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Fringe Season 4 Episode 15

A Short Story About Love

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AIRED: Mar 23, 2012

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9.0

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Episode Summary

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While Peter and Olivia deal with the emotional consequences of the Observer's revelations to Peter about his future, the Fringe team investigates the case of a killer who seems intent on murdering... love.

FAN RECAP

TV.com Episode Review

Fringe: Love Stinks

In "A Short Story About Love," the Fringe team tracked down a killer using Love Potion No. 9, and Olivia and Peter cleared a few things up about where they're going.

By Tim Surette, Mar 26, 2012

Fan Episode Reviews (17)

Confused, a bit..

4.0

By lhk, May 29, 2012

I haven't watched Fringe since mid-March, so maybe I've forgotten too much, but, watching this last night made me scratch my head. The conclusion to the timeline plot felt like the oldest trick in the book -- the "and he woke up and realized it was a dream" or "the glasses were on his head the whole time!" kind of endings. Can someone remind me of earlier clues that Peter has always been in the original timeline?moreless
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A very interesting episode

9.5

By Dark_Davis, May 20, 2012

Warning, spoilers in this post!

A very good episode! I am going to keep this really short, I loved the idea this episode had, it was very close to what the movie "Perfume" had going, except of course modernised and maybe not as elegant as they had it in that movie. But the best part for me was the main story arc branch with Peter. Now what I am really curious to know is who exactly did Peter release, because it seems to me he was locked away for a good reason. Could this observer be a problem for our loved characters in the future, or will he be the one to make things right. Only time will tell. The only thing that bothers me is why did he say that this Olivia is Peters, how is it that only Olivia can start to be the same one from Peters other world and no one else? They will need to explain this later, and I definitely hope they do, because I am just not content on them leaving it like this. Though I really wanted Peter and Olivia back together after they were finally so close last season, I really can't see how this version of that will work? Maybe it will we will just have to wait and see what they will do next!

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A 1985 novel

8.0

By LaurenGray2, Apr 29, 2012

Anyone else think 'Perfume'?!
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"She is your Olivia"

9.5

By aldaros23, Apr 07, 2012

Indeed, this episode was certainly about love. The case was an interesting one. Using pheromones to take control of a partner has some merit to it. I have a friend who must emit some sort of potent pheromone that attracts just about every man in the dating world. She attracts the weird ones, the good ones, and everything else in between. You may not smell anything, but those pheromones are there, dictating your approach vs. avoidance behaviors. They never explained why the man was disfigured though. Chemical burn, perhaps?

Meanwhile, Peter discovers the Observer's home after Walter finds an address written on a tiny disc implanted over his pupil. Planted there by the Observer, Peter ends up helping this Observer finds his way back to the universe. In helping him, Peter asks for his help to return to his timeline. But the Observer informs him that Peter is already there. And it finally sinks in. Sure, this timeline may be different, but their personalities are generally the same (as compared to those in the alternate universe). But because the timeline reset, Olivia needed to fall in love with Peter all over again. However, the outcome is the same because of love. Love transcends all, Peter could not be erased because the connections he held - with Walter, with Olivia. He cannot be erased because of his interconnectedness with others.

Peter: "And Olivia"

The Observer: "She is your Olivia"moreless
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Song during the pheromone extraction

9.5

By PJax57, Apr 04, 2012

I recorded the episode and wrote down the words to the song. I went to YouTube and tried various word sequences, and I finally stumbled on the song. It's by Jon Anderson and Vangelis, titled The Friends of Mr. Cairo. The words are found in the second half of a long song.
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Anna Torv	Olivia Dunham
Joshua Jackson	Peter Bishop
Lance Reddick	Phillip Broyles
Blair Brown	Nina Sharp
Jasika Nicole	Astrid Farnsworth
Seth Gabel	Lincoln Lee

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

EDIT

Michael Massee	Anson Carr	Guest Star
Ona Grauer	Dianna Sutter	Guest Star
Paul Andrich	Man in Park	Guest Star
Michael Cerveris	September	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Joshua Jackson on Fringe from "A Short S...

© 2012 Fox Broadcasting Company
Michael Massee on Fringe from "A Short S...

© 2012 Fox Broadcasting Company
Anna Torv on Fringe from "A Short Story ...

© 2012 Fox Broadcasting Company
Joshua Jackson on Fringe from "A Short S...

© 2012 Fox Broadcasting Company

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Trivia: The glyph code for this episode is QUILL.
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QUOTES (5)
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- Nina: Now as for your feelings about Peter, all wounds heal over time.
  Olivia: Yeah. I just wish the time would move a little quicker.
  Nina: Well, that's a coincidence, because we just filed a patent on that last week.
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- Astrid: Walter, what is that? It is putrid.
  Walter: Mortius bestia-roadkill. Specifically, an aromatic excretion from the castor sacs of the North American beaver. Used primarily for marking and mating. I went beaver hunting in Eastern Canada in the 70's. Of course, in those days, "beaver" meant something else entirely.
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- Astrid: Uh, Walter wants to know which of you has fearless nasal passages?
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- Olivia: Do you know how much pain you caused?
  Carr: I don't want you to think that I did it for me. I mean, not just for me. We're not meant to be alone. It's every human being's right to know love. And had I succeeded... had I found the right chemicals--just the right... balance, I could have given the world... what you have.
  Olivia: What do I have?
  Carr: Love. I can smell that you're in love.
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- Olivia: I met a woman today, she'd just lost her husband. And as she was talking about him and her marriage, as much as she wanted to be, she wasn't in love. As I was listening to her, I realized what she was saying. She had let go of the possibility of being in love, of finding love, and I could see myself in her and I didn't like who I was. All of these memories and feelings I'm experiencing, they are from a better version of me, and I've decided to let things run their course.
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NOTES (2)
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- Music: The Friends of Mr. Cairo (Jon and Vangelis)
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- International Airdates:
  Canada: March 23, 2012 on Citytv
  UK: March 28, 2012 on Sky1
  Germany: August 6, 2012 on ProSieben
  Finland: February 20, 2013 on MTV3
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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