In the tenth episode of the fifth season of Fringe, Nina Sharp puts her career at risk to help the Fringe team with a crucial part of Walter’s plan. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Fringe.
This is seriously such a fantastic season of this show, but my god, it is doing things to my feelings that are not fair.
- This season won’t stop being intense, my god. And because of the world building we’ve been given in “Letters of Transit” and in the early parts of season five, the writers (in this case, the lovely David Fury!!!!) just settle in to tell a relentless goddamn story. It’s great! That’s why all the interrogation and chase scenes are so suspenseful. We already know how the Observers operate, and we know what’s at stake.
- I initially theorized that Olivia and Michael couldn’t communicate with one another because Olivia needed Cortexiphan or to experience a high anxiety event in order to convey her needs. I was so wrong.
- I love that in the beginning of this, it basically looks like Michael is having none of their shit.
- Remember when there was a time when there was an “evil” Nina Sharp? This episode is like a giant middle finger to that entire concept. Nina, you are such an amazing human, I swear.
- It’s not that I forgot about Etta; the show has actually done a fine job of keeping Peter and Olivia’s grief an important part of the storytelling. And yet, once that shot of Etta’s face on the poster popped on the screen, I was hurting. Oh god, I miss Etta. AND WE ONLY GOT FIVE EPISODES WITH HER. oh god.
- The idea of a thought visualizer is creepy, y’all. Can this never be a reality? I mean, I know there are things that are prototypes that exist, but my god, that won’t ever end well.
- Hey, let’s make most of this episode a terrifying sequence of interrogations that are painful and horrific because you desperately hope that Windmark won’t find out where Nina is, but you know the odds are stacked miserably against everyone here because OBSERVERS CAN READ MINDS AND THERE IS NO WAY HASTINGS IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO BLOCK THE OBSERVERS AND WHY IS THIS A FRAMING DEVICE I AM GOING TO HAVE OBSERVER NIGHTMARES SOON I SWEAR.
- Honestly, this episode was upsetting on multiple levels, and I think the fact that the Observers have so many advantages is part of that. It’s so unfair. I know that is a drastically simplistic way of reading the situation, but… my god, we are at a point in this show where the Observers are these horrific, oppressive villains. I’ve been rewatching some episodes from season one, and they always had such a nebulous presence. Actually, wait, it was a while before we saw an Observer who wasn’t September! OH GOD, I HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS ABOUT THIS GODDAMN SHOW.Â
- Olivia has so many emotions in this episode, too.
- Hey, Astrid had like two scenes! Yay for the further underuse of a character who is chronically underused!
- When Hastings was being interrogated and Olivia and Peter were in the same building as him, I thought Hastings would see Olivia from a distance, and then he’d think about her for a moment, and Windmark would know she was there. And you know, the show has already killed Olivia once, so this would have been a better development because she wouldn’t have died. Instead, Olivia and Peter have to race against beings who can BEND PHYSICAL SPACE.
- Speaking of that, why did Windmark and the other Observers drive to the warehouse? Can’t they just appear there?
- Anyway, I wonder if Michael’s power is universal. We saw what happened when he touched Walter. Walter’s entire life flashed before him, which returned his memories of Donald. (Oh, I’ll get there in a second.) Did he do the same thing with Nina? Or did he show her something else? Whatever he did, it gave her the confidence to give her own life to save the Fringe team.
- I’m just not a big fan of character deaths because I have suffered through so many of them. I blame Joss Whedon. Given that, I love that Nina goes out in such an honorable way: resisting. She fights the Observers, she refuses them entry into her mind, she saves Michael, and then she kills herself so that the Observers can’t use any part of her to bring down humanity. I will miss her, but I’m so honored to have known her. God, her scathing denial of the Observers’ existence and power will give me STRENGTH forever.
- Her suicide was shocking and unbearable enough as it was, but having to look at the faces of the Fringe team upon discovering Nina’s body? 1000000% agonizing.
- SO MICHAEL WAS AN ANOMALY. HOW. HOW??? WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT HIM? I STILL DON’T GET HOW HE IS PART OF WALTER’S PLAN.
- okay okay.
- so
- Donald
- is
- September.
- and he has hair.
- oh
- oh my god
- i need more.
- I NEED TO KNOW SO MUCH MORE EVERYONE.
- No, there are only three episodes left.
- I wanted the opposite of this. 🙁
See y’all on January 11th!
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