I don't usually write reviews, but this series deserves my time! Also, I had to address certain aspects of the overall plot that seem to be overlooked by many viewers (see "Goofs" section of IMDB).
Peter mouthing "I love you Dad" to Walter as he disappears into the future is heartbreakingly beautiful. I don't think I would've given this episode 10/10 if he didn't call him "dad" one last time! I loved how they brought former fringe events back for one final goodbye. Why waste bullets and risk failing the mission with a shootout when you have lethal toxins at your disposal? Bringing back the fringe events was a perfect way to punctuate that sentence! I also loved how the ending was open. It leaves one to wonder whether Walter really did disappear, or if Peter got to the lab and walked in on Walter dropping acid in his boxers or enjoying a strawberry milkshake. (Probably not, but the beauty of open endings is that we can fill in the blanks ourselves...) And most of all I love how the ending made sense of the episodes (and seasons) before it.
I have to admit that, while I enjoyed the individual episodes, the overall arch of season 4 bothered me slightly at first. Why did we spend 3 years watching one timeline just to have it all erased and reset? But after watching the series finale, we have our answer! For those who think that stopping the observers from existing made Peter's existence a plot hole, please refer back to S03E22. Remember, in the last 30 seconds of season 3, Peter is erased and the timeline is reset starting out in season 4.
Come to find out he died at the bottom of Reiden Lake after crossing universes because September never saved him. And when the observers are talking about "correcting September's interventions, it's plural, leading us to believe that maybe in this new timeline he also wasn't the cause of Walternate's distraction in the lab. (It's never discussed, but one could assume, then, that something else must've gotten in the way of Walternate finding the cure.) So in the alternate timeline that seasons 4 and 5 take place in, Peter's existence begins when he pops out of Reiden Lake in S04E04.
His existence defies logic, but it isn't a result of September's intervention. Instead, it's the result of the bonds that were forged in the erased timeline, proving that love that strong cannot be erased, even if it isn't logical and even if it defies the laws of the universe! Thus, when the observers are completely erased from existence, Peter still remained. In other words, it's not a plot hole.
Long story short, the writers, cast, and crew created something amazing in Fringe! It's a show that never gets old. (I've binged it 4 times so far...) I'm pretty sure that all alternate versions of me are just soooo in love with this show, too.
Peter mouthing "I love you Dad" to Walter as he disappears into the future is heartbreakingly beautiful. I don't think I would've given this episode 10/10 if he didn't call him "dad" one last time! I loved how they brought former fringe events back for one final goodbye. Why waste bullets and risk failing the mission with a shootout when you have lethal toxins at your disposal? Bringing back the fringe events was a perfect way to punctuate that sentence! I also loved how the ending was open. It leaves one to wonder whether Walter really did disappear, or if Peter got to the lab and walked in on Walter dropping acid in his boxers or enjoying a strawberry milkshake. (Probably not, but the beauty of open endings is that we can fill in the blanks ourselves...) And most of all I love how the ending made sense of the episodes (and seasons) before it.
I have to admit that, while I enjoyed the individual episodes, the overall arch of season 4 bothered me slightly at first. Why did we spend 3 years watching one timeline just to have it all erased and reset? But after watching the series finale, we have our answer! For those who think that stopping the observers from existing made Peter's existence a plot hole, please refer back to S03E22. Remember, in the last 30 seconds of season 3, Peter is erased and the timeline is reset starting out in season 4.
Come to find out he died at the bottom of Reiden Lake after crossing universes because September never saved him. And when the observers are talking about "correcting September's interventions, it's plural, leading us to believe that maybe in this new timeline he also wasn't the cause of Walternate's distraction in the lab. (It's never discussed, but one could assume, then, that something else must've gotten in the way of Walternate finding the cure.) So in the alternate timeline that seasons 4 and 5 take place in, Peter's existence begins when he pops out of Reiden Lake in S04E04.
His existence defies logic, but it isn't a result of September's intervention. Instead, it's the result of the bonds that were forged in the erased timeline, proving that love that strong cannot be erased, even if it isn't logical and even if it defies the laws of the universe! Thus, when the observers are completely erased from existence, Peter still remained. In other words, it's not a plot hole.
Long story short, the writers, cast, and crew created something amazing in Fringe! It's a show that never gets old. (I've binged it 4 times so far...) I'm pretty sure that all alternate versions of me are just soooo in love with this show, too.