Although I felt the Finale was lacking (sorry JJ Abrahams - not the best ever) the fact that there are still unanswered questions worth discussing and debating is a positive in my book - it's better to allow fans the opportunity to interpret rather than hit them over the head with things.
In my view, it's been established that Peter exists as an anomaly in 2015. Furthermore Peter and Olivia are aware of the previous timeline. The fact that Observers did not rescue Peter is irrelevant because in fact, in the 2015 timeline he actually never was.
I'm still unclear why Walter would need to cease existing as of 2015 (at the moment the Observers would have invaded). The fact that Walter would have corrected history in 2036 - in a future that no longer exists once he was "successful" is itself a paradox. Perhaps we just accept the paradox as having no rational explanation (after all, it is a paradox!)
There's a number of questions I look forward to reviewing in hindsight. Is the
Kristen
January 22nd, 2013 4:02 PM
@Kyle...If you had read the comments you would see multiple people have questioned how Peter ended up in this universe/didn't drown in the lake. This was my big question too, but it makes sense (as people have mentioned here) that the goal of sending Michael to the future wasn't to stop the creation of Observers altogether, simply to ensure that emotion wasn't eradicated. So it stands to reason that Observers still exist in some form, to interrupt Walternate from curing Peter and to save Peter from the lake. Maybe since they have emotions they don't invade.
I enjoyed the finale, will miss watching Fringe. Especially Walter, he was one of my favorite characters on TV. I hope we get a movie. Would love to see Walter reunited with everyone else!
KyleM
January 22nd, 2013 10:43 AM
Why has no one pointed out that if the observers never happened then peter would have drowned in the lake as a boy and time would have been reset from that point on, not 2015. I've watched Fringe from the beginning and wish that we could go back and reset season 5.
tbr281
January 22nd, 2013 2:30 AM
Walter and Michael traveled to the moment that the scientist that invented the tech in the brain was making the tech itself and showed him "Michael"... Thst there is another way to gain knowledge without loosing emotion.
Fringe follows the casework of the "Fringe" division a Joint Federal Task Force supported primarily by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The division which includes: Agent Olivia Dunham; Dr. Walter Bishop, the archetypal mad scientist; and Peter Bishop, Walter's estranged son and jack-of-all-trades. They are supported by Phillip Broyles, the force's director, and Agent Astrid Farnsworth, who assists Walter in laboratory research. The team is also watched silently by a group of bald, pale men who are called "Observers". The cases involved the "Division" Was not the Anna Torv or John Noble show. I appreciate the writers concentrating on keeping the cases in canon. Will miss
gatorgal Rank: Recurring Character
January 21st, 2013 9:52 AM
Let me clarify: I didn't hate John Noble in "Lord of the Rings", I hated his character Denethor. He was so mean to his son Faramir, and look at that relationship Walter had with Peter- his very favorite thing.
gatorgal Rank: Recurring Character
January 21st, 2013 9:47 AM
RE: John Noble. I hated him in LOTR, and absolutely loved Walter. The ending reminded me a bit of when Gandolf takes Frodo's hand and they get on the ship and sail into the West with the Elves. Sam and company (Read Peter, Olivia, Astrid and Broyles) are left stunned to watch them leave. I doubt it was intentional, but I was struck by the similarities on the second viewing.
KansasGuest Rank: Recurring Character
January 20th, 2013 7:49 PM
@RandomCommentator - Too much John Noble?!?! I guess we're all entitled to our opinion. But, I can confirm that at San Diego's Comic-Con every year, the FRINGE panel is very popular with fans ages 18-35; and, they all go batsh*t crazy whenever John Noble appears. You may think he isn't appealing to young people. But, I have a very different impression. Just because a viewer is young doesn't mean they can't appreciate talent, or a good character. Walter Bishop is BELOVED by fans of all ages.
KansasGuest Rank: Recurring Character
January 20th, 2013 7:45 PM
@OliviaDunham - I thought it was very appropriate that the final shot of the series was of Peter. 1) He was the sole reason for the universes getting messed up in the first place. 2) Walter's goal was to ensure that Peter lived into adulthood. 3) The final shot is a reminder that Walter did indeed change Peter's destiny. Walter sacrificed everything and made it happen for his son. Olivia made them a complete family. But, the goal was to always ensure Peter's survival.
Tbd
January 20th, 2013 7:38 PM
Olivia already had awareness of multiple timelines, with and without Peter. No reason to believe that isn't true in this case, too.
gatorgal Rank: Recurring Character
January 20th, 2013 1:12 PM
@ Alex: Walter and Michael returned to the date February 20, 2167 to Oslo, Norway, to show the scientist that human emotions did not need to be sacrificed at the expense of increased intelligence. Since the invasion did not occur, it is clear that Walter was successful. Are there still Observers? I think there are beings like Michael, but hopefully who can also speak, since I would hate to see us lose our vocal capabilities: no singing? no laughing? Can they still travel between time? I would guess so, since Peter was clearly cured of his illness and brought to our side by Walter, and therefore saved by September.
I liked this episode and how the characters progressed through it. The ending, while satisfying the need for a happy ending, was so anti-climatic for me for a show as huge as Fringe.
Montelqueen
January 20th, 2013 9:43 AM
RandomCommentor, I guess you would be just fine if it was Anna Torv heavy right? Hypocritical moron.
Olivia Dunham
January 20th, 2013 9:14 AM
Bishop Boys fans everywhere claiming that Fringe is all about them, forget 1 very important thing:
Olivia is the one that searched for Walter and Peter, Olivia is the one that brought them together and was their go between.
Olivia should have been center in final season , after 5 seasons nothing done with her backstory,
but we got endless scenes of Donald and Michael backstory,
Scenes of Olivia and Altlivia cut, for boring long Walter and Peter scenes.
Wyman loves his boys and men and fathers.
I am angry at Wyman for how he treated Anna Torv season 5, she was brilliant in every moment on screen, but he clearly lied to her about her role, and as the main lead not getting lines half the time is insulting,
So Anna Torv did it all non-verbal, the most beautiful silent actor , but she has such a great voice as well.
To Wyman: Why cut important Olivia scenes?
Why was the last shot Peter? Should have been Olivia.
Why did Jackson get the last wrap?
Olivia Dunham
January 20th, 2013 9:03 AM
512 had all what made Fringe great : Olivia central, Over There and cortexiphan.
Anna Torv awesome, and another AltLivia, in a few moments a real new version, that is great acting,
she does not get writing, and she shows Wyman she does not need it, he can keep writing for his Bishop Boys.
No Olivia with lettle Etta scene in the finale, but they did film Anna as Olivia carrying little Etta in the house,
no room for mothers with children on Fringe?
Sam
January 20th, 2013 8:15 AM
The unforgettable Bishop Boys :( I'm gutted I'll never see the most wonderful characters on television again. I lost it in every single scene of theirs, fearing the moment Walter would disappear from Peter's life. Amazing emotional scenes between those two and then Astrid, who really has a beautiful name.
kadomony
January 20th, 2013 4:40 AM
lol, did you guys somehow forget about the season 2 episode "White Tulip"?
RandomCommentor
January 20th, 2013 4:14 AM
To be fair, the certain unnamed poster was right for the most part with their rant this time. This season especially, but for the past couple seasons, the show became way too John Noble-heavy. It's really part of the over-arching problem of the show bleeding the younger demographic in its later seasons.
Kind of sad that it happened in the finale too. Too many poorly done father/son scenes that should have been cut at the writing stage. I get that they wanted to do some emotional scenes, but the whole point of those is that they come naturally - and in this case they were heavily forced, sometimes painful to watch, without any real consequence to the plot.
Sidenote: Alt-Olivia was gorgeous. I thought it was another actress for a couple of minutes. Was glad to see Lincoln too.
Jay
January 20th, 2013 3:37 AM
The answer to the timeline thing is pretty easy. It doesn't say they were traveling to the date where the observers are meeting in the final episodes it just says they are moving forward in time to before they attacked. Even if they went to the time we saw to fix things, the observers could still travel back in time with the boy and Walter by touching them. I think my first answer is more likely because the time we saw they wanted to tear him apart. I expected more from the Finale but I guess I am satisfied with the results. Oh yeah. As far as I know the Cortexipham worked for travel between universes, not timelines. I doubt she new anything. Maybe, but probably not.
guy
January 19th, 2013 9:35 PM
Michael put his finger to his lips.. two lips ..tulip.
That is what Walter's strange letter to Peter meant, the plan succeed. When Olivia asked what she needed to do, Michael replied by hushing his lips signifying 'you are already doing what needs to be done', the plan succeed before it began. Destiny versus Choice is an illusion, we all have a Destiny and we all have Choices. Its not 'versus', its 'and'.
Anyway, I'm more intrigued that Walter might in fact be the scientist who ended up starting the entire Observer evolution.
Cristina
January 19th, 2013 9:08 PM
I think due to cortexiphan olivia knew .... you could see in the final moments that she remembered ... thats why michael was telling her to keep quiet ... so she wouldnt say anything after the time reset
Alex
January 19th, 2013 7:58 PM
It makes no sense. The observers have already changed the past, and when Michael and Walter turn up in the future the observers will be there. They are not travelling into the original timeline's future where humans begin to genetically modify themselves into observers. They are traveling into a future where observers have already eradicated humanity! What am I missing???
Galwin
January 19th, 2013 5:07 PM
Epic! Will miss Fringe. Hope they make a movie soon. Oh wait, I think there's this thing in my eye again.
Walter: It's a beautiful name. Astrid: What is? Walter: Astrid.
Rank: New User
January 22nd, 2013 5:18 PM
Although I felt the Finale was lacking (sorry JJ Abrahams - not the best ever) the fact that there are still unanswered questions worth discussing and debating is a positive in my book - it's better to allow fans the opportunity to interpret rather than hit them over the head with things.
In my view, it's been established that Peter exists as an anomaly in 2015. Furthermore Peter and Olivia are aware of the previous timeline. The fact that Observers did not rescue Peter is irrelevant because in fact, in the 2015 timeline he actually never was.
I'm still unclear why Walter would need to cease existing as of 2015 (at the moment the Observers would have invaded). The fact that Walter would have corrected history in 2036 - in a future that no longer exists once he was "successful" is itself a paradox. Perhaps we just accept the paradox as having no rational explanation (after all, it is a paradox!)
There's a number of questions I look forward to reviewing in hindsight. Is the
January 22nd, 2013 4:02 PM
@Kyle...If you had read the comments you would see multiple people have questioned how Peter ended up in this universe/didn't drown in the lake. This was my big question too, but it makes sense (as people have mentioned here) that the goal of sending Michael to the future wasn't to stop the creation of Observers altogether, simply to ensure that emotion wasn't eradicated. So it stands to reason that Observers still exist in some form, to interrupt Walternate from curing Peter and to save Peter from the lake. Maybe since they have emotions they don't invade.
I enjoyed the finale, will miss watching Fringe. Especially Walter, he was one of my favorite characters on TV. I hope we get a movie. Would love to see Walter reunited with everyone else!
January 22nd, 2013 10:43 AM
Why has no one pointed out that if the observers never happened then peter would have drowned in the lake as a boy and time would have been reset from that point on, not 2015. I've watched Fringe from the beginning and wish that we could go back and reset season 5.
January 22nd, 2013 2:30 AM
Walter and Michael traveled to the moment that the scientist that invented the tech in the brain was making the tech itself and showed him "Michael"... Thst there is another way to gain knowledge without loosing emotion.
Rank: Extra
January 21st, 2013 12:43 PM
Fringe follows the casework of the "Fringe" division a Joint Federal Task Force supported primarily by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The division which includes: Agent Olivia Dunham; Dr. Walter Bishop, the archetypal mad scientist; and Peter Bishop, Walter's estranged son and jack-of-all-trades. They are supported by Phillip Broyles, the force's director, and Agent Astrid Farnsworth, who assists Walter in laboratory research. The team is also watched silently by a group of bald, pale men who are called "Observers". The cases involved the "Division" Was not the Anna Torv or John Noble show. I appreciate the writers concentrating on keeping the cases in canon. Will miss
Rank: Recurring Character
January 21st, 2013 9:52 AM
Let me clarify: I didn't hate John Noble in "Lord of the Rings", I hated his character Denethor. He was so mean to his son Faramir, and look at that relationship Walter had with Peter- his very favorite thing.
Rank: Recurring Character
January 21st, 2013 9:47 AM
RE: John Noble. I hated him in LOTR, and absolutely loved Walter. The ending reminded me a bit of when Gandolf takes Frodo's hand and they get on the ship and sail into the West with the Elves. Sam and company (Read Peter, Olivia, Astrid and Broyles) are left stunned to watch them leave. I doubt it was intentional, but I was struck by the similarities on the second viewing.
Rank: Recurring Character
January 20th, 2013 7:49 PM
@RandomCommentator - Too much John Noble?!?! I guess we're all entitled to our opinion. But, I can confirm that at San Diego's Comic-Con every year, the FRINGE panel is very popular with fans ages 18-35; and, they all go batsh*t crazy whenever John Noble appears. You may think he isn't appealing to young people. But, I have a very different impression. Just because a viewer is young doesn't mean they can't appreciate talent, or a good character. Walter Bishop is BELOVED by fans of all ages.
Rank: Recurring Character
January 20th, 2013 7:45 PM
@OliviaDunham - I thought it was very appropriate that the final shot of the series was of Peter. 1) He was the sole reason for the universes getting messed up in the first place. 2) Walter's goal was to ensure that Peter lived into adulthood. 3) The final shot is a reminder that Walter did indeed change Peter's destiny. Walter sacrificed everything and made it happen for his son. Olivia made them a complete family. But, the goal was to always ensure Peter's survival.
January 20th, 2013 7:38 PM
Olivia already had awareness of multiple timelines, with and without Peter. No reason to believe that isn't true in this case, too.
Rank: Recurring Character
January 20th, 2013 1:12 PM
@ Alex: Walter and Michael returned to the date February 20, 2167 to Oslo, Norway, to show the scientist that human emotions did not need to be sacrificed at the expense of increased intelligence. Since the invasion did not occur, it is clear that Walter was successful. Are there still Observers? I think there are beings like Michael, but hopefully who can also speak, since I would hate to see us lose our vocal capabilities: no singing? no laughing? Can they still travel between time? I would guess so, since Peter was clearly cured of his illness and brought to our side by Walter, and therefore saved by September.
Rank: Extra
January 20th, 2013 12:59 PM
I liked this episode and how the characters progressed through it. The ending, while satisfying the need for a happy ending, was so anti-climatic for me for a show as huge as Fringe.
January 20th, 2013 9:43 AM
RandomCommentor, I guess you would be just fine if it was Anna Torv heavy right? Hypocritical moron.
January 20th, 2013 9:14 AM
Bishop Boys fans everywhere claiming that Fringe is all about them, forget 1 very important thing:
Olivia is the one that searched for Walter and Peter, Olivia is the one that brought them together and was their go between.
Olivia should have been center in final season , after 5 seasons nothing done with her backstory,
but we got endless scenes of Donald and Michael backstory,
Scenes of Olivia and Altlivia cut, for boring long Walter and Peter scenes.
Wyman loves his boys and men and fathers.
I am angry at Wyman for how he treated Anna Torv season 5, she was brilliant in every moment on screen, but he clearly lied to her about her role, and as the main lead not getting lines half the time is insulting,
So Anna Torv did it all non-verbal, the most beautiful silent actor , but she has such a great voice as well.
To Wyman: Why cut important Olivia scenes?
Why was the last shot Peter? Should have been Olivia.
Why did Jackson get the last wrap?
January 20th, 2013 9:03 AM
512 had all what made Fringe great : Olivia central, Over There and cortexiphan.
Anna Torv awesome, and another AltLivia, in a few moments a real new version, that is great acting,
she does not get writing, and she shows Wyman she does not need it, he can keep writing for his Bishop Boys.
No Olivia with lettle Etta scene in the finale, but they did film Anna as Olivia carrying little Etta in the house,
no room for mothers with children on Fringe?
January 20th, 2013 8:15 AM
The unforgettable Bishop Boys :( I'm gutted I'll never see the most wonderful characters on television again. I lost it in every single scene of theirs, fearing the moment Walter would disappear from Peter's life. Amazing emotional scenes between those two and then Astrid, who really has a beautiful name.
January 20th, 2013 4:40 AM
lol, did you guys somehow forget about the season 2 episode "White Tulip"?
January 20th, 2013 4:14 AM
To be fair, the certain unnamed poster was right for the most part with their rant this time. This season especially, but for the past couple seasons, the show became way too John Noble-heavy. It's really part of the over-arching problem of the show bleeding the younger demographic in its later seasons.
Kind of sad that it happened in the finale too. Too many poorly done father/son scenes that should have been cut at the writing stage. I get that they wanted to do some emotional scenes, but the whole point of those is that they come naturally - and in this case they were heavily forced, sometimes painful to watch, without any real consequence to the plot.
Sidenote: Alt-Olivia was gorgeous. I thought it was another actress for a couple of minutes. Was glad to see Lincoln too.
January 20th, 2013 3:37 AM
The answer to the timeline thing is pretty easy. It doesn't say they were traveling to the date where the observers are meeting in the final episodes it just says they are moving forward in time to before they attacked. Even if they went to the time we saw to fix things, the observers could still travel back in time with the boy and Walter by touching them. I think my first answer is more likely because the time we saw they wanted to tear him apart. I expected more from the Finale but I guess I am satisfied with the results. Oh yeah. As far as I know the Cortexipham worked for travel between universes, not timelines. I doubt she new anything. Maybe, but probably not.
January 19th, 2013 9:35 PM
Michael put his finger to his lips.. two lips ..tulip.
That is what Walter's strange letter to Peter meant, the plan succeed. When Olivia asked what she needed to do, Michael replied by hushing his lips signifying 'you are already doing what needs to be done', the plan succeed before it began. Destiny versus Choice is an illusion, we all have a Destiny and we all have Choices. Its not 'versus', its 'and'.
Anyway, I'm more intrigued that Walter might in fact be the scientist who ended up starting the entire Observer evolution.
January 19th, 2013 9:08 PM
I think due to cortexiphan olivia knew .... you could see in the final moments that she remembered ... thats why michael was telling her to keep quiet ... so she wouldnt say anything after the time reset
January 19th, 2013 7:58 PM
It makes no sense. The observers have already changed the past, and when Michael and Walter turn up in the future the observers will be there. They are not travelling into the original timeline's future where humans begin to genetically modify themselves into observers. They are traveling into a future where observers have already eradicated humanity! What am I missing???
January 19th, 2013 5:07 PM
Epic! Will miss Fringe. Hope they make a movie soon. Oh wait, I think there's this thing in my eye again.
January 19th, 2013 4:27 PM
Great finale.... waiting for the movie......
January 19th, 2013 2:02 PM
Thank you...