Fringe 4.10
Jan. 29th, 2012 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which the show proves again that case of the week/Olivia parallels always make for good episodes.
Mind you, both Olivia and Nina scenes made for "hug Olivia now!" feelings because of what the audience knows about Amberverse Nina's actions. But they were ever so good. The first one - and of course earlier Olivia's silent reaction when Emily's father started to bring up his daughter being experimented on, pushed and probed - showcased that Olivia, despite being raised by Nina and having come a bit closer to Walther for lack of a Peter than in the original Blueverse timeline, is by no means at peace with what was done to her as a child and keenly aware of the horror of it. Oh, her reaction when she finds out what Nina has done is going to be MASSIVE.
The other thing that strikes me is that this is an episode dealing with whether or not there is a destiny, and/or whether precognition can alter the future at the same time as Olivia and Broyles deal with what September said about Olivia's death in all the 'verses. Peter at the end makes a difference between what Emily did - predict the future, events that did not happpen yet and are therefore alterable - and what the Observers do, describe what they see while existing in all the time periods simultanously. But of course Peter's own continued existence proves that the Observers aren't infallible in their powers, given they assumed using the machine would erase him completely from all the timelines. Which Peter doesn't know.
Now I recognise a Chekovian gun when I see one, and this season's is the "Olivia dies in all the timelines" statement. Actually, so does everyone except for what's his name the bowling guru. If you're not immortal, you die, sooner or later. Now I'm assuming the show won't play coy and tell us at the end what September really meant is just that - Olivia dies, sometimes of old age, sometimes in the course of duty - because this is tv and that's no drama. Which is why I currently assume something of a Prophecy Girlrip-off homage. (For non-BtVS watchers: in the first season of the show, the prophecy that Buffy would die was resolved by a brief actual death and immediate revival courtesy of Xander Harris having learned his life saving lessons.)
The scenes between Olivia and Broyles, the deep respect, honesty and caring between them were terrific and made for a counterpoint to the Olivia and Nina scenes, though I still expect Nina to be given a more complicated motive for her actions than profit or evilness.
Lastly: obvious irony is obvious. After empathizing with Emily's father's unwillingness to see his daughter exploited as a lab rat, the first thing Olivia does when Emily comes to her is to bring her to Walter and his lab. Interesting touch that Amberverse Walter is so hesitant about hypnosis as opposed to how he was in the original Blueverse; presumably he and Olivia worked out the season 1 Scott subplot another way?
The only thing clumsy about the episode to me was Emily's death at the end which struck me as being very Doylist to avoid having a precog available for the Fringe team.
Mind you, both Olivia and Nina scenes made for "hug Olivia now!" feelings because of what the audience knows about Amberverse Nina's actions. But they were ever so good. The first one - and of course earlier Olivia's silent reaction when Emily's father started to bring up his daughter being experimented on, pushed and probed - showcased that Olivia, despite being raised by Nina and having come a bit closer to Walther for lack of a Peter than in the original Blueverse timeline, is by no means at peace with what was done to her as a child and keenly aware of the horror of it. Oh, her reaction when she finds out what Nina has done is going to be MASSIVE.
The other thing that strikes me is that this is an episode dealing with whether or not there is a destiny, and/or whether precognition can alter the future at the same time as Olivia and Broyles deal with what September said about Olivia's death in all the 'verses. Peter at the end makes a difference between what Emily did - predict the future, events that did not happpen yet and are therefore alterable - and what the Observers do, describe what they see while existing in all the time periods simultanously. But of course Peter's own continued existence proves that the Observers aren't infallible in their powers, given they assumed using the machine would erase him completely from all the timelines. Which Peter doesn't know.
Now I recognise a Chekovian gun when I see one, and this season's is the "Olivia dies in all the timelines" statement. Actually, so does everyone except for what's his name the bowling guru. If you're not immortal, you die, sooner or later. Now I'm assuming the show won't play coy and tell us at the end what September really meant is just that - Olivia dies, sometimes of old age, sometimes in the course of duty - because this is tv and that's no drama. Which is why I currently assume something of a Prophecy Girl
The scenes between Olivia and Broyles, the deep respect, honesty and caring between them were terrific and made for a counterpoint to the Olivia and Nina scenes, though I still expect Nina to be given a more complicated motive for her actions than profit or evilness.
Lastly: obvious irony is obvious. After empathizing with Emily's father's unwillingness to see his daughter exploited as a lab rat, the first thing Olivia does when Emily comes to her is to bring her to Walter and his lab. Interesting touch that Amberverse Walter is so hesitant about hypnosis as opposed to how he was in the original Blueverse; presumably he and Olivia worked out the season 1 Scott subplot another way?
The only thing clumsy about the episode to me was Emily's death at the end which struck me as being very Doylist to avoid having a precog available for the Fringe team.
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Date: 2012-01-29 10:09 pm (UTC)Pretty much my response post, right there. *g*
But of course Peter's own continued existence proves that the Observers aren't infallible in their powers, given they assumed using the machine would erase him completely from all the timelines.
In some ways, we, the viewers are in the dark, but you're right: We've seen two bright lights in the distance: One, Olivia and Peter and Walter change the catastrophic explosion in the courthouse and thus prove ripples can be empty echoes of something that will never come to pass. Two, Peter should have been fully erased but was not (and will not be, given the show creators' pledges). Let's just hope it's not the proverbial oncoming train. ;)
The scenes between Olivia and Broyles, the deep respect, honesty and caring between them were terrific
I have *fantasies* about this relationship. Like, I wish I had such a boss-employee dynamic. It's ideal; utopian to me. Ahem. /personal