tvdinner&amovie

Previously on Fringe: In Absentia

For all worried about what this season will bring, fear not. I have solved the great mystery! This season plays homage to… itself. More accurately, this season of Fringe will be similar to season one and two. There are “monsters of the week,” which move toward explaining how to defeat the Observers, or “the baldies” as Etta so eloquently calls them. So, kind of like my unhappy prediction, but better. 

Team Etta finds a location in one of Walter’s tapes, and they go off to find out why that location was so crucial. Turns out there are people with bark-like material covering parts of their bodies. The group of people, who live in the forest, have devoted their lives to recording earth’s history– all of the important events.

The mine nearby that gives the people their barky-skin houses rocks are an extremely powerful energy source. Just 40 pounds of that stuff and they’re ready to go. However, getting the rocks is an extremely difficult task; the further inside the cave you go, the more covered in barky-skin you become until your pores close to protect itself and you die. Recordist leader, played by Sci-Fi actor Paul McGillion, sacrifices his life to get the rocks and Team Etta narrowly escapes the Observers.

Although it’s different from the plot and episodal arcs of season three and four, I like where this season is going. I know that some people didn’t like the hardcore sci-fi parallel universes.

Thoughts, Opinions, Problems, and News 

• I did like River Massey, Recordist leader’s son. Like me, he is a hardcore fan of the original Fringe team; he loves studying and learning about them. And the eulogy for his father was a touching scene.
• I also enjoyed how Astrid had a larger part in the episode. Actually, I like how Etta took the backseat and hid in the bushes looking for the Observers so we could follow the original Fringe team.
• I loved how we were given a chance to look through the Observers binoculars.
• How did the recordist people know everything? How do their magical recording devices work? I need answers, Fringe.
• If you have been reading these, I also feel kind of bad. This section is always very long, filled with huge rants about how I need all the answers immediately. But what kind of show would that be? If we had all the answers immediately, there would be no drama, no climax, no plot. So, sorry for being so nit-picky, Fringe.
• How does Astrid have a cell phone? How do they communicate without the Observers knowing?
• On that note, what do the Observers know? We know they can read minds; do the humans have to be within a certain proximity for them to know what’s happening? It would be a little bit unfair if they knew everything at every time. I’m working on my patience– I’m sure all the answers will be answered soon.
• I am so glad we got to learn about Olivia and Peter’s backstory. It was refreshing — and a great relief– to hear that Olivia has been stoic and mopey for a reason. Her guilt over losing Etta. Hopefully she will be back to her usual self soon.
• The traditional episode 19 will be episode number 9!
• The next episode comes out in two weeks, on October 26. And the promo looks AMAZING. Titled “The Bullet That Saved the World,” the teaser has Observers, Olivia with an idea (our protagonist is back!), action, huge guns, Broyles, and Walter saying, “There was a time when we solved Fringe cases. It’s time we made a few of our own.” Whattt?! SO EXCITED. 
  

Quotes:

Astrid:  I found something. Walter, is there a mine where you are?

Walter: – Mime. The only mime that I know of is Marcel Marceau. What’s he got to do with any of this?

Astrid: No. a mine. You said mine – – m-i-n-e – – on the tape. Walter, whatever you’re supposed to find, it’s in a mine.

Walter: Do you have a mine – – m-i-n-e – – here?

***

Olivia: I wanted so much to be a mother, but… I just… didn’t think that I was programmed that way. That I was… destined for something else. Ever since I was a kid, ever since the Cortexiphan Trials, I just… I was at odds. So how could I have this incredible little girl? So, when we lost her, I felt like that was my punishment… my punishment for being too conflicted to appreciate her when we had her. And that day at the restaurant… I knew that I had to go back to New York because I didn’t want to… find… what I knew we were going to find. I just… I just believed so strongly that she was dead, and I didn’t want to see it. And you thought I went back because of my strength, and she said that she admired me today.

Peter: Olivia. I saw how you were with our little girl. I know how much you love her. And I’m not telling you to forget it, but… the past is the past. Don’t let it get in the way of this. I don’t know why it’s happening, But our family got a second chance. So I’m gonna take it.

***

Olivia: I wanted so much to be a mother, but… I just… didn’t think that I was programmed that way. That I was… destined for something else. Ever since I was a kid, ever since the Cortexiphan Trials, I just… I was at odds. So how could I have this incredible little girl? So, when we lost her, I felt like that was my punishment… my punishment for being too conflicted to appreciate her when we had her. And that day at the restaurant… I knew that I had to go back to New York because I didn’t want to… find… what I knew we were going to find. I just… I just believed so strongly that she was dead, and I didn’t want to see it. And you thought I went back because of my strength, and she said that she admired me today.

Peter: Olivia. I saw how you were with our little girl. I know how much you love her. And I’m not telling you to forget it, but… the past is the past. Don’t let it get in the way of this. I don’t know why it’s happening, But our family got a second chance. So I’m gonna take it.

***

River: A hero died today, sacrificing himself in order to get the Fringe Team resources they need to save our world. Edwin Massey, the Recorder of History, made history. He will be greatly missed. Like other great men before him, he gave his life selflessly in pursuit of freedom… and a better future.

River, with the Fringe comics he drew.

Emily enjoys all mediums of speculative fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi–especially reading, writing, and watching them. A Fringe fanatic, she is convinced that one day she will meet her parallel self, aptly nicknamed Femily (Fake Emily), and save both worlds from their inevitable destruction.

fringe recapping: the recordist