“We can’t leave.” – Walter
One of the responses to my review of last episode’s “Making Angels” complained about Fringe’s shallow exploration of its characters’ lives and back-stories. Again, I blame this on Fringe’s unique status as one of the more mythology-driven shows on network television, with a structured subtlety that Fox’s average audience might miss.
The changes in this timeline, for example, aren’t immediately pertinent to Peter, the only constant from the past three seasons that we can be certain of. Even then, it’s safe to assume that, for the most part, everything happened the exact same way as we remember, excepting Peter and including David Robert Jones. DRJ’s presence is so far the singular explanation for every change in the timeline that we’re aware of: under his command, Nina raised and continues to medicate Olivia, and alternate Broyles may yet prove to be dead and replaced by a shapeshifter.
But there will be time later to explore the extent of the ramifications of September’s meddling in the multiverse’s course of events. With Walter accepting Peter and his return with fervent enthusiasm, he can’t wait to get out in the field — and then finds himself stuck there. When the Fringe team “over here” heads to Vermont to investigate a plane crash caused by a mysterious power failure, they find themselves trapped inside a pocket between universes.
The small town of Westfield has apparently become David Robert Jones’ ground zero for testing his physics-shattering weaponry. Inside the pocket, the two universes are gradually merging — an attack we’ve seen before, but on a much smaller scale. Those without counterparts to overlap with become the survivors that Peter, Olivia, and Walter have to save from getting caught in the impending cataclysm.
“Welcome to Westfield” has a very real horror-movie feel to it, or even Stephen King, reminding me a lot of Silent Hill insofar as the “inescapable town” motif is illustrated. Though Fringe has yet to haunt my nightmares in the same way, the same can’t be said for Olivia. In fact, she very vividly remembers herself, Peter, and Walter investigating a similar small-town crisis with mutated residents — except this iteration of her was never there.
Whatever Peter’s status is in this new universe, it’s clear that he isn’t the only one experiencing the ramifications of the past three seasons. The Olivia we fondly remember from Peter’s timeline appears to be bleeding through, and by episode’s end, is greeting Peter with a passionate kiss when he drops by to check in on her. I’ve postulated before that Peter has nowhere to go back to, and this new development seems to speak to that. No matter where or when he goes, the past is bound to catch up with Peter, and Walter may not have to lose his son yet again.
Some stats and info about Fringe, “Welcome to Westfield”
TV SHOW – Fringe
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 4, Episode 12
AIRED ON – February 12th, 2010
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FOX
GENRE – Science Fiction, Drama
CREATED BY – J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
CAST – Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.