"Fringe" - "Nobody's going to save you. Only you can save yourself."

It's amazing what can happen to a show in only a few seasons, especially if a network does the uncharacteristic thing of giving it time to develop. The previous seasons of "Fringe" were very low on my radar. I followed the show because people kept saying how good it was and I tried to get as enthusiastic about it as others were. But it was too procedural, too shy when it came to mythology, and it has realized its potential this season by diving head first into the mythology and the characters. The freak-of-the-week cases now serve the characters, not the other way around.
"Amber 31422" took place in the alternative universe with our Olivia, still newly devoted to the alternate Fringe division. I have to say, I'm almost afraid to root for Olivia getting back home because I love the alternate team so much. I hated that they killed of Charlie and love having him back, and Lincoln is great fun too. Charlie, Lincoln, and Olivia are so great together I wish we could take them with us. I'm able to respect their intelligence as well since they had the scene of Charlie wondering if their Olivia really was their Olivia, since she was saying that they were trying to make her think she was someone else. Charlie works in a very militaristic setting, so it's not surprising that he hasn't brought it back up since that is a wild theory, but it was smart to have someone just voice the idea. I think I love being on the alternate side of things because the team is great and we have our Olivia, not the evil Olivia of the home universe. My complaint all the way back in the spring about AltLivia was that she was too one-dimensional and I still have that complaint. I want some more moral ambiguity there and I know that "Fringe" can give it to me this season.

Speaking of moral ambiguity, Walternate is a fascinating character. He is taking drastic measures to protect their universe from collapsing and trying to maintain their amber protocols despite plenty of ethical questions. It's hard to completely condemn this seemingly nefarious character, however, since his drive in life is to protect their world. He views the incidents as attacks on their world as a result of some interdimensional war, but from his perspective, maybe that's not so crazy an outlook. It's hard to see the other side's almost totalitarian efforts at security, but when you look at their world events, you can see how that happened. 9/11 caused the Patriot Act. What would happen if the fabric of reality started deteriorating in some places, causing mass quarantines? This is SciFi how I love it - taking full use of its allegorical powers to ask "what if?"

The case of the week involved twin brothers, played by Shawn and Aaron Ashmore. I always love seeing them. They surface every now and then in SciFi productions. One brother a robber, the other a normal guy, struggle with guilt and shame as it's revealed that the robber was not the one stuck in amber. The conclusion to their storyline was touching, with the normal guy reuniting with his family while the robber paid for his sins and saved his brother from the big bad AltGovernment experimenting on him. This whole episode had the continuing theme of doubles, echoed wonderfully when one of the brothers stated that just because they look the same doesn't mean they have anything in common. By this point, Olivia's doubts about her identity were surfacing more and more and she felt this disconnect between who she thinks she is and who she really is. I like the addition of Peter in her hallucinations and the scene with them in the car at the end was so satisfying. Olivia tries to rationalize, telling Peter "you can't prove anything you're saying." But he counters with "but I know things." Of course, Olivia reminds him "you're in my head." "Exactly," he points out, "which means you know things too. Things about the other side. Things you couldn't possible know unless you'd been there. Unless you were from there." I also enjoyed the touch of Olivia saying "Rachel hates Chicago," using present tense, even though in AltUniverse, Rachel died in childbirth. I would pass it up as a slip of the writing or the actor, but "Fringe" is all about the details lately. I really think those obsessive "Lost" fans should join the "Fringe" fan club if they want to keep analyzing the details. I can't wait for the implications of Olivia's journey to the other side, confirming all her suspicions. Will she make more journeys? Will Walternate find out?

I'm still suspending my disbelief, but it gets tough sometimes. This is an alternate universe where smallpox is still raging, Watergate never happened, and they don't even use pens anymore, but somehow Obama is still president and "The Maltese Falcon" was still made, only starring Cary Grant instead of Humphrey Bogart. Okay, I like the little film trivia bits they add. Like the fact that in the alternate universe, Eric Stoltz really did become Marty McFly in "Back to the Future." But please, stick with the cute little trivia instead of drastic changes like people don't even use pens anymore. I guess no one jots down quick notes in their universe or enjoys simplicity. Maybe they just don't believe in Occam's razor over there in any form. Then again, I suppose simplicity is overrated.