Fringe ‘Brave New World’ Part 2 Review!

After 22 episodes the fourth season of Fringe is sadly over, though it wasn’t the best season it was still great. For some there was a fear that Fringe might get canceled but as looks like now Fringe will be back for a 13-episode fifth season to end the franchise. The second part of Brave New World does show however that the shows creators feared cancellation as they did tie up most of the storylines.

Here is the episode’s plot….

Olivia and Peter return to Walter’s laboratory, finding both he and Astrid missing. As they trying to determine where they left to, Olivia receives a call from Jessica, believing that someone is following her. They are unaware that September has arrived at Jessica’s house, but finds himself stuck to a “stasis rune” written into the floor preventing him from moving. Broyles reports that Astrid has been taken to a local hospital and is faring well. She is worried for Walter’s safety, warning them of Bell’s presence, and directing them to the warehouse. There, they find September still stuck on the piece of floor, and Jessica holding them at gunpoint. She reveals she was working for Bell, and uses a gun that fires faster than September can react to shoot him in the chest. When she tries to fire again, Olivia is able to catch and throw back the bullets, killing Jessica.

Peter is able to release September from the rune. Olivia recognizes the wound from the time September appeared to her at the opera house and had stated that in every future he witnessed, Olivia would die (“Back to Where You’ve Never Been”). September reveals that to him, this conversation has not yet happened, and departs to investigate why he would say that to Olivia.

Peter races Jessica’s body back to Walter’s lab, and with Nina’s help and resources from Massive Dynamic, connect her brain to equipment to briefly give her consciousness to determine Bell’s location. Her answers are vague but reveal that Bell’s seeking a power source to collapse the two universes. Olivia goes to grip Jessica, shorting out power in the laboratory. Nina realizes that Olivia is Bell’s power source; Jones’ activities have been to invigorate Olivia’s powers to start the collapse of the two universes. Nina is able to use Olivia’s electromagnetic readings to locate Bell’s ship. The Fringe team sets off for Bell’s boat on helicopters as initial signs of the final collapse begin to occur around the world.

Meanwhile aboard his boat, Bell has shown Walter his vision for the new universe, using the creatures stowed aboard it to populate his idea world. Bell reveals that he was set in this path by Walter in the past after Walter lost both Peters and desiring to play God himself. Walter had rejected the idea then, asking Bell to remove pieces of his brain to quell the idea, but Bell continued to follow on Walter’s vision, culminating in the current events.

Fringe approaches where Bell’s freighter appears to be, but find that it has already become in synch with the other universe and only observable by Peter. Olivia is able to use her Cortexiphan abilities to cross over with Peter onto the freighter in mid-jump from the helicopters. They raid the cabin where Bell and Walter are. Peter attempts to stop Bell, but Bell asserts that the process is irreversible due to Olivia’s powers. Walter uses a gun to fire and kill Olivia, completely disrupting the collapse. His plan ruined, Bell rings a bell and fades away before Walter can fire on him. Walter races to extract the bullet from Olivia, recognizing that the Cortexiphan should be able to regenerate the tissue and allow her to live.

Bell’s freighter and biological experiments are stored away, and the US Government grants Broyles request for a funding increase, as well as a promotion to General. Olivia makes a full recovery, though Walter suspects that her Cortexiphan powers will be stunted by the process. As she and Peter hug, she also reveals that she is pregnant with their child. Sometime later, as Walter prepares a snack in his lab, September appears before him, telling him they must warn the others as more Observers “are coming”, as previously seen in “Letters of Transit”

Review…

The episode was very tightly written, everything was calculated for maximum effect and though it was one of the best Fringe episodes ever it did lose a little spontaneity. Olivia’s death was hinted at just a bit too often and as such despite it being a surprise that Walter pulled the trigger her brief death was anything but.

The special effects in this episode took a slight turn for the worse over other episodes this season and i wonder if Fringe’s budget has been slashed, that would be a shame for the next season.

Despite hints by September that ‘they’ are coming I couldn’t care less because between Olivia and Peter everything is as it should be, so not much of a cliffhanger at the end then.

Score; 9 / 10.

Viewer Rating; 3.16 million. Which is decent considering the numbers for this season.

Well dear reader, see you this fall for the concluding season of Fringe.