I agree with another reviewer: This is the point where Fringe skyrocketed into greatness. Down to the very accurately done "80's" Title Sequence with the Techno Music version of JJ's "Fringe Theme." There were no "secret messages" in this title sequence, the "Observers are Here" scrawl (which can only be seen at 1/12th speed) is aptly missing from this sequence.
Walter is shown here at his peak of greatness. He's got his full mind and this is the man he was, before Belly took out those pieces of Brain. We get to meet his "Lab Assistant" Carla Warren (Jenni Blong) who is actually a full physicist, and Walter and Nina look VERY young. Orla Brady plays Elizabeth Bishop for the first time, and she is just how she has been described by both Walter and Peter in episodes previous to this.
This is the long awaited story of how Walter built a Doorway Between Worlds in order to walk over and get Peter so he could be saved. It also shows how Nina lost her arm, which was not due to Cancer as she had told Olivia in the beginning of the series.
Walter has built a Window that can "Catch the Errant Photons" of the other side, giving us our first view of "Walternate" - Named so here by Walter. Both Walters are tying to save Peter, but Walternate has more advanced equipment.
But before Walternate finds a cure, Walter's Peter dies: Explaining the Headstone from S1E20 "There's More than One of Everything."
As Walternate is running test after test of compounds which may cure Peter's disease, his attention is interrupted by the first appearance of September, who meekly apologizes for interrupting him, but still the damage was done: Walternate missed the reaction of the compound, and only Walter has seen it.
It was at this time, he decided to build the Doorway so he could walk over and "Save Peter," - But Dr. Warren strongly Objects, citing Oppenheimer. This does not stop Walter in the least, he goes to Reiden Lake with the apparatus.
Meanwhile, September meets December and August coming out of a Movie Theatre, and tells them the problem he has caused: August (Peter Woodward) tells September: "You will be given an opportunity to fix this." Ironically, the movie they were watching was "Back to the Future" starring Eric Stoltz.
Back at the Lake, Walter starts the Door and Nina and Carla show up: Nina tries to stop Walter, thus breaking the bottle containing the Cure, so Walter has to go and get Peter and Bring him Back.
This ties in with S2E5 "Dream Logic" - Where Peter was shown having a nightmare that he was a child and Walter was in his room.
But on the way back, they step through the Door and the ice cracks, Walter and Peter are drowning. We had heard several times of how "a stranger jumped into the water and pulled them out" and this shows how September did that.
Elizabeth comes to Walter's Lab and there we see, she is not going to allow Walter to ever bring Peter back to the other side. In S4, in the altered time-line, this never happened, and so Walter lost both Peter and Elizabeth at the same time. But here, in this time-line, she came to the Lab.
This was our Johari Window into the "Zero Event" which started the whole process of beraking down the "Red" Universe. Walternate never knew these things, and that changed a whole World.
John Noble's "De-Aging" process was done so well that he looks just as how he would have looked in 1985. This episode is a milestone in the annals of TV, never has anyone dared so much-This story was deferred for a season and a half, so that at the time it was given to us, we were quite ready to receive it - And Believe it.
36 out of 40 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
