4.05 Novation
Nov. 5th, 2011 04:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAka the one where the most urgent concern of yours truly was "will the spoilery plot development return us to a later season 3 problem or do the first few great episodes of season 4 mean the writers figured out that s3 thing was a mistake"?
I'm cautiously optimistic in hoping they figured it out, because Peter hardly interacts with Olivia in this episode, and Olivia, while (with reason) bothered by the idea this strange person showed up in her dreams, does not obsess about him, and instead focuses on the case at hand which has nothing to do with Peter. This allows me to remember that Peter actually isn't a bad character if you don't play him as Olivia's One True Love and instead go for his relationship with Walther. You know they're doing it right when Walter isn't the only one I was feeling for in those scenes. I felt sorry for Peter, who is now in the reverse position he was for most of the show, where Walter was desperately obsessed with saving him at all costs and had to learn to let go, that his son does not equal the fate of the universe. It's even the reverse of the situation the recently kidnapped young Peter was in, with Walter (and, more relunctantly, Elizabeth) trying so hard to convince him he was their son. "That boy was never my son." Ouch.
On Walter's side, it figures that the thing that fazes him least is suggesting an explanation as to where this Peter Bishop comes from. More alternate universes is something Walter would take in stride. But he's not Walter 25 years ago, and it figures that those years without clinging to the justification of having at least a living Peter to show for the breaking of the 'verses would leave him to conclude he doesn't deserve any version of Peter, full stop. John Noble, stop breaking my heart.
The writers also gave us a Walter and Nina scene for good measure, which was sublime (as Walter and Nina scenes tend to be), and explained Walter's hostility from last episode as well as ending it. Excellent. What I find interesting is that Nina (apparantly, unless she's faking it, which is of couse entirely possible) didn't/doesn't blame Walter for her missing hand. Of course, Nina has a crucial bit of her backstory altered, revealed to the audience via Olivia and Lincoln having an exposition scene (thanks for asking, Lincoln!): while Walter first lost his son and then the son he was trying to kidnap, Nina gained two daughters and raised them. BTW, I'm burning to know more. Did she adopt Olivia and Rachel after Olivia killed her stepfather, and/or after Olivia ran away from Walter's experiments?
Also somewhat different than the original Blueverse version, despite not even showing up on screen: the late William Bell, who in the Amberverse had an attack of the moral scruples re: tissue regeneration research. Hmmmmm. You know, given that AltBroyles is alive again, I wonder whether the Redverse William Bell now is alive as well, not least because I don't see the show pulling the "omg Walternate is the mastermind controlling the shapeshifters from the AU!" thing twice.
Speaking of the shapeshifters: given Lincoln Lee's somewhat off reaction to Olivia inviting him to dinner near the end of the episode, I was expecting the revelation that he's now impersonated by the shapeshifter and groaned "wasn't Blueverse Charlie enough, must you do this to Olivia twice?" but then the scene with the shapeshifter in her other shape and very much elsewhere seemed to indicated that no, Lincoln is still Lincoln.
In conclusion: so far, so good. Our first episode with Peter back and no sign of Olivia taking a backseat in the narrative, check. Phew.
I'm cautiously optimistic in hoping they figured it out, because Peter hardly interacts with Olivia in this episode, and Olivia, while (with reason) bothered by the idea this strange person showed up in her dreams, does not obsess about him, and instead focuses on the case at hand which has nothing to do with Peter. This allows me to remember that Peter actually isn't a bad character if you don't play him as Olivia's One True Love and instead go for his relationship with Walther. You know they're doing it right when Walter isn't the only one I was feeling for in those scenes. I felt sorry for Peter, who is now in the reverse position he was for most of the show, where Walter was desperately obsessed with saving him at all costs and had to learn to let go, that his son does not equal the fate of the universe. It's even the reverse of the situation the recently kidnapped young Peter was in, with Walter (and, more relunctantly, Elizabeth) trying so hard to convince him he was their son. "That boy was never my son." Ouch.
On Walter's side, it figures that the thing that fazes him least is suggesting an explanation as to where this Peter Bishop comes from. More alternate universes is something Walter would take in stride. But he's not Walter 25 years ago, and it figures that those years without clinging to the justification of having at least a living Peter to show for the breaking of the 'verses would leave him to conclude he doesn't deserve any version of Peter, full stop. John Noble, stop breaking my heart.
The writers also gave us a Walter and Nina scene for good measure, which was sublime (as Walter and Nina scenes tend to be), and explained Walter's hostility from last episode as well as ending it. Excellent. What I find interesting is that Nina (apparantly, unless she's faking it, which is of couse entirely possible) didn't/doesn't blame Walter for her missing hand. Of course, Nina has a crucial bit of her backstory altered, revealed to the audience via Olivia and Lincoln having an exposition scene (thanks for asking, Lincoln!): while Walter first lost his son and then the son he was trying to kidnap, Nina gained two daughters and raised them. BTW, I'm burning to know more. Did she adopt Olivia and Rachel after Olivia killed her stepfather, and/or after Olivia ran away from Walter's experiments?
Also somewhat different than the original Blueverse version, despite not even showing up on screen: the late William Bell, who in the Amberverse had an attack of the moral scruples re: tissue regeneration research. Hmmmmm. You know, given that AltBroyles is alive again, I wonder whether the Redverse William Bell now is alive as well, not least because I don't see the show pulling the "omg Walternate is the mastermind controlling the shapeshifters from the AU!" thing twice.
Speaking of the shapeshifters: given Lincoln Lee's somewhat off reaction to Olivia inviting him to dinner near the end of the episode, I was expecting the revelation that he's now impersonated by the shapeshifter and groaned "wasn't Blueverse Charlie enough, must you do this to Olivia twice?" but then the scene with the shapeshifter in her other shape and very much elsewhere seemed to indicated that no, Lincoln is still Lincoln.
In conclusion: so far, so good. Our first episode with Peter back and no sign of Olivia taking a backseat in the narrative, check. Phew.
