Lower Decks

The following contains spoilers through the episode “Over There, Part 1,” originally broadcast 5/13/10.

Wow, so this was definitely an escalation of the mythology. This marks our first real look at the alternate universe, after many glimpses, brief visits, and suggestions about what it’s like, well, over there. Mind-blowing would be a good way to put it.

Nearing ever closer to the end of the second season, it can be properly said at this point that ‘Fringe’ is well established. Being the third genre series hatched from the mind of J.J. Abrams, there were many more expectations for it than, say, for ‘Alias,’ which was a pleasant surprise for everyone, and even ‘Lost,’ which was completely unexpected, but was well beyond cult status before its first season was over. While ‘Fringe’ has had its share of critical acclaim and support, it has yet to properly break through the popular consciousness. If it can be said to resemble ‘The X-Files,’ in this sense it is certainly no ‘X-Files.’ But as I was saying, at this point, it is so well established in its own right, the things it’s doing now, if anyone is paying attention at all, it’s kind of hard to continue ignoring ‘Fringe.’

Yes, I’m saying this as a fan, and as someone who has been reviewing it since the start, but when there’s this much momentum, it breaks through the subjective barrier, at least in some sense. Exploring the alternate reality for the first time is a pretty big deal, at least for current fans, something that manages to be bigger than “Peter,” the episode from a few weeks back that saw how Walter came to bring his son, so to speak, back from the dead.

Just as far as talk about cool factor, “Peter” was pretty awesome, but “Over There” tops it. In the alternate reality, where we’ve known since last season the Twin Towers still stand, they have airships, yes, and a bunch of cool technology like shape-shifting, but they have MLK on their twenty dollar bill, instead of Andrew Jackson. They don’t even know who Old Hickory is! We see alternate versions of Olivia and Charlie Francis for the first time, not to mention Broyles and Astrid, and learn that Walternate is actually Secretary of Defense. We meet Peter’s real mother, too, and in that way we know instantly that this is not going to be a series that’s going to take anything like a simple approach to alternate realities. They’re not all going to be “evil duplicates.” They are going to be people we can sympathize with, which is kind of weird, considering most of our practical experience with them has been men like Thomas Jerome Newton, who might as well be called Ethan Rom now, with Walternate cast in the role of Benjamin Linus, his wife as Juliet Burke, and William Bell as Jacob, or Richard Alpert at worst. That’s for folks still jonesing on ‘Lost,’ because hey, that show has only a few weeks left.

But ‘Fringe’ is still going strong, and with a little support, could last six seasons, too. We still haven’t met Olivia’s father, even though we’ve had lots of hints. We do know that when we finally reach that point, it’s not likely to be disappointing, because ‘Fringe’ rarely seems to mistake the possibilities of the things it sets up (much like ‘Lost,’ and a step up from ‘Alias,’ which frequently misplayed things like what Sydney Bristow’s dad was doing engineering her to be a spy, which ‘Fringe’ has improved with Olivia and her complicated past with Walter, as is demonstrated again during this episode).

There are old characters we catch up with, including Brandon the recurring Massive Dynamic lab tech who’s good to explain things, and potentially new characters we might get to explore in future episodes, and yes, William Bell, allowing Leonard Nimoy to make another brief appearance. Bell is always appearing like that, and it works every time. He’s a specter of answers; he’s like a more forthcoming Jacob. You don’t have to wait years to find out what he knows, only in increments throughout this season. Next week, the conclusion of the season finale, promises much more.

‘Fringe’ is all about possibilities, but possibilities that are grounded in gritty reality, and this is a fine episode to demonstrate that, their full range, and the arc of the series. I don’t write reviews that cover every detail point for point. Sometimes, like with this kind of show, it’s really worth just watching this stuff for yourself.