User Reviews

I was lukewarm toward this series until this episode. I'd watched the first few, found it reasonably enjoyable but not great, not really grabbing me, and figured I'd give it one more shot before giving up (since I'm not a big TV watcher, and require a series to be more than just reasonably entertaining for me to spend time watching it).

Well, I'm very glad I did stick it out, because with this episode, it just got a whole lot more interesting. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but there were a couple of seriously jaw-dropping moments - the encounter between Peter and his father's friend was one of them, and the other was at the very end.

And now, rather than being on the point of giving up on the series, my only indecision is "Do I have time for just one more episode tonight? I know I've got to do work, but just one more...?" So yes, I think I'm hooked.

If you've watched the first couple of episodes and been undecided on whether it was worth continuing, do yourself a favour and don't decide until after you've seen this one. Things are taking a major turn into mind-bending WTFery, and that's always a good thing in my books.

When a cylinder is found by the Fringe team a seeker looks for it and is taking names to find it, he especially is looking for Dr. Bishop who is having more issues with his son Peter. At the same time the Frigne team is keeping an eye out for a mysterious man known as "The Observer." who just so happens to be around every time an accident happens and one of the cylinders is found. And apparently, Dr. Bishop knows him and it goes further than a few years ago.

This was a pretty thought provoking episode, and I really liked the conflicts with Peter and his father Walter. I also like the twist at the end that had something to do with Olivia, I won't say it though.

Pretty interesting episode, hope there are much more episodes like this in the future. Hoping there's a sequel with The Observer soon.

September: The guy who watches over Walter and Peter.

August: Devolops human feelings for a little girl, and "Makes her Important". (This had not happened yet, from our perspective of Time, in this episode).

December: Seems to be the Boss, probably why his name is the Last Month of the year.

March: We met him in Season 4 in the Orange Fringe 'Verse, he seemed like a snotty sycophant.

The other guy from this ep- "John Mosley" (Michael Kelly) - A Rogue Observer? He seems to have the same abilities. Except that he can't vanish like September can.

Hard to write a retrospective review of this, without spoilers.

From what we know of these guys now, they see time in a certain way, they know what is going to happen. Or what could happen. This ep deals with a our Season 1 Observer, "September" - Who gets the job of making sure "It" (we did not know that this suppository shaped torpedo was actually a beacon at this time) arrives and departs "on Schedule"- However The Observers deal with a Schedule.

But Peter has had it and wants to move on. Although Olivia entreats him to stay, Peter is just not having it. Walter is not helping, but Walter is of course acting with another Agenda that we don't know about.

This Ep shows the first connection between Walter and September, and there is a connection and a big one. We just don't know how big yet, but it's Major.

What did the Rogue guy want, just to take a ride on a Subterranian Torpedo? Seems to me, that world-ending phenomena would have ensued.

In retrospect I have developed a kind of theory about this guy. Apparently, he has been around long enough to have met Peter's grandfather, who according to this episode passed away before the end of World War II. That means that this person has been wandering around the 20th and 21st centuries for over 50 years or more. We also know from the last episode of the series, that observers who are going to take time jaunts need to be injected with some goop so that they can use their brain-time-machines. Which is probably why they cannot touch the beacons. But Mosley picks it up and runs with it. I don't remember if he covered it up first or if he is actually touching it, I think he may have covered it up, time to watch it again. Nope- he touches it.

But consider, if he came from the future and was trapped, maybe the gadget in the back of his brain, the same that Peter stole and crammed into his own brain in season five, had stopped working and he was trapped and maybe his goal was simply to use the beacon to get home (although I doubt it)- And his injection had worn off after 50 years, then maybe he would be able to touch the beacon. But since this little story was never really resolved completely, and they never returned to it to explain, we don't really know who Mosley was or what he was doing or what he even wanted. Also, the guy is cocky all through the episode, until he runs into Olivia, and then he actually looks scared. What the...? Maybe he had foreseen his little encounter with Olivia, and he already knew the outcome.

Who Observes the Observers?

This episode elevates Fringe to new heights of intrigue.

I love Mr no brows.

I'm glad Peter now has a believable reason to hang around. I love Peter Bishop completely.

Hey la. Hey la. Her boyfriend's back.

My biggest question was: What in the world was that thing that appeared, then disappeared?

Answer, after watching all episodes: A beacon, that will help finding the "Observers" son in the far future. As we know by now, the "Observer" is present during every main event that ever happened. Even before Marie Antoinette's destiny. His main goal is to change events, so that at the end, his son will live, without causing suspicion from the other Observers, who have a completely different goal than September (The Observer).

This is a very important episode. September (The Observer) is hiding the beacon that will once in a while appear, then disappear. Walter Bishop owes him his and Peters life, and therefor goes out of his way to help September. Walter, knowing he will be ending up in St. Clairs for helping him - the last thing he wants - goes all in.

This episode reflects the true and deep ethics of Walter. Would this have happened before Walter had pieces of his brain removed, it could have winded up completely different. But it didn't.

I usually will watch a series that I have not seen before at least the first season before I jettison it. One of the rare exceptions was Falling Skies (which had it all: bad acting, rehashed plot line done terribly, etc.) and now this series.

Most of the plots are somewhat interesting and the idea of the Pattern being investigated does hold my interest to some extent. The problem for me lies in one of the main characters: Peter Bishop. Could he possibly be more arrogant and unlikeable? Are his comments about his father's mental illness supposed to be funny? I don't think I have ever seen anyone with less respect for his father. He is the main reason I can't watch anymore! Mulder was much more enjoyable to watch, to put it mildly.

Olivia Dunham, on the other hand, plays Scully's role fairly decently and is likable (sorry to use that word again). I just wish that after Peter Bishop says that he is done and is leaving (like he does every episode) that she would let him go! Alas, no.

The arrival is a moderately suspenseful episode although I am still baffled as to why the people who killed all the guards/scientists at the first holding area for the 'cylinder' did not take it...probably would have ended the show 25 minutes too early. The 'cylinder' showed up in 1987 also and for some reason it hung out for awhile and then with a bang went back into the ground. It does the same here with no explanation as to why it showed up...perhaps so 11 people could get killed?

The episode ends with references to the 'bald man', a mysterious figure a la Roy Thinnes from the X Files, sort of. They appear to be trying their best to be like the X Files and if there already wasn't a show called the X Files out there then I might find the whole thing quite interesting. As it stands, though, one X Files was plenty good enough!

The cylinder caused an explosion. Walter hid it for the bald man to return his favor because he saved him and his son from icy water when they had an accident. It disappeared by the graveyard and so did the bald man.