FRINGE Recap: ‘Everything In Its Right Place’
April 7, 2012 by Marisa Roffman
I’m in a little bit of an awkward situation while trying to recap Friday’s episode of FRINGE because thanks to a certain appropriate-for-this-recap work trip, I don’t have my handy-dandy DVR. And boy, I wish I had more of this dialogue down, because yes, big things went down tonight.
So let’s talk about a few of the highlights and then we’ll get on to the biggest thing that happened in the hour (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, go watch the episode!!)…
“I don’t have anywhere to be.”
With Peter back and Olivia’s memories of her real life returned, Lincoln’s feelings of displacement weren’t…wrong. The team worked well together, but the Lincoln character was always on the fringe of things. (No pun intended.) So when it came time for someone to cross over to deliver details on David Robert Jones (and Astrid was grumpy about it being assigned to her since she had plans with her father), it made sense for Lincoln to go.
It was fascinating to watch Lincoln interact with Fauxlivia extensively, because this version of Lincoln is so the opposite of everything Linc is. As the trio tracked down a shapeshifter, the two Lincolns had the opportunity to compare their life stories and found them virtually identical and Lincoln wondered why his alt was the way he was (AKA confident and seemingly secure in his life), when he was floating around untethered. “Maybe I just made the choice to become the man I wanted to be,” Linc replied.
He wasn’t the only one. The shapeshifter the trio was chasing was a different sort of creature than the ones we’ve been used to so far. (And no, I’m not just talking about that weird umbilical cord-like thing that he used to take on his next shape.) This shapeshifter was mourning the loss of the woman he loved and her son (“I wanted to be needed. Or at least to be missed.”) and was only taking the lives of criminals or addicts — people who wouldn’t be missed. And when he had the opportunity to shoot Lincoln, he didn’t. Lincoln repaid that favor by telling Fringe Division not to kill the shapeshifter when they caught up to him, but man, I’m guessing he may be second-guessing that decision a little bit now.
We may not have touched on it in months, alt-Broyles is evil. Or at least he’s working for the bad guys. So when he informs Meena (who looks truly deliciously evil when she’s not pretending to be our Nina) they have captured a shapeshifter, she sends a sniper to take care of business. Unfortunately for them, the sniper doesn’t get the shapeshifter — he misses and shoots Linc instead.
As soon as you realized we’ve lost alt-Lincoln, how many of your minds immediately went to the scene below?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQBOReE8xao[/youtube]
And yes, it sounds nerdy, but I felt like I needed to watch it a few times, because in this timeline, we don’t know Linc too well. We know who he was. We saw the glimpses of him in the few episodes we were Over There this season. But who knows how much he changed? After all, last season, alt-Broyles was a conflicted man, but he was a hero. In this timeline? He seems to be a coward who just got one of his agents killed. (How sad that some of us were so happy he was alive in this timeline…only to have it turn out that he was responsible for the death of one of the most fan-loved alts?)
It took me a while to warm up to the Lincoln who worked with our original Fringe team. But Linc? He intrigued me from the start. Maybe it was because at the time, he didn’t have a double we all already knew, so it didn’t feel like cheating on his original character if we liked the version that existed in the alt-universe. (Come on, some of you had to feel it too when the alt-personas were first introduced…it felt like liking some of them was a betrayal to the characters we had known and loved for two years.) Linc was there, he was pretty awesome, he was fun to watch and just so full of life. And now he’s gone.
But his death has fallout. Fauxlivia (whom Linc had said earlier in the episode was the strong one who never barfed or cried during their partnership) nearly broke down and Lincoln decided that the best thing would be for him to stay Over There to work for a bit. (“Everything In Its Right Place,” huh?)
Perhaps more importantly, this may be what it takes to kick start Over There into full “we need to catch David Robert Jones now” mode. Hopefully Broyles will start to question his loyalty now that someone he knew for years was killed. Fauxlivia is in the same boat as Lincoln and has lost a partner to this man. And we know our guys Over Here already have the proper motivation.
In the meantime, goodbye, Captain Lincoln Tyrone Lee. I’ll certainly miss you.
A couple other thoughts/notes/important things…
- Those orange/amber credits still make me sad.
- “Oh, what, ’cause nothing says badass like a flying rat?” — Fauxlivia’s take on Batman.
- “That girl always amazes me.” — Meana on Fauxlivia. What exactly does she know about the Olivia Dunham Over There?
- Please, oh please, let the shapeshifter tracking system they found actually play out, versus it going down immediately after Meena is taken in by Fringe Division. (How fun should that be?!)
- Anna Torv (Olivia) and Seth Gabel (Lincoln) killed it, especially in their final scene of the episode. Torv’s facial expressions as Fauxlivia heard Lincoln’s voice and for one split second forgot what happened to her partner was especially impressive to watch.
- Sad we didn’t have a little more Peter and Walter, but given the episode took place over here, it made sense. Hope Gene at least got a good walk.
Okay, I’m sure there are 5 million other things we can be talking about, so let’s discuss what went down in FRINGE! (And in a bit of shameless self-promotion, make sure you check out the interviews I did with Seth Gabel and Anna Torv on the FRINGE set earlier this week…much more from them and the rest of the cast in the weeks to come!)
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I didn’ hate this episode as much as I thought I would. It felt like the annual Walter Skinner episode where the main characters get a day off, except well, Anna Torv plays BOlivia so she wasn’t treated to it. Fringe doesn’t feel like Fringe anymore so I’m more a casual viewer this season than a hardcore watcher. I can take it or leave it. Seth did a good job, Torv wasn’t nearly as unnecessarily bouncy in this episode as she has been all season, although she had 30 facial expressions in the last scene to convey 2 maybe 3 emotions. To be blunt; I miss the old Fringe with the main characters investigating fringe events and getting an insight into their relationships as we go. Now, it’s all over the place.
oh my god i rewatched the birth scene like ten times after linc died. it was such a shock, how could they kill linc? he had so much potential as a character, he and fauzxlivia were supposed to get together and be happy! killing linc was cruel and i was absolutely devastated!
Enjoyed this episode very much! Loved that Meena was fooled by Canaan, the opening Jean scene, the subtle, ‘Oh sheet’ looks on AltBroyles face when he couldn’t steer the direction of investigation away from shapeshifters.
Sorry to see a Lincoln dead, he was Altlivia’s partner and dear friend, but AltLivia and our Linc are obviously meant to be. Can you go 6 years hiding your middle name and expect their level of intimacy to grown beyond friendship? IDK. 9+ Not ready to go to all time, but this was a great episode.
finally, it was good to know of some progress made between the teams in terms of solving the universal crisis threatening each side.
Let me start by saying that I absolutely love Fringe. Have been watching since the beginning and proud to say, I’ve recruited my fair share of loyal viewers over the seasons. Now, with that said, this was THE VERY FIRST TIME I’ve ever cried — okay more like got seriously teary-eyed — during or after an episode. It was so so good. Just the emotional aspect alone was kind of gut wrenching and we’ve seen it building up for the last couple of episodes. Props to Seth Green and Anna Torv. They did a fantastic job.
I was never a big “fan” of our Lincoln Lee. Not because I thought he was trying to cut in on the whole Peter/Olivia love fest, but because he came off a tad weak and uncertain of himself, his place, the Fringe events, I could go on. I understood why (and over the past few weeks even more so) but I wanted him to “man-up”. He needed to and occasionally he did but it never lasted.
Now, Alt-Linc…huge fan. Real sweetheart of a badass. He worked it. If you were to go back compare the 2 men, you’d see Alt-Linc held his head high while the other did not and his body language was sheepish. I think Marisa was right about not knowing another version of Lincoln Lee prior to his introduction and feeling like we are cheating on the original. (For the record, I have always been a fan of AltOlivia. They are both great but even our Olivia could see the happiness in her that she longed for but due to certain life events never was able to achieve.) I felt so bad for Lincoln –first losing his partner and then slowly and almost painfully so losing the woman he admired and loved to Peter, a man he held no ill-will against. His previous life was taken away and now a part of his new life with the team was slowly disappearing because Olivia no longer remembered the intimate things about their relationship. It’s got to incredibly hard to witness.
As for the episode, I loved the interactions between both Lincoln’s. I remember watching it and never once thinking about the technical aspect of the shot. It was like I was literally watching 2 actors play each role. This is what makes Fringe so amazing. The actors (all of them) are so invested in each version of their characters down to Anna’s many facial expressions and Jasika’s fingers. (Side note: Pinned up or down, I think Jasika’s hair is adorable and I like that she’s growing it out.) I love the dynamics between the 2 universes and can’t help but feel like AltOlivia’s world is going to start to crumble. No more LInc, “Scarlie” M.I.A, Brolyes treachery soon to be discovered and no Peter to come home to? Maybe our Lincoln Tyrone Lee should stay over there. Maybe that’s actually where he belongs and the only way to have his Olivia.
I could go on about the episode but this post is already long enough. I will say, however that this show makes everyone think (and requires a few re-watches to catch everything) and I’m so glad I was there from the beginning. I’m off for round 2 of re-watches!
*Correction… Seth Gabel (not Green).
My fingers sometimes have a mind of their own.
I was spoiled and expected AltLinc to die. But Seth killed me as OurLicoln grieving over the death of his alternate. Faux was sad in that last scene but OurLinc had tears in his eyes and was so …IDK It’s heartbreaking to watch a man cry.
OT: Will we see John´s and Josh´ interviews next week, maybe?
@Mia: sadly John wasn’t filming, but Josh is entirely possible…Trying to figure out the logistics and it will depend on a couple things, but you’ll definitely get something from him in the next two weeks.
wait … I thought alt-Broyles is already dead and a shapeshifter is in his place .
i loved it,by the way what you said about Anna Torv and Seth Gabel was spot on.that’s why i really love the over there episodes,because it seems so effortless for them and the locker room scene was heartbreaking.
@fhd: That’s what some people are speculating, but we don’t know anything yet for sure…
I have this extremely nagging feeling — based on the moving sights of the assassin and the exchange between Alt-Broyles and Meena — that Linc was the target all along.
I don’t know why that would be … but there’s still room for twists and curves in the season.
But, let’s see just what this relocated shapeshifter as retained from the assassin’s memories.
@Ray: You know, I actually considered that, but something about Broyles’ demeanor when alt-Astrid came in just made me feel like he DIDN’T know. Maybe Meana knew and planned it, but I feel like alt-Broyles didn’t.*
*will likely rewatch those scenes tonight when I get back to my DVR to check it out, so my opinion could revert back to my first thought. I kind of hope they DON’T go that way if only because the alternative will force alt-Broyles to either full-on embrace the dark side or start to fight against DRJ.
Dont know if anyone ever thought this or have touched on this yet, but when Lincoln and Linc were comparing their alternate lives and seeing they were basically the same for the most part but something happened, was i the only one thinking the thing that made alt-linc the man he is was meeting fauxlivia years ago and working with her in the fringe divison where our linc had a different partner until recently and didnt get to become the man he is in the alternate universe?
Am I the only one who (somewhat ironically) feels somewhat out of place this season? Kind of ungrounded like Lincoln… haha, it doesn’t have the same feel as S1-3 did, I don’t know how to explain it really, but whatever the case, props to the EPs for knowing how to mess with our heads. 😛
Also I thought the pics AltLivia was looking through at the end might have implied they were together, at least at some point in the past…? mostly that first one she takes where she’s behind him with her arms wrapped around his shoulders… it hasn’t been mentioned in anything I’ve read so far though, so I guess I misinterpreted something there, lol.
Great episode again. Unfortunately your insight on Alt-Broyles is wrong. Alt Broyles is a Shape shifter and therefore has no loyalty to the current fringe team.
Honestly, I do not want to do here, a kind of “devil’s advocate”, but for me the alt-Broyles, is as righteous as “our” Broyles. At least, well I suppose. This “new” Broyles, little do we know it, but seems a bit more energetic, more commanding than the previous one, and see him in this situation to be a kind of “accomplice” of Jones and Nina, does no good to excellent “attitude upright” that he, in all worlds, times, has always demonstrated. I do not remember, but even in this new context, I think he should have his family, and that’s where we think that things should make sense, by these their improper attitudes, now, I think. In short, I think the alt-Broyles, is suffering some kind of threat to his family or something, so he was literally in the hands of Nina and Mr. Jones, I think. I always saw and felt Broyles, repeating, in any universe or time, as a man highly righteous and good.
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