Fringe, Season 4 In Review

Intro/Overview

I have a sunburn. I'm kind of miserable because of it, but not as miserable as I usually am with these things. This one's tiny in comparison to full-back and arms, can't wear a bra or a shirt, need to slather myself in Lidocaine ones I've had in the past...

I've still not gotten around to reviewing this week's Warehouse 13 or Defiance. I have, however, finished Fringe, Season 4 and am well into Season 5 and I've written my review for that.

Spoiler Warning

The following review is for Season 4 of Fringe. I think it goes without saying that there will be spoilers if you haven't seen the previous seasons. I'm also horrible at keeping spoilers out of anything I do so... the following review is full of them

Fringe, Season 4 - Review

Oh My Gosh, So Much Stuff! The fourth season of Fringe was almost ridiculously full of twists and turns and stuff to talk about!

First, there's the disappearance of Peter. The entire timeline is rewritten and we get to see what happened because of Peter's absence. I found the episodes without Peter incredibly strange, watching it this time around. I think when Season 4 originally started I figured he was just being replaced with Lincoln... ya know, for the whole episode I watched before forgetting about it. Despite my initial lack of remembering Fringe was on, I've obviously dived back in with both feet. But I digress. I really enjoyed seeing how Olivia, Astrid, Walter, and Broyles interacted without Peter being there. The new dynamic was interesting to see while it lasted. I also really enjoyed how everyone reacted to Peter's reappearance, or rather appearance, in their case.

I found Olivia's journey through the season a bit odd, though the end of the season was spectacular. I'm not sure I really found the revised-timeline-Olivia that different from the one we had in the first three seasons. I did think giving Olivia a more personal relationship with Nina was nice. I thought the development of Olivia's powers through F-Nina's meddling was interesting, though it kind of killed some of the Olivia/Lincoln stuff that was going on. I would have liked to see that, even if it was only for a little bit before Peter came back on the scene.

Speaking of Peter: I think it might have been more interesting to see the rekindled romance between Olivia and Peter if Peter figured out on his own that he couldn't get back to his timeline, instead of the way it happened... Their whole thing had me yelling at the screen again, but at Peter this time, instead of Olivia. I think the best thing to come out of Peter and Olivia's relationship was Walter's reactions to it. I like that he went from really disapproving to extremely happy and proud about them being together.

I really enjoyed "Making Angels" where we got a better look/understanding of F-Astrid. The way she interacted with the team from the main universe was cool to see. I like that no one had trouble navigating her Asperger Syndrome. It was also really touching to see F-Astrid and Astrid interacting. Astrid is amazing. I don't think I was as attached to her before as I became after this episode. I was also really pleased to see F-Olivia getting along with everyone, especially Walter. That whole thing between them was really sweet.

I also really enjoyed "Letters of Transit." It was interesting to see a slice of the semi-apocalyptic future. Of course no future of Fringe is going to end up being perfect. However, I think the reveal of Etta's connection to Peter and Olivia was really obvious. I also thought that it was nice to get a tiny glimpse of a piece of the last episodes of the season was great. I had no idea what the significance of the bullet Etta was until that last episode.

My Closing Thoughts:

• I'm glad Lincoln found his Olivia.
• I'll miss the alternate universe and the "doppelgangers."
• Olivia's application of her powers was awesome.
• I'm surprised F-Broyles ended up being human. I was fully expecting him to be a shapeshifter.
• Not sure I liked William Bell being the Big Bad at the end.
• Naming your real kid after your nonexistant son was ridiculous.
• I thought the reintroduction of David Robert Jones as a villain was interesting and unexpected.

Love ya, Jessie.