"A Short Story About Love" - Fringe.

From Fox

Grade: A-

As Fringe left for its quick winter break it left off with mysteries revealed, season mystery building up, & fear that Peter’s journey wasn’t even close to over. ”A Short Story About Love” is many things for a Fringe episode but at its core it is a story about love. In that story we see the relations & attractions that all the characters are having & all the emotional turmoil they are going through as they try & solve a case where someone is fabricating love. There is still something more going on in the episode in almost a primal way though & there lies the secret of what makes ”A Short Story About Love” so special. At its core, the episode is a love letter to its fans.

As the episode starts off with its mysterious killer & exposition we see that Peter is leaving to go to New York to be away from Olivia so that he does not cause her any more hard upon Walters request. Walter, however, asks Peter to come back as he begins to believe that the Observer September might have left his with another task for Peter to complete. As they try to find this mysterious killer who is synthesizing pheromones to replicate love we journey into the feelings that the cast has for one another. Lincoln’s feelings for Olivia, Peters longing for his Olivia, & Olivia’s budding feelings for Peter & the hurt that she feels when she finds out that Peter was leaving to try & stay away from her.

As Peter’s journey takes him to an unmarked apartment & through the woods (to grandmothers house we go) we find the team learning more & more about just what their suspect is doing. Through each long glimpse the episode gives to its characters, the feelings are almost relatable to the audience. Each word they carefully use in relation to the situations they face resonates deeply to the series as a whole. As Peter & the teams respective journeys come to an end does it feel that ”A Short Story About Love” was that & so much more.

In the end each turn of phrase holds so much weight that the endings flood of emotion comes of as executed perfectly. Though there is little space to waste time as the season winds down it is very clear that the writers wanted the episode to be something very special. With the dedication that Fringe gives to its stories & faith in its audience there is no doubt that the payoff is well worth it for those who have stuck around.
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