I feel bad that I have not been doing my Fringe columns. Especially because Fringe is my favorite show that is currently on TV. And the possibility that this could be Fringe's last season. Of course, I don't want to believe that. So let's just hope that viewership goes up.
I've heard this episode being compared to The Twilight Zone, which I think is justified. Now, I wasn't alive when t\The Twilight Zone was on, but I have seen repeats of it. And though I can usually guess how each episode will end, I was unable to guess how "6B" would end.
The episode started like the usual Monster of the Week storyline, but with several twists. Two people arrive at a party and then the woman begins to choke. At first, I thought this must have something to do with the case. But then screams were heard from the balcony. And then people began to fall one after another. ("Like a flash mob... but suicide" as Walter would say). But what was doing this?
The entire episode was really about love. It was revealed that many people believed the apartment complex was haunted. However, Walter didn't believe in ghosts. He hypothesized that in actuality, the universes were going to collide again, this time resulting in a black hole vortex similar to Madison Square Garden and other locations on The Other Side. This theory was confirmed when Olivia saw the widow's husband, but Peter could not.
But why could the widow see The Other Side? Olivia and Peter believed that the widow's deep love for her husband who died in a freak accident was the reason she could see him. And the widower on The Other Side could see the widow on Our Side because of his deep love for his wife who died in the same freak accident on The Other Side. (Sorry if that sentence was confusing!).
As Peter and Olivia tried to save the apartment building from being destroyed, Walter recalled one of their earliest cases together. Remember the bus with the people on it who were trapped in amber? Walter wanted to do what Walternet did on The Other Side- stop the vortex by encasing the complex in amber. They were able to construct the amber, and were fully prepared to use it.
But Peter and Olivia convinced the widow that the person she was seeing was not her husband. Though she didn't believe it at first, the widower's statement that "The girls miss you" convinced her that the man she was seeing was truly not her husband. And with that, she was able to let go, and balance to the universes was restored.
We then flashed over to The Other Side and saw the case from their Point of View. Fauxlivia and Lincoln were investigating the possibilities of a vortex forming in the same location. But upon arrival, they found nothing wrong. When they questioned the widower, he said nothing was wrong. After Fauxlivia and Lincoln left, the widower was seen looking at his photo album full of memories. The widow was doing the same thing.
The events that occurred in this week's case directly impacted Peter and Olivia's relationship. Walter failed trying to bring them together over pancakes, but Peter's statement to the widow about her love for her husband proved something to Olivia. Olivia was finally able to let go of whatever she was feeling towards Peter and Fauxlivia's relationship and want to be with Peter. The show ended with them traveling to Peter's bedroom to make love. The only bad thing was we weren't able to see it. (Perverted? Maybe. But after all that sexual tension, it would finally bring resolution to their relationship).
Meanwhile, Walter is grappling with what separates him from Walternet. We already learned there are somethings Walternet cannot do (harm children). Do the two share more than just looks? Perhaps we will find out next week, which appears to be a flashback that takes place after Peter was taken from The Other Side.
I have recently discovered what the Glyphs before the commercial breaks of Fringe mean. I'd like to end each column now revealing what they mean. This weeks glyphs are translated to:
HEARTS.
