Look at that title. LOOK AT IT. Oh god, Fringe, could you get anymore wonderful? Of course you can! So let us all join together on Friday for a liveblog party to flail about as we watch the fourth episode of season four of Fringe.
OH GOD THERE IS A WEEK-LONG BREAK AFTER THIS EPISODE. That is far too much time, but let us focus on “Subject 9” first!
Because we are all on the exact same ground this time around, our spoiler policy for these blogs will be completely different. Anything that has aired in the past is fair game for discussion. Anything that has not publicly aired WILL BE CONSIDERED A SPOILER.
This liveblog will work in relative to when the episode airs for you. So, you may begin your livebloggy commenting down below when the episode starts. To avoid spoilers, I stick to the first page and comment away, and then go back afterwards to add any more
DO. NOT. POST. SPOILERS. This community is not the place for that. You have the rest of the fucking Internet. Go there.
GO, MY FRINGIES. GO FORTH AND BLOG.
Eeee! So excited! Although not happy about waiting for more. *sadface*
But I have a request to make, if you'll allow me to go a bit off topic…
As Fringe fans, we are no strangers to loving shows that are low rated and in danger of cancellation. It's stressful, and frustrating to see much less intelligent shows continue to do well.
I want to encourage everyone to check out the show Nikita, which airs an hour before Fringe, on the CW. Now, I know what you're thinking. The CW? Isn't that the network with all those teen shows? Well, yes. But to say that Nikita is different would be an understatement. Here are just a few reasons you should check out Nikita.
1. It's so much more than the network it's on. Nikita is about an assassin who goes rogue from the organization who created her, and who's fighting to bring them down and stop their corruption from hurting innocent people. It doesn't exactly fit in with the CWs usual fare (probably one of the reasons it's struggling). There are love interests, but no love triangles (at least canon ones, so far. Dear god fandom, stop trying to make it happen). The women, for the most part, dress in things that cover them and are practical, unless the mission they're on requires them to be otherwise (at a party in heels, for example, and even then we saw an episode where Nikita, finding herself having to do a lot more fighting than she originally planned, took the time to snap the heels off her shoes so she could function <3 <3). The women are rarely presented as being victims or damsels in distress, and always play some part in saving themselves.
2. It's all about women. I mean, yes, there are men too, and they get moments of being in the spotlight, but for the most part, the show is female driven, especially so far in the second season. These are smart, capable, badass women on both sides of the protagonist/antagonist line, and they're all layered and complicated. They all get shit done.
3. The women have relationships with each other. Some of them are even, gasp, friends! In fact, while there are male love interests (including one big OTP level one for our main heroine), the show runner (and the narrative of the show) calls Alex and Nikita the main "tragic love story" of the show.
4. The men don't suck either. They mostly fall into the badass category, yet (for the most part) manage to avoid Alpha Male Asshole territory. They're also presented as being smart (most of the time, lol) and capable.
5. The mythology. OK, it doesn't have a mythology in the scifi/fantasy sense of the word. There's no alternate universes or mysterious islands. But there are several ongoing story archs, both in the past and in the present, that are very twisty and dramatic and full of surprises.
6. The writers are not afraid to change the status quo. The show, when it first started, was good, but had a few issues keeping it from being spectacularly great. By the mid season finale, those issues were resolved or made obsolete. And again at the end of the season, the entire show shifted dramatically in terms of where the characters were at. When these writers promise game changers, they deliver, and so far they've only made the show more amazing.
7. The cast is really, really pretty. What? I can be shallow.
8.
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The overall ratings are not that bad for the CW, but the demos are terrible, and there are already people calling it canceled for sure. So far, thankfully, those are people basing their opinions off of the numbers only, not inside knowledge of what the bigwigs at the CW are discussing. But it's still stressful and frustrating. I don't know that it will be everyone's cup of tea, but please, please at least consider tuning in and supporting the show. We need more intelligent, well written, well acted, women friendly TV on the air.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled Fringe squee.
SQUEE!
PS – the first time I wrote this, I accidentally hit ctrl R instead of ctrl V when trying to paste one of the gifs (don't ask me how I did that when they're nowhere near each other on the keyboard). I had to retype it all. FAIL!
PS – the first time I wrote this, I accidentally hit ctrl R instead of ctrl V when trying to paste one of the gifs (don't ask me how I did that when they're nowhere near each other on the keyboard). I had to retype it all. FAIL!
Sorry. I've done that, it's frustrating as hell.
Okay, in light of your impassioned plea, I will get over my hatred of the CW and try Nikita. Netflix is going to start streaming CW shows this weekend (good if Mark does Supernatural…by the way, isn't that on at 9? Wouldn't it be better for both shows to flip the timeslots?) so I'll give it a shot. I guess I can do without watching the last five minutes of Hell's Kitchen to ridicule Gordon Ramsey. 😉
Do not even get me started on the fucking CW and their fucking scheduling. "Hey, I know, let's take this new show that's still struggling to find it's audience, move it to the most difficult night of the week, and then put it before the established show with a rabid fanbase that will follow it anywhere."
Logically, I know it's probably because SPN tends to have a lot more gore with it's violence, and therefore the earlier timeslot would hinder them. But still. Shut up, CW.
Fringe Friday!
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I'm so excited! Think they'll make progress on the Peter front? I hope they do!
Seth Gabel is so cute!
YES
I'll be with y'all in spirit! I'm gonna be on the road tonight (5-hour roadtrip with my mother) but I look forward to reading everyone's comments over the weekend.
Fingers crossed for MOAR PETER!
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I'm going to participate tonight! PEPPED!
I'm not going to be here for the liveblog (precious, precious, badly needed sleep) but that title! I am excite!
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Sleep is an acceptable excuse. But, hey, sorta good news: the episode 2 weeks from tonight will be an hour earlier your time because it'll still be DST here!
NYOOOOOOOOOOOOO I might miss Fringe tonight! I'll try to speed eat/converse my way through dinner
Aww, I hope it's something delicious!
YES FRINGE
I can't believe there's a week wait… I disapprove.
jk my dinner was postponed because of rain (?????) I CAN FRINGE!
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Commence the festivities!
Okay, I didn't need to see Walter's lobotomy attempt again…wasn't ready for that!
I have a bit of a cold and I am super tired, but I'm staying up for Fringe!
IT IS STARTING!
i was not expecting the creepy void thing so early on!
Sooo, orbs of light are afraid of guns?
HAHHA astrid <3
eww
Peter fashion cam?
awwww Walter watching the Matrix!!!
The Matrix: A deeply empowering film.
Magnet ghost?
Nooooo, don't send him away!
DON'T TAKE WALTER AWAY.
Olivia would never…I hope.
olivia!! why are you walking around with that letter!!!
Holy shit he's seeing the future?
So, magnet lover is having effects on time? I'm calling this ICP monster, for now.
Oh, and good timing for Halloween, because this is definitely a creepy start!
mte Astrid
Yeah, they don't give you astral projection risk-free. Of course not.
Like the guy who heard things! Did that ever happen in this timeline?
SUBJECT 9
NINAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
omg so glad nina's back <3
Nina!
lol Walter ilu.
Poor Astrid, haha.
Oh my god, Nina’s back. Squee!
…so what is this prom story? don't leave us hanging!
I need to see Olivia in Romy and Michelle style hair and outfits.
YEEEES! She's already rocking the horrid pink lipstick
🙁 🙁 🙁
Poor guilty Walter:(
Wow. That can't be good for Walter's health.
Yay!
So, walter apparently hasn’t left the lab in three years, WHAT?!
THREE YEARS?!
R?
R!
He hasn't left in three years? 🙁
Peter come back…
What is this history between Olivia & Nina?!
i want to know too! it wasn't in the original timeline, right?
I know! It's like mother-daughter!
Are they still pretending Boston and New York are 10 minutes apart?
Aww, Walter's grimace.
Name change? And no metal? How?
SUNRISE. PETER'S FAVORITE TIME OF DAY.
ew dnw to think about how dirty hotel rooms are
Olivia, WAKE UP
He's so giddy!
No, have a slumber party!
sad i though they would share a room and have a slumber party 🙁
hehe, great minds!
Walter and Astrid: rocking the huge glasses
Holy shit.
oh no!! walter needs a hug
Ideally from Peter. Bring him back just to make Walter happy:)
i don't know how much longer i can take these non-peter episodes. poor walter
All the hugs.
walter and olivia are so cute together. MOVE IN WITH HER (in a non creepy way)
She still killed herself 🙁
What is that letter? Olivia, why are you carrying it around. OH NO, DON'T SEND HIM BACK.
akds;fa;sdfj walter's giddy face 😀
Is that a Geiger counter?
Yay, bonding! Slightly violent-to-ice-cream bonding!
I'm so sad she's considering sending him back.
Did Walter just see the future? WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHAT IS THIS ENERGY? IS IT PETER? I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
I don't like this world where they're not a family.
shit this is really sad
Up until the snooping came up, I seriously thought Liv and Walter Enjoying floats was adorable.
It was so happy! Shame it ended in sadness then danger.
Ouch.
lol were those fancy straws in paper coffee cups?
Wouldn't this guy really want to hurt Walter?
aklsjdf;aljs this won't end well. I don't know how much more sad Walter I can take
Seriously, it's breaking my heart. I need Peter back for Walter's sake.
Holy crap what happened?
Like, the car was drawn to the magnet?
Astral projection? Interesting.
RE
Oh, Olivia and Walter bonding. So sweet.
Nina Sharpe, why are you so sleazy?
This whole Olivia being close to Nina thing is weird.
She ran away from the program?
Oh no, this is worse than eating soup alone on a bench.
OMG i watched that episode while waiting for Fringe to start- Ben dressed as batman crying. SO RIDICULOUS <3
were they just numbers in the original timeline?
Walter, awesome hat. Also: Claire?
from Jasika Nicole's tumblr:
"FYI: Claire is my partner’s name. it was the writers’ idea to give her a shout-out in tonight’s episode (and might i say how well deserved that is, cause she is kind of a big deal).
my girl is famous n shit!" http://sugarbooty.tumblr.com/post/11458965214
OH I WAS BEATEN TO IT ANYWAYS. at least other people here tumblrstalk Jasika Nicole, that is a comfort.
So Olivia doesn't have any powers?
Walter: (breathing cigarette smoke) Ah, fresh air!
Best.
Lockpicks, Olivia? Isn't that Peter's job?
also, is he magneto?
They never had tried screaming at the magnet ghosts.
Has Walter always been this germophobic? Or is it just a manifestation of how uncomfortable he is outside his lab in this non-Peter universe?
Saw this on Jasika Nicole's tumblr:
http://sugarbooty.tumblr.com/post/11458965214
"FYI: “claire”
…is my partner’s name. it was the writers’ idea to give her a shout-out in tonight’s episode (and might i say how well deserved that is, cause she is kind of a big deal).
my girl is famous n shit!"
<3 <3 <3
That's sweet! As if I need more reason to love her!
That's kind of awesome.
Aww, this one, too.
I love her and this fandom so much <3
Cold comfort.
so is it peter????
That's what I'm hoping, but I have no idea how he's doing it!
Walter, what are you doing?
Good question!
RES
Nice tender moment between Walter and Olivia.
STAB THE ICE CREAM.
Now I want a root beer float.
Walter, you are NOT a burden. Stop putting words in Olivia's mouth. YOU ARE FAMILY.
She never met any of the other participants? How did they get to the other side then?
Easier with just her and Walter?
I don't think they did. It was kind of implied that the Other Side actively kidnapped Olivia and replaced her, rather than replacing her as a fluke when the return went wrong… because in this version there was no reason for our side to go to the Other Side.