Peter Goes Solo

Fringe has been a little all over the map lately (including this most recent episode), but I thought this X-Files-esque outing had enough going on to keep me from dwelling on it.  It was really strange to not have Olivia in most of the episode and almost as strange not to have Walter or Astrid either.  They were peppered in here and there -- mainly for a story line involving Walter trying (and failing) to get by on his own -- but this episode's focus was elsewhere.  It was mainly about Peter's pit stop in Washington state and how it turned into a hunt for a serial killer.  Peter got involved after interacting with a woman who became the latest victim, but it was how he stayed involved that made it interesting.  And that was nothing compared to the shocking reveal at the end.


Let's start with the serial killer case.  Peter thought he saw Newton at the crime scene.  When he learned that the victims had small pieces of their brain removed, he became convinced that Newton was responsible (he knew he had done the same to Walter).  Since the waitress was suppose to be meeting Peter at his hotel to bring him a mix CD, Peter thought Newton killed her and took a piece of her brain so he could learn Peter's location.  He was convinced that Newton was killing people who came in contact with him in order to find Peter.  Later, he saw Newton in the woods during an incredibly creepy cat and mouse scene.  Given the show's history and Peter's insistence that this was the work of Newton (and the lengths he went to in order to convince the sheriff that he was not crazy), I had no reason to doubt the narrative.  And then the rug got pulled out from under all of us.  Turns out, the serial killer was not Newton.  It was a crazy guy living on an old farm who wanted to keep a piece of his victims.  Newton had nothing to do with any of it.  I thought the twist felt forced and way too convenient (there just happened to be a serial killer who was stealing pieces of his victim's brains in the same town where Peter was trying to get lost and Newton was trying to find him).  But, it did catch me off guard.

Ever since we watched Walter take Peter from the other universe and bring him into this one, I've wondered about Walternate.  It hasn't been one of those steady, nagging question marks, but it comes up from time and time and fades when I get caught back up into the story as it unfolds.  Well this week, that recurring question finally got an answer.  Walternate is alive and well, and oh yeah, he wants his Peter back.  He enlisted the help of Newton to track down Peter so he could take him back to his universe.  Considering the fact that Peter seemed to be looking for a ticket back, something tells me he's going to go along willingly.  It's what awaits him that worries me.  Anyone associated with Newton can't be good.  Things are about to get crazy!

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