Grade: B+
It is more clear than ever that
Fringe is a costly & low rated show to FOX, a network that values money & ratings. Whether it survives to another season is very unclear but the producers are more than willing to do their best to make sure that happens. That is, outside of, being more open about their storyline to attract new viewers. Season 4 has been completely obsessed with taking its storyline further without making many procedural episodes to attract the wayward viewer & as a longtime fan of the show I am more than happy for the long story. Just to reiterate their cause, the
Fringe team made that more clear than ever with their winter return in “
Back to Where You’ve Never Been” an expansive episode with a cliffhanger ending reminiscent of an cable drama focused on long season story arcs.
There was no real cliffhanger to resolve upon
Fringe’s winter return but in just the beginning scene & first five minutes after the credits it was clear what the rest of the seasons goals would be. In the once alternate Red Universe it seems that they are also facing a shape-shifter problem akin to the one being faced on the Blue side. We also see just how important it is to Peter to get back to his home through a quick dream sequence where he is back home & his version of Walter is making him banana pancakes & Olivia is staying over with them. After Peter awakes he forms a new plan to get home & seeks out Walter at his lab. Walter rejects Peter’s request to help him rework the matrix of the machine but Walter also gives him a bit of hope by saying that he may be the only person to help him solve his problem but Peter is also asking the wrong Walter. This creates the first part of the episode goal of Peter crossing over to the other universe & requesting Walternates help. Thankfully this new orange multi-verse does not share all the same traits as Peter’s Blue Universe as Olivia informs him that Massive Dynamic retrieved Walter’s original gate to crossover from the bottom of Raiden Lake. Now a plan comes together with the help of Olivia & Lincoln to cross over as Lincoln disguised as his other self & Peter’s knowledge of the theater being a soft spot between both worlds.
Meanwhile on the other side Lincoln & FauxLivia’s search for answers about the appearance of the new shape-shifters ends up intersecting with the crossed over Peter & Lincoln. While Peter escapes & finally finds himself face-to-face with Walternate he also finds out that Walternate is on the search to find out who has created these new shapeshifters as it appears they have infiltrated every part of his universes government. Throughout “
Back to Where You’ve Never Been” it becomes clear that since Peter is so impartial to both worlds he is the perfect person to help solve this problem. In the end of the episode things still remain unresolved as the whole time is spent on a great build up for the season. In the final scene the Observer Gemini appears in the theater with a gunshot wound to deliver a message to Olivia, who has never seen an observer before, that for the multi-verse to survive she must die.
It is hard to see just where the season story arc could go outside of the new Orange multi-verse but it is clear that its main goal at least for a couple more episodes is to solve this new problem of shape-shifters. More fear & tension comes from the fact that FOX could axe the series before a fifth season & the only real tie up for the series came in the form of a bittersweet finale in Season 3. While the team behind
Fringe is clear that they are trying their best to continue the show it is hard to see it not being a series & just presented in comic book form. One’s hope could only come from the fact that JJ Abrams can pull enough weight to have the final story tied up in a movie if all else fails. Four season & a movie anyone?
Grade: B+
