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.

Fringe is still my number one. Period.

This Thursday, we get back to what’s important in life: Peter, Olivia, and Walter. Oh sure I’ve oversimplified it (because Astrid rocks muchly, too), but you get the idea.

I don’t necessarily try to stay away from Fringe spoilers, but I don’t seek them out, either. Somehow, I always seem to find out just the right amount of teaser info to make me happy. I don’t necessarily ship Peter/Olivia, but I certainly wouldn’t mind if they ended up getting involved. Somehow, the show always gets them juuuuust close enough to keep me interested. I don’t countdown to episodes featuring William Bell, but I always enjoy Leonard Nimoy’s portrayal of the alterworld’s resident genius. Somehow, they always seem to throw us one at just the right time.

Simply speaking, while a show like Lost can do no right, a show like Fringe can do no wrong. Maybe it’s because Fringe isn’t struggling to find it’s genre and has never pretended to be anything other than it is. Hmmm.

I don’t post about Fringe as much as I do my other fandoms. The post:squee ratio is way off, though. I love Fringe. We’re into Season 2 and I see no red flags that make me want to jump ship. If anything, I think I can weather the Charlie storm and come out a little stronger for it. My admiration for Olivia is still high, and I’m as intrigued by Peter as I’ve ever been. Walter, while brilliantly portrayed by John Noble, continues to know more than most people can even dream, but I’m starting to hurt for him a little too much. Now that we know the gravity of his secret, it’s hard to watch him deal with the love and guilt he has for Peter. It’s great stuff, though.

I absolutely hate that we have to take a few weeks off for baseball. Seriously, don’t they sell special satellite packages for people who really want to watch sports these days?

I made a TON of observations this week and I can’t wait to hear the far more brilliant members of The Fringe Podcast give their takes on the ep. They’ve just announced that Jasika Nicole (Astrid) will be on this week’s podcast! Sunday can’t come soon enough (and I have NEVER said that!).