Fringe: Enemy of My Enemy

Remember back when Fringe was simple: you knew who the bad guys were, you knew who the good guys were, and everything was black and white? Oh wait, I’m thinking of a different show. Fringe has always been distinctly muddled, both in plot and in its characters’ loyalties and motives. From the very beginning, it had a “who can you trust?” vibe to it that fostered a level of paranoia which elevated the suspense of every twist and turn. With the ever-increasing number of shapeshifters, doppelgängers, and alternate timelines, this sense of ambiguity has risen to a point of utter confusion (at least for me) in this season. Is this timeline’s Walternate really sincere in his efforts to help Peter? Are both Broyleses in cahoots with David Robert Jones? Is Nina a shapeshifter? I can’t tell who’s good and who’s evil anymore, or even what those words mean. That’s part of the beauty of Fringe: whichever side you may be rooting for, the other one is almost never all bad. Except maybe when it comes to David Robert Jones. He’s pretty much just a straight-up psycho who wants to kill everyone.

On the one hand, it’s nice to see a familiar (if extremely ugly) face from a past season. On the other hand, I wish it didn’t have to be David Robert Jones. I was kind of hoping never to see him again after he died in Season One, but I guess it’s only fair that if we get to see Charlie again, that we also have to put up with the reappearance of some less likable characters from Fringe’s past. Jones marked his dramatic return with a reminder of just how psychotic he really is. When AltLivia and AltLincoln came to take him into custody, Jones gave them a severely disturbing demonstration in his underground lab, followed by a nice little monologue about his twisted take on one of Fringe’s central themes: a parent’s love for their child. He basically called himself the father of his new race of shapeshifters, and then he killed one of them while AltLivia and AltLincoln watched. He pointed out that if he’s willing to kill something he loves, imagine what he’ll do to everyone else. Frankly, this seemed like a lot of trouble to go to just to prove that he’s super crazy.

Speaking of mentally unstable father figures, Walter was particularly Walter-like this week (and by “Walter-like” I mean like our original Walter). He spent the episode making Parmesan ice cream in the lab and giving Gene a good grooming. After last week’s episode, it became clear that this Walter is still haunted by his guilt regarding his failed attempt to save Peter, as well as his part in his wife’s suicide. That’s a lot of baggage for one man to handle. (No wonder Walter isn’t exactly president of the Sanity Club.) He made some great strides this week when Altverse Elizabeth paid him a visit. She appeared in his lab looking like an angel, with rays of light framing her face, and for a second it looked like Walter really thought she was his Elizabeth. Her first words to him were, “I’m not her,” which snapped him back to reality. (Or as close to reality as Walter gets.) But even though she wasn’t his Elizabeth, she was still able to help Walter find forgiveness.

Unlike our Walter, who was constantly striving to earn Peter’s forgiveness (for never being there when he was growing up, for taking him from his rightful universe, etc.), this Walter is seeking forgiveness from God. In the original timeline, Walter asked God for a sign that he’d been forgiven for his violation of the universes. That sign was a white tulip, which Walter found in the Season Two episode of the same name. In this timeline, however, Walter never received his sign of forgiveness. This is just another one of the many things that distinguish this Walter from ours. Elizabeth told Walter that she forgave him, and if she can, then God certainly can. I guess in this timeline, Elizabeth is Walter’s white tulip. Hopefully her forgiveness can help Walter begin to forgive himself, not just for taking her son, but also for not being there for his Elizabeth when she was still alive.

The wonderful thing about our Walter is that he’s so easy to connect with, partly because he rarely hides his emotions. His character is so tragic and so well intentioned, you can’t help but feel everything he feels, from paralyzing grief over everything he’s lost, to effervescent joy at the prospect of a strawberry milkshake. Until this episode, I had never felt this connection with the new Walter, but watching his face fall when he came to the realization that Elizabeth wasn’t his wife, my heart just broke for him. (Side note: how is it possible that John Noble has not won an Emmy? Seriously. It’s unbelievable.) I found myself instantly invested in his redemption, which seems to be tied to his involvement in helping Peter get back home.

Walter and Elizabeth’s scene easily won the Tearjerker Scene of the Week award, but Walter’s late-night visit with Peter was a close second. He showed up on Peter’s doorstep (which was really the doorstep of their house in the original timeline) to tell him that (a) his mother is a wonderful woman (all versions of her), and (b) he would help Peter get back to his world. He explained to Peter that he had lost everyone he loved, and he understood how Peter must be feeling. Peter seemed so genuinely happy to have Walter finally warm up to him, and to have his help in getting home. In fact, this is the first time I remember seeing Peter give us a real smile (not that mildly amused smile he sometimes gives Olivia when he’s obviously thinking about all the things he’s done with her pre-reboot doppelgänger) since he arrived in this timeline. He told Walter, “I just spent the last several days with the other Walter, and I was very surprised to learn that he is not the man that I thought he was. But I am not at all surprised to learn that you are.” I just about lost it at this point. Peter and Walter’s relationship has always been one of my favorite parts of the series, and you could tell that Peter seemed so relieved to finally have some semblance of his father back. Who would’ve thought Peter would have two supportive fathers in this timeline!

Peter changed a lot this week. Last week his mantra was, “This isn’t my fight,” and he seemed determined not to get involved in the various inter-universe squabbles and shapeshifter drama of this timeline. But he had a change of heart this week. My first suspicion that Peter might actually care about this timeline and its inhabitants was when Olivia was chasing after Jones, about to go through the portal. Peter was shouting into his walkie-talkie for her not to follow him across, because if it closed on her, she’d be killed. Luckily she slammed on the brakes in her SUV just in time for the portal to take off the front of the car. Peter breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her voice on the other end of his walkie. He’d been acting like he wasn’t particularly attached to these rebooted versions of his loved ones, but when this Olivia was about to die, he was genuinely concerned for her safety. Then, later on, when Walternate held the first meeting of Team Universe (all assembled at a shiny table, sitting across from their doppelgängers), Peter announced that he’s the “variable” that Jones didn’t account for which would ultimately allow them to take him down. (Way to be modest, Peter.) So the gang’s all here! Prepare for Team Universe’s impending domination … the only obstacle of which is the fact that Alt-Broyles is apparently working with Jones … and Nina is doing something sketchy to Olivia to make her “ready” for something. But I’m sure they can work around that.

If last week’s episode was all action, excitement, and car chases, this week’s episode focused mainly on character development. Walter joined in on the fun, and Peter finally embraced (more or less) his position on Team Universe as their secret weapon against Jones. Probably the most important development, though, was the news that AltLivia dumped that floppy-haired loser she was dating, and AltLincoln has been her “shoulder to cry on.” Finally! Ugh, Frank was the worst. And I love that our Lincoln was totally playing wingman for his alter-ego, asking AltLivia why she found it so ridiculous that he assumed they were romantically involved, which they obviously should be, considering they have more chemistry than a Mentos and a bottle of cola. Now where was I before I got sidetracked by my swooning over LincLivia? Oh, right, wrapping things up …

This episode really set the stage for the second half of the season. Now that we’re somewhat settled into this new timeline, we can begin the process of taking down the King of Creepers, David Robert Jones (again), and hopefully fixing the Machine so that Peter can maybe someday get home. As much as I miss our Olivia and Walter, I can’t help but feel that, like Peter, I’m getting attached to these new ones, and I’ll be pretty sad if and when we have to leave them. Which leads me to my proposition for Season Five: the Rainbow Universe—where all the various incarnations of our beloved characters can coexist peacefully, and all the Lincolns can counsel each other on the Art of Wooing Olivia Dunham. Sure, they’d all have to be branded with which universe they’re from to prevent any more identity theft (cough, AltLivia, cough), but all in all I think it would make for a wonderful world, or at least a really entertaining sitcom.

Photo Courtesy of FOX