In the sixth episode of the fifth season of Fringe, Walter goes on a solo mission to find the next piece of the plan. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Fringe.
Goddamn, this season is consistently spectacular. Bless this show!
- Whoa, David Fury wrote this episode! Bravo, sir, this was great!
- During this episode, I realized that all these tapes Walter is watching totally remind me of the Dharma Initiative tapes from LOST. Right??? Only Walter’s are way funnier.
- Peter, you have now upgraded to business class on the Horribly Bad Idea Express. So, you just had this whole conversation with Olivia about how important it is for the two of you to be open and honest with one another so that you can heal, and then you lie to her about the implant in your neck. What are you doing???
- This episode has a ridiculously entertaining framing device in terms of plot. We watch the story unfold through two mediums. Obviously, we want to know what lies in this pocket universe that behaves like a dark and vacant Alice in Wonderland world, so we kept anticipating seeing more of the video tape. Since this videotape in particular is in the best shape out of all the ones pulled from the amber, I didn’t expect it to suddenly stop and break. So, we watch Walter go to the apartment at 167 Cedar Street, head on up to apartment 413, and follow some weird directions in terms of where to step. I assumed something was buried in the floorboards until – POOF! – Walter fucking vanishes. What? WHAT?
- Oh god, there are still parallel worlds? I wondered. What the fuck is this???
- Okay, for real, Walter’s video is so entertaining! He literally stops for raspberry pastries mid-video. You’re my favorite, Walter. I loved the moment where he turns around to ask the guy on the bus, “May I help you?” Ugh, he’s such a great character.
- WHAT THE FUCK, DONALD IS IN APARTMENT 413???? Who is Donald??? This isn’t fair, y’all. I have so many questions that aren’t being answered!
- Okay, so is that Donald who just pushed Walter up against the wall with a screwdriver in hand? Did Walter leave Donald there 20 years ago? But… hell, that doesn’t fit the canon storyline, does it? I guess Donald could have gotten the rocks from the mine in Pennsylvania, but wasn’t he taken away by Observers?
- Cecil? Who the hell is this???
- OH MY GOD, HE’S BEEN STUCK IN AN INFINITE TIME LOOP POCKET UNIVERSE FOR TWENTY FUCKING YEARS.
- For real, I felt absolutely terrible for Cecil, and his ultimate fate certainly didn’t help that. But more on this later, as it’s integral to the point of “Through the Looking Glass, and What Walter Found There.” (PS: I LOVE THE TITLE OF THIS EPISODE.)
- Oh, wow! They actually brought Astrid with them this time! Oh, she’s left behind to… do what? She can’t even help outside the portal. Boooo, Fringe, stop being so obstinate with Astrid!
- Okay, wait, why is Windmark so familiar with Quadrant 9? Why is it not surprising to him at all that Walter is there? Oh shit, does he know?
- I didn’t notice Walter’s erratic, rude behavior until he brashly blew off Peter’s concern for his well-being. I thought, “Dude, shit, you are being extremely forward. What gives?” LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT THIS WAS A PLOT POINT.
- HAHAHA, OH SHIT, IT’S ONE OF THE GLYPHS. I know it has no deeper meaning, but that’s pretty awesome. Okay, so what’s in the room with the apple???
- Nothing? A bed and a desk??? I DON’T GET IT.
- Wait, Walter is talking to a third person in the video. Was that person in this pocket universe the whole time?
- Wait
- WAIT
- WHAT THE FUCK.
- NO, THAT CAN’T BE.
- OH MY GOD, IT’S THAT KID FROM “INNER CHILD.” DID HE LOOK AT THE OBSERVER IN THE END OF THAT EPISODE, TOO? WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK.
- NO, OH MY GOD, THERE IS AN AIR DEGRADATION UNIT IN THE ROOM. IS THAT KID A BABY OBSERVER OR SOMETHING?
- I literally cannot handle this episode. How do you take such a small detail from the middle of season one and use it to confuse the hell out of me? Y’all, I love this show so much.
- Okay, so we’ve got yet another mystery to deal with. Did Donald move the boy? Where to? Why? Why is there an air degradation unit in the room? What the hell is going on?
- The Observers already freak me out, but after “The Bullet That Saved The World,” I feel like anyone is expendable on this show. So when that Observer appeared behind Astrid, I got SO FREAKED OUT. Ugh, this show better not do that to her.
- The escape was pretty thrilling, but it sort of pales in comparison to Peter’s journey. He was able to navigate back to the portal with ease, but it’s his fight with that Observer that’s unreal. So, what triggered the powers in Peter? He can clearly travel through space now. What about time? The end of the episode reveals that he can now see as Observers do, so what other features will we see? And obviously, Windmark looks rather pleased with what’s happening. My god, is Peter going to become an actual Observer now???
- Bah, we don’t find out what the radio is for!
- I was surprised that the episode explicitly addressed the fact that Cecil got the shit end of the deal. You don’t see “collateral damage” brought up like this at all in most shows. Side characters who die in single episodes aren’t ever given this sort of consideration. But this is meant as a way to demonstrate that Walter worries that all his growth over this show is being erased, that he is slowly turning into the arrogant, egotistical scientist he once was around William Bell. It’s touching that he asks Peter to keep his humanity in check, and it’s also terribly ironic because Peter is losing his humanity.
Oh god, this show, y’all. How is this all going to be resolved??
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