FRINGE Recap: ‘Enemy of My Enemy’

It’s very weird to talk about FRINGE on an episode-by-episode basis, because in many ways, it feels like we should be “judging” this season as an entire arc — more so than any other season in the past — and yet, that’s not how television works.

It’s also a little bit hard because at the end of season two, our FRINGE world drastically changed. With Olivia stuck in the alt-universe, we had to adjust to new characters in the beginning of season 3 (with familiar faces and names) and root for her to get home. (Of course, we also spent every other episode on “our” side with our familiar characters and Fauxlivia.) It took a little bit of time, but things got back to normal — or as normal as they’re ever going to be on FRINGE.

And then at the end of season 3, things changed again. Peter disappeared from existence. There was no way the show could (or should) be the same as it was before that twist. So now we’re in season 4, in an entirely new timeline, with familiar (yet different) characters, and with Peter as our one touchstone to all that was familiar the previous seasons.

Of course, if you’re reading this, you likely already know all of these things. So why am I saying this? Because as much as I enjoyed tonight’s episode, I can imagine it greatly frustrated many of you.

At this point in last season, Olivia had returned to her rightful side. Right now, Peter is determined to get home, but in many way he’s been sucked into this new world, too. Speaking for myself, as much as I absolutely miss “our” characters, I’d hate to leave this world before we got a little bit of closure. But how can our needs to see this storyline play out mesh with our desire to get back to our world and get back to the familiar characters we know and love? It’s a really fine line to walk.

But enough of that. Let’s talk about what was revealed in “Enemy of My Enemy”…

Is alt-Broyles a shapeshifter or merely turned?

I know there was speculation that perhaps alt-Broyles was actually a shapeshifter mole put in by David Robert Jones, but I could have sworn I saw some regret/hesitation in him when he helped DRJ escape. I’m leaning more towards him being a human mole of sorts as opposed to a shapeshifter. (Which would also be very similar to what the show did with Charlie in season 2.) I still feel like his ties to David Robert Jones will inevitably lead to alt-Broyles’ death.

Walternate, Elizabeth…and Walter

It’s kind of adorable that Walternate and Elizabeth do seem to be a normal, happy couple in this timeline. When Walternate laments that, “I couldn’t save our son then and I can’t help him now,” Elizabeth realizes she may be the key to solving Peter’s problem — by crossing over to go visit Walter herself in the hopes of changing his mind about assisting this version of their son.

The Walter and Elizabeth scenes were shockingly sweet. It would only be natural for Elizabeth to be holding on to residual anger for Walter kidnapping her son. We know he did it with the best intentions — to save Peter’s life — but there was an undeniable betrayal. Walter was apologetic, admitting he thought he was still being punished by God for his past sins. Elizabeth told Walter she forgave him a long time ago and “that if I can, God can.” Orla Brady (Elizabeth) and John Noble (Walter) were just so good in this scene.

The two sides are working together!

Given the episode was appropriately named “Enemy of My Enemy,” it was fantastic (and long overdue) to see the two Fringe teams (minus the Astrids and Walter) meet up for the first time together. It was brief, but man that scene was awesome. It’s fascinating to see how the characters are so different, and yet so the same. “We know who our enemy is now,” Walternate tells them. “And that is a distinct step forward.”

Also helping matters is Peter, who stops his “this is not my fight” mantra and firmly places himself on Team Defeat David Robert Jones: “If nothing else, I’m a variable he did not plan for…somewhere, we stopped him once before. And we can stop him again.”

Peter and Olivia are talking again…

This was the first time probably all season that Peter and Olivia really felt like the duo we knew. Not even in the romantic sense, but they felt like a legitimate partnership once he returned to this sign. He saved her life at the quarry and now he can possibly help her take down David Robert Jones. (It was actually almost adorable how excited Olivia was at the prospect of learning every single bit of information about DRJ right this very second.)

Walter changes his mind about Peter:

Walter resisted helping Peter as long as he could, but Elizabeth’s visit pushed him to trek out to Peter’s home and finally agree to assist Peter figure out how to return to his correct timeline. And, um, their interaction may have been a little emotional.

Walter: “I will help you Peter. I will help you get home. The last 25 years, I’ve spent thinking about losing my son. I thought I was an expert on loss. Maybe that’s why you’re here — because there are still things I need to learn. What?”
Peter: “I just spent the last several days with the other Walter. And I was very surprised to learn he’s not the man that I thought he was. But I am not at all surprised to learn that you are.”
Walter: “Is that a good thing?”
Peter: “Yes, Walter. That is a very good thing.”

So glad we finally got to see some real, authentic, non-dream moments of affection for the Bishop men.

The David Robert Jones of it all:

When David Robert Jones was introduced in the first season, that was one of the first times I felt the series had a real idea of where it was going and what it wanted to tackle. It’s almost appropriate that his re-introduction in many was kick-started (what I assume is) the bigger arc of season 4.

Much like the original DRJ, this one is a straight-up badass. He kills his own shapeshifter, has 16 people killed remotely while Walternate and alt-Broyles listen in, puts trackers on money so the Fringe Team lost him once he was released from custody, etc. He’s off our team’s radar by the end of the episode, so it’ll be interesting to see how soon he pops up again.

The biggest question I have is what the heck is he up to now? He has over 100 pounds of the mineral when he only needs a tiny bit to tear a hole between universes…was that Phase One? He communicated that Phase One was complete and Nina (!!!!!!) wrote back, “We’re working on her. She’ll be ready soon.” So is Nina the boss? Is it DRJ? Are they working together as a sort of Deadly Super Team? I mean, we knew something was up with new Nina (last we saw her, she was drugging Olivia), but this does not bode well for any hope that she has any redeeming qualities…

Still up in the air:

• Who the heck shot September and where did he go off to?

Favorite exchanges of the night:

Lincoln: “I need to be a part of this investigation. I lost a partner!”

Peter: “I lost a universe.”

Lincoln: “You’re scared.”

Peter: “Yes, I am scared. I’m scared that every day I stay here, the people I love get farther and farther away from me.”

–

Alt-Astrid: “Are you really from another timeline?”

Peter: “Yeah, I think so.”

Alt-Astrid: “Cool.”

–

So, what did you think of “Enemy of My Enemy”?

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