# Fringe 3/23 Spoiler **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666 "2012-03-24T02:57:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/1 "2012-03-24T02:57:24Z")
Ha! I thought so! The observer told Peter that this Universe is his Universe and this Olivia is his Olivia. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/2 "2012-03-24T03:10:29Z")
And he did it a month ago apparently. Guess I missed that somehow. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/3 "2012-03-24T03:33:06Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > And he did it a month ago apparently. Guess I missed that somehow. Moderator: I messed up the date in the title. could you change it to 3/23. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/4 "2012-03-24T03:33:45Z")
šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/5 "2012-03-24T05:56:24Z")
That was a pretty good episode. Kind of disappointing to find out that the digging capsules are nothing more than beacons. And now the observer will have to hide from his peers it looks like. Also, I think itā€™s lame that love is what kept Peter from being totally erased. It makes no sense and is incredibly cheesy and schmaltzy. Well, now we have to see if Olivia can regain her memories of the current timeline. Iā€™m guessing she will. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/6 "2012-03-24T10:44:09Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Also, I think itā€™s lame that love is what kept Peter from being totally erased. It makes no sense and is incredibly cheesy and schmaltzy. Iā€™ll say. Everything else about the episode was pretty good, but that was just ridiculous. It explains nothing, and sounds like something out of a kids book. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/7 "2012-03-24T11:08:08Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Also, I think itā€™s lame that love is what kept Peter from being totally erased. It makes no sense and is incredibly cheesy and schmaltzy. Yes, but to be honest, pretty much every technobabble explanation would have been as empty. In a way, itā€™s courageous to just take the leap and admit out loud that thereā€™s no explanation ā€“ the other possibility would have just amounted to draw up a make-believe explanation that wouldā€™ve explained nothing. Of course, an even better way would have been to not get backed into this corner in the first placeā€¦ As far as technobabble goes, though, I liked the nod to the MITā€™s [ultra-high-speed video tech](http://io9.com/5867719/watch-light-particles-travel-through-a-coke-bottle-at-a-trillion-frames-per-second); of course, it wouldā€™ve done nothing for the video recorded by the bearā€™s cam, since the information just isnā€™t there ā€“ but one could just assume that Walterā€™s tinkered with the camera somehow, or something. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/8 "2012-03-24T15:03:51Z")
So now the observer isnā€™t dead anymore and Olivia doesnā€™t have to die becauseā€¦love is good? Or a wizard did it? Confused. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/9 "2012-03-24T16:47:58Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Of course, an even better way would have been to not get backed into this corner in the first placeā€¦ It reminded me of the _Doctor Who_ episode where the Doctor is erased from time, but brought back by his friends and loved ones remembering him back into existence. Made me wonder if one of the Fringe writers is a _Who_ fan. > [@](#): > > As far as technobabble goes, though, I liked the nod to the MITā€™s [ultra-high-speed video tech](http://io9.com/5867719/watch-light-particles-travel-through-a-coke-bottle-at-a-trillion-frames-per-second); of course, it wouldā€™ve done nothing for the video recorded by the bearā€™s cam, since the information just isnā€™t there ā€“ but one could just assume that Walterā€™s tinkered with the camera somehow, or something. Yeah, I was thinking that the teddy bear camera would have to be a super high speed camera in the first place or else simply slowing down the video wouldnā€™t work. Glad to hear my suspicions confirmed. > [@randwill](#): > > So now the observer isnā€™t dead anymore and Olivia doesnā€™t have to die becauseā€¦love is good? Or a wizard did it? Confused. Hopefully theyā€™re still working on that. I have three guesses about Oliviaā€™s death: [ol] [li]The death of her current personality to re replaced with her personality from the old timeline.[/li][li]September will intervene and take the bullet for her, thus, the reason he was shot.[/li][li]September was lying for some reason.[/li][/ol] As for September being back, after his fellow Observers took him from Walterā€™s lab they fixed him up, booted him out of the group, and somehow, ā€œhid him away in timeā€ whatever that meant. The beacon let him find his way back to this time. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/10 "2012-03-24T22:54:07Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Ha! I thought so! The observer told Peter that this Universe is his Universe and this Olivia is his Olivia. Called it! > [@Nobody](#): > > Also, I think itā€™s lame that love is what kept Peter from being totally erased. It makes no sense and is incredibly cheesy and schmaltzy. The power of love is a curious thing. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/11 "2012-03-24T22:57:19Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > The power of love is a curious thing. Good one šŸ†’. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/12 "2012-03-25T00:12:15Z")
I really liked this series until they put Peter & Olivia together as a couple. Right now Iā€™d rather they were gone and I could just watch Walter, Lincoln and Astrid. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/13 "2012-03-25T01:48:29Z")
I really enjoyed this episode. Olivia seemed to have to go through an emotional journey to find her way back to Peter, whereas Peter had to go through a journey of logic and investigation to find his way back to Olivia. I liked that they showed Ninaā€™s grief at potentially losing Olivia. And then Olivia acknowledging that, affirming their bond, and asking her to reestablish it when the time comes. I felt really bad for Lincoln. I hope they give him some alternate path to happiness. I enjoyed the little special touches in the Observerā€™s handwriting font. And the final scene between P & O was magical. The power of love explanation was a little silly but I can swallow that. The thing I donā€™t get is that the whole series of misadventures started with the Observer screwing up the timeline in which alt Peter has a kid with Olivia. I canā€™t see how the other Observers think erasing him would fix things. He and Olivia need to procreate to save their potential future. Erasing him makes that impossible. I thought for sure this would be the episode where Peter disguises himself as an observer but I guess weā€™re not there yet ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/14 "2012-03-25T01:52:31Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > I really liked this series until they put Peter & Olivia together as a couple. Right now Iā€™d rather they were gone and I could just watch Walter, Lincoln and Astrid. Itā€™s funny. Originally Joshua Jackson didnā€™t see Peter and Olivia as love interests. [TV.com](http://www.tv.com/news/joshua-jackson-talks-fringe-18107/) > [@](#): > > Jackson said: ā€œI feel like this is more of a family dynamic than a romantic dynamic. ā€¦ I see Peter and Olivia as more brothers and sisters rather than lovers on the show. Where theyā€™re going to take it, I have no idea. But for right now I run under the assumption that this is father-son-daughter rather than boyfriend-girlfriend-dad.ā€ Frankly though, it should have been obvious. If you have a male and female lead of course theyā€™re going to hook up romantically. They had a hint of Nina and Broyles in a relationship, but they dropped it before anything came of it. Iā€™m just shocked that Astrid doesnā€™t have a relationship with any of the Fringe team. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/15 "2012-03-25T07:06:27Z")
Okay, so maybe Iā€™m a little dense, but it doesnā€™t add up for me. Peter is actually home and this Olivia is his Olivia? If thatā€™s the case, are there or are there not four universes? If this is Peterā€™s real universe, then there are only two universes, this one and the ā€˜other sideā€™, right? If thatā€™s the case, how is Broyles alive on the other side when he was killed before Peter was erased? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/16 "2012-03-25T07:18:34Z")
When Peter was erased, the timeline he had been in changed so that it behaved as though he had never existed. But then he returned. It was the same timeline, but his non-existence created a different history. I think there will be a knock-on effect where the timelineā€™s history will realign itself again back to the way it was before Peter was erased. There does have to be a future where Walter and Peter send back the machine parts so that Peter can use them, which is a mighty paradox if Peter hadnā€™t returned. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/17 "2012-03-25T09:09:00Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Okay, so maybe Iā€™m a little dense, but it doesnā€™t add up for me. Peter is actually home and this Olivia is his Olivia? If thatā€™s the case, are there or are there not four universes? If this is Peterā€™s real universe, then there are only two universes, this one and the ā€˜other sideā€™, right? If thatā€™s the case, how is Broyles alive on the other side when he was killed before Peter was erased? Before the reveal was made in this episode that this is the ā€œcorrectā€ universe I found an educated guess that this would happen and posted about it in the thread for the episode, ā€œThe End of All Thingsā€ > [@Fringe - Feb 24, 2012 - The End of All Things](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-feb-24-2012-the-end-of-all-things/613933/11): > > I found something which changes my opinion about what happened to Peter. Although itā€™s somebodyā€™s opinion and not established fact, itā€™s a very educated opinion and so Iā€™ll put it in a spoiler tag. Although if you subscribe to this thread and get an E-mail then the spoiler tag wonā€™t hide anything :smack:. Anyway: > > [Crave Online](http://www.craveonline.com/tv/reviews/183747-fringe-414-the-end-of-all-things) > > One notion that ā€œFringeā€ has been stubbornly clinging to all season is that the original timeline still exists somewhere else or that Peter can somehow return there and resume his life as it was. I still believe thatā€™s a false assertion, and thereā€™s some thematic proof of that within the episode itself. At one point, Peter and Walter explained the concept of a palimpsest; which is a medium that is reused or altered while retaining traces of its earlier iterations. Thatā€™s the perfect metaphor for the fourth season of ā€œFringe.ā€ The original timeline has basically been recorded over by Peterā€™s removal from history, but traces of Oliviaā€™s memories are bleeding through. Peter himself is the most prominent reminder of the previous timeline, since by all accounts he shouldnā€™t even exist anymore. > > Next, the writer says about Olivia: > > Last week, the question posed was whether the Olivia of this new timeline was a separate and equal counterpart to the Olivia of the original timeline that didnā€™t deserve to lose her own existence to memories that donā€™t belong to her. I propose that both things are true. The Olivia of our timeline is also the Olivia of this new timeline, but the new Olivia is also a distinct individual created by her revised choices who is just as legitimate as the original Olivia. But there can only be one Olivia in this universe, and for now itā€™s a woman with two sets of memories. > > I canā€™t argue with that logic. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/18 "2012-03-25T09:17:12Z")
I think in the last episode, during convergence with Peter, September explained that the problem in the future comes about from Peterā€™s son, Henry. After Septemberā€™s interference, Henry is birthed from Peter and Olivia. But it was originally meant to be that Henry is birthed from Peter and Fauxlivia. Because if September hadnā€™t caused Walternate to miss the cure, Peter would have stayed in the alt universe. Presumably, he would have fallen in love with Fauxlivia and the correct Henry comes about. So to fix everything, Peter just needs to knock up Fauxlivia so the right kid is created. Since itā€™s a science-centric show, just use birth control with Olivia and artificial insemination with Fauxlivia. However, previously they mentioned Fauxlivia has birth issues. She needs to be tested for some condition where mother and child rarely survive childbirth. So again, science has a fix: harvest Fauxlivia eggs, perform some in-vitro and implant the fertilized egg into Olivia. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/19 "2012-03-25T09:20:36Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > There does have to be a future where Walter and Peter send back the machine parts so that Peter can use them, which is a mighty paradox if Peter hadnā€™t returned. Actually it was just Walter who sent back the machine. [ā€œThe Day we Diedā€ Transcript](http://fringepedia.net/wiki/The_Day_We_Died/Transcript) > [@](#): > > WALTER: Peter, I was wrong. Itā€™s not too late. You can save both worlds. We can do it all over again. This time, you ā€“ you simply need to make a different choice, and should something go wrong, then Olivia will be our fail-safe. > > PETER: Walter, stop. Olivia is dead. > > WALTER: But she wonā€™t beā€¦ Not then. > > PETER: The machine? I turned that on fifteen years ago. > > WALTER: And all the time I sat in prison, I - I - I couldnā€™t figure out where it came from. I knew the pieces were buried millions of years ago, but how did they get there, so deep in the past? But now I understand. I sent them there. The wormhole in Central Park ā€“ I sent them back through time. Peter, you can stop the destruction before it occurs! > > PETER: If thatā€™s the case, just donā€™t send the machine back. Then weā€™ll never discover it, and Iā€™ll never destroy the other universe. > > WALTER: No, no, no. It doesnā€™t work that way. I have already done it. Therefore, I have no choice but to do it again. > > PETER: Walter, that doesnā€™t make any sense. > > WALTER: It does. Itā€™s a paradox. I canā€™t change what happens because itā€™s already happened. But you can make a different choice within what happened. I simply need to find a way to bring your consciousness forward to now so that you can witness what will happen if you make the same choice. Peter, for all I know, it could be happening already. Donā€™t you see? We can fix everything. We can cheat the rules of time. > > PETER: Imagine the repercussions. > > WALTER: Thereā€™s no way of telling what the cost might be. But it canā€™t be worse than this. It canā€™t be worse than this. > > PETER: What would I need to do? So Walter always has and always will send the machine back, and of course the consequence of Peter making a new choice was his temporary erasure from time. Of course they never discuss who made the machine. I think theyā€™re going for one of those paradoxes where they found it in the past, and then in the future send it back to the past. But thereā€™s no mention of when it was made. It just kind of always was. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666/20 "2012-03-25T09:22:19Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > I think in the last episode, during convergence with Peter, September explained that the problem in the future comes about from Peterā€™s son, Henry. After Septemberā€™s interference, Henry is birthed from Peter and Olivia. But it was originally meant to be that Henry is birthed from Peter and Fauxlivia. > > Because if September hadnā€™t caused Walternate to miss the cure, Peter would have stayed in the alt universe. Presumably, he would have fallen in love with Fauxlivia and the correct Henry comes about. > > So to fix everything, Peter just needs to knock up Fauxlivia so the right kid is created. Since itā€™s a science-centric show, just use birth control with Olivia and artificial insemination with Fauxlivia. > > However, previously they mentioned Fauxlivia has birth issues. She needs to be tested for some condition where mother and child rarely survive childbirth. So again, science has a fix: harvest Fauxlivia eggs, perform some in-vitro and implant the fertilized egg into Olivia. Heny is ā€œsupposed to beā€ born from Oliva. It was a mistake that he was born to Fauxlivia. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fringe-3-23-spoiler/616666.md?page=2)