The Fringe teams from both universes gather so Walter can tell everyone what David Robert Jones is planning: to collapse both universes to create a Big Bang for a new universe that he will populate with his scary creatures and with laws of physics that he will decide for himself. As for how he's going to do it -- well, that's what the amphilicite is for, and he has also enlisted the help of the Cortexiphan kids to serve as earthquake triggers around the world. That means we get to visit with Nick Lane again. Two of them! The Earth-2 version is visually connected to Earth-1 version (without actually knowing what's going on), and the Earth-1 version is working with David Robert Jones, who has tricked him into thinking he's trying to save the universe from evil Earth-2.
The Fringe teams work to prevent more assaults, because the only other option is to shut down the bridge, which is what's allowing Jones' cross-universe assaults in the first place. That's the last resort, because the bridge is healing Earth-2, and no one wants to stop that. But when stopping Nick Lane doesn't stop the assaults, there's not much choice left but to shut things down. People say goodbye to their counterparts in an unsurprisingly moving episode, especially as we watch Walter wretchedly trying not to seem like such a universe-destroying fool in the shadow of the clear-minded and forceful Walternate. They have a touching heart-to-heart about Peter, tough decisions and everything else under the sun. Lincoln's electing to stay on the Earth-2 side, mainly because of its lower Olivia-in-love-with-someone-else index. I kept expecting some last-minute twist, or an episode-ending cliffhanger to lead into next week's Part 1 of the season finale, but nothing: the other side winks out and is gone. I gotta say, I'm looking forward to the next two episodes even more now that I know they're not going to be the final two. Let's call Season 5 a thirteen-part series finale!
Daniel is a writer in Newfoundland with a wife and a daughter. He's glad Fox has renewed Fringe for a final season, which almost makes up for Glenn Beck. Almost. Follow him on Twitter (@DanMacEachern) or email him at danieljdaniel@gmail.com.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!
We open in the shadow of the machine, the doomsday device, the apparatus that sent Peter away and brought him back, the bridge between two worlds, the healer. Walter stares up at it, looking almost frightened, at least until Peter calls to him to ask if he's coming.
Walter hurries on, but not before Peter straightens Walter's tie (as well as saying he didn't think a tie was necessary, but Walter thought it was warranted). Turns out they're going to a powwow between all the Fringe folk on our side and theirs (at least those agents who aren't dead or incarcerated). Everyone's seated, listening to Walter, who thanks them for coming, and then says he asked them all here because he believes he has discovered David Robert Jones' true intention: trying to collapse both universes, thus creating a gravitational singularity.
Walter emphasizes his point with amusingly crappy slides -- hand-drawn doodlings of a couple of globes getting closer and then a black space where they merge. And then matter and energy are compressed to a point and the density is so great it has no recourse to rapidly expand outwards again, creating a Big Bang. Mutual destruction of their world and ours.
Olivia asks why he would do this and Walter says it's to create another universe: "A world in which the laws of physics and nature are designed and controlled by him." What? How does that work? But it gets worse, because Broyles asks how Walter came to this conclusion and Walter says it was a dream. Broyles' eyes widen hilariously and despite Walter trying to explain about his subconscious mind working while his conscious mind rests, Fauxlivia suggests -- "with all respect," she says -- that maybe it was just a dream.
That's when Walternate speaks up in Walter's defense, saying that if he's learned one thing, it's that anything is possible and what Dr. Bishop suggests should not be overlooked. Yeah, that's some professional courtesy for fellow Walter Bishops, right? So assuming Walter's right, Peter wonders how Jones would achieve this. Given we haven't seen the opening sequence yet, we know that's exactly what we're going to find out.
In Sydney, Australia, a woman under a bridge consults a map with co-ordinates written on it and checks some sort of timer strapped to her wrist like a watch. A minute and twenty seconds and falling.
In Beijing, some dude with a similar map and timer makes his way through an alley, surrounded by street urchins begging for money from the gweilo. He checks his timer. He's got just under a minute, which would seem to be a problem, since his map indicates he needs to be on the roof. So he hightails it to the fire escape.
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