TV - Fringe: The Main Story
"Fringe" has a lot of plots and themes going on. This list tries to find the most central through lines taking a cue from Wired Magazine's "must watch" article.
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- DirectorAlex GravesStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickAfter a plane from Hamburg returns with no survivors, FBI agent Olivia Dunham goes after the only person that might shed some light on the incident - a scientist that has been in a mental hospital for the last 17 years.The beginning is usually the best place to start.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickAn FBI agent experiencing huge pain is brought to a hospital where it is discovered that there is a strange parasite wrapped around his heart.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - There is nothing lost by skipping to this important episode which propels the main mystery started in the pilot and features a fantastic performance by the always great Jared Harris.
- DirectorGwyneth Horder-PaytonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickA young musical genius is kidnapped and Walter recalls a patient at St Clair's who might have been kidnapped by the same people and forced to try and figure out the solution to an equation.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - This feels like a bottled episode as the team searches for a missing child prodigy, but it really comes to life as Walter dares to return to the mental institute that broke him in an attempt to help.
Guest staring William Sadler as the head of the institution. - DirectorMichael ZinbergStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonKirk AcevedoAfter a series of mysterious bank robberies, a suspect is found embedded into a wall, causing Walter to realize that they have not only found a way to literally walk through walls, but are looking for something he's made in the past.David Robert Jones and his crew continue their strange thefts. Continued in S1Ep11
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickA man undergoes a painful and ultimately fatal transformation aboard a plane. Meanwhile, Nina Sharp and Broyles reveal more information about John Scott to Olivia.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - More commonly referred to as "The Giant Porcupine" episode, this one gives a sci-fi mystery to solve while Olivia pursues the answers she needs about Agent Scott's actions from the pilot episode.
- DirectorNorberto BarbaStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe team investigates a number of people who died faceless after their orifices are sealed while German agents investigating David Robert Jones' escape question Olivia.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - Jared Harris returns as David Robert Jones to get further into his agenda and causes a crucial mystery about Olivia to be revealed.
- DirectorFrederick E.O. ToyeStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe Fringe team investigate a case of spontaneous human combustion. Olivia starts experiencing visions of the alternate Universe. She uses this ability to solve the case.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickDavid Robert Jones comes out of hiding following an attempt on Nina Sharp's life while Walter leaves accompanied by the mysterious Observer.The First Season Finale starts to pull back the curtain as to the strange places the series will be going and finally introduces William Bell. David Robert Jones reveals the next step in his plan.
- DirectorAkiva GoldsmanStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickOlivia is in a car accident, an unusual person is looking for a member of the team, and Walter makes plans for celebrating Peter's birthday.It's a season premiere and deals with the literal impact of Olivia's meeting with William Bell. Shape shifters are also in the mix.
- DirectorCharles BeesonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickAn earthquake from the other side is being felt on our Universe as well. Furthermore, the only survivor seems to be from the alternate Universe. Walter attempts to get Olivia to "recover" her ability to make out things from the other side.Revealed here are Walter's trials of Cortexiphan on children, including the effects on a now-grown Olivia.
- DirectorDavid StraitonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickWalter flashes back to 1985 while explaining Peter's otherworldly origins to Olivia. Also, Peter's mother is introduced, and details of the neighboring world reaffirm that there is more than one of everything.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - This is set mostly in 1985 as Walter tells Olivia about the real history and problems between him and Peter.
- DirectorThomas YatskoStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe Fringe team investigate a train full of people who died in a mysterious way. Olivia and the others then meet the astrophysicist who was responsible for the "experiment" and who can reset the time.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - What could merely be another sci-fi "Groundhog Day" scenario becomes something more as Walter meets another brilliant scientist desperate to correct his own tragic mistake.
Guest star: Peter Weller - DirectorJeffrey G. HuntStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe body of a male teenager is found along with shapeshifter marks. Walter examines the embryo of a shapeshifter, that came from the alternate Universe. The team try to anticipate the shapeshifters' next moves.The Fringe team scrambles to figure out major moves made by the shape shifters before it's too late.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickPeter stumbles across Newton and his people while running away from Walter and the FBI. He teams up with the local sheriff to try and find Newton.As Peter is pursued by shape shifters, he finds himself on his own getting involved in what could be a Fringe case in a small town in the American Northwest.
- DirectorAkiva GoldsmanStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickWalter and Olivia travel to the parallel universe, and the anticipated face-off between Walter Bishop and William Bell occurs.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - The team adds members from Walter's Cortexiphan trials and cross over to the other universe. This is really the show you came to see and one of the highest points in the series.
- DirectorAkiva GoldsmanStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickSacrifices will be made and both universes may never be the same again after Walter and Olivia visit the "other side."A WIRED MUST-WATCH - The team adds members from Walter's Cortexiphan trials and cross over to the other universe. This is really the show you came to see and one of the highest points in the series.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickAfter the extraordinary turn of events that shockingly left an imprisoned Olivia "over there," she fights to find her way home. Meanwhile, Peter and Walter try to move on with their lives unknowingly alongside alternate Olivia.The third season begins as both universes deal with the fallout from the crossing over by the Fringe teams.
- 2008–20131hTV-148.3 (2.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorKenneth FinkStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickWhen the American Senator James Van Horn has a serious car accident, he immediately goes to surgery; however Newton invades the hospital and abducts him shooting the staff. There is a shootout with Broyles and Newton shoots Van Horn in the eye. The Fringe Division finds that the senator is a shapeshifter and they take his body to Walter's laboratory. He finds that it is possible to revive the shapeshifter and recover his data disc. But the alternate Olivia calls Newton and he sends the shapeshifter Ray to the hospital to retrieve the disc. When he returns home, Newton orders him to kill his family. However Ray is connected to his wife and son and refuses to follow the order. What will happen?
- DirectorDavid StraitonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickIn the parallel universe, a man releases his twin brother from an area in quarantine, removing him from the amber. The Fringe Division investigates the case that is classified since The Secretary does not want that the population learns that the family and friends are alive enclosed in amber. Olivia interviews Matthew, who is the twin brother of Joshua, and suspects that he is lying. Meanwhile The Secretary lures Olivia and convinces her to be submitted to n experiment while she has daydreams with Peter.An amber quarantine area Over There is breached by a twin freeing his encapsulated brother and it causes all sorts of problems.
- DirectorChuck RussellStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickIn the parallel universe, a kidnapper called The Candy Man abducts the boy Max. The Fringe Division is assigned to investigate the case and soon Olivia learns that Broyles' son Christopher was also abducted two years ago and returned blind and with physical deficiencies to his family. She asks Broyles to interview Christopher to see any missing information but Broyles does not accept; however his wife agrees that Olivia meets Christopher. Olivia recalls an old case and guess whether The Candy Man would be draining the pituitary gland from the children to use the hormones to stay young. Based on the received information, Olivia and Broyles meet Reverend Marcus, who was a former physician and now is responsible for a church where they believe the abductor is a member. Meanwhile Olivia meets Henry and asks him to help her to go to the Liberty Island to use the deprivation tank to return to her universe.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - Part 1 of 2 - Olivia comes to grips with her situation "Over There" while facing a serial kidnapper.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickPeter grapples with the aftermath of recent events as Olivia desperately searches for an ally. Meanwhile, the Fringe Team discovers a critical device that communicates between universes.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - Part 2 of 2 - Olivia's awareness returns and compromises her position and her alternate's in our universe forcing confrontations in both worlds.
- DirectorFrederick E.O. ToyeStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThis follow-up to last season's "Peter" flashback episode revisits a poignant period of time for both the Bishops and Olivia.It's a 1985 episode that follows up the previous 1985 episode, "Peter". It's not as good as that one, but it answers questions about life for Peter and his two families after the accidental abduction.
This provides a bit or narrative respite from the chaos of recent universe-hopping events. - DirectorBrad AndersonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe Fringe team attempts to find out what process enables people to become lighter than air and float. Peter and Olivia deal with trust issues in their relationship, while Walter becomes increasingly obsessed with retrieving William Bell's consciousness from beyond the grave.Part 1 of 3 - This is largely a "bottled" episode, but it fleshes out more of Walter's relationship with William Bell. This begins the setup for what climaxes in part 3 as one of the best episodes in the series.
(You can take a drink because the "bottled" story stars character actor Alan Ruck.) - DirectorCharles BeesonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickAs the Fringe team hopes to alleviate Olivia's possession quickly, Agent Lincoln Lee of the F.B.I. meets them for the first time over the curious case of what he calls "the compassionate soul vampire."Part 2 of 3 - We learn more about William Bell's plans for after his death, and the "bottled" portion fits more thematically with the questions of mortality as the team investigates a woman who can't die.
This introduces the Agent Lincoln Lee from "Over Here". - DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickWith the latest estimate that the team has only one day to save Olivia's consciousness, Walter leads a group on an LSD trip into Olivia's mind.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - Part 3 of 3 - This is one of the best episodes as the team goes on an LSD-fueled "Inception"-style mission to save Olivia's consciousness from Bell's misguided plan. It's a fun, but character-driven, head trip.
- DirectorDennis SmithStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe intensity of life "over there" accelerates as Olivia finds herself in mortal danger.Season Finale Prologue - Watch this "Over There" episode out of series order. It originally appeared before the LSD episode. Wired Magazine considers this a MUST-SKIP episode, but it can serves as prologue to the approaching season finale because it explains how Walternate gains leverage to attack "Over Here" from "Over There". Episode 6:02AM EST really brings you up to speed just fine though.
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe beginning of the end is triggered when Walternate finds a way to wreak havoc "over here" - putting both universes in jeopardy.Part 1 of 3 - This begins the build-up the the 3rd Season Finale as Walternate puts a new plan in motion.
- DirectorThomas YatskoStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickOlivia joins forces with the mysterious Sam Weiss in a desperate race against time.Part 2 of 3 - Oddities increase "Over Here" as the universes continue to pull at each other. Peter goes missing while Olivia compels Sam Weiss to help find a way to get Peter into the machine.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickPeter successfully enters the machine with Olivia's help, and is transported to the future days where Walternate's universe is the one which has been destroyed. Walter learns about the origins of the machine and its ultimate purpose and sends back Peter to change his choice but gets lost in time warp.Part 3 of 3 - The catastrophic results of turning the machine on are revealed as time jumps forward 15 years and the team is still seeking ways to repair the damage.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickJust one week after Peter Bishop saved the day and was then wiped from existence, the truce between the two worlds remains intact and the two sides are forced to work together. Lincoln Lee joins the Fringe team as they investigate a shapeshifter case that is very personal to him.This functions as a season premiere, a jumping-on episode and an epilogue to the season finale. This one is bearing a lot of expositional weight and uses the "Over Here" Agent Lincoln Lee as the audience's way into the story. It's not a must-watch, but it does help reorient viewers to the variety of changes new caused by Peter's absence and the new connections between the two universes.
- DirectorMiguel SapochnikStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickTwo bullying boys die and exhibit an alarming state of rapid decay. Their would-be victim, an extremely lonely boy, has a remarkably unusual connection to the killer. Meanwhile, Walter fears for his sanity.Part 1 of 4 - Where Is Peter?
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickOlivia is haunted by an energy force that attracts metallic objects and Walter recalls his subject 9 that has the ability for astral projection. They chase the patient Cameron Jones but they conclude he is not the responsible for the energy force. However Cameron faces the force, something happens.Part 2 of 4 - Where Is Peter?
- DirectorPaul HolahanStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickShapeshifter Nadine hunts down a former Massive Dynamics scientist to help rectify her cellular translucence. Meanwhile, Peter finds conversing with Walter difficult.Part 3 of 4 - Where Is Peter?
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe Fringe Division begins to wonder if Peter or his presence is behind a series of time displacements between 2007 and 2011. Walter imposes a self-exile to his bedroom.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - Part 4 of 4 - Where Is Peter?
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickIn an effort to find a way home, Peter journeys to the Other Side to confront Walternate. His venture proves more dangerous than expected. Meanwhile, Olivia receives a dire premonition from an Observer.Part 1 of 2 - Questions as to how Peter can get home are pursued into "Over There" and both sides encounter more of the new human shape shifters.
This also contains one of the most embarassingly shoehorned product placements in any episode.
Of any series.
Ever.
Sorry Nissan. - DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickPeter's visit to the other side intensifies as the alternate Fringe division faces off against a formidable new foe in a harrowing race against time.Part 2 of 2 - Answers about the new shapeshifters get revealed as the Fringe teams face someone else who shouldn't be in this timeline.
- DirectorCharles BeesonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickOur Astrid gets an unexpected visit from her Alternate, while Peter and Olivia track a killer using a toxin that has yet to be invented. Both universes collide in a case that pushes the boundaries of what is possible.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - This is more a character-driven episode, but it is one of the better ones. It only pushes the main story forward a little bit.
- DirectorDavid StraitonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickPeter, Olivia and Walter come face to face with a mysterious and terrifying Fringe event as they get trapped in a town that there's no escaping.Part 1 of 4 - This illustrates a piece of what David Robert Jones is planning. It foreshadows things that begin to build toward the end of the Fourth Season. Olivia has some unusual experiences that begin to change things for her as well.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickAs the Fringe team investigates a mentally ill patient who appears to be connected to a series of murders, frightening clues and connections are uncovered that lead Olivia to some shocking revelations.Part 2 of 4 - Peter and Olivia are questioning both themselves and the world around them.
- DirectorJeffrey G. HuntStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickPeter and the Fringe team take extraordinary measures in an attempt to stop life-threatening events.Part 3 of 4 - In trying to understand what David Robert Jones wants now, the team encounters September, the Observer who has been trying to help them.
- DirectorJ.H. WymanStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickThe team hunts a killer who seems to be targeting couples - dehydrating the husbands and smothering the wives - with a very unusual motive. Peter and Olivia try to come to terms with her surfacing memories and emotions from the original time-line and the fact that she's beginning to forget parts of her life from the new time-line. Meanwhile, Walter and Peter try to figure out September's disappearance from the lab the week before.Part 4 of 4 - Peter and Olivia's relationship begins to redefine itself and information from September reveals the true nature of Peter's timeline. Unfortunately, this is wrapped up in a serial killer case.
- DirectorFrederick E.O. ToyeStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickAn incident occurs that bears remarkable similarities to an early case in the original time-line, though there are some notable differences. Olivia's memories of the new time-line continue to fade, and Broyles places her on temporary leave, but her memories of original case assist Peter and Lincoln. Lincoln gets infected with a virus and Walter must figure out a cure.This revisits the Giant Mutant Porcupine episode from Season 1, but things happen differently in the new timeline. There are hints at the activities of DRJ and character stuff with the team's relationships, but I'm not sure it's much more than a bottled episode.
- DirectorDavid MoxnessStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickLincoln travels to the other side to join forces with Faulivia and his own alternate, as they search for a vigilante with a surprising connection to the shapeshifters.Part 1 of 2 - Agent Lincoln Lee takes on an assignment "Over There" that becomes much more complicated than expected. This fleshes out both he and his doppleganger as well as more of DRJ's schemes.
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickWhen both of the two identities of people from the separate worlds experience the same catastrophes from incidents in just one world, the two Fringe teams collaborate. Walter crosses over to find that Jones is behind the phenomena, but to what ends? Also, the investigation into the Fringe-mole continues.Part 2 of 2 - Agent Lincoln Lee takes on an assignment "Over There" that becomes much more complicated than expected. This fleshes out both he and his doppleganger as well as more of DRJ's schemes.
- DirectorCharles BeesonStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickMultiple earthquakes are happening simultaneously around both our world and the alt-world. Walter believes he knows what the end game of David Robert Jones is. And, even though Olivia has a connection to one of the players Jones is using that she thinks she can utilize, in the end it leads to some hard decisions for the Fringe team.If you want to end the series on a solid emotional climax, this makes a good series finale. The villain's real goal is revealed and there are stakes that make you feel for everyone involved. There is heroic sacrifice, but it's quiet and feels real. The next two episodes really don't change anything, but only add some spectacle. Seriously, STOP HERE and treat this as the SERIES FINALE
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickA mysterious Fringe event, causing people to spontaneously combust, forces Walter to revisit his painful past while the Fringe team faces off against David Robert Jones to save the world - or worlds.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - I'm going to argue with Wired on this one after the last episode. This feels like a regular episode, but it does start to pull all the technical story threads together. If you're into this episode, watch the next one, but spectacle and one totally BS reveal (even with the possibilities of alternate timelines) is really all you'll get in this episode and its second part.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickIn the Season Four finale, the Fringe team is pushed to their breaking point as they desperately attempt to prevent a catastrophic event threatening the lives of everyone.A WIRED MUST-WATCH - I'm going to argue with Wired on this one, too. This is the WRITING STAFF'S SERIES FINALE as they expected the show to not have a Fifth Season. However, you'll find yourself calling foul as mountains of sci-fi technobabble get thrown around and plot points feel like a game of three-card monte. Still, it's an episode of Fringe, so it still is better than most TV from the oughts. DO NOT PROCEED TO SEASON FIVE. Really, just don't.