fringe 3.4 spoilers (this is so awesome)

a.) Walter owning Massive Dynamic is like, the most amazing thing ever. It's like a combination of WTF and Well, Yes, That Actually Makes a Weird Sort of Sense, which it really does. Walter is goddamn brilliant, and weirdly, I think the crazy made him moreso, because normal limits no longer apply. This is assuming he doesn't try to like do anything financial or try and run the company's anything at all but R&D and traumatizing other scientists and grad students and what not. Which you know what, he should.

b.) The actress who plays Olivia/Bolivia is ridiculous good. As Bolivia, even the body language is different, not just the attitude and her overcompensating for her lack of Olivia's natural empathy. Peter's right about her being different, and it's interesting how he's willing to overlook that so thoroughly because he really can't believe it and also, he really wants to take their new relationship to the next level (ie, fucking); it's not even a question of whether he'd want to, which is going to be fascinating when he gets past 'can't' altogether. Interestingly, Olivia-as-Bolivia in alternate world is off as well; I wonder if that has something to do with her lack of fear. Bolivia isn't nearly as reckless either, which Olivia-as-Bolivia most definitely still super reckless.

(Note: Does Bolivia know that Olivia is nailing her bf? I mean, sure, that seems small on the scale of things, but still. Maybe banging Peter is like, balance for that? IDK, I wonder if Walternate was clear on "she will be living your life with your memories, including in your bedroom" because loyalty and the mission and all are fine, but matching tattoos are kinda commitmentesque.)

c.) What is with the hair color? The blonde--which I guess is due to lighting--goes between peroxide blonde (which seemed logical if she had to strip out the auburn and wasn't a natural blonde) and dishwater blonde (totally definitely lighting) and something in between. I have no idea why I'm focused on this, but the bangs bother me in some weird way that makes no sense.

d.) Peter's panic over Walter is adorable. I was getting kind of irritated with his "woe, you betrayed me and stole me and sure I'd be dead twice but lies and stealing" but in a more positive note, he's not overdoing it into dramatics, which is shockingly refreshing on TV. It comes up, he expresses himself, obviously is torn about it, and moves on. It's like, IDK, an actual adult coming to terms with something in fits and starts of progress.

e.) Walter's thing for food continues to be one of my favorite things ever. I was really surprised in season two when his brain pieces--that I write those words without giggling--were being accessed that they talked about smell and sound and taste being such memory kickers, but looking back on season one--which I want to rewatch just for that--all that focus on food makes a huge amount of sense if he's, consciously or not, using it to focus himself and follow memories. It was also mentioned at another time, but I'm curious how often he has a strong inspriation or relevation or moment of sanity directly after talking about food, consuming food, or having a food-related moment. God do I love his focus on food.

f.) Shapeshifters have real emotions. Color me totally unsurprised. That Walter worked this out was also a complete non-surprise.

g.) I love Astrid's calm and rather resigned understanding that as far as Walter's lab goes, nothing can shock, surprise, or even throw her off anymore. Playing with brains in the earlier episode and Walter asking sincerely if she ever worked at a deli got barely a nose-crinkle, and I think most of that was the realization that yeah, this is her life now, holding brains, being the most practical person in their little group, and making sure Walter doesn't start himself on fire for fun.

h.) I'm always impressed with a guy who makes his own acid for his own consumption. And let's face it--Walter trying to go pantsless is not any worse than sitting through House's hiring procedures or watching him lecture to students. Like, come on.

i.) I'm trying to nail down what Abrams is going for on universal morality, since there's a lot of it being thrown around. I haven't come to any conclusions quite yet, but this show may be the first I've seen that balances past actions against future returns. Ie, being the victim (Alterworld) of Walter's actions (which okay, I could be wrong, but I'm not entirely convinced of this being all that and a bag of chips, as it seems a popular hobby for people to cross back and forth, especially those in Alterworld coming here) does not necessarily make them all that sympathetic or right in their actions. It's not just the means to an end thing, either; it's more that everyone's actions are supposed to be balanced. Yes, Walter fucked up and also, his non-crazy version self was kind of a dick, period (Walternate is just--no. God, no. Crazy is ten times better than whatever he is), but his current actions now are supposed to count in his favor.

(This is what I hated about Angel and Joss' approach; you can never be redeemed! You can try, but you will fail! Life is meaningless! Also, souls don't make sense ever! Blah blah blah.)

j.) no idea yet, but I rarely get to j and that's very cool. I miss Olivia as Olivia like whoa. Bolivia and Peter--oh, interesting complication. I'm actually--and this is a first for me--really excited how these divided loyalties and shenanigans play out in interpersonal relationships. Usually I loathe these sorts of triangle-pentagonal-shaped relationship things--they always drag on and on and angst forever and end up with someone blaming someone for something that wasn't their fault or like, never getting over it until Something Huge Happens seasons later (I'm not looking at Friends, X-Files, Moonlight, or any network television show or anything), but this might be like, interesting and not leap on my embarrassment squick like a trampoline event at the Olympics.

k.) If Walternate is how Walter could have been--and the brain pieces thing kind of suggests that Walter was very much someone I would not spend time with like, ever, no matter how brilliant--then yeah, crazy Walter is so much better. Bell's confession that this was what Walter wanted--because the man he was becoming and wanted to be wasn't compatible with the man he was, and I assume he was worried a Walternate was in his future--was rather sweet and yeah, if I knew I was becoming him, oh man, brain surgery is much more logical.

l.) really want to know the truth about what happened in Walter's lab in that fire nineteen years ago.

m.) Alterworld never cured the worms thing. Because let me say it again, Walter and Astrid are the most awesome duo ever and there's a part of me that really wants--and I know this is crazy--for them and Peter and Olivia to like, buy a huge house and all live together and solve crime. I am that kind of a person. Maybe just take over a floor of Massive Dynamic. God knows there's enough space.

n.) Is the cow moving to Walter's new lab? Please move the cow. I miss the cow.

Comments

[kass]

I am loving this show SO CRAZY MUCH.

I wonder whether part of the reason that our Walter is so much more compassionate than Walternate is -- well, I mean, the mental illness is obviously part of it, but also, Bell removed part of Walter's brain in part because they were worried that Walter's genius would lead him to be destructive in a major way, and that never happened to Walternate. (Was there no William Bell on the other side?)

[seperis]

Bell died in a car accident at age twenty or something like that, so they never met. Which--yeah. That would be a big difference there.

*pets our Walter* I love Walter. So much.

[musesfool]

Yeah, I think that our Walter even worrying about it is a good sign, considering. Though he'd already been destructive in a major way by stealing Peter.

And having Peter stolen from him, followed by the consequences of that, had to be a huge part of what made Walternate into what he is now.

I love that the show hasn't shied away from how responsible for everything Walter is.

[scy]

SHOW!!

I am so happy you love Fringe.

*GRINS*

[chaseasteroid]

Someone linked me to this, and all I want to say is: I agree with EVERY SINGLE FUCKING THING ON THIS LIST. ESPECIALLY ASTRID. ESPECIALLY THE FIRST PARAGRAPH. ESPECIALLY ALL OF IT.

...*FLAILS*

[vk]

I find myself really missing the old lab, like, a lot. If the cow came to the new lab, though...that would help.

I am really, really glad i'm not the only confused about Olivia's hair. And what is with that fringe? Is it supposed to be some kind of joke?

[brownbetty]

The fringe, probably not, as I don't think Abrams speaks that dialect. But yeah, it's a sort of “honey, maybe you could try deep conditioning?” colour.

[fox1013]

m) OH MY GOD COULD THEY HAVE BUNK BEDS?

AND A CHORE WHEEL? AND PACEY WOULD BE LIKE "WALTER, IT'S YOUR WEEK TO DO THE DISEHS, I DON'T CARE THAT YOU JUST DISCOVERED ANTIMATTER IN THE BATHTUB >:(" AND ASTRID WOULD BE LIKE "WHEN I DIDN'T LIVE WITH YOU PEOPLE I NEVER HAD TO TAKE OUT PIECES OF CORPSES WHEN I TOOK OUT THE TRASH :("

*____*

[sorrel]

To be fair, I think all of Bell's fucking criss-crossing only worsened the cracks between the universes; Walter's crossing was what started the cracks in the first place. Like a rock hitting your windshield.

And the fascinating thing about Walternate is that we'll never know just how much of his for-the-greater-good evil is intrinsic, and how much is because, you know, his son got kidnapped by an alternate universe that's slowly crushing theirs. That's one of the things I've liked so much about the episodes Over There, that we get a chance to really see the day-to-day hardship that everyone has to endure as a result of the cracks. I mean, sometimes their oxygen just suddenly goes away? I can't imagine living with that kind of fear. They do a good job of showing why the Other Side thinks of it as a war, and how in many ways they're totally within their rights to do so, even if nobody over here meant to fuck them up.

I think Walter's not entirely to blame, though. He said it himself, Bell was always trying to get him to open the door, so I think that if Walter hadn't done it Bell would have eventually. I just think that if things had played out that way it would have been even worse, because Walter never would have lost parts of his brain and lived for seventeen years and under the kind of hardship I can only even begin to imagine, and he never would have developed into the kind of man that genuinely tries to make the right choices, to care. It's all very chicken-and-egg, though.

My favorite thing about all of the differences between Olivia and Fauxlivia are that it's such an exquisite look at all of the reasons Olivia became the person she did. I did a whole epic thing about it on my journal over here that I am too lazy to retype, but the ultimate point I keep coming back to is that Oliva was a cortexiphan kid. Somewhere, even if she doesn't really know it consciously, she remembers blowing up a room when she got upset. No wonder she's such a controlled person normally, and no wonder Fauxlivia went the opposite direction straight into out-and-out daredevilry: that much drive and passion with no instinctive fear to counteract it, how could she be anything else?

Man, as much as I love all the awesome things this show does, it's the time I spend thinking about it later that I enjoy the most. Fringe's meta is the best meta.

Also, yeah, they should totally transplant the cow.

[luminosity]

You think that Peter doesn't know that she's Fauxlivia? I think he knows and is on the long con.

Also, pudding.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I was sure until he slept with her, then got a little wary. Granted, he's a con man by trade and inclination, so--maybe? I'm not willing to go either way yet with two eps so far of evidence.

I think it would help if I'd ever seen him interact with another woman romantically or sexually other than Olivia.

[luminosity]

They made a big point of Olivia kissing Peter in a previous ep. *cough* And he notices shit like that, right?

Also, I love both Walter and Walternate, and I love how their histories have defined them. So to speak. As it were. :)

[seperis.livejournal.com]

They made a big point of Olivia kissing Peter in a previous ep. *cough* And he notices shit like that, right?

Ooh, good point. I need to rewatch the last two our-world eps and see how often he leaves Olivia alone. I'm really willing to be convinced he figured her out; he is pretty brilliant at working from minimal information.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they kissed, but in this one, her shirt's off, and they're lying down as the episode ends.

As far as Walternate being *bad* -- he could easily have become much more cold and heartless than he was before once his son disappeared, and later he found out that he was stolen by his doppelganger from another universe. That could make anyone lose humanity a bit--and for someone who was a tough cookie to begin with, it's no surprise to me that he's just a ruthless bastard at this point.

[luminosity]

I never thought of Walternate being any worse than Walter, really. Big Brains and Circumstance.

Ruthless Bastard works for me.

[kelly-girl.livejournal.com]

I loved Peter telling her about how different she was and the panic on her face. And yes the actress is amazing in portraying the differences between both Olivia's.

Do you watch the new Nikita? Shane West plays Michael and he reminds me of Pacey so much in some scenes.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*nods* You can really tell how different they are as people, even with Olivia-as-Bolivia. They're really different in personality.

[greenet.livejournal.com]

Someone pointed out that fakeOlivia smiles a lot more, and now that's all I can pay attention to. *Facepalm* And she does! She has much more of an automatic smile reflex than Olivia does. It's weird.

Season one was a lot of miss for me, but starting somewhere around mid-season 2 and continuuing to now it's, just, damn this is a good show!

[seperis.livejournal.com]

...you realize now that is all I will see? Her smiling? *shivers*

[aurora]

Fake!Olivia's hair bothered me too! Look at me fixating on the hair too. :D :D


MORE NEW EPS NOW PLZ.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

The hair is wrong! And the way she wears it bothers me, too. It's not Olivia. And I love Olivia's hair, so it's all--y'know, confusing.

[cat-77.livejournal.com]

I am loving the little differences between Olivia and Fauxlivia. I mean, when you first meet Fauxlivia, they have little things right off the bat down to where she keeps her back up gun and that she wears white bras with black shirts instead of black bras with white shirts.

I do have to say that Fauxlivia seems to have a bit different sense of morality though - things she does that Olivia would either never think about or push off to the side as unwanted. I wonder how having Fauxlivia's memories will change Olivia, given that she has a photographic memory and has already had the experience of having someone else's memories and how to cope with them.

Also? Walter rocks. Crazy Walter rocks. How different would he have been without Bell though? The other universe did not originally have him to keep Walter in check and to push him with other ideas, and how much of that created the Walter we know and love?

Also? The deadpan delivery of "bacon flavored pudding, you must admit it would be surprising," shall always be awesome.

And Gene the cow must come with to the new lab and have some little genius intern go whining to Nina who would be all, "And? Therefore? Get over it and go get some fresh cream for Dr. Bishop's coffee."

[seperis.livejournal.com]

It's an intersting point about breaking the lines between teh universes is that Walter started it, and Bell didn't stop him. Which was telling in that flashback is that Bell didn't show up to stop him himself, or even try. And that Walternate was working on the same thing. So yeah, Walter started it, but at that point in the Walters, one of them (or Bell) was going to do it; Walter just had the desperation to do it first.

[eyra.livejournal.com]

Quick question: is anyone noticing that something's off with (fake) Olivia in our world?

I've been only watching the Our-Olivia-in-Alternate-World episodes, because I really dislike that trope where a person's friends and family can't tell when she's suddenly replaced by her evil twin. It literally makes me physically uncomfortable (weird random squick). But I also miss my Walter, so I'm gingerly heading into spoiler-land to figure out if it's safe.

I mean, I've been able to gather that people are pretty divided regarding whether Peter can tell. I'm not sure how I feel about that. But what about anyone else?

[seperis.livejournal.com]

No? But visible interactions right now (besides Peter) are all professional and while everyone is focused on something else. We haven't seen Rachel interact with Boivia either (or Sam), and there's very little personal, direct interaction with Bolivia other than during a case.

For me, at least, it works--no one is living with her (which IDK what happened with Rachel) and again, excepting Peter, it's all mid-case stuff, not downtime. I was kind of queasy on that kind of thing, too, but here, it really works. And kind of underlines Olivia has no social life.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Walter is awesome. Taking off his pants while tripping! IT IS HILARIOUS. YOU HAVE TO SEE IT.

[eyra.livejournal.com]

...oh, Walter. :D

but here, it really works. And kind of underlines Olivia has no social life

Yeah, I haven't really heard anyone complaining, so I'm thinking the trope may actually be getting put to use, characterization-wise. In any case, I've actually kind of liked the way Olivia's not-colleagues have negotiated her differences in the alternate world. I think I need to just jump in.

Thanks!