lot about where they will take this whole alternate timeline at the end of the season, whether they will reset the timeline, keep going with this timeline, or find some kind of middle ground. The direction I think will be most likely is that they will continue with things the way they are, as far as the shapeshifters, David Robert Jones, and everything else that happens, but having everybody remembering their old lives. This would be a good way to make it so that neither the first 3 seasons nor what we're seeing right now are irrelivent, and I think it would be interesting to see how the characters react with memories of both lives. For example, how will Walternate react knowing everything that he did in the first 3 seasons, and knowing that Peter thought of him as a monster, but earning his respect in this new timeline? How would a possible Olivia/Lincoln romance affect Olivia's relationship to Peter, and Lincoln himself? I think it would be interesting to see how stuff like that played out, and affected the dynamics within the show while they deal with whatever other threat(s) they had to deal with.moreless
If you guys turn on your TV's closed captioning you would see that this version of the alternate Olivia, or Fauxlivia, is called Bolivia.
i saw that too....
"I lost a universe!" Peter, don't be so dramatic.
Damn right , same thing happened to me 2005 - as it turned out, not so dramatic at all.
"And if they want to create a situation where Olivia and Fauxlivia have a lesbian marriage?"
- Tim, please don't put ideas in our heads! Darn, too late.
I think I'll just jump over the customary praise for the show, since that's becoming repetitive. Creating more and more time lines for every plot line is a real concern for any show like this. I understand that people see it as something of an easy way out for the writers. If you're stuck in the writing process, just reboot in another universe. But I would say that Fringe has handled it well so far. The show hasn't used a massive amount of universes yet. And those plot lines it has created in different universes, the show has handled admirably. I haven't felt disconnected with the new versions of the characters at all. And now that the two Fringe teams are about to start working together (finally!), I couldn't be more exited. There is a lot of potential for (hilarious) personality clashes between the different versions of the characters.
Notes: 1) I couldn't stop seeing parallels between Jared Harris' performance as Jones and James Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Two evil super geniuses with the same kind of mannerisms. 2) Poor Broyles. He can't seem to catch a break. First his "twin" is killed and dismembered, and now that his other clone seems to be a shape-shifter, it means that the real Faux-Broyles is dead. And the shape-shifter version will surely have the same fate. This gave me the idea that it would be cool if the Fringe teams found out soon that Jones was working with this Faux-Broyles. This way they could capture Faux-Broyles and have the real Broyles pretend to be the Faux-Broyles and interact with Jones to get information. Seeing Lance Reddick on a solo mission would be great.moreless
I loved this episode and I'm definitely excited to see where this is going. I'm fairly certain Nina was talking about Olivia, seeing how we saw her drug and abduct Olivia earlier this season. I'm glad that we finally got to see what that was about and that everything seems to be coming together.
By the way, about that episode, did Lincoln just figure Olivia stood him up? Did he never mention anything? I don't want to hear anything about Olivia smiling at Peter! He belongs to another Olivia! Move over! To Lincoln! Seriously- those two, in this timeline-iverse, are perfect.