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First some Fringe thoughts:
For a show that functions perfectly without a romantic storyline dominating it, I am somewhat disappointed that it's now become THE thing that the universes' survival hinges upon.
Let me be clear: Fringe has always been a show about love and the choices we make. But it's always been about many different kinds of love, types that while different can equally powerful. Romantic love is what drew Olivia to defy the impossible in the pilot, but Walter's parental for Peter is what tore the universe apart in the first place. Love, not just for the people they care about, but for justice is what drives (both) Olivias to do what they do beyond mere survival, because they believe that what they are doing is right. Love of science, love of friends, love of country and justice- all these things are present and what make me really respect and like this show. Because it presents all these factors as possibly being equal.
But by putting so much emphasis on Peter's decision versus Our Olivia vs Alt!Liv, it reduces the storyline in a way that is irritating, because it wipes away all the complexities that the show has cultivated over 2.5 seasons. Doesn't matter if Sam Weiss is telling the truth or not; the WRITERS have presented it this way and in doing so, it's sort of cheapening it for me, because doesn't Peter have other things to consider? When did this show become Dawson's Creek and center on "who will he choose"?
Not only that, by making it Peter's choice, that means that anyone who isn't romantically involved no longer gets importance to the plot. What about all that agency that Astrid and Nina and Broyles and Charlie and Lincoln used to have that suddenly have less meaning if all that matters is who Peter picks in the end? And what about the Olivias themselves, for that matter? Doesn't what they do matter more than whom they're sleeping with? Alt!Liv has basically been reduced to an incubator as far as her worth is concerned, and Olivia is the most emotionally unstable that we've seen her because she's lost her grasp of control over her life.
I guess what it boils down to is that I like the TEAM effort, led by each Olivia, and I was gearing up for a big show down for the season finale. You know, like a Justice League: Crisis of Two Earths type, all out confrontation where our side is trying to find a way to save both and the Alt!verse is just trying to survive.
The entire season has made me really care a lot about the Other side, and I think it's a mistake to put so much emphasis on Peter's choice rather than the team effort of both sides. Why bother showing us the Alternates if we're not going to see them interact with each other in a significant way? Why make Evil!Brandon, Lincoln and Scarlie so much fun as characters and why give Alt!Liv and Walternate such interesting layers of contradictions, when you won't really use them and it boils down to whom Peter loves the most?
I dunno. I mean I hope that they can pull something out of the hat because this show's success rate is better than most. And I'm still gonna watch it to see how it all turns out. But color me only cautiously optimistic. Especially since there's now a baby in the mix. (Although it should be noted that giving Walternate a piece of Peter back on his side might aid in the whole "Nature only recognizes balance" aspect of the show.)
Shallow thoughts on the most recent episode:
- Is no one going to comment on the fact that the Alt!Verse is completely devoid of wool socks? The Alt!verse has a depleted supply of avocados, chocolate and coffee, and absolutely no lamb shank. We have Whole foods and Toblerone. I say Peter chooses our side just on that basis alone.
- Haters to the left, I love Lincoln Lee and his huge, juvenile crush on Alt!Liv. He's hilarious, obnoxious, and kinda kick-ass despite all that. Also, you gotta respect a guy who almost died twice this year, first by almost being burned alive and almost freezing to death the second time. I am infinitely curious as to what our Lincoln is like.
- I kinda mini-ship Scarlie and Bug Girl. It's cute. I really miss Charlie in general, so that little banter back and forth between him and Alt!Liv was just awesome. It seems like in every universe, Charlie and Olivia are destined to be friends, and I love it so much. Scarlie and Lincoln are half the reason I like Alt!Liv.
- I also might ship Frank and Alt!Astrid a little, but mostly it boils down to the fact that neither Astrid gets enough love, and anyone who pays attention to them gets points in my book. I want her to go hang out with Our Astrid and they can comment on the crazy love lives of their coworkers, with Our Astrid baking pies and Alt!Astrid spouting out statistical probabilities about Peter and Olivia's relationship and the chances that Walter will be able to finally make the perfect strawberry milkshake.
- Joan Chen as Walternate's mistress is kinda hilarious to me. Random, but hilarious.
- I miss Ella.
In other news:
I streamed the Grammys and it has to be said: Cee Lo lost a bet to Gwyneth Paltrow when they guested together on SNL, right? That can be the only reason why he dressed like in the peacock outfit of Elton John circa the 1980's and had muppets as back up singers for their duet.
LOL. But whatever, it was hilarious, so I'm not complaining. I'd say that it was definitely the most entertaining performance of the night due to the level of commitment they had to be the most ridiculous they could possibly be. Despite showing up at the Grammys and walking (being carried?) the red carpet in a huge egg, Lady Gaga's Born This Way performance was kinda tame. The Justin Bieber/Jaden Smith duet was absolutely LOL-worthy and kinda akin to watching your annoying, but still talented, little cousins trying to be hip and cool. The description of them it being something like Mortal Combat meets Grease meets KidzBop is pretty accurate, but Will and Jada Smith being proud of their little boy was kinda cute. It's too bad Aretha Franklin couldn't make it for her tribute, but the other 5 women did a fine enough job; I am still loving Florence from Florence and the Machine; Jennifer Hudson did well, and hey, Christina Aguilera remembered the words this time! So there's that.
I'm not entirely sure that actual awards were handed out, since the entire thing felt like a concert, but basically the entire night can be summed up as: Cee Lo went as a bird, Lady Gaga went as an egg, and Mick Jagger, Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan prove that they are better than all of you because they don't need shit like that to put on a good performance.
In conclusion:
Meanwhile somewhere in the audience, Lady Gaga goes:
(Source for images: tumblr)
For a show that functions perfectly without a romantic storyline dominating it, I am somewhat disappointed that it's now become THE thing that the universes' survival hinges upon.
Let me be clear: Fringe has always been a show about love and the choices we make. But it's always been about many different kinds of love, types that while different can equally powerful. Romantic love is what drew Olivia to defy the impossible in the pilot, but Walter's parental for Peter is what tore the universe apart in the first place. Love, not just for the people they care about, but for justice is what drives (both) Olivias to do what they do beyond mere survival, because they believe that what they are doing is right. Love of science, love of friends, love of country and justice- all these things are present and what make me really respect and like this show. Because it presents all these factors as possibly being equal.
But by putting so much emphasis on Peter's decision versus Our Olivia vs Alt!Liv, it reduces the storyline in a way that is irritating, because it wipes away all the complexities that the show has cultivated over 2.5 seasons. Doesn't matter if Sam Weiss is telling the truth or not; the WRITERS have presented it this way and in doing so, it's sort of cheapening it for me, because doesn't Peter have other things to consider? When did this show become Dawson's Creek and center on "who will he choose"?
Not only that, by making it Peter's choice, that means that anyone who isn't romantically involved no longer gets importance to the plot. What about all that agency that Astrid and Nina and Broyles and Charlie and Lincoln used to have that suddenly have less meaning if all that matters is who Peter picks in the end? And what about the Olivias themselves, for that matter? Doesn't what they do matter more than whom they're sleeping with? Alt!Liv has basically been reduced to an incubator as far as her worth is concerned, and Olivia is the most emotionally unstable that we've seen her because she's lost her grasp of control over her life.
I guess what it boils down to is that I like the TEAM effort, led by each Olivia, and I was gearing up for a big show down for the season finale. You know, like a Justice League: Crisis of Two Earths type, all out confrontation where our side is trying to find a way to save both and the Alt!verse is just trying to survive.
The entire season has made me really care a lot about the Other side, and I think it's a mistake to put so much emphasis on Peter's choice rather than the team effort of both sides. Why bother showing us the Alternates if we're not going to see them interact with each other in a significant way? Why make Evil!Brandon, Lincoln and Scarlie so much fun as characters and why give Alt!Liv and Walternate such interesting layers of contradictions, when you won't really use them and it boils down to whom Peter loves the most?
I dunno. I mean I hope that they can pull something out of the hat because this show's success rate is better than most. And I'm still gonna watch it to see how it all turns out. But color me only cautiously optimistic. Especially since there's now a baby in the mix. (Although it should be noted that giving Walternate a piece of Peter back on his side might aid in the whole "Nature only recognizes balance" aspect of the show.)
Shallow thoughts on the most recent episode:
- Is no one going to comment on the fact that the Alt!Verse is completely devoid of wool socks? The Alt!verse has a depleted supply of avocados, chocolate and coffee, and absolutely no lamb shank. We have Whole foods and Toblerone. I say Peter chooses our side just on that basis alone.
- Haters to the left, I love Lincoln Lee and his huge, juvenile crush on Alt!Liv. He's hilarious, obnoxious, and kinda kick-ass despite all that. Also, you gotta respect a guy who almost died twice this year, first by almost being burned alive and almost freezing to death the second time. I am infinitely curious as to what our Lincoln is like.
- I kinda mini-ship Scarlie and Bug Girl. It's cute. I really miss Charlie in general, so that little banter back and forth between him and Alt!Liv was just awesome. It seems like in every universe, Charlie and Olivia are destined to be friends, and I love it so much. Scarlie and Lincoln are half the reason I like Alt!Liv.
- I also might ship Frank and Alt!Astrid a little, but mostly it boils down to the fact that neither Astrid gets enough love, and anyone who pays attention to them gets points in my book. I want her to go hang out with Our Astrid and they can comment on the crazy love lives of their coworkers, with Our Astrid baking pies and Alt!Astrid spouting out statistical probabilities about Peter and Olivia's relationship and the chances that Walter will be able to finally make the perfect strawberry milkshake.
- Joan Chen as Walternate's mistress is kinda hilarious to me. Random, but hilarious.
- I miss Ella.
In other news:
I streamed the Grammys and it has to be said: Cee Lo lost a bet to Gwyneth Paltrow when they guested together on SNL, right? That can be the only reason why he dressed like in the peacock outfit of Elton John circa the 1980's and had muppets as back up singers for their duet.
LOL. But whatever, it was hilarious, so I'm not complaining. I'd say that it was definitely the most entertaining performance of the night due to the level of commitment they had to be the most ridiculous they could possibly be. Despite showing up at the Grammys and walking (being carried?) the red carpet in a huge egg, Lady Gaga's Born This Way performance was kinda tame. The Justin Bieber/Jaden Smith duet was absolutely LOL-worthy and kinda akin to watching your annoying, but still talented, little cousins trying to be hip and cool. The description of them it being something like Mortal Combat meets Grease meets KidzBop is pretty accurate, but Will and Jada Smith being proud of their little boy was kinda cute. It's too bad Aretha Franklin couldn't make it for her tribute, but the other 5 women did a fine enough job; I am still loving Florence from Florence and the Machine; Jennifer Hudson did well, and hey, Christina Aguilera remembered the words this time! So there's that.
I'm not entirely sure that actual awards were handed out, since the entire thing felt like a concert, but basically the entire night can be summed up as: Cee Lo went as a bird, Lady Gaga went as an egg, and Mick Jagger, Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan prove that they are better than all of you because they don't need shit like that to put on a good performance.
In conclusion:
Meanwhile somewhere in the audience, Lady Gaga goes:
(Source for images: tumblr)