Across the Other Universe

This week's Fringe thriller was exposition for the second part of this 2-part season finale, but it was interesting and engaging and it left me excited for Thursday's conclusion.  We've seen Walter travel to the other universe (via his self-constructed door) to save and eventually keep the other Peter.  We've seen Olivia travel there (unwillingly) to meet with William Bell.  And we know that Walternate took Peter back to his original universe, but seeing all of the characters over there at the same time was thrilling!  Add in the whole doppelganger angle (and near misses with running into each other), and you have a very exciting and fun part one to the conclusion of this season.  So many things are about to go wrong that I have the feeling I'm going to be on the edge of my seat for a full hour come Thursday night.  But, Peter's apparent fate now that he's re-assimilated into his home universe is the most pressing of them all.


We learned from The Observer's carefully placed sheet of paper that Peter is somehow going to be used as a pawn to end the world.  He will be a key piece in the greater whole involving some sort of complex Da Vinci-esque machine.  After finding the plans, Olivia and Walter took them straight to Massive Dynamic, but Nina assured them that Bell had not built the machine (although, she also admitted that she isn't sure if her communications are reaching Bell).  So, Olivia and Walter turned to the crafty folks at Massive Dynamic to help them find a way to cross over to the other universe to save Peter before he becomes the catalyst for the end of the world.  With the help of a few of Olivia's old classmates from Jacksonville, they were able to cross over.  Unfortunately, the journey caused her classmate's unusual abilities to act up and turn against them, so they were not long for the other universe.  Of course, this begs the question how will Walter and co. get back to this universe after they save Peter?  I guess that's a part two or next season problem.

Once in the other universe, trouble seemed to come in spades.  Liv saw her doppelganger (with brown hair and a happy relationship!!), Walter got shot and wound up the ER, and Bell failed to meet them at the bridge in Central Park.  He did manage to track down Olivia while she was spying on her alternate self, but even he had bad news.  Walter is in more trouble than we think.  We know Walternate is "Mr. Secretary," but it seems that he's even more important and well-known in the other universe than we thought.  He's a powerful man, and it isn't going to take the hospital employees very long to recognize Walter and then the fit's going to hit the shan.  Of course, it kinda already did back in the 80s when Walter stole Peter.  Apparently, that action set into motion this current chain of events and Peter's return to his original universe is going to complete the entire horrific cycle (thus, the reason why The Observer told Walter never to let Peter return to the other universe).  And just when things couldn't get any worse for Liv and co,. we learned that Walternate has, indeed, built the machine of death!  It looks like the season isn't the only thing running out of time!

Fringe airs Thursday nights on Fox. If you missed this week's episode, you can watch it for free at Fox.com.