(S01E13) "God, I hope I never have to hear him say the word 'nipple' again." - Peter, on Walter discussing nipples
Finally, we get back to some of the intriguing stuff that I love about Fringe. I was beginning to think they'd forgotten all about Nina Sharp, John Scott and Massive Dynamic.
Several things were revealed to key players: Olivia learned of the existence of John Scott, being held in a vegetative state at Massive Dynamic; Charlie learned of Olivia and John's memories being merged in her head; and WE learned that John Scott is indeed a good guy. Or is he?
The ending seemed a little too pat for me, with John helping Olivia and the fringe crew from beyond his consciousness, and then he and Olivia sharing a special moment on the dock at the end. By the way, I wonder where he got that ring. I guess anything can happen in a dream/memory state, including surviving a gunshot to the chest by your lover.
I kind of liked it better, though, when we weren't sure whether or not John was a bad guy. I mean, where do we go from here? If we're to believe the story he told Olivia -- which seems likely since he said to trust Hicks, and Hicks indeed helped them when Olivia and Peter went to the meeting -- then this chapter of the story is ending. John Scott will fade away out of Olivia's memory, and Olivia and her team will (maybe) begin investigating the secret task force John told her about.
And what about The Observer? Has anyone seen him in the last few episodes? How will this black ops task force tie into The Pattern and the experiments that Walter was doing way back when?
Other thoughts:
- Walter is usually pretty sure of himself, so it seemed weird when John was able to see and talk with Olivia in her visions.
- I wasn't sure about Charlie, but he definitely seems like one of the good guys.
- Astrid actually had some meaningful input in this episode, when she asked Olivia what her instinct was telling her about John.
- Any theories on what "he was called back to the basement" means? As I recall, John led Olivia down to a basement storage area several episodes ago. Maybe it's got something to do with that.
- Maybe when John was on the roof aiming his giant weapon at Conrad's car speeding away, it wasn't that he didn't know it was Conrad. It's because he knew and couldn't or wouldn't carry through with the deed. Yes, I'm still hanging onto the theory that John's playing both sides or was/is being mind-controlled.
- The NSA couldn't confirm anything John told Olivia, and as Broyles said, the department still considers him a traitor. I think Broyles knows more than he's saying, but I guess that goes without saying.
- Mr. Jones will be back next week. It'll be fun to see what that's all about. And it looks like next week might be the finale, so I hope they leave us with lots of things to ruminate on until the next season.
Fringe' Show & Cast Photos
FRINGE Walter (John Noble), Peter (Joshua Jackson), Olivia (Anna Torv) and Broyles (Lance Reddick) enter a governement warehouse to examine a mysterious cylinder found among the debris of a construction site explosion in the episode "The Arrival." Airs Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
Fox
FRINGE Peter (Joshua Jackson), Olivia (Anna Torv), Walter (John Noble) and Broyles (Lance Reddick) return to the lab to gather more information on a mysterious cylinder found among the debris of a construction site explosion in the episode "The Arrival." Airs Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
Fox
FRINGE Olivia (Anna Torv) chases a suspect through the woods in the episode "The Arrival." Airs Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
Fox
FRINGE Walter (John Noble, L) and Peter (Joshua Jackson, R) examine a mysterious cylinder found among the debris of a construction site explosion in the episode "The Arrival." Airs Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
Fox
FRINGE Olivia (Anna Torv) chases a suspect through the woods in the episode "The Arrival". Airs Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
Fox
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Actress Jasika Nicole attends FOX's "Fringe" premiere during the 2008 New York Television Festival at New World Stage on September 13, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jasika Nicole
Getty Images
Executive Producers John Wirth, Josh Friedman and James Middleton arrive at The Paley Center and TV Guide
Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.com
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Molly Stanton arrive at The Paley Center and TV Guide
Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.com
Jesse Tyler Ferguson arrives at The Paley Center and TV Guide
Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.com
Mark Valley arrives at The Paley Center and TV Guide
Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.com
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-04-2009 @ 8:25AM
Sean said...
What makes you think that next week is going to be the finale? I was under the impression that the show got picked up for a full 22.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 10:30AM
Richie said...
It was picked up for a full 22 episode season on 10-1-2008.
2-04-2009 @ 10:31AM
CRVBOY said...
Fringe did get picked up for a full season back in the fall. We still have a few episodes to go.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 10:34AM
Richie said...
Yes last night was only episode 13 of 22.
2-04-2009 @ 2:51PM
Chip Douglas said...
My friends at the Fringe Podcast said there will be another 7 week hiatus and then the remaining episodes will air beginning in April.
2-04-2009 @ 10:58AM
Mark Adams said...
John's run on the show has apparently ended. Mark Valley is leaving the show.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 12:25PM
eric f. said...
Best line of the evening Walter: "I love cutting!"
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 8:40PM
edgore said...
Hilarious - I had to jump back to make sure I had actually hear dit right.
2-04-2009 @ 12:27PM
Echy said...
I tried to find the pilot so I could watch it again. My recollection was that John tried killing Olivia in the car chase. If that is true then he is on the side of evil.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 4:32PM
Cody said...
He could have legitimately wanted to kill her, so he could take her to Massive Dynamics and have them resurrect her. Just because he tried to kill her doesn't mean he's evil.
2-04-2009 @ 12:34PM
Naiche said...
What is going on with Airplanes these days, Hollywood must really believe we are over September 11th. Two plane incidents on Fringe, 24 has two planes collide in mid air, and Heroes is going all Lost with a plane crash. geesh
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 1:31PM
metz said...
Funny that Mark Valley and Anna Torv just got married in real life.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 4:48PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
Holy moly, Metz, you're right! Eww. The "John Scott" guy is 15 yrs older than "Olivia", WTH ?! They got privately married in December. Here's a creepy quote from him, "She's my favorite on the show to be honest with you." What, was he an obsessed fan ?! Here's the press release detail page at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396022/news#ni0669156
2-04-2009 @ 2:02PM
Cyantre said...
At first when I saw the guy on the plane transform it reminded me of wear-wolf Sonic, but then when the plane crashed on the ground and the body was shown it looked a lot the special infected tank from Left 4 Dead.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 3:59PM
Tom said...
I really enjoyed this week's episode of "Altered States: The Series."
I wonder what they will be ripping off next week. Other than the X-Files.
My best guess is that they wrote John (Mark Valley) off the show and brought his storyline to a tidy ending so quickly because the writers, knowing what a complete pile of crap they are putting forward each week, never believed in a million years that this show would be picked up for a full season, and they knew (or thought) that they had to tell a complete story because they weren't going to get a chance to continue with this material. Just an educated guess.
My only hope now is that a full season was a blip, and they won't pick up a second season of this drivel, or I guess we can always pray for another writer's strike.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 4:40PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
LOL, that's so dead on - Altered States: The Series. 2 funny.
2-04-2009 @ 4:38PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
I'm with you Tom, but I have a kernel of hope for this show still. It's like the show is run by grown ups but the writers are kids. Two things stuck out badly for me this week: (1) Not that I'm complaining but what happened to pain-in-Olivia's-@ss Sanford Harris ?! It was as if he was never on the show! (2) the Dawson's Creek romantic ending made me physically ill, gahd I hope that was a one-time fail.
And yes, I want to see Nina, Massive Dynamics, The Pattern, and Mr Jones EVERY freakin' week, otherwise it's the same ol' X-Files formula where they do three standalone monster eps to every one of the alien conspiracy thread. It will kill - KILL - the series if they write it like the X-Files. I WANT to Believe (oops, bad choice of words?!)
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 10:09PM
thegoddesskiara said...
Why do people watch this show and write comments on it's review if they hate it so much. Just stop watching... I like this show as does my family. I hope it does get picked up for a second season it's by far better then all the reality crap on.
Reply
2-04-2009 @ 10:31PM
Rose said...
I thought I saw the observer right at the beginning on the airplane. Did anyone else see him?
2-04-2009 @ 10:36PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
It's called "critical analysis" and it's something educated adults do, it tends to either make shows better or kill them off quicker, whichever the producers prefer.