FRINGE: ‘Initiate Phase Two’

Bumpy plane ride, important numbers (including the digits 8, 15, and 42), plus a repeating message leading people to a destination?

No, kids, you didn’t travel back in time and stumble upon an unaired episode of LOST. Instead, FRINGE borrowed some key elements from its sister-show (both series were co-created by J.J. Abrams) for one of the most important hours of the season.

For the doubters who thought that Fauxlivia and Peter would maybe be interrupted before they consummated their relationship, we pick up with on “the morning after” and Peter has made her breakfast in bed. Why did Fauxlivia get breakfast in bed? “It’s just for being you,” Peter says. Oh, Peter. Yet another one of those things you’ll eventually look back at and kick yourself for saying.

However, things can’t stay all lovey-dovey for long, because Walter isn’t too happy to discover that Peter has been investigating the doomsday machine. It leads to quite a bit of noticeable tension between them. So much so that when Fauxlivia asks Nina to talk to Walter about it, it appears some red flags are raised. Nina questions Fauxlivia about not having any luck getting through to Walter herself and Fauxlivia says she hasn’t tried.

“That’s not like you,” Nina notes. “You’re usually more direct with Walter.” Surely I’m not the only one whose brain went, “OH MY GOD! IS NINA GOING TO BE THE ONE TO FIGURE IT OUT!”

But our Fauxlivia is a good little liar and claims the situation is too complicated and doesn’t want to make it worse. Nina seems to buy it. All of these very smart people are going to feel incredibly dumb once everything is revealed.

It was nice to see the often underused Astrid play a bigger part in this episode, as she was tasked with trying to crack the code of numbers. She figured out that they were actually coordinates to locations, which led our crack team off to the nearest destination.

I have to give Fauxlivia her props for being a good actress. After she killed a shapeshifter from the other side (played by former ALIAS star Kevin Weisman), she was creepily convincing as being traumatized about having to take him out.

However, as she and Peter stood over the site of the first coordinates, her doubt over her mission started to creep through.

Fauxlivia: If you knew that only one of our worlds could survive and if it was up to you — and you alone — to defend your side, you’d have no choice, right? You would have to do what you had to do — no matter the cost — to protect our world.
Peter: There are billions of innocent people over there. Just like here. People with jobs, families, lives. I gotta believe there’s another way. And whatever my part in all of this is, I gotta believe there’s another way. There’s always hope, right?

Oh, Peter, I’m with you. I’d really like to believe there’s a way that neither universe will have to be completely destroyed. I’m still Team Over Here, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a fondness for the gang on the other side. Especially Fauxlivia, despite her outright betrayal of characters I love.

But anyway, Fauxlivia is saved from the conversation as the team digs something up. Astrid has made a discovery of her own, though, and calls Fauxlivia frantically.

“Do you think it’s possible these locations are all a part of the machine?” Astrid asks. “That Walternate’s device is the vacuum first described in ‘The First People’ book?”

Fauxlivia can’t deny it, as the box is opened to reveal another part of the machine. Can we give Astrid the win? Poor girl needs it.

But man, 37 more locations? That is one gigantic machine. At that news, Walter is finally on board to find the pieces and reassemble them.

“Creation and destruction,” he notes. “I suppose we’ll have to hope for the former.”

Um, yeah.

Fauxlivia goes to her fancy, schmancy “communicates with the other side” typewriter and informs them of the progress. The person on the other side is pleased and tells her, “INITIATE PHASE TWO.”

And wham, we’re back on the other side. Wasn’t expecting that at all, but we’re in Olivia’s bathroom. She gets a phone call and is informed Walternate won’t need her for testing, which prompts her hallucination of Peter — have we coined a fancy nickname for him, BTW? — which tells her that means they’ve gotten what they need from her. He insists Olivia must find a way to get home.

I DON’T WANT TO WAIT A WEEK FOR THE NEXT EPISODE. It looks like it’s going to be awesome.

But before I turn it over to you guys, a few more things…

Lines that could only be said on FRINGE:

• Walter: If you end up breaking the universe, this time it’s on your head.

Other notable moments and quotes:

• Walter: Nina! If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake.

Astrid: He means that. Literally.

• Um, Walter and Nina smoked a joint together. I didn’t imagine that, right?

On that note, I’d like to officially request that we get more John Noble and Blair Brown scenes together. Not only does the history Nina and Walter share fascinate me (and it’s still a pretty big question mark), but the chemistry between Noble and Brown is undeniable.

• “What are you thinking, Watson?”- Walter, when Astrid had her noticeable Dr. House-like “a ha!” moment.

What did you guys think? Are you happy with the answers we were given this week?

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And to be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/givememyremotetv