Fringe Catch-All - You Are My Favorite Thing, Fringe. My Very Favorite Thing.

I sorta wanted the Observers to STILL appear after everything they did, quickly followed by a hard cut to title.
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I was enjoying it, and then the room got all dusty and dust got in my eyes for like the last 30 minutes. Damn this dust!

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Though, at least it wasn't the kind of dust that makes stuff grow inside of you!

Me too. Gotta find a new housekeeper, because the one I've got is obviously not dusting at all.

So many fantastic treats tonight.

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While the "aging" makeup left a lot to be desired, it was awesome to see Lincoln and future Faux-livia. Was it me, or was she still hot? And the comment about her young ass was hilarious. The end-around was a neat idea, though pretty predictable once we saw where they were keeping Michael.

Seeing some of the biohazards from old episodes put to use was kind of cool too.

Ultimately the plan itself was a little weak, and I still have to work out why Walter would be a paradox. The only real complaint I could make is about the quick, unceremonious death of Donald/September. After his noble gesture it seemed wrong to just gun him down and leave him laying there.

But what I enjoyed most were the interactions with Walter. I would reiterate what's already been said about the injustice of John Noble not having an Emmy, but the fact that he doesn't have one just invalidates the award.

John Noble's talent is beyond mere Emmy status. There is no award of proper recognition of his skill.

I have spoken.

Yeah they should rename "best actor" to "John Noble" award.

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Because it's cool.

This show... going to miss it so much!

I really enjoyed the series, and the finale to it all. I felt like they got to touch upon a lot of the major points that made the show great over the years, and John Noble was just fantastic as always.

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The scene where Walter and Peter are hugging it out and he says that Peter is his favorite thing, was so great. The scene where he tells Astrid her name is beautiful, equally touching.

Definitely one of the best series endings I have seen, in a good long while!

The weeks are going to feel empty without more fringe, but I am glad they got the time they did, and that they were able to give it a proper ending. Better to end on a high note then run yourself into obscurity.

I don't know why? But my own take on a classic rhyme came to mind after watching the finale. I think it sums up this season pretty well.

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Remember, Remember, the death of September. A child the future forgot. They saw no reason, for human feelings. A mistake that certainly cost.

liquid wrote:
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Because it's cool.

This show... going to miss it so much!

This was my favorite quote of the series.

It's a very simple question, "why bother?" It's also a question that would often pop up when losing my thoughts in so many of the wonderful discussions and ideas that this show brought to the table. And Walter really answered it best...

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Because it's cool.

ps. A thought... man, only if Mass Effect's ending was as well done. =/

Shepard: "Why kill everyone over and over and make weird human reapers?"

Star child: "Because it's cool".
It could work.

Not really sad that Fringe is over though, it was a good run, but for some time it has felt like it was time to end it. Instead of just dragging on for too long, like some shows do.

The finale was damn near a perfect ending for the series, and as others have experienced I also cried manly tears throughout.

Dusty rooms all around.

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"I love you, dad."

seriously had me in tears.

Also,

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the hall of fringe event's greatest hits

is the best thing.

Old Faux-livia has still got it going on.

This final season is proof of why they shouldn't have cancelled it. It's awesome even in this season!!

Disclaimer: I hate time travel... stories that use it... more holes than swiss cheese. I mean... why not travel back to when Sarah Connor was a baby and kill her then? Her son cannot exist unless her son sends his friend to the past to protect and do the nasty with her? Paradox is a database... not a time travel element. But I digress.

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I'm not sure how I feel about the ending... Astrid's like 'why not use a shipping lane?' and I didn't really have much to say about it at the time. After it was all over, time reset... I thought... all that elaborate work and having to collect parts... uncover the mystery guy... and they just off the cuff... use a shipping lane!

Considering the season, show to show... loved it... but a top-down perspective... annoys me. *shrug*

I'm assuming that Walter is alive seeing as a snailmail arrives from him and I don't see how he could send it from the future... that crap about natures abhors a paradox and it would erase him from 2015... pfffft.

yay Etta.

Pikey26 wrote:

ps. A thought... man, only if Mass Effect's ending was as well done. =/

What hippy dippy endings!

How about an ending like the movies we love?

Shepard goes to a market on a planet in a formerly unknown sector of space, meets a man that's part of a cult that protects a secret... a device that will weaken the reapers.

Shepard leads a mission to destroy concurrency nodes on moons in each galaxy that allows reapers to exist in that galaxy. After destroying all seven, he goes to their homeworld and boxes the ears of the few watchers that remain there. Afterwhich, returns to Earth and helps the armada there trounce the remaining repears.

The end.

After about 2 minutes into the credits, a video of Shepard and a collector doing the watusi ala Pulp Fiction, then an embrace ala Halo.

Raelic wrote:

Disclaimer: I hate time travel... stories that use it... more holes than swiss cheese. I mean... why not travel back to when Sarah Connor was a baby and kill her then? Her son cannot exist unless her son sends his friend to the past to protect and do the nasty with her? Paradox is a database... not a time travel element. But I digress.

Most records did not survive Judgment Day. They didn't even know which Sarah Connor to kill, they just knew where the Sarah Connors were living that year.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Old Faux-livia has still got it going on.

Gonna seriously miss my weekly dose of Anna Torv.

Raelic wrote:
Pikey26 wrote:

ps. A thought... man, only if Mass Effect's ending was as well done. =/

What hippy dippy endings!

How about an ending like the movies we love?

Shepard goes to a market on a planet in a formerly unknown sector of space, meets a man that's part of a cult that protects a secret... a device that will weaken the reapers.

Shepard leads a mission to destroy concurrency nodes on moons in each galaxy that allows reapers to exist in that galaxy. After destroying all seven, he goes to their homeworld and boxes the ears of the few watchers that remain there. Afterwhich, returns to Earth and helps the armada there trounce the remaining repears.

The end.

After about 2 minutes into the credits, a video of Shepard and a collector doing the watusi ala Pulp Fiction, then an embrace ala Halo.

Not to be that guy, but you misspelled "she".

Now that I've had some time to think about it, does anyone else feel like the end was a bit rushed? For all its awesomeness, I felt like it happened too quick. And I don't have many specific things to point out, just a gut feeling, but I think that if the season had 20 (or 24) episode order it would have been a much, much stronger season with a much better pace and build up.

liquid wrote:

Now that I've had some time to think about it, does anyone else feel like the end was a bit rushed?

There were definitely pacing issues, but I've decided I'm too happy to care.

Raelic wrote:
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I'm not sure how I feel about the ending... Astrid's like 'why not use a shipping lane?' and I didn't really have much to say about it at the time. After it was all over, time reset... I thought... all that elaborate work and having to collect parts... uncover the mystery guy... and they just off the cuff... use a shipping lane!

Shipping Lane stuff:

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They still used most of the parts they had gathered. Those tunneling devices, the big magnet, and so on. They just needed the power from the shipping lane and the box to adjust it to their needs. Seemed like a more valid substitution than going to the future to steal more tech again.

Stele wrote:

Shipping Lane stuff:

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They still used most of the parts they had gathered. Those tunneling devices, the big magnet, and so on. They just needed the power from the shipping lane and the box to adjust it to their needs. Seemed like a more valid substitution than going to the future to steal more tech again.

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Then there's the real question: if December could steal a new reactor from the future, why not just have him take Donald and Michael forward?

Maybe trying to avoid paradox stuff still?

Using tech from the future is ok, but using a race that will no longer exist isn't?

Of course like others I thought that erasing the Observers completely would erase things that happened like Walternate failing to save Peter and Walter ever going over to rescue him. So no Peter, Olivia, and Etta on this side. But instead they just decided to pick and choose what erasing the Observers resulted in it seems.

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So, does anyone remember what had happened? I could swear Olivia had this look, like she knew what happened last time and was unsure if events will repeat themselves when Etta was running toward Peter.

How did Walter survive time travel without that injection?

liquid wrote:
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How did Walter survive time travel without that injection?

He said he already took it, pre-amber. The other one was there as a backup in case someone else had to go.

Re: December. Seems likely to me that he couldn't time travel willy nilly without someone noticing.

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Stele wrote:

Of course like others I thought that erasing the Observers completely would erase things that happened like Walternate failing to save Peter and Walter ever going over to rescue him. So no Peter, Olivia, and Etta on this side. But instead they just decided to pick and choose what erasing the Observers resulted in it seems.

I thought the point of the plan was not to erase them completely but to change their path? Presumably a more humane observer society might still send back the original twelve to investigate the past. On the other hand, maybe it just doesn't make that much sense.

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

Re: December. Seems likely to me that he couldn't time travel willy nilly without someone noticing.

The conversation between Windmark and the Commander made it sound like they had the timeline completely locked down except for travel between 2036 and 2609. Otherwise, every time the Fringe crew got the better of Windmark he probably could have just jumped back 5 minutes and tried again.

Stele wrote:

Maybe trying to avoid paradox stuff still?

Using tech from the future is ok, but using a race that will no longer exist isn't?

Of course like others I thought that erasing the Observers completely would erase things that happened like Walternate failing to save Peter and Walter ever going over to rescue him. So no Peter, Olivia, and Etta on this side. But instead they just decided to pick and choose what erasing the Observers resulted in it seems.

Spoiler:

Not to mention that empathic kid was created by the Observers... so he would cease to exist and there'd be no plan to stop the Observers... so I guess the Observers would be back... huh?!?

But yeah, I think the shipping lanes were strictly from 2036 to 2609. They needed all that gear to change the time destination to an earlier time. At least that part made some sense to me.

For me, it was a solid but not perfect finale. A bit rushed and my suspension of disbelief was tested a bit more than usual even by Fringe standards (because of all the time travel stuff). Still the emotional payoff between the characters was more than worth it. In some ways, this is similar to the Lost finale, but obviously better.

Still can't dethrone The Shield and Avatar: The Last Airbender as my favorite finales of all time.

Happy Fr....

Damn.

Too soon, man. Too soon...

John Noble would make a fiiiiiiiiine Doctor Who. I wouldn't mind watching a season or two with him and some not so young companion.

Regarding the paradox stuff...

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The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that they just reset the invasion and not the entire timeline. There's no way for the plan to prevent the invasion without producing some sort of paradox. September needs to exist in order to father (sort of) Michael and transport him back to the past. Peter and Olivia need their Observer-affected timeline to persist in order for them to produce Etta, who is needed to free them from amber in 2036. On top of that, the Walter and Michael that travel to the future now come from a 2036 that no longer exists.

However, there's already massive paradox in place. The moment the Observers invaded in 2015, they seriously messed up the timeline by changing the world on a massive scale a hundred years before scientists created the first Observers. All historical continuity between 2015 and 2609 starts to break down. So, if Walter is correct that "nature abhors a paradox", then perhaps the best-case scenario for the plan is to replace one paradoxical timeline with another.