The Oncoming Hope

Fringe is finally back, after one HELL of a game-changing cliffhanger. I would like to write intelligently about it, but plenty of other people do that, so you get humor instead. It's a hard life for all of us.

1 MINUTE REVIEW

Peter's really gone, which has made Walter even crazier than before. Lots of plot happens, but all that pales in comparison to the luminous presence of sexy Lincoln Lee, who joins the show full-time (squee!).

THE 5 MINUTE VERSION

Previously on Fringe, there was a totally different show. I miss that show, but I'm excited about this new show we're introduced to today.

But some thing's don't change: Olivia vs Fauxlivia is still the most fun anyone could have without taking their clothes off. In the brief flash we see of Peter, I imagine he's thinking of doing both.

The Observers are California Dreamin'. Over a nice bottle of Tabasco, they decide that Peter isn't quite disappeared enough, and September emoes for the camera.

Sexy Lincoln Lee declares a jihad on toast in the family of Hey! It's That Guy!. Unfortunately for That Guy, he's killed before we have time to say anything more than Hey!

Now we all remember that this show has evolved into a superior version of Doctor Who. And now that Peter's gone, Olivia needs a new companion. Luckily for us (mostly me), Sexy Lincoln Lee auditions for the job. He impresses Olivia with his cleverness, his curiosity and his humanity. Yup, Doctor Who.

Which brings us to Walter, of course, looking lustfully at his pet cow while tinkering with chemicals. That's never a good sign for poor Gene.

We know something is horribly wrong in this world because Walter calls Astrid Astrid, not Astroturf or Assturd or any of his wonderful alternate monikers.

Lots of plot happens in the middle, but we don't care about that, right? What's important is that we're returning to a dropped plotline from season 1: how Olivia was quite literally able to see through John Scott. Apparently it's another kind of shifter.

We conclude as Olivia tries to convince Fauxlivia that Walternate's back to his old tricks. Fauxlivia responds with the smirkiest smirk we've ever seen, and gives bedroom eyes to Sexy Lincoln Lee.

BUT SERIOUSLY, FOLKS

What's important is that all these people are missing something inside themselves and have no idea what. As a result, they're impacted in particularly different ways: Astrid is more hands-on, Olivia is back to being her hard season 1 self (and yet she wears a softer look?), and Walter is more nuts than before.

I assume the revitalized dead bird is a metaphor for something...perhaps that Walter is seeing dead people (or nonexistent people, in this case).

We don't know why things have developed the way they did in this version of events, but I look forward to finding out.

Earth-3, here we come.