Fringe Summer Rewatch: #312 "Concentrate and Ask Again" ~ Fringe Television - Fan Site for the FOX TV Series Fringe

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #312 "Concentrate and Ask Again"

      Email Post       9/10/2011 05:35:00 AM      



Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.


"Do you know how it feels to be burdened with something that makes it impossible to relate to another person? It makes you feel completely alone in the world."

There are many things afoot in Concentrate and Ask Again. Loosely woven threads of story are beginning to tighten into a pattern I still can't see all of. It begins with Nina Sharp, unlocking William Bell's personal safe at Massive Dynamic. Inside is a red toy car, a sketch of the Massive Dynamic logo, a couple of interesting photos, and a book: Die Ersten Menschen, by M. Weiselauss. Nina takes the book, muttering wryly about William and his secrets, and calls Olivia to show her.


It's a German copy of The First People. The fourth Nina has found, making a total of five books in five languages, all by different authors. Barring slight translational differences, all five books contain identical information. Nina tells Olivia that William Bell was looking for the books, although she doesn't know why. She points out that it was the information in Markham's copy that led them directly to the coordinates where they recovered the pieces of the device. Which, as Olivia observes, makes them impossible to discount. Without subtlety, Nina brings up Altlivia's journal, wondering if there might more information in there. Olivia quickly negates this idea, telling Nina that she's read the journal and there was no mention of the device or the first people anywhere. What follows is an oddly familial conversation. Nina feigns surprise that Olivia's read the journal, noting that it must have been awkward reading Bolivia's account of her time with Peter. Who told her the personal nature of the journal is anybody's guess, but it's clear that this is the real reason she wanted to talk. Olivia opens up surprisingly readily, admitting that her alternate began to develop real feelings for Peter, and outlining her fear that the other Olivia is a better, more complete version of herself that Peter might naturally prefer. Nina probes gently, and Olivia tells her that “she's just like me but better. She still has her mother; she wasn't experimented on as a child; she can laugh; she has real friends; she even wears a dress once in awhile.”
“Yes” says Nina, “but even so, you don't know what Peter's thinking.” A pretty little piece of foreshadowing. She continues to push, gently and maternally, urging Olivia not to make the same mistake that she made with William. Her biggest regret is that they never acknowledged their feelings for one another. “If you want to know how Peter feels,” she says, “ask him.”


At Intrepus Pharmaceuticals Warren Blake is celebrating his last birthday. Among his gifts are a Magic 8-Ball, a sparkling cake, and a creepy little rag doll that giggles like a child before puffing blue dust into his face. He dies trying to scream as all of his bones break and liquify inside his skin. Fringe is called in when Blake's symptoms don't match any known biological or chemical weapons. Peter finds the doll under a desk, remarking on it's amazing creepiness, and Olivia observes that the box is too big to drop into a mailbox. It would have been shipped, and so they have a lead.


While tracking down the postal code on the package, Peter brings Olivia a coffee, which she sips gratefully before freezing in dismay as she tastes milk. She doesn't take milk in her coffee. Peter knows that – or at least he did before.

Walter is trying to figure out what the blue powder is. He tells Astrid that he and Bell worked on a similar delivery system until they shut down the project after President Nixon tried to use their research for biological weapons. Walter thinks that the powder is military, a theory that's quickly substantiated when Olivia's post office suspect comes back as a former marine: Aaron Downey, out of the service for four years.

A raid on Downey's house comes up dry for biological and chemical agents. Peter and Olivia are looking for inspiration in his room, Olivia thumbing through a photo album, when she broaches the subject of The Wrong Coffee. It's a flimsy excuse to ask Peter if he still thinks about the other Olivia, but the question burns, and she can't help herself. What she really wants to know is does he compare the two of them? Does he think the other is better? Does he love her instead? It's a sad, painful conversation. Peter admits that he thinks about her all the time - the way she manipulated and used him, the way she made a fool of him. And unspoken, the way she might have blown his chance with the real woman he loves. Olivia is hung up on his previous statement that she had an easier smile, she was more relaxed, fun. Resignedly, Peter explains that he said those things because he wanted her to know he noticed the differences, but believed he was bringing out a different side in her. It was never because he wanted to be with her more.
He's trying to be as patient with her as he can be. He's simply honest, laying all his cards out before her, letting her know he still wants her if she can forgive him. But it's hard on him too. He's also hurting, and while he's not hiding his pain from her, the strain of keeping it leashed is starting to wear. And if he made an asinine mistake in not seeing through the deception, Olivia makes hers here, in not trusting him when he's laid out so honestly before her.

An FBI agent breaks the tension, reporting that they've found a stolen case with canisters of the blue stuff downstairs. Olivia breaks off their strained conversation with a tiny nod of acceptance and goes to investigate. Frustrated, Peter tosses the offending photo album onto the bed where she was sitting.
Left alone upstairs, Peter hears a phone ringing from somewhere, and Downey flees from his hiding place on the balcony. Shouting a warning to the agents downstairs, Peter leaps out the window in pursuit, bounding across the rooftop, chasing him until he runs into the street and is struck by a car, throwing him violently across the road.

Downey is permanently brain damaged; he'll never talk again. Perusing his scans, Walter notices that there's still neural activity in his cerebrum, and says he may have an idea how to question him despite the damage, but he needs to go back to the lab first.

An interview with Downey's ex wife reveals that Downey had a grudge against the men who ran a weapons project he worked on. He and the other men in his unit were exposed to a toxin that killed their unborn children in the same manner as Dr. Blake was killed. Downey blamed Blake for his daughter's death, and swore to kill him.

Olivia and Peter are hunting the names of the other two men in the project, when Walter interrupts them with a phone call. He's out of gas, stuck on the side of the road, and starving - in New Hampshire. Peter and Olivia go to get him, coming to the rescue with gas, a burger and a Slusho. He was on his way to see another Cortexiphan subject: Simon Phillips, who was released from the program after he began reading minds. Afraid the boy would read his secret, Walter kicked him out. This terrible admission is followed immediately by a childlike cry of “Punchbuggy! Blue!" and a whack on Peter's arm, dragging a surprised, unwilling smile out of Olivia. Whatever the current, murky situation between her and Peter, there's still a connection between the three of them. They're still a family.

Walter hypothesizes that Simon's ability is probably dormant, and will need to be reactivated. The reality is quite the opposite. Ignoring multiple no trespassing signs posted on the gate of a remote cabin, Peter, Olivia, and Walter knock on the door. There's no answer, and Walter's bouncing along to the call of nature. He wanders off a little way to take care of his business, and when he turns around, Simon is there with a gun on him, reading his mind - and no, he wouldn't call it wonderful at all. Walter immediately tries to block his access with random thoughts, white noise of the mind. Olivia comes to the rescue, and Simon is stunned to find that he can't read her because she's another Cortexiphan subject, and therefore immune to his ability.

She takes him inside to talk alone, the first real conversation he's had in twenty years. He can't turn it off, he hears everyone's thoughts, a ceaseless wall of noise pounding into his brain. It makes him physically ill and is the reason he lives in total isolation. His walls are covered with drawings of a girl.
Olivia certainly identifies with Simon's perception that he can't relate to anyone else in the world, but she needs his help to stop the killers. And despite his loneliness and physical inability to be around people, Simon is a good man. He can't refuse her assertion that people will die without his help.

The hospital floor is cleared for Simon, and he cautiously enters the empty hallways. Although it causes him extreme distress, he is able to pull a list of apparently random words and phrases from Downey's mind, among them "Project Jellyfish" and "Maryann." Walter points out that jellyfish are one of the few creatures without any bones, and it's a short leap to infer that they've found the name of the project the men were working on. Leaving Simon alone for a bit to recover, Olivia watches him sadly, broodily reflecting to Peter that the Cortexiphan trials have ruined his life. He's broken. "Olivia,” Peter says, in another play on the episode's theme, “ I know what you're thinking. You and he are nothing alike."

Broyles interrupts with the news that there's been another attack, this time killing three senior executives at Canopy One, a defense contracting company. It's likely they were the ones funding Project Jellyfish. Broyles calls Nina for help, using her contacts with the DOD to get answers.

Simon is drawing the girl again when Olivia comes to get him. When she asks what the girl is like, Simon only says "she's perfect." Olivia infers that he's never actually met her, and Simon says that even if she pretended to be nice or to flirt with him out of pity, he'd know how she really feels, that he's "too much of a freak for her to even consider being with." Arguing as much with her own internal fears as she is with him, Olivia returns that he doesn't know that, it's what he's afraid is going to happen. “And so what if you find out that she's not interested or that there's somebody else on her mind or that she doesn't love you. I mean isn't it...isn't it better to know?"
"No one should know exactly what someone else is thinking." he says, studying her gravely. She clearly doesn't get it. Her insecurity demands answers, even if she can't comprehend their cost. “Probably not,” she replies. “but I wouldn't mind having that ability right now. And he looks at Peter in the background, and knows.

Nina's contacts have paid off once again, and Agent Edwards (Earthling) is there to tell them that he found some information despite the fact that Project Jellyfish never officially existed. Three men carried out the field tests. They were inoculated, but the toxin affected their unborn children. Downey's DOD payroll shows a large cash payment and a grant of 3 acres of land in Pembroke.
Search of the property reveals a lot of oxidized blue powder that's been detonated from a vest on a mannequin, and what appears to be an overhead view of the next target laid out on the ground. There's a newspaper clipping of a congressman Thorne, senior military adviser to the joint chiefs during Project Jellyfish. He's holding a gala for several hundred of his top donors at the Maryann Douglas wing of the fine arts museum tonight.

Reluctantly, Simon accompanies the team to the museum to sniff out the suspects with his mind before they can render the entire wing boneless. Olivia, Simon, and Peter are formally dressed to blend in, Peter going to warn the Senator's people, while Olivia and Simon search for the suspects. Olivia has to be a great shot, if either of them have a hand trigger, she must sever the spinal cord to prevent them from being able to detonate. Simon is wobbly and pale, but willing to help. Broyles tells Olivia that if Simon can't do it, she's to get herself out. She nods grim assent.

Simon, though stumbling under the pressure, is not too far gone to play wanly with Olivia, telling her "the tall one thinks you're hot," after she instructs the senator's bodyguards to keep him out of the way. Supporting him on her arm, Olivia heads to the basement, telling a caterer who tries to stop them that Simon's had too much to drink and they're looking for a bathroom. After the man leaves them Simon says "that's him." Olivia follows and shoots him, but he's not the one wearing the vest.

Olivia radios in to tell Broyles that she and Simon are going after the other guy. Peter has returned to the van, and there her family waits for her tensely, Walter lamely reassuring Peter that "she'll be alright." Simon is now actively listening for the second suspect's thoughts, staggering blindly with the pain of it. He hears him though, and is able to choke out "There. Blue tie," to Olivia. She goes after him just as he's approaching the Senator and drops him with a single perfect shot to the throat, the trigger dropping from lifeless fingers. Simon huddles, jerking spasmodically at the foot of the stairs.

Olivia watches as EMTs load up the bodies, and Peter arrives with a cup of coffee for her. The right coffee this time, black, one sugar. He can't resist the opportunity to tell her she looks great in her dress. She starts and looks at him, pleased but uncertain.Watching them, Simon and Walter share the faintest of nods, and everything is understood between them.

Dropping Simon off at his isolated home, Olivia tries to tell him that it doesn't have to be this way, he doesn't always have to be alone. He could meet his girl. She tells him not to let his ability rule his life. He nods, knowing she still doesn't get it, and hands her an envelope, saying "I may not be able to read your mind, but I read his. This is what it's like to be me."

Nina has been poring over the First People books, when suddenly it hits her. She anagrams for just a moment before turning M. Weiselauss into Samuel Wiles. And then she goes to see him, confronting him about why the books seem to indicate that he wrote them, and demanding to know what the device is intended to do. Cagily, Sam tells her that he's not her problem, Peter Bishop is. The device can either be used as a tool of creation or a weapon of destruction, and Peter is uniquely tuned to operate it.
Thing is, says Sam, the machine's reaction to Peter will be determined by his state of mind, which will in turn be determined by which Olivia he chooses. Whichever he chooses, it'll be her world that survives. Nina is confident then, that her world will be safe. Sam pushes a red bowling ball into a blue one and says he wouldn't be so sure.

At home, Olivia sits alone, staring sightlessly at a piece of paper with a single line on it: He still has feelings for her.




Observations:

Upon her introduction to the series, Ella gave Olivia a Magic 8-Ball.

Stay out - This means you! Is on Bell's safe in the same handwriting that warns about fragile fingers on Walter's tank. Presumably it's William's handwriting, and the you that this means is Nina.

Nina opens it with the same code that Walter uses to unlock his storage unit. 5-20-10, although Walter can't remember it's significance.

Bell has degrees from Yale and Princeton, gathering dust in storage at Massive Dynamic.

Olivia's line about the other Liv wearing a dress is also foreshadowing.

“Concentrate and ask again” is one of five noncommittal answers in an 8-Ball. The others being “Reply hazy, try again,” “Ask again later,” “Better not tell you now,” and “Cannot predict now.” In this context it means that the answers aren't as clear as they may seem.



Unanswered questions:

Don't trust Sam Weiss. Why? I like Sam, but I found that I didn't trust anything he had to say in this episode. For whatever reason, I don't think he was telling Nina the truth, or at least not the whole truth. But again, why?

He still has feelings for her. No, I don't believe he does. Did Simon misread what he heard? How much do our emotions overlap our thoughts? Can Simon tell the difference between how people feel and what they think?

What's with the toy car in Bell's safe? Is it a memento of his experiment with Walter?

Walter says Simon wasn't in the records because he never completed the Cortexiphan program. Previously he said that there never were any records of the children involved, not even a list of names. Was he lying for some reason? Is it a continuity error?


If Peter Bishop didn't exist:

Olivia certainly wouldn't be in this kind of emotional turmoil. Peter is so central to the weave of the story now that it's becoming impossible to separate him out from the general fabric. Season four is going to blow my mind.

17 Comments:

45 said...

Another stupid 'let's make peter out to be the jerk and the bad guy just we can make olivia out to be the perfect goddess she is' episode.

I hated this episode just like I hate fringe for making people hate peter just to make olivia more popular and loved.

cortexifan said...

@birdandbear.
Awesome!
One thing that stood out to me is the layout in the barn and the overhead shot of the staircase. When I first saw The Abducted, there is a picture on Christopher's night stand of a lady bug. It looked odd then and if you look at it now and compare it to the layout in the barn, they look very similar.
Olivia is great giving other people advice. She always says what they should hear, but so does she. She's basically answering her own questions but hardly takes it to heart herself.
The note from Simon: It didn't say what kind of feelings Peter still had for Fauxlivia.
Like your "if Peter never existed". Can't wait much longer. It's going to be epic.

@45 It seems the only one who hates characters are you. I love them all.
Just out of curiosity, which is your favorite episode?

Xindilini said...

@cortexifan,
a picture on Christopher's night stand. I will need to look at the screencaps again. Haha!

Agreed. Nobody hates Peter. I am still waiting for all the characters to shine for me. Joshua Jackson in particular holds a torch for The X-Files will give Fringe the potential.

I have a feeling Season 4 will be some kind of wonderful.

cortexifan said...

@Xindilini.
It's towards the end of the The Abducted when the pastor is coming after Christopher.

cortexifan said...

@Xindilini
it's 646 and 647 if you go to the episode (The Abducted) screen caps on fringefiles.

Xindilini said...

@cortexifan,
I see it. Never would have noticed the similarities.

fringeaddict said...

Another great Fringe episode. If i didn't think so, I'm sure i wouldn't watch it, re-watch it and follow conversations about it would I...
Can anyone makeout what Peter is thinking when Simon hones in on his thoughts? All i can hear is something about the 'last two years'. Is it on the subtitles (I'm still waiting for my dvd's to arrive).

milostanfield said...

Part One:
Another favorite episode for me, although I must admit I am beginning to see all of S03 plus the last two of S02 (the real beginning of S03) as one big mega fave episode. Like many on this site I suspect, I have been through the entire canon a few times, but I have watched from "Over There" to "Marionette" the most, and am now really warming up to the last half of S03. And when I go back to the first two seasons I see so many connections to S03.

One thing from "Concentrate..." I have always wondered about was: what was Simon's motivation for handing Olivia the note at the end? Was he smitten with her, the only woman a lonely man has had a real conversation with in 20 years, and using the note to distance her from a rival?. The summary of "Concentrate..." above (Thanks again!) observes that Simon was basically a good person, who was willing to help out despite his discomfort. I think he is that good person, so I've gone from maybe to more ambivalent on this idea. Using the note may be a bit too calculated for Simon, the good man. Still I wonder though. One can certainly be a rational, good person in one area of their life, and be a childish mess in another, especially emotional area (Hello, Walter! Hello, Olivia!) They are two characters who have had their brains physically changed, and have had lasting damage because of it. And Simon, a broken Cortexiphan subject, has also been damaged. It is fairly evident that he is smitten with her. I feel that his "the tall one thinks you're hot" comment was an oblique way of flirting with her. A lonely guy who suddenly has a La Femme Olivia show up in his life, pull him into a heroic quest, wearing that dress, that lipstick, in charge, and packing heat, hey, he's gonna fall for her, as would well over half the human race. His worldview is just his own damaged existence, not the grand view of the whole series that we and the main characters have, so he is going to be understandably myopically concerned with his own situation, kinda like Typewriter Guy. So I think his his motivation for the note could very well be selfish.

milostanfield said...

Part Two:
I think the scenes with Olivia in the dress serve three purposes: a chance for Peter to try to close the gap between him and Olivia, a chance for Simon to show his feelings for Olivia, and thirdly, along with a few hints from other episodes, clues that Olivia is undergoing a transformation into something more powerful, like a larva into a butterfly. Since returning from over there, starting with "Marionette", Olivia has been more drably costumed than even in S01 and S02, her hair pulled back, no more bangs, big clunky shoes. And her demeanor when not on the case has changed. Her facial expressions are defensive as if she is expecting to be hit. She stammers and looks away more when talking. So I think the dress is a hint at her upcoming transformation. I see the dress not as a change into something more soft and feminine, but more powerful and female. The end scene from "LSD" where she transforms from the little girl into a confident woman is another hint. Also from the same ep, the scene where she matter of factly says "I think he's the man who is going to kill me" is another. And in "The Day We All Died" where she levitates the box. Lastly the drawing ("Last Sam Weiss"?) showing her connecting with Peter through her brain waves (Move over John Scott! There's a new guy in town!). So I think we will see a different more assertive Olivia in S04, unless a timeline reset changes all of that.

All of Olivia's battles have taken place inside of her, both in the normal psychological sense, and quite literally in the physical sense. There are footprints all over her mind from the people who have been inside it or invaded it with drugs. So I think her transformation will take her from battling internally to battling externally. I use battling deliberately because Olivia is a soldier on mission. Her weapon is the double edged sword of her emotions, her greatest weakness and her greatest strength. Might be a bit of a stretch, but I see her fight with Altlivia as a metaphor for this struggle as well.

Take care all, and watch out for blinking auburn diamonds!

birdandbear said...

It's not on the subtitles. :(

He's thinking about the machine. "...she knows exactly what they...(read?) the files... what if they were right? What if that machine...if I can get help (hell?)...for the last two years..."

It's a bunch of thoughts piled on top of each other. :\

Anonymous said...

Milostanfield, brilliant anaylsis! I especially like your take on the evolution of Olivia; I too noticed her drab attaire. Also, Peter looked pretty beat-down in these later episodes until LSD. I cannot wait until S4.
Thanks . . .

milostanfield said...

Part 1
Thank you Anonymous:

Yeah, you're right, Peter has been suffering from the aftermath of 2 universes going bump in the night as well. He's been in Olivia's doghouse since "Marionette", and in his own since he took that late night call in "Abducted" (still the big goose bump moment of the series for me, that look on his face really sold it). He's worn his trials more on his face than his wardrobe, especially with Olivia.

One thing I have noticed about Peter over the course of the series is that he is the only character who has a lot of quality alone time with each of the other two mains. With Olivia, in the car, on the case, and (finally!) in the sack. And the Walter-Peter scenes are countless. So rarely do Olivia and Walter relate closely that it can be considered an event. He is in many ways the bridge between them as well as between universes. So I feel he is the vital leg of this triangle. It will be really strange seeing W & O relate to each other without him early in S04.

I like to use an old concept from astrology as a way to look at Walter/ Olivia/Peter. I don't buy into astrology that much anymore, and I definitely don't think the show creators were using astrology either, thankfully. I like my sic fi more science based than supernatural or mystical. Just using it as a metaphor. So, have a grain of salt handy and here goes. Everybody knows about the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Each sign has one element. Each sign also has three "qualities": cardinal, fixed, and mutable. 3 qualities and 4 elements gives 12 unique combinations, or signs. Qualities are kinda like modes of psychic energy or power. Cardinal is the energy of ideas, inspiration, and leadership. Fixed is the energy of concentration of power, focus, and intensity. Mutable is change, movement, and dissolution of energy. Each of the three main characters seems to fit one of these qualities (what's that cracking sound; a limb breaking?).

milostanfield said...

Part 2
I''ll peg Walter for cardinal because of his creativity, and his ideas that inspire the other two to action and success. Olivia would be fixed for her emotional intensity and focus. And Peter as mutable. He has changed the most. He facilitates between W & O, and undergoes the ultimate dissolution of energy: sacrifice. I think Peter is vital, because without movement and change, Ideas and power go nowhere.

One big diff between Peter and the other two is that he has not had his brain physically altered (as far as we know). Aside from being from another uni, he is more a normal person, though super brainy. He is also a parent to the other 2. Obviously with Walter. He has a talent for reading and observing people, especially Olivia. He's a walking encyclopedia of her every tick "that thing you do with your lip", what she'll do under duress, knowledge that helped save her in "LSD". And especially with Olivia from "Marionette" on. He was patient, perceptive, and ultimately successful in winning her back, showing maturity and wisdom, despite fumbling horribly when he first told her about what went down with Altlivia. I've flubbed through my share of "Does this make me look fat?" moments, and had a breakup that made the end of "Marionette" painful to watch. So after self identifying with Olivia through most of the series (I still do), I am identifying more and more with Peter now. And I am really starting to appreciate how Josh plays a tough part so subtly. Again, it is just too hard to imagine Fringe without him.

fringeobsessed said...

Excellent job, birdandbear, and all of your comments are great!

I want to go back to milostansfield's comment:
..." I have always wondered about was: what was Simon's motivation for handing Olivia the note at the end?"

I also agree he liked Olivia, but I think there's more to it. Look at the pic in the bottom left corner above. I think Simon Phillips was jealous that Liv was a cortexi kid who was not totally broken, but is able to do great things AND have a relationship with a 'normal' guy(little does he know!)
Look at the contrast in that pic between a normal-looking, happy Peter, and Simon, tiny and broken, sitting off in the distance, like he probably has his whole life.

I think he gave that note to Olivia to make her see what he goes through all the time, only hearing 1 side of conversations. There's no context to the statement on the paper, and no way to completely understand what is meant. Imaging hearing that kind of thing wherever people are!

I think it was a passive-aggressive act on Simon's part to give Liv the envelope.

And sadly, I think it gave him satisfaction knowing that the comment would upset Olivia, and possibly cause conflict for Peter, as was mentioned above.

birdandbear said...

@milostanfield I'm sorry! I have no idea why, but your comments weren't showing up in my browser when I posted, I really didn't mean to ignore you. Fascinating observations about Olivia's evolution, and interesting reading on the astrology.

I'm also suspicious about Simon's motivations for the note, both the passive aggressive theory and the attempting to eliminate the competition theory hold water, and it could be either of those things, or maybe he just read it wrong. The first time I watched it I believed he just wanted to trip her up, jealous of her ability to live in the world. I left uncharitable motives out, and gave him the benefit of the doubt because I decided he is a good man - he would never have left his cabin if he wasn't. But good people aren't usually wholly good, and someone who's been alone for most of his life might well do something low out of desperation, or even spite.

Peter is really just heroically good to Olivia. I think a lot of people would have trouble giving her the space she needs and letting her take her time sorting things out. But he just lets her be, available if she wants him, but not pushing, and not letting on to his own turmoil. He's amazingly perceptive, and you're absolutely right about him being the bridge between the others. They're definitely going to feel his absence in S4, even if they don't know they do.

birdandbear said...

apropos of absolutely nothing, isn't that the most adorable picture of Walter up there? ;D

roneo said...

First, I'm enjoying this late reviews; after having re-watch the whole season, there are always new aspects to discover.
For Simon's note, I've always felt it as mean; a kind of revenge to Olivia for getting to disturb his isolation and in some way to unconsciously rub in his disability.

About the long and developed comments of milostanfield, I've to say that I cannot agree more. Specially regarding Peter and Olivia's evolution through the second half of S3. As my English is quite limited, I feel happy to read nearly my own opinions so accurately well expressed.
And I have to admit that this review and the comments following have made me change my take in Peter's behavior this second part of the season, before 6B. I mean. I like Peter. A lot. I went on supporting the character even in the most infamous moments of his “vagenditis”. But I expected a more proactive attitude toward Olivia, some kind of winning back her, afterward. And I felt disappointed. But this character exploration has help me to make peace with him. Perhaps that's the way he is, and that's how he had to do it.

For Simon's note, I've always felt it as mean; a kind of revenge to Olivia for getting to disturb his isolation and in some way to unconsciously rub in his disability.
And for that assumed Peter's “feelings”.....if I had been him at the ball final scene, I'm sure I'd be wishing that all the crap from the past weeks had never happened, and the woman who return from over-there in the first place and who has been sleeping with me since then were that georgeous Olivia in front of me, right then I wouldn't be taking her coffee black no sugar; I would be taking her home asap.

Post a Comment

Formatting Key:
- <b>bold</b> = bold
- <i >italic</i> = italic
- <a href="http://fringetelevision.com/">link</a> = link

Anonymous posting has been turned off.

 

Viral & Official FOX Websites



FTV Members

Meta

Powered by Blogger
Designed by Spot