Both teams fight for the same cause; shocking developments related to the Cortexiphan children arise.
Plot
Following last week's awesome episode, this one was bound to not feel as epic or good. And it didn't disappoint.
And by that I mean, it did disappoint because it couldn't possibly live up to the sudden rise in expectation. It is funny how these things work out. Three weeks ago, I would have been thrilled with an episode like 'Worlds Apart' but then 'Letters of Transit' had to come along and spoil the whole bunch.
Kind of like how 'The Empire Strikes Back' ruined Star Wars by being so good --all the other movies seem lame when compared to it.
That's not to say this latest episode was bad. In fact, I liked a majority of it. It wasn't too obvious, or too heavy handed (that's not to say it wasn't obvious or heavy handed). I wasn't screaming at the TV for most of it, cursing the writers for treating its audience like half-witted monkeys. Instead, I simply felt a twinge of interest about where things were going, and suddenly thankful that FOX just renewed the show for a 5th and final season.
Oh yeah, that happened this week. Thank Warner Brothers kids, because apparently they gave away the licensing rights for 13 more episodes for so cheap, that FOX couldn't say no. Though no announcement has been made about the schedule, I wouldn't be surprised to see them burn the show off from September to January, much like what NBC did with the 13 episode fifth and final season of CHUCK. Though, if we are fortunate, the FRINGE writers won't tell their best story arc in seven episodes and then limp home in the final six.
But I digress.
So what happened? To put it simply, in the pursuit of Jones and his dastardly plan to destroy a universe or two, the gang discovers that the evil doctor has been using those super powered kiddies from Walter's old X-Men school of Cortexiphan to cause earthquakes to create ripple effects in the fabric of time and blahblahblahblah. The team ends up capturing one of these agents of evil, who then tells Olivia that Jones has convinced the Cortexiphan kids to fight to save this universe because the other side is gearing up for a war. Olivia seemingly convinces him that Jones has been lying but stupidly allows him to trick the team and escape. Come on...
In the end, the decision is made to shut off The Machine to cut the ties between the two worlds and save everyone.
Lincoln, the pussy left standing, decides to go with the alternate universe people since he now feels closer kinship to them (good riddance). And despite Walter's fears, Peter doesn't go all Pacey Poof on him again.
Could I have written more about the plot? Sure. But why bother when this was clearly just a setup for the final two episodes. Now we will see how much of an effect shutting off The Machine will have on Jones' plans. And how their most recent actions somehow leads to the world we saw in last week's episode. Unless, of course, we never see that (which I doubt).
Quotables
Broyles: So I'll ask what we're all thinking. If this is indeed how Jones intends to collapse our universes, how many more quakes will it take to make that happen?
Walter: Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't already.
Pacey Poof: *gulp*
Rating
If I had to rate this episode, and I don't, I'd give it:
78 out of 100
It wasn't terrible. I actually liked some of it. But following what was clearly a far superior episode, and for being nothing more than an interesting setup, this one earns its lower score. And I think it is one of those episodes where it seems more interesting while watching than it does once you are done with it. Though, and I didn't mention this in the main part of this review, John Noble always impresses me with his ability to create such totally distinct characters in the same scene, that I never think of them as the same actor while in-scene.
I doubt this is the last we will see of the alternate universe. But if it is, then this show officially sucks!