‘He is a Fringe Event.’

Episode ‘Patterns’: Add your own in the comments.

• Touching opening – ‘A Perfect Day In The Day’ Peter dream sequence that adroitly lays out Peter’s mind set
• ‘You, Peter. You are the problem.’
• Walter on the swing
• Olivia’s choice of jacket color for Peter – visual cue he does not fit in
• Walter’s petulant ignoring behaviour around Peter
• Time Bubbles – with no clear rules ie girl turns into baby yet mother is unaffected
• Breach Detector from the RedVerse with, in Walter’s opinion, a poorly written instruction manual
• Peter is a Fringe Event
• Olivia keeping her distance from Peter
• Intriguing – Peter unaware that he was showing up to Walter in the lab prior to his appearance.
• Peter time jump sequences. ‘This could get annoying.’
• Walter listening to Styx, ‘Too Much Time On My Hands’
• The Fibonacci Golden Spiral
• Cool Time Bubble special effects at Kate and Raymond’s house including FBI agent who turned to confetti
• Peter The Constant! – Faraday Cage (A Lost reference for those not in the know.)
• Olivia and Peter simultaneously volunteering to put on the Faraday Cage
• Olivia’s grimace at the Faraday harness neck probe – nifty tie in to her Season 1 encounters with it
  Walter’s Spiderman Penny Pack
• Raymond to Kate, ‘We Don’t Have Time!’ , ‘I lost you Kate. Lost you.’(More Lost echoes?)
• The Walter Bishop Faraday Harness
• Walter remark of grudging admiration that Peter is very smart
• Kate’s equation blackouts = Peter’s erasure
• Kate’s answer to Raymond’s anguished, ‘How do I repay you?’ – ‘Just love me & live your life.’
• Peter believes his appearance allowed Raymond’s Time Bubble Machine to start working
• Peter gets the house
• ‘Do I get an allowance?’
•  Is Peter’s belief that he is not in the right place correct?

Kate Erases Herself.  Just Like Peter Did.

So it begins.

The road back.  But is it the right road?

The Lost Son Returns?

Peter is back in play on the show but this is no homecoming.  This is a timeline where Peter never existed beyond his childhood.  A timeline which could be argued to be the correct one.  If Walter had not crossed over to the other side then the natural course of events would have been that Peter would have not grown up in our universe.  And maybe not in the RedVerse as well depending on the Observers.

As noted by Peter himself in this episode his existence, in the timeline we have all come to think of as the right one in the previous three seasons, is a paradox.  At this moment in the show’s history it seems like the reason for Peter’s existence rests with the Observers.  Whether through intent, happenstance, or both the Observers have a hand in Peter’s destiny with the Machine.  Plus his subsequent erasure from the timeline of the first three seasons.

On the flip side of the coin there is Walter.  In this timeline he has seen Peter die not just once but twice.  A heavy burden on Walter that weighs him down with guilt. Peter’s arrival brings him  a momentary flash of joy which Walter quickly quashes.  He deems himself not worthy of such an opportunity.

In a nice callback to last season’s, ‘Marionette,’ Walter confesses to Nina that when he looked into Peter’s eyes he knew the truth.  In this unknown adult Peter, Walter could see the eyes of the boy who drowned twenty-five years ago on Reiden Lake.  So by episode end, Walter simultaneously acknowledges Peter’s claims and rejects his existence.

Episode Patterns: ( add yours in the comments section)

•   Olivia freaking out finding Walter putting himself to ‘sleep’
•   ‘Sounds dangerous.’  ‘Nonsense.’
•   Astrid supporting Walter as he is asked to meet with Peter
•   Walter averting his gaze from Peter as he enters the holding cell
•   it seems only Peter knows about the Observers
•   is Lincoln overly obsessed with shape shifters – partner’s death nonwithstanding?
•   Olivia and her sister grew up with Nina
•   Dr Malcolm Truss’s research shut down by William Bell due to ethical concerns?  That is very intriguing.
•   Peter gets to show his smarts several times starting with hotwiring the intercom to allow for two way communication
•   Lincoln presses for Peter’s help, his shape shifting obsession continues
•   Olivia picks up on Peter’s self vested manipulations
•   Walter going through items in Peter’s memory box – the coin returns!
•   ShapeShifter nose bleed!
•   Lincoln notes Olivia’s avoidance of Peter & turns down her offer to grab a bite, either he is keenly sensitive to Olivia’s conflict about Peter or is this that shape shifting thing again?
•  great callback to last season’s, ‘Marionette,’ and the eyes
•  Olivia deja vu or time shifting?  hmmm
•  typewriter returns.  A Hermes 3000
•  new shapeshifters are a very dangerous threat

A transitional episode that still manages to carry a lot of heart thanks, once again, to the marvelous acting talents of John Noble.  His portrayal of the tortured Walter: so joyful to see Peter as adult; so self loathing that he refuses to acknowledge the gift, tugs at one’s heartstrings in the same manner as virtuoso violinist.

It was great to see Peter have an opportunity to show his smarts and display the old salesmanship flair going back to the pilot. Olivia’s confusion can be seen in her keeping her distance from Peter.  Intellectually she knows that not just Walter but herself seeing Peter before he arrived has some meaning. Emotionally she is not there yet.

It sure seems like Lincoln is though.  Either he has sussed out the relationship between her and Peter in the other timeline which would explain his flat refusal of a dinner date with Olivia.  Or his obsession with shapeshifters is really deep.  But Licoln’s fixation with shape shifters seems to transcend a need for vengeance of his partner’s death.  At least that is the vibe I was left with.

What is really interesting about this episode is that we are being exposed to the idea that Reality might be a better place of without an adult Peter in it.  Olivia certainly is better off in almost all respects.  And the events she would have to remember to reconnect with Peter may have a price tag attached to them that she may deem too high.  Or that Peter may.  Walter is worse off in this timeline and Peter’s appearance has reopened old wounds. Perhaps it is better to let sleeping dogs lie.  Or maybe Peter will be compelled to find a way that ‘corrects’ the timeline and prevents Walter from trying to cross over at all.

Acceptance & Rejection

This is an interesting conundrum.  The show has managed to make the villain, Walter, the one to root for. Now it is asking the audience if for Peter, the proper solution to the current situation may be for Peter to undo himself.

With the return of the inter-dimensional typewriter and Olivia’s time jump at the end, things are about to get serious in the week’s to come.

BTW, where are the Observers in all of this?

The story telling thrust of the season narrative could be palpably felt shifting into the next gear in, ‘Subject 9.’ Gone are the hand holding moments from the previous episodes for new viewers.

The net result?

A most excellent episode filled with several WOW(Wonderful Olivia & Walter) moments as Walter is driven to prove his worth by stepping out of the lab for the first time in three years.  This subplot was designed for character moments; all journey versus destination, its true intent never about being a source of story tension. Olivia’s decision going for or against Walter was never in question.

A WOW Moment – Walter Teaching Olivia How To Properly Drink A Root Beer Float

The rewards in the St. Claires subplot were in the bonding moments that the story journey presented.  And what a delight it was to see Olivia and Walter forge bonds between them that never were possible in a universe where Peter Bishop had existed. John Noble was brilliant, as always.  The real treat was seeing Anna Torv going toe to toe with John Noble and matching his acting prowess at every turn.  A visible demonstration of her growth as an actor from the first season on.

The hand bandaging and how to properly drink a Root Beer Float scenes were the highlights.  All these W.O.W. moments led to, along with her decision to stop Mark Little from destroying the BBL(Blue Ball of Light) based on her feelings rather than logic, Olivia deciding in Walter’s favor.

There is understandable indecision about which parts of the new timeline to invest in. The possibility for everything in this season to be tossed away once the inevitable timeline correction occurs hangs in the background.  The general rule of thumb I am operating on is that the things the series shows us will stick such as the new Walter and Olivia relationship dynamics.

Other things like Olivia running away from the Cortexiphan trials, Olivia having a more developed relationship with Nina, etc; anything we are told about – are akin to candy sprinkles on an Alternate Universe cake.  Nice to think about but not ultimately necessary to support the story going forward.

Episode ‘Patterns’: Add your own in the comments.

• 6:00 AM – looks like early Peter gets the wormhole & callback to last year’s ‘6:02 AM EST’ episode
• 6:00 AM repeated + pile of magnetized objects
• Olivia looks a lot like she did in the Season 2 Episode – Peter
• peanuts vs shrimp, work vs visit
• Walter uses Matrix inspired camera setup in hopes of catching an image of the mystery man
• learned from Olivia’s arm burn that she started fires as a child during the cortexiphan trials as before but that she later ran away
• Walter sees letter about being re-admitted to St. Claires, prompts him to overcome his agoraphobia to prove his worth and leave the lab
• Walter experiences time flash forward before Olivia’s BBL bathroom encounter
• BBL is similar to one created by ‘Subject 9’
• Massive Dynamic + Nina – who has a ruthless business instinct yet treats Olivia like a daughter – Bobby Hastings + high school prom
• Nina wears two gloves?
• ‘VIPER!’ Walter & Nina do not have the best of relationships
• Astrid ‘polite’ translates again for Walter
• Walter leaves lab, first time in 3 years, after a tinkle and calling Astrid – Claire, as in St. Claires no doubt
• first WOW moment on the streets of NYC
• Walter charms landlady
• Walter goes Adrian Monk in the hotel room
• second WOW moment Olivia bandages Walter’s hand as they bond talking about germs vs Fringe Science, and Elizabeth who, has also committed suicide after Peter’s death in this timeline, loved Walter’s quirks
• third WOW moment Walter shows Olivia how to drink a root beer float -‘Stab the ice cream!’
• Walter knows relationship with Olivia is based on work not family
• who is Broyle’s mystery boss?
• ‘This is purposeful.  I can feel it.’
• Cameron James can’t Hulk Out ie lose his cool or metal will fly but life is not always calm
• small WOW moment as Olivia comforts Walter
• for the record, I love Raisin Toast
• Olivia seems to be side effect free but is she unknowingly acting again as the ‘Lever’ helping Peter cross over? Note the symbology of her use of a tire iron to lever open the gate at the Power Station
• Olivia acts on her feelings and stops Mark from destroying the BBL
• Peter is reborn in Reiden Lake: the very place where he drowned as a boy in this timeline; also he is rescued by a father & son
• Walter tells Olivia she acted irrationally, when Walter does it, people call him crazy
• small WOW moment as Walter learns Olivia has decided in his favor, Walter now knows relationship with Olivia is based on family not work
• Peter is back!  But no one remembers him.

Peter Reborn, Where He Previously Drowned, At Reiden Lake.  Rescued By A Father & Son

Peter is back and thankfully the Fringe showrunners, as expected, avoided the easy way out.  They did not jettison any timelines.  Peter still retains his knowledge of the previous seasons.  But no one else knows him.  This is a flip of Season Two where everyone knew about Peter being from the Other Side before he did.  This time it is just Peter and the audience who know about the secret of Season 4.

If there is anything different about this episode I would have wished for, it would have been September being actively involved in helping Peter cross over. This moment was a great opportunity to get the Observers actively involved in the story line.

Where does the show go from here in respect to the two timelines?  Will one replace the other? Or will the two be merged in some way?  Could the resolution of that story line lie in a Cause and Effect story line?

Peter’s attempts to cross over generated Time Distortions.  Are those distortions over for good?  Or has Peter repeated the actions of his father, whose own crossing over cause a rift in the Laws of Reality?  Peter may very well find himself in his father’s shoes if the Time Distortions continue to manifest themselves.

And how will Peter respond to such a scenario if it does happen?  All that he has endured will be for naught if Time unravels.

Peter was a drifter and a nomad at the start of the series.  This season he has brought those descriptions to an unprecedented level.  He is truly, ‘A Stranger In A Strange Land.’

So many exciting directions the show can go ahead with now. Which one, we will find out in two weeks when Fringe returns.  But man, oh, man that, ‘Novation,’ preview is irresistibly rewatchable.