There’s More Than One Of Everything. No kidding, that was an episode jam-packed with information, mysteries, clues and subtext. I thought I’d take a relatively light-hearted look at what we found out in the finale:
Guess who’s back? It was David Robert Jones who shot Nina so that he could steal the energy cell that William Bell hid inside her bionic arm (I wonder what else she has hidden on her person?). Jones used to work for Massive Dynamic and saw William as a father figure. But he felt unappreciated, he threw a tantrum and got dropped by MD. He is responsible for many of the ‘pattern events’ witnessed throughout season 1. In a bid to take revenge on William for not seeing how “special” he was, Jones vowed to kill him. [A far cry from the altruistic man I thought he was in earlier episodes!]
Only one problem. William’s “not in this world”. Thanks Nina.
The Road Not Taken. Wait. Haven’t we been here before? This episode certainly added weight to a few of the theories I’ve been kicking around. I thought I did a pretty good job with my M&M-themed approach, but nothing beats the old mad scientist and chalk board to illustrate the message! Walter, I am so not worthy. If Astrid ever flies the nest, you know where I am.
But it is another theory that was also given more supporting evidence in this latest episode — my “Observer Quantum Theory” (part 1, part 2). Just for context, in that theory I speculated that the act of observing changes reality:
In other words, every outcome is possible, until conscious observation creates it into perceived reality.
Imagine, if you will, a demonstration..an experiment (just like those seen on “Fringe”), with infinite possible outcomes. Only when (and ‘where’) it is observed does one outcome come into being. In this respect, success and failure is quite literally a matter of ‘perspective’. A highly skilled and conscious ‘observer’ could, in effect, control any experiment.
I went on to speculate further:
So, I believe that the Observer is not necessarily from another time (although do believe that to be possible), but moreover, he is from another dimension..or universe. I am not talking about aliens here, I am talking about a world (possibly multiple) that exist within our own world. Invisible dimensions which are just out of our conscious perspective – dimensions which may be tiny (as the above video illustrates), but in actual fact are just as large as our own.
If the Observer is from one of these dimensions, then it would make him neither time-traveller or alien..but rather a human who is from a different ‘pocket’ of observed reality. A world that is linked to ours by the unconscious, a world that has taken different paths than ours due to subtle and large changes in their reality. Their technology is more advanced than ours because they have observed different realities which have influenced these changes – which brings us back to one of the underlying principles of this theory, “Observation Changes Reality”.
Olivia, for example, may very well exist in one of these other ‘dimensions’..so might Broyles and Peter and Walter, Oh! Especially Walter! All possibilities are possible
Episode 1.19 gave us just that – a glimpse into one of these other realities..another possible course of events where counterparts reside. However, just like on “Lost” the ‘constants’ are themselves tallied with ‘variables’. Those variables are the counterparts that I spoke of – the alter-Broyles, who has a different office arrangement, and the alter-Charlie, who has a scar on his face — for example. These ‘alters’..or variables, have freewill..choice..and it is this individual and collective decision-making that allows for the differences between worlds. Deja Vu being the momentary glimpse, if you will, into one of these other realities.
Two singles together. When I think about it, it’s a pretty apt description of the theme running through episode 1.18 “Midnight”.
The best moments from the episode featured two of these ‘singles’ together in the Lab – Walter Bishop, a man of science separated from his memories, and Nicholas Boone, a fellow scientist who no-longer recognises the spinal-juice sucking vampiress that used to be his wife. Quite a fall for both men. As is often the case, there’s a kind of symmetry in that both men have been punished for their scientific explorations. Whilst Boone was punished for being a ZFT dissenter, Walter also received punishment for the death of his former lab assistant. One also wonders whether Walter’s punishment was ‘engineered’. As I touched at the end of the previous episode, I think there’s more to Walter’s St. Claire’s incarceration than meets the eye. I suspect that he either intentionally sacrificed 17 years of his life, or someone punished him for not being fully committed to the cause. But that’s speculation for another day.
Here is my FringeBloggers review for episode 1.18 “Midnight”.
The Good
Loved the fallen scientists discussion about redemption and the soul! That’s right up my alley, I love when they go to those places, the show really thrives when it takes an introspective look at science and faith, and an individuals role in the construct we call the world multiverse.
Broyles & Dunham. Did I ever say how much I LOVE these two? Well, I love em’ to pieces! They didn’t have many scenes together in this episode but what they did have was positive – character development, warmth, trust and direction. They’ve come so far since the Pilot — Broyles has ditched that loser Harris in favor of his No. 1 agent who has earned his trust. While Olivia has warmed up to her boss and allowed him to see her light and shade. They are a fantastic pair in my book, and I can’t wait for more “B-Olivia” moments. Also, I can’t forget to give credit where’s it’s due — the writers began to address the issue of Broyles lacking back-story by letting us know he’s divorced with kids..and that he spends his nights off socialising at trendy joints. Wow Broyles, you may very well have more swagger than I thought! Great to see him out of that stiff suit for a change. Shame about his divorce, of course, but it was a nice way to further bridge his story with Olivia’s home life.
Here’s my FringeBloggers review for episode 1.17 “Bad Dreams”.
THE GOOD
The opening sequence – a bit drawn out maybe, but truth be told, this was a chilling starter. A prelude to an exquisite main course.
Anna Torv. I’ve admired her work on Fringe since day one. I thought she was stunning in this episode. We all gravitate towards certain elements of a performance, and I found her interpretation of the events surrounding Olivia, and how this would affect her, to be very believable. I enjoy how she represents Olivia, and all of us Cortexiphan kids. Crucially, I connect with the character, I am able to get a sense of her tragic pain yet steely determination. It was also great to see Torv explore a different persona in those ‘spirit-walking’ scenes. All in all, excellent performance.
FringeBloggers is not affiliated with JJ. Abrams, Bad Robot or Fox. We love and respect the creative imaginings of JJ. Abrams and Bad Robot, and thank them for "LOST", and "FRINGE".
Guess who’s back? It was David Robert Jones who shot Nina so that he could steal the energy cell that William Bell hid inside her bionic arm (I wonder what else she has hidden on her person?). Jones used to work for Massive Dynamic and saw William as a father figure. But he felt unappreciated, he threw a tantrum and got dropped by MD. He is responsible for many of the ‘pattern events’ witnessed throughout season 1. In a bid to take revenge on William for not seeing how “special” he was, Jones vowed to kill him. [A far cry from the altruistic man I thought he was in earlier episodes!]
