Fringe 4x11 Review

Making Angels

After last week's "Case of the Week" episode we kind of got another one. The different though is that this particular case played into the larger mythos of the show far more than future seeing girl did. Future seeing guy was much more creepy too. There was a lot going on in this episode, and in classic Fringe form it all comes down to the families, and issues we have with our parents. 

As advertised this episode also featured Astrid more than entire seasons seemed to in the past, and I LOVED IT. I've always been a fan of Astrid, and Jasika Nicole doesn't get near enough praise. Lets for a moment recap Astrid's character for the first four seasons. Here's a smart, talented, and committed FBI agent who went through all the training and preparation it takes to get to that position.  What is her assignment? To babysit a crazy man who likes to do wacky experiments, and never quite gets her name right. One could wonder, "Why does she stick around?" I think we all knew the answer to that, and this episode confirmed it if you had not figured it out in Season 2's Snakehead. Astrid cares a great deal about Walter, and he cares about her all the same. Walter as much as admitted that getting her name wrong is a sign of affection, and just a little playful humor. More on her later. 

The main arc of the episode is that a man is killing people with a strange mix of chemicals. He appears to be able to see how they will die, and proceeds to tell them how they will die before he euthanizes them with his little device. Turns out later that he believes he's doing them a kindness, and allowing them to die peacefully, and not have to deal with all the pain and emotional distress that would have befallen them otherwise. 

We also learn at the very end that the tool he was using once belonged to September. September had lost it the night Peter died, and it seems clear that Mr. TSA found it up at the lake. The question is, did he find it and then begin to discover its secrets? Or did he find it, and it took control of him. We know that he figured out all these complex equations. Could it have given him the mind of an Observer? or at least part of one? Personally, I was a little disappointed that it all came down to him being pissed at his mother because in a moment of grief she said something bad. Yes, it's wrong to say something like that but to start killing people so you can get to heaven seems like an over reaction. 

The need to parental approval and love is of course mirrored in Alter-Astrid. We learn that her father has just died, and she is even more upset because she was never able to love him the way she thinks he wanted her too. When she tells this to Astrid, we get a story about how her father also was emotionless, but it was his way. We see though that Astrid's father is not at all emotionless, and she told a lie. A good lie, but you could see the pain on Astrid's face. The idea of doppelgangers is a fascinating one, and here they get to see what their lives would be like if they were just a little bit different. Olivia sees herself as more open, and good humored. Lincoln is more confident, but mostly the same(this also might be because he's the only one we met for the first time on the other side, so it's tough to judge). Walter sees himself with his full mental and brain function. Astrid however sees a brilliant yet mentally challenged person. Alter-Astrid isn't someone we pity at all, and I don't think Astrid does, but it's clear that she sees what one little change does. Losing that connection with her father was what troubled her, and caused her to feel bad for the life that Alter-Astrid had to lead. The performance by Nicole in this episode was superb. 

We also do get from Peter-Walter friction, but in this case I almost have to side with Walter. I mean I know Peter is only trying to help, but let Walter do his thing. If Peter wants to inspect the body and such then he should have a direct connection to Walter too. That way he would be assisting inspiring Walter and stepping on his toes. That's how it was before the change. 

I'm not sure what the implications will be now that the Observers know that September didn't eliminate Peter, but I can guess. The last time we saw September he had been shot, and was trying to tell Olivia there was no way to prevent her death. I don't think the other Observers would shoot him with a gun though, that doesn't seem like their style. The Observers are attempting to right what went wrong way back in 1985, and from this episode I got the impression that Sept was unable to save Peter because he lost that machine. I think the other Observers will try to track him down, and force him to eliminate Peter again. Peter, wanting to get back to his Universe/Timeline pleads with him to make it happen. He tells him the only way that can happen is if the timeline is changed yet again, and he doesn't lose the machine. I think the only way the other Observers would allow that is if Sept sacrifices himself. If an Observer dies how exactly would that work? They don't experience time the way we do. Maybe if Sept dies anytime he is eliminated from all time.  

If September never existed then he never would have interrupted Walternate, and he would have seen the cure for Peter had been a success. This would mean Walter would never cross over to get him, never causing the massive damage to the universes, never making Walter begin the Cortexifan trials, etc. I think this would be a finale type event, and if I'm right it would reset everything, and to paraphrase J. K. Rowling, all would be well. 

Lets see if I'm right!