#and peter crying talking about doing everything to find etta

[miralparis]

do you ever get emo thinking about olivia in fringe season 5 and her emotional turmoil over seeing etta alive? like how her marriage fell apart and she was convinced etta wasn’t alive but seeing she was alive makes her feel guilty for not searching like peter had? and she feels like she doesn’t deserve to be happy when they have those moments together as a family? only to lose her again once she’s allowing herself to lean into the happiness and the second chance she has to be with her daughter? 🙃 also just seeing olivia as a kind, wonderful mom but that she doesn’t believe herself to deserve her daughter?? ahhhh - just - olivia??? y’know?? 🤪

[uselesstimetraveler]

It's been over a week now since the AOS finale and I still haven't had the heart to rewatch it, so I'm just gonna share with you my opinions from that night (I wrote most of this the next day, just haven't posted yet lol)

It was next level excellent, overall, but I have A LOT to say, this is gonna be long

YES TO EVERYTHING DANIEL RELATED!!! The thing I loved the most was that they made him so useful, he wasn't just helping Daisy or doing whatever people told him to do, he actually had a great idea and executed it with Mack’s total support. He went to action and it gave me LIFE!

Another thing that gave me life was the philindaisy moment at the bar. I’m a sucker for them. When Daisy got there and hugged Coulson I was AAAAAAA and then she went to hug May and you see her stop, like, “oops, should I?” AND THEN MAY HUGS HER HERSELF!! Now, you can argue that May is an empath and felt Daisy’s emotions at that moment, but lemme tell y’all THAT WAS NOT JUST DAISY’S FEELINGS, THAT WAS MELINDA MAY'S GENUINE HAPPINESS FROM SEEING THAT HER DAUGHTER MADE IT BACK SAFELY!!! Try to convince otherwise and fail miserably. My family is just perfect like that.

The Fitzsimmons reunion scene I WAS SOBBING from the moment she realised the key was her ring!!! AND THEN FITZ JUST xkskdxkkm COMES BACK LIKE THAT kxsmkdsms I CAN’T djkskdsjsms I WILL NEVER EVER GET OVER THAT!!! That whole thing was genius, honestly. They were truly able to take a hard situation in which an important actor wouldn’t be able to be there for most of the season and used it amazingly to their advantage. And then Fitz HELPED HER REMEMBER BY TELLING THOSE STORIES = MORE TEARS. That whole scene was beautiful. AND WHEN SHE REMEMBERS ALYA OH MY GOD by that point I was screaming. Btw, I love how they chose their daughter’s name, it’s beautiful and has an even more beautiful meaning for them <3

Since I’m already talking about Fitzsimmons I’m just gonna go ahead and say that their ending was so well deserved. They suffered a lot, literally every season some shit would happen to them. I’m so glad they got their happy ending and are right now living their best life as a family <3 fitzsimmons family = everything to me. (are there any Fringe stans in here????? Did y’all notice that parallel at the end? If not, let me explain: aos: jemma sitting on the grass seeing fitz and alya playing together and smiling. Fringe: olivia sitting on the grass seeing peter and etta playing together and smiling. BOTH ON THE LAST EPISODE!! And both episodes were number 13. This is too much for my heart.)

About Deke: I really love that he was the one to “sacrifice” himself for the team. I’m not really a fan of Deke, but I was glad that he did what he always wanted, in a way; Contribute significantly to the team and be acknowledged as part of said team. It felt to me that by doing that he was doing what he often tried, but no one ever really took him seriously enough to allow him to do. I think he was selfless and then ended up finding his true place, after all. Nicely done, if you ask me.

On that note, and shifting back to Daniel once more: when he said he was gonna be the one to stay behind I was like “NO YOU’RE NOT! Don’t even think about it. You, buddy, are going with Daisy.” What was he thinking? (I know what, and I know it was brave and selfless of him, but just let me have my moment, okay?) 

Now the answer to ending the war was empathy?????????? GENIUS!!! Mojed, you went beyond terrific there. I love everything evolving May in that part of the finale, how she dropped from the ceiling calling herself The Calvary (talk about character development!!!) to philinda fighting together and exchanging looks, to her saving the freaking world with her empath abilities!!!! I have some serious goosies just remembering. 

Something else that was just genius to me was that they were the ones at the temple, THEY CARRIED MAY OUT OF THERE, I did NOT see that coming. WHAT?! 

OH! And what about what Piper asked for??? She asked for Davis!! That’s adorable! That had me crying too, I love their friendship.

Now Kora. I was a little bothered about how fast things happened for her and Daisy on the sister bonding thing. Like, don’t get me wrong, I like that her and Daisy ended up working on the same team for SHIELD and that they were in a good place in their relationship, but what I’m saying is that Kora hated Daisy’s guts on one scene and Daisy had literally said a couple episodes ago that she did have a sister, but it was Jemma, and then Daisy died, and I liked that Kora saved her, is just that I got a vibe off of them in that scene that seemed like they had the best kind of sister bond for ages. Was that just me? Maybe, but hey ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

That’s not really a problem, I'm just saying.

Btw, when Daisy died for, like, two seconds, I was out of my mind!!!! I couldn’t even scream, I just froze in place. Thank God or whomever that she was brought back to life. I wouldn't be able to continue without my baby.

Now back to philinda and probably the only "complaint" I have: Let us agree, despite wanting them to be together in the end, there was very little chance of that really happening, right? Because he’s a robot now. But I did have a lot of hope, those episodes >>gave me<< a lot of hope. Y’know, in episode 12 they had that moment talking in the hallway, the explosion happened, he protected Melinda... I was like, “that’s my couple right there, you guys”. Then at the fighting scene they exchanged some looks at the end that really left me “it’s coming, people. Their happy ending.” It didn’t come. I took another blow to the face. A blow that was expected, yes, but a blow nonetheless. 

I wasn’t all that excited about Coulson’s ending at first, you know, him just traveling the world, but I understand what they did and why. He’s still getting used to his new self and rediscovering his life, so it makes sense that he would need time to do that. That last scene with Lola was simply EVERYTHING TO ME tho!!!! 

But May’s ending… the thing is, I had a lot of expectations for how she would end up. Throughout the seasons something that was very clear to me was her desire to be a mother and I know that she built that relationship with the youngest agents on the team, but I kinda expected, aside from philinda endgame, more of that. But my biggest problem here isn’t even that, is that I really, REALLY don’t see Melinda May giving lectures????? Melinda May? The woman who now calls herself The Calvary, teaching theory or history or whatever???? I’m not saying she can’t, I’m just saying I never thought of that as a possibility for her, it sounds more like a Coulson thing to me. But then again, that’s all they showed us from her life. They gave us very little details about how she (and everyone else, honestly) is living and I think in a way I like that because it lets us imagine whatever we want. So she could very easily just be there at the academy for one lecture, she could be training (physically?) new agents instead? IDK. Also, Flint was there, they could have built a relationship. Mentor\mentee like hers with Daisy at first or even mother\son? I’d like that. I like the “found family” thing. 

I have two ideas of fanfiction out of the finale. The first one is a Dousy that I had already thought of and completely fits with one thing that Daisy said, and the other is basically a Philinda fix it because, well, I want to. I'm very lazy when it comes to my writing, but I really wanna do these two, let's see how that turns out.

[ettadunham]

I just wanted to say thank you for everyone who participated in the whole Fringe September event - either by voting, reblogging or just putting up with the somewhat larger amount of Fringe posts on my blog compared to its natural state of multifandom mess.

I didn’t get around to do an episode rant for the last 4 days - which is kind of a bummer for me, because not only those four were obviously the ones with the most votes, they were your favorites with a somewhat large margin. Meaning that the biggest jump in the entire chart is between nr. 4 and nr. 5.

So you know what, I will say a few (BUT ONLY A FEW, I SWEAR) words about these episodes, and also share some stats, because I’m a nerd.

Over There (Part 2) (2x23)

You know, there’s a reason why the s2 finale is the only one where both parts made it into the top 10. And it’s not just the fact that technically the only other official two-parter finale is s4...

THERE’S JUST A LOT IN OVER THERE. And Part 2 builds up on the red!verse setup beautifully, delivering some firsts. The first meet/confrontation between Olivia and Altlivia, and arguably the most memorable fight scene in the history of the series. The first time we see Walter and William Bell together. The first kiss between Peter and Olivia... And then it just keeps going.

The switch between Olivia and Altlivia is perhaps easily suspected, but that doesn’t take away from the reveal scenes. The scenes with Altlivia and the typewriter and then Olivia imprisoned by Walternate leaves you with a chill and uncertainty, wondering what happens next.

White Tulip (2x18)

Easily one of the most iconic episodes, for giving the show the title symbol alone, White Tulip has everything. An amazing performance by our guest star, a buttload of emotion and... TIME TRAVEL. Not only that, but it’s the series’ Groundhog Day episode at that.

...Which is why it’s so interesting that it doesn’t actually use the repeat day tropes. Like... at all. We only see the main event repeating two or three times before our team gets ahead of Peck enough that he can’t go back to his original origin point. They also tease the audience about giving Peter the information about his own origins in one of those repeat days, which would’ve been a classic move writers often do in this type of episodes... But then they don’t actually do that either, saving his reaction to the actual reveal at the end of next episode.

Instead the episode focuses on Walter’s struggle, his guilt and his desire to be forgiven, to get absolution for his sins. And the time travel ends up giving him just that - a seemingly divine intervention, given how he has no memory in that timeline about telling anyone about the specific white tulip meaning. It’s both tragic and hopeful, just like Alistair Peck’s fate who goes back in time merely to be with his fiance at the time of her death. And just like the entire show too I guess.

Jacksonville (2x15)

GOD THIS SHOW CAN BE SO SATISFYING WITH ITS MYSTERIES.

Jacksonville isn’t actually solving a mystery of course, but it’s the episode that finally gives us resolutions and contexts about things we’ve already found out. Also, UNIVERSE MERGING??? What a great episode on all fronts, truly.

It’s also a very Olivia-centric episode, mostly dealing with the repercussions and effects of the Cortexiphan trials and experiments she was subjected to as a child. It’s also one of those instances where she gets real with Walter, calling out the responsibility he had in this. Because even if Walter was a different man then, it doesn’t change what happened and the traumas Olivia faced as a result.

It also ends on another memorable note. At this point, the audience was given plenty enough clues to figure out that Peter is from the other side, but yet when we see it through Olivia’s eyes in those moments, it still fucks us up.

An Enemy of Fate (5x13)

Tbh, I WAS a little bit surprised to find the series finale at the top of the list, solely because I know that there were plenty enough viewers who got turned off by s5 or s4. But then I realized that most people who voted in this poll, probably stuck out till the end... And An Enemy of Fate is a pretty fucking dope series finale if I may say so.

It focuses on the emotional beats mostly, the goodbye between Walter and Peter is one fucking waterfall, and then September does his own speech, and you’re bawling, and then Peter and Olivia talk about getting Etta back, and Walter and Astrid have their moments too... At one point you’re just gonna start crying and then won’t ever stop.

On top of that, there’s also some action, like Olivia and Peter stealing shit from the Observer base and breaking out Broyles, using all sorts of callback Fringe viruses, and in their last fight Walter uses bullets filed with osmium so the Observers they’d shoot would fly away BECAUSE WHY THE FUCK NOT. And then there’s that MAGNIFICENT THING OLIVIA DOES MURDERING WINDMARK. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND WATCHING IT ON A LOOP.

In the end it all comes to full circle. Not just the season, but the entire series, with Walter taking a boy through a portal this time to SAVE the world, making a sacrifice instead of putting everyone in jeopardy for one life he can’t bear to lose.

IT’S ALL FINE.

Some other stats:

The average number of episodes people voted for was 20. The maximum number of episodes voted was 55, and the most common number was 5 (probably due to the format of the poll that it seems have been misleading for some).

All but 1 episode received at least one vote. (Poor 2x03, I’m fairly certain it deserved better, but perhaps it just had a tough time breaking out surrounded by more memorable episodes.)

Nr. 1 (5x13) received votes from 65% of the people who voted in total, while the 29-30. placements appeared in 28% of the list of episodes people voted for.

If we count Unearthed as a S2 episode, S5 received the most votes per episode. If we however treat Unearthed as part of S1, that privilege goes to S2. They’re closely followed by S3 and then S4. In both cases, the season with the lowest vote/episode average is S1.

[ettadunham]

Day 3 - The Human Kind

On the third day of Fringe September this show makes me cry every damn time, and I may have too many feelings and jumbled thoughts after re-watching this episode.

Fringe does this thing starting with S3 where it takes an unexpected turn every new season, somewhat re-inventing itself along the way. It’s risky, and not necessarily always without flaw, so it’s understandable that it also alienated a lot of viewers at times, but personally, I appreciate the initiative and the dare of the show. S5 in particular is an interesting departure, taking place entirely in a dystopian future, and 5x08 is definitely a quintessential part of that arc, presenting Fringe and this season at its best.

There are two storylines here, one involving Peter and the other Olivia. They’re both still mourning their daughter’s loss, albeit they do it in very different ways. Olivia is trying to take her mind off of it all by chasing down a new lead to complete their mission, while Peter is in the middle of his self-destructive Observer arc, plotting to avenge Etta’s death. The only real common theme perhaps is that they’re both trying to hold onto her, which is highlighted by the first scene of the episode, where Olivia watches on as the Etta resistance posters are being taken down around the city. 'Not letting her to be erased’ is a notion that comes back in her final speech at the end as well.

I also feel like there’s a similarity in how they both initially dealt with Etta’s loss 20 years ago, with Peter being too overwhelmed with their loss to concentrate on anything else, while Olivia needed that distraction, because she’s already given up hope by then.

I guess I could be here all night analyzing this, but there are a couple of other things happening in the plot that I also want to mention.

I feel like Peter’s storyline is perhaps more straightforward; using his new cool abilities he’s trying to divert Windmark’s path into a direction where he would eventually kill him. Of course he gets his ass kicked by him at first, but later on it seems like he managed to turn it all back around to his advantage.

Connecting to this is Walter and Astrid analyzing the tech in Peter (THEY WERE USING PORCUPINE MAN’S BRAIN, God, I love the S1 references).They realize that his brain is being reconstructed to give more space for logical thought, and soon he won’t be able to feel any emotions. So basically, another cool tidbit for the audience, helping us understand the Observers!!!

Peter of course won’t listen to them though, he’s hellbent on revenge and all that.

Meanwhile Olivia is taking a road trip to collect a giant magnet. Alone. While being on the run. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

The answer is of course everything. Everything goes terribly wrong. Just not as soon as she things.

Basically there are two stories happening here after one another (perhaps in a longer season this would’ve been two different episodes, I assume). In the first, Olivia arrives at magnet depot only to find that people - specifically a woman, Simone - has been expecting her. Simone is incredibly helpful, and possesses a gift that helps her see things about people - their past, maybe even their future? It’s not really specified, perhaps because we’re seeing these exchanges from Olivia’s perspective who’s too jaded for Simone’s wide-eyed faith.

“People make up explanations, assign meaning to things without knowing. Because it’s reassuring. It’s comforting. But I can’t do that. Because I know too much.” - Olivia’s speech reminds us that perhaps we too have seen too much to be still awed by the miracles presented to us, and yet the scene ends with Simone smiling at Olivia knowingly.

“I believe that you can’t know everything” - and perhaps on another Abrams show this would sound like a cheap way to sidestep answering questions the audience may have, but on Fringe, the answer more often than not has usually been ‘because love’. On this show, love can break and mend universes, bring back people to existence and bend the rules of science. There’s no other explanation needed, because THAT’S a completely acceptable explanation in the universe of Fringe. On Fringe hope, love and imagination become tangible, more than just abstract concepts or empty platitudes.

It’s perhaps with a little bit of her faith restored that Olivia leaves... So it’s only apt that she immediately gets captured by two dudes who are trying to get the reward money for her capture. And yet somehow by killing these dudes (one with THE bullet) what Olivia gets is a whole new bit of hope and a peace of mind instead of your generic ‘people are the worst’ relapse??? Only Olivia Dunham would find murder so uplifting.

And so she tells Peter. She tells him how Etta is still with them, how she helped save her life today with the bullet she brought back to them, how they have to keep holding onto her, and more importantly to the love they feel for her. And that’s what Peter would lose if he would keep on this path. His love, his humanity, and consequently Etta. Maybe he’d still have his memories, but those memories are merely worthless data without the emotions attached to them, data in which the memory of their daughter becomes a string of numbers instead of a human being who lived.

I don’t know about you guys, but there is no universe where I don’t cry during that damn scene. Fuck.

Honestly, I talked so much about this episode so just one small additional remark:

The part about how the process happening to Peter is irreversible is somewhat undermined later on when we meet September as Donald. He’s clearly managed to regain his full ability to feel emotions after he’s been de-observered - although we don’t know if he had the exact same model of the tech that the invader observers had. Given how September’s entire team was much less aggressive than them, perhaps it’s even likely that that was the case.