The Fringe finale was confusing. “A major character will die!” “Peter meets his destiny!” “The Doomsday machine completes its purpose!” While all of those spoilers were true, I almost feel like the finale wasn’t a conclusion to the Season 3 arc, rather than a stand alone episode. We had no Lincoln Lee, no mention of Henry (Nugget; who may or may not exist now), no Sam Weiss, no Mr. X, no mention of William Bell, etc. A throwaway line by Peter as to who the First People were did not satisfy me at all, and if anything, soured the whole mythology of the First People.

Did I like the episode despite all of this? Yes. I’m a bit confused, though. Are we now to believe that the timeline of the show has been a flashback and it’s actually 2026 now? I almost hope that is the case, as I don’t want to see a ton of time travel on Fringe. I would guess, however, that we will not go forward again and will be in the 2011 current day for Season 4. Now that the teams from the two universes have been brought together, I’m not sure how everyone will get home.

I’m also no less confused by The Observers. I get the last scene, I really do, but what a messy way to achieve their means. There had to be a less complicated way to bridge the universes if the need was so great. OK, maybe I don’t fully get it; did they create Peter? Was he a Starbuckian avatar? I’ve read speculation close to that, and I guess it makes the most sense to me. Young Peter died in both universes, but Walter/Walternate still became entangled in the quantum entanglements that resulted from their work, leading to the same moment of decision in “The Day We Died.”

All I really know is that Fringe Season 4 needs to get here soon.