6:02 AM EST

Season 3, Episode 20, Aired
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9.3
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Secretary Bishop on the Other Side activates his Machine, triggering devastation on This Side. Peter realizes he has no choice but to enter the Machine and try and break the circuit. Meanwhile, Bolivia resolves to save both worlds by trying to bring Peter back to convince the Secretary to stop the Machine.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (11)

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  • Warming Up

    8.5
    "Great"
    By dreamgoat, Feb 03, 2012
    Well Peter is out of commission when the machine rejected him. The machine is protecting itself, Bolivia tried to go to the other side to warn Peter, Sam Weiss goes missing after the event of vortex's everywhere. Olivia goes out looking for him but shows up at the hospital where Peter lies at. All in all this is just a set up for the finale no answers are yet known I expect to hear more in the season finale. But as I expected 16 episodes ago we won't know much about the machine until the finale. One hero is down, I guess it will be up to the rest. I hope he's not out of the story yet, that was kind of corny in a way of taking him out of the picture.
    P.S. For those that have a problem with the religion in this show, and saying it's not going for atheist and it's going for religion. Believe it or not this show is going neither, even to religious people some of these episodes would offend them. But, this show is showing real life dramatics which that includes all religion and atheist all of the above because it whats in our world. This is based in the United States where anyone can worship who they want or don't it's their freedom and right. Don't hate a show because someone is doing a religious act, remember most people believe in a higher power. This show is just pointing that out. You want reality when the universe begins to end expect tons of people praying to their gods. Thats just the way it is either you like or not. JJ Abrams is just portraying whats in this world into his story to make it more dramatic.moreless

  • The beginning of the end

    7.0
    "Good"
    By entil2001, Sep 30, 2011
    There were many indications that this was going to be the beginning of a three-episode finale arc, and sure enough, this definitely felt like the introductory chapter of such an event. In essence, the previous episode was the prelude to what is happening here, and there are plenty of little twists and turns that change the rules of the game.

    Walternate initiates his plan to wipe out Fringe Prime, and he manages to do so without Peter, thanks to the DNA of Peter and Fauxlivia's son. (He avoids using the child, which is consistent with his earlier statements regarding the use of children in his experiments.) Walternate's characterization is once again note-perfect; his actions are reprehensible, yet it's impossible to ignore the fact that he has a logical and even sympathetic rationale behind it. After all, who would sacrifice their own universe, if it came down to it?

    While it's definitely a cool turn of events, and something worthy of triggering a season finale, it does serve to render Peter's entire storyline this season a red herring and therefore moot. And once the initial shock of that revelation wore off (no pun intended), it just seemed like a waste. On the one hand, I'm glad that Peter isn't being drawn to the Alt-Fringe side by knowledge of his son, but surely he must be involved somehow!

    It was nice to see them directly reference Walter's experience in "The Firefly", which at least demonstrates that the writers have been planning much of this for a long time now. And Walter's faith came to the forefront at what felt like a logical and appropriate time, especially given the stakes and Walter's overall character arc. When Walter, willing to do nearly anything in the name of scientific possibility, is left to appeal to the Almighty, it speak volumes as to his state of mind.

    Less obvious is Fauxlivia's character turn. I really wasn't expecting her to betray Walternate, especially considering the fact that she pretty much has everything she could ever ask for in the Alt-Fringe universe. Granted, she had feelings for Peter, and wouldn't want him to die, but Waternate makes it plain for her. It was a choice of her son over Peter. I just don't know that Fauxlivia would make the opposite choice, even if she disagreed with the morality of Walternate's actions.

    The real hook to this episode, though, was the indication that Sam Weiss' nature and purpose is finally going to be explained. If anyone other than Olivia (through transferred William Bell knowledge, perhaps) could shed light on the mythology at this point, it's Weiss. And he certainly seems to know what all these signs represent. How could he, if he hadn't seen it before in some way, shape, or form?

    The main problem is not that the episode was full of red herrings, both short- and long-term, but that it also had to weave the seeds of the real explanation into the story at the same time. It was a thrilling hour as a result, but in the end, not as much happened as might initially appear. Then again, perhaps that is for the best; it leaves the real fireworks for the next episode, which cannot help but raise the stakes and cause jaws to drop.moreless

  • And now I'm personally offended. Well done, Fringe.

    4.5
    "Poor"
    By noelveiga, Jun 18, 2011
    Ok, no, it's not a terrible episode. The plot is good, there's dramatic tension, there's interesting conflict and despite some hammy lines that Anna Torv for some reason couldn't pull off, the whole thing clicks mechanically.

    But man, this is the most offensive anti-atheist TV I've seen in a long, long while. At the climax of the episode, Walter goes to a chapel and literally begs for God to punish him and save the world. Wow.

    There's been a couple of episodes along those lines before in which characters told Walter that things were meant to be and his meddling with God's mandates were being punished and the implication that he had started to believe it was present. I didn't like it, of course, but I was more than willing to ignore it as long as the show kept it nuanced.

    Not anymore, though. Look, if you think I'm overreacting, and I see how you could, put it this way.

    What if Walter had been portrayed as a gay man instead of an atheist and he got "cured" and went straight. Would that have been jarring? What if he had been a muslim and decided to embrace Christ. Would that have been off-putting? Even better, what if he had been a Christian and eventually accepted that Allah is the true God and converted to Islam. Would that have been weird to you?

    This is weird to me. It's jarring and off-putting, and actually quite offensive. I like Fringe. It's fun in a corny, cheesy, pseudo-scientific way. But it does not have the gravitas , the depth or the intelligence to go around making religious or political statements, much less one-sided ones that actively take a stance and perpetuate discrimination. If it comes down to a choice between Anna Torv doing a silly imitation of Leonard Nimoy or this, I'll take the silly, thank you very much.moreless

  • 6:02 AM EST

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By TrueTvWatcher, May 19, 2011
    6:02 AM EST was a superb episode of Fringe. I enjoyed watching this episode because there was a lot of character and plot development. This episode seemed like what the series The Event should have been more like in terms of cinematography and special effects. This episode had some intimate scenes as well as action, drama, intrigue, humor, mystery and an uncertain future. It was nice to see Olivia reconnecting with Peter. Olivia from the other side learns what was happening and decided to risk every thing. The end of this episode was interesting. I really look forward to watching the next episode of Fringe!!!!!!!moreless

  • 6:02 AM EST...

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By AjMc91, May 06, 2011
    And so it begins. The final act of Fringe season three got underway this week as the war between universes stepped up to the next level. "6:02 AM EST" began "over there" as we come to understand the true motivations of Walternate in saving his grandson and taking his blood. With a DNA profile of the child's father Peter, Walternate can finally turn on the doomsday machine and spark a series of events that will destroy our universe once and for all. Jump back to the here and now and the cycle begins when a vortex obliterates farmland in New York. As the Fringe team are called in to investigate, they are quick to realize that the event is a result of the universe beginning to unravel and their problems are compounded when Nina calls to inform them that our doomsday device has been activated. Positing that the machine's sudden activation is as a result of quantum entanglement, Walter suggests that the events that they are beginning to see crop up over the country will continue to grow exponentially in frequency until there is nothing left.
    Yet again jumping back over to the other side we Alt-livia's Fringe unit respond to an event at the DoD headquarters. When access is denied, Alt-livia begins to piece together what it is that is going on as she recalls a conversation she had with Walternate about the world ending device. Questioning the morality of destroying so much innocent life and being unable to change the mind of Walternate, she then sets out on a mission to recover Peter from our universe and bring him to talk his father down. Back on our side, both Peter and Walter concede that there is only one way that they know of to potentially stop the catastrophic series of events unfolding; Peter must very likely sacrifice himself by entering the machine and turning it off. As Peter prepares to put their plan into motion, Olivia searches for Sam Weiss after Nina tells her of the truth that she had learnt about him; that he is the author of "The First People" books and possesses unparalleled knowledge of the machine. As Olivia fails in her search for Sam, so does Alt-livia in her attempt to steal the technology to cross over between universes. Following both of these failures it seemed only fitting that Peter's plan; to fulfill his destiny and take control of the machine; would work. However, after an emotional goodbye of sorts between our hero and his Fringe cohorts, Peter is violently incapacitated the moment that he touches the machine. The episode draws to a close after Peter is rushed to the hospital and Walter has an amazingly acted and compelling conversation with god in the chapel. As Olivia sits in the waiting room she notices that the sun has begun rising (her favorite part of the day) and she steps outside to take a look. On the hospital steps she is met by none other than Sam Weiss and her informs her that time is running short for them to take whatever action that they are going to. Jumping back one final time we see Alt-livia mirroring Oliva's circumstance at the beginning of the season, stuck in the same holding cell after her failed attempt to stop the war. She and Walternate proceed to discuss sacrifice; something that they are both familiar with; and he tells her that he will spare her life, but that she will be stuck in a cell until the fight is over, unable to prevent the impending chaos.
    "6:02 AM EST" served as a perfect set up to the conclusion of the third season of Fringe. The stakes have been raised to unimaginable levels and with the certainty that someone important is set to die before it is all through, the level of intrigue that I have surrounding where it is all going to end up is massive. Taking a less than easy way out, having Peter not simply succeed with his plan, the writers have my utmost respect and I have no doubt that the remaining two episodes of the season will be astonishing.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (3)

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  • QUOTES (7)

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    • Olivia: And, uh, your father is walking around the house naked. Peter: Oh, yeah, it's Tuesday. He always cooks naked on Tuesdays. Olivia: Is that safe? Peter: Uh-uh. It's not pretty, either. But you get used to it.

    • Bolivia: What's going to happen to the people over there? Secretary Bishop: My concern is for the people of our world. Bolivia: But your son is over there. Secretary Bishop: I'm aware. Peter chose to leave. He chose his allegiance. I chose to give up my son so that you could keep yours.

    • Bolivia: That was my first commendation. Lincoln: Yeah, for dragging my ass out of a Class 4 vortex. Bolivia: Well, you actually owed me fifty bucks, so I was going for your wallet.

    • Broyles: What do you think? Walter: Excuse me? Broyles: Peter's your son. As a father, do you think this is a good idea? Walter: It's because of my selfishness, my inability to let my son go 26 years ago, that this is happening. My opinion as a father doesn't matter. Broyles: Walter... it matters to me.

    • Broyles: The techs said they're ready when you are, Peter. Good luck. Peter: If this works and I save both universes, I want you to consider me officially retired. Broyles: I'll think about it.

    • Walter: I don't know my way around here. Other people, I suppose, find comfort being in chapels, speaking to You. I have no other place to turn. I asked you for a sign, and you sent it to me. A white tulip, and I was so grateful. Since then, in moments of deep despair, I have found solace in believing that You had forgiven me. I was willing to let him go. I was willing to let Peter die! I've changed. That should matter. God. I know my crimes are unforgivable. Punish me. Do what You want to me. But I beg You, spare our world.

    • Secretary Bishop: I know this is hard for you. Bolivia: Oh, you don't know anything about me. Secretary Bishop: Don't I? This morning in my office, you asked how I could be willing to let my son die to heal our world. But you understand sacrifice better than anyone, Olivia. You're willing to leave your son behind, to risk your life, for what you perceive to be the greater good. We're more alike than you think. Bolivia: I don't understand how killing billions of people could possibly be in the interest of the greater good. Secretary Bishop: That's because you still have the luxury of your ideals. I have to be pragmatic.

  • NOTES (1)

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    • International Airdates:
      Canada: April 22, 2011 on Citytv
      UK: June 1, 2011 on Sky1/Sky1 HD
      Sweden: August 26, 2011 on Kanal 5
      Finland: January 18, 2012 on MTV3

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