Fringe: Season 2 (2009 – 2010)

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

What I liked:

• The way the tension between Olivia and Peter has been steadily building. It has been intense enough for me to want to pull my hair out! Ugh! But I love it!
• The whole story behind Peter Bishop, Walter, walking between worlds, and all the things that came with it. This has been something that has had breadcrumbs thrown our way since season one, and by the time we finally get to it all in this season, it is amazing. The story is sad, the choices are difficult, the frustration is understandable. I loved it. I loved every second of it.
• I genuinely love all the names that Walter has for Astrid – everything but Astrid. I think my personaly favourite was Ostrich, followed by Asprin.
• I like the way that they have consistently kept spotting the Observers in the episodes. They are always lingering near a Fringe event.
• Sam Weiss. What an entertaining character!
• Walter Bishop. I cannot fail to mention him. The quirky scientist revealed so much to us in this season about his motives, his past, and all the things that motivated him, changed him, broke him.
• Finally seeing William Bell and Walter Bishop reunited. It was quite entertaining, the way they sniped at each other like children.
• The relationship with Peter and Walter was going so well dammit! So well. I mean so good that Peter even called Walter “dad”, and then things went downhill. And in an ugly, painful way, too.
• Seeing how the alternate universe has suffered because of Walter crossing over in 1985 to save Peter.
• That kiss. Eeeek! We have waited so long for Peter and Olivia to do anything at all about their emotions and feelings, and nothing. Then Olivia runs over to the other side to fetch Peter, and she tells him everything. YAY!

What I didn’t like: 

• I did not like how Charlie was written out. It was sudden, abrupt, and it was not closed off nicely, so I had some big problems like that, considering he was quite the important character.
• Some things were rushed in and out, such as characters and events.
• Peter not being with Walter and Olivia, it was so sad for me to think that Walter could be sent back to St Claire’s.
• The way that the other Cortexiphan kids were brought in and out, but always as something bad, dealt with in an episode then hidden away. That got a little annoying quickly.

I get that she just worked it out, but my eye is twitching…

Rating:
So off we are, into another season, and let me just tell you that things get better. They do. The acting is better, the effects are pretty awesome, the score works wonders and the relationships between everyone is so worth watching and they really draw you in. Season two hits the ground running and whips us up into another frenzy of bizarre cases and all. However, something that stuck in my craw from the beginning was the way that Charlie was written out so suddenly, and it wasn’t done nicely. It was rushed and it was glanced over, no time was spent there, I think it was a huge injustice to his character. Olivia also didn’t mourn him for too long, which was both good and bad. I did like how Sam Weiss helped Olivia along her route to recovery after returning from the alternate universe and her meeting with William Bell. Peter and Olivia seem to be gaining ground in their relationship, almost making you think it is going to go somewhere, but the progress is thrown to the wolves the moment that Olivia realises that Peter is, in actual fact, not from our universe. It is terribly painful, and it got a little annoying to watch her and Walter sniping at one another about it, though they both definitely had a point. To see how the Observer (September) was so involved in everything that was happening is awesome. He really was so intricately tied in to everything that was happening. I knew there was no way that it could end well, what with Olivia knowing that Peter wasn’t from there and saying nothing, and Walter deciding to. And I was right. Such a heartbreaking stage, Walter and Peter were making the very best progress of all time, and then Peter lost his cool (understandably) and then, disappointingly, fled. I was also unimpressed with the way that he hit on those other women, I thought there was more to him and Olivia than Walter and a job! Anyway, meeting Walternate was also an experience, it was fascinating to see John Noble flip so seemingly effortlessly between the two. You can distinctly see who you are dealing with the moment Walter(nate) steps on screen, which is great. Leonard Nimoy was also a joy to experience, once again, when we got into the alternate universe. Especially when you saw how he and Walter were around each other. I need to take a moment to say that I missed Charlie immensely, but I was happy to see Astrid steadily gaining more screen time, and more Broyles is also not a bad thing. Plus, what kind of review would this be if I did not address the fact that Peter Bishop is just… hmmm… Joshua Jackson is awesome and I love his portrayal of Peter. This season gave him a lot of material to work with, from regular, to loving, to afraid, to angry and bitter, there was just so much, and he was excellent every step of the way. Naturally, this was another season of Fringe that simply cannot be missed, I truly do recommend this show. I had such a blast rewatching them all, it was so rewarding.

Lastly, for science and all that…

This should be illegal…