The Fringe Finale: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

So last night was the finale of the best show on TV that is returning next year. Seriously, I’m calling it now. Fringe is the worthy successor of Lost. Long live the new king. The Duchess and I double-dipped on the two part finale last night and I’m going to bullet point out the good, the bad, and the ugly (mostly because I’m too lazy to write out a full review).

The Good:

- Broyles’ getting pissed: Over the last two seasons, we’ve always been able to rely on one thing, that Agent Broyles will stay calm, cool, and collected. The only time I actually remember him showing emotion was when he kissed Nina Sharp and when he was drinking with Peter when they thought Olivia was dead. But holy shit, when he thought Massive Dynamic was behind the device that would kill Peter and bring down destruction on the universe, he brought down the thunder. His screaming match with Nina was utter greatness.

- “I have thought of a hundred reasons... why you should come back. To--to fight the shapeshifters, to take care of Walter, to--to save the world. But in the end... you have to come back. Because you belong with me.”: This is the quote from Olivia just before she and Peter kissed. After this whole will they/won’t they bullshit from the Castle finale, it’s good to see a show actually give us characters who actually act like they are in the real world. Plus, this is the moment most Fringe fans have been waiting to happen for 2 years and it was magnificently pulled off.

- Sally Clark’s fuck you moment: I may have had my issues with the other Cortexiphan kids in this episode, but when Sally looked down at her dead lover and then down the barrel of the gun that shot the bullet, she went full on fire-starter and laid waste to the area. Too bad the douchebag lived.

- William Bell doing stuff: As much as I loved last year’s finale, the big reveal of Leonard Nimoy as William Bell was kind of a let down because he was old and feeble and didn’t do anything. However, in this episode, he’s running around, shooting guns, and ultimately sacrificing himself so the trio can get back to there own universe. Well played Nimoy, well played.

- Olivia vs. Olivia: Find me one person who watched this episode and saw the Olivia/Olivia conversation and fight scene and didn’t think it was a complete win. From the spare key moment to the hair coloring, I was thoroughly enthralled. It was good to see them both disarm, and then beat the shit out of each other. I want to see these two go for round 2 sometime in season 3.

The Bad:

- The alternate reality differences: Don’t get me wrong, I love the alternate reality. I revel in the small differences (like Olivia’s hair color). But won’t I don’t understand is that you have these major differences (like Zeppelin’s and weaponry and Red Lantern and electronic ID cards) but the small stuff is the same. Remember the episode that explained how Peter was taken by Walter in the alternate reality? Well, Peter had the same room, in the same house, had the same parents, was the same age, and had the same disease that the real Peter had. Seriously? We have Richard Nixon on a coin and I’m supposed to believe that little details are the same? In this episode, it was Olivia and Charlie being partners in the government agency with Broyles as their boss, among other things.

- Alter-Olivia crossing over: I like the twist, but I would have liked it better if it wasn’t cliché and plain as day from the moment she and Broyles got the call from the Walternate. This is really on the one thing that ruins the episode for me. I like big, shocking moments, but don’t telegraph it. This isn’t Smallville dammit.

- The technological disparity: My issue here isn’t between the two worlds, but only in the alternate reality. Basically, they have all this tech that is so advanced, yet their only weapon against holes in the universe to amber? Are you serious? And their one solution is to kill Peter buy using some massive machine. Well, were the hell did the machine come from? If they built it so only Peter could use it, but not have them build another power source for someone else?

- Talking about the episode: I started talking to Seamus this morning about the episode and I was having issues properly explaining the alternates vs. the normals. It gets confusing and gives me a headache when I’m referring to Alter-Olivia and real Olivia and the normal universe and the alternate universe. We need names for this stuff. I think the government should work on this rather than other ways to raise my taxes.

The Ugly:

- The Death of James Heath: Let’s just say that good ole James doesn’t make it over to the alternate reality in a recognizable form. Ugh. At least I didn’t have to deal with him being annoying anymore.

So, all in all I really enjoyed it. There were some moments that weren’t great, but they were outweighed by the awesomeness of other moments. Bring on season 3!