there is no other road for him
Oct. 1st, 2011 08:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inmyriadbitsI just started watching the video of the Fringe panel at SDCC. It's not even a minute in, but Seth Gabel (who plays Agent Lincoln Lee) pulled out Jasika Nicole's chair for her (JN plays Astrid), and it was too adorable not to share. [ETA: I've now finished the whole thing, and it is ALL adorable. ♥!]
Anyway, this is probably a good time to talk about Fringe! Katie and I were way behind as of about a week ago (we'd only seen through 3.09 "Marionette"), but we caught up in time to watch 4.02 "One Night in October" live last night.
Have I mentioned recently that I love this show? Because I really, really love this show. It's consistently quality TV, well-acted, and just damn interesting. And Olivia Dunham is completely made of awesome. I think she is hands-down my favorite character on TV right now, and Anna Torv keeps knocking it out of the freakin' ballpark with her acting. Katie recently counted how many different personas she's had to play (for sci-fi reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture), and the count is currently at a whopping seven: 1) original flavor Olivia, 2) alt!Olivia, 3) original-with-brainwashing, 4) original-possessed-by-William-Bell, 5) alt!Olivia undercover as original!Olivia, 6) the new world-without-Peter Olivia, and 7) noir-verse Olivia. And in all of them -- except in #4 as William Bell, in which she has eerily erased all traces of Olivia's personality -- she's still Olivia Dunham, but different Olivia Dunhams. It's astounding.
Last night's episode was a fun use of that; I think it's really the first time they've been able to have Olivia and Alt!Olivia onscreen together at the same time (well, not in a fight scene, at least, and interacting emotionally. Alt!Olivia fidgets, and our Olivia doesn't, and it's so bizarre how much of a difference that makes, and what it says about their personalities. Also, she has a wicked mean streak; our Olivia can be harsh, and hard, but she's very rarely outright cruel -- likely as a result of being subject to so much cruelty herself.
Speaking of -- this world-without-Peter version of Olivia killed her stepfather? Well, that's a change I didn't see coming. But it's a great one, with all sorts of subtle ripple-effects for the character. The parallels with the professor/serial killer guys are subtle but there -- small moments, one person, one day, all can matter enough to change a person drastically. Also -- so, apparently no Cortexiphan trials here? I mean, if Peter died when Walter brought him back, there was no need; world-without-Peter Olivia is wearing colors; there's a reference to the other side kidnapping her and stealing her life (rather than her being able to travel between worlds herself); and there have been no references to Olivia's special abilities. Hmmm. (Although, I would like to point out that on any other show, a plotline in which the hero loses their special powers would involve a LOT of anvil-y "OH NOES, what have we lost?" and "I'm not the person I was!" type of stuff. Even if no one remember, as they do here, they would likely be showy about the negative space. Whereas on Fringe, Olivia continues to be undiminished in her awesome, because she is what makes her awesome, not her Cortexiphan-induced abilities. I love that so, so much.)
This show plays really wonderfully with dualities, which I think I appreciate all the more for being an identical twin. It appreciates the subtleties that can mean everything, about someone's identity or mannerisms or interpersonal relationships. I don't know, I just -- the way they respect both worlds, and value both sets of characters, just pings something deep within my psyche and makes me happy.
Moving on from the serious topics, LET'S TALK ABOUT LEE. I love Lee. I adore Alt!Lee, who is competent and snarky and adorably smitten with Alt!Olivia in a way I totally approve. I really like our new Lee, too, who quietly rolls with all the new craziness in his life but is equally as competent and fierce. I'm glad they've already shut the Olivia/Lee option down over here (both because I'm very Olivia/Peter OTP, and because I don't think they would suit each other), and that that doesn't mean I can't still ship Olivia/Lee -- I can just do that in the alternate universe! Shipper dilemma solved! (Except, in a world-without-Peter, that apparently means she's still with Frank. Dang it.) But I would be totally down with Astrid/Lee. I'm just sayin'. At the very least, I want them to become friends, because I do think their personalities would suit. I'm excited about getting Astrid in the field more, by the by; I hope whatever way they find to bring Peter back doesn't reset that, at least (and ditto with Alt!SexyT-Shirt!Broyles still being alive). I've seen a lot of speculation that our Lee is gay, which I didn't really ping him as, but I am definitely open to the idea. I just really like having him around.
All the same, I'm really feeling Peter's absence. In a way, it's like the beginning of S3 all over again -- Olivia was around, technically, as undercover!Alt!Olivia and brainwashed!Olivia, but our Olivia wasn't there at all, and I missed her terribly. They're kind of terrifically great at that sort of It's A Wonderful Life dynamic on this show, aren't they? [ETA: lol, they just brought IAWL up in the SDCC panel discussion. \o/!] The absence of a person, the hole and sense of loss they leave behind -- it's a trope that comes up over and over again, about Peter first and foremost, but in so many other ways as well. Anyway, I want Peter back. Olivia is so much sadder and less open without him, and Walter is making me want to cry. Luckily, I have one thing to hang onto -- that this show is fantastic at drawing out its storylines just as long as they need to, and no more. I have no doubt that they will milk every bit of longing and drama and burning curiosity that they can out of the situation. But they won't start re-treading issues, or contriving re-sets, or murdering characterizations to sustain UST or create a complication just for sweeps or any of the other incredibly annoying things that most TV shows do. It will be exciting, and it won't be manipulative, and I will be absolutely thrilled, as always.
Speaking of, back to S3 -- my god, Peter and Olivia were such adults about their relationship in the middle of that huge, disastrous mess of a situation that I wanted to cry big, embarrassing tears of gratitude. They didn't play games with each other's hearts. They didn't flounce, or fling blame where it didn't belong, or divert responsibility, or act with unnecessary cruelty. And that doesn't mean they're any less in love, it just means they're not being immature children about it. They talk about their relationship and cuddle and say "I love you" without getting sap all over the audience, but still make my toes curl up at the cuteness. I just really, really love them together, okay? And I love that they took their time getting there, too -- two full seasons of building a friendship and a work partnership and a sense of trust and support, and then they went for it! And when it turned out an undercover agent from an alternate universe temporarily got in their way, did they let that stop them? Did they implode? No, they did not. They took the hit, and kept on ticking, and even the fact that we see they end up married ten years in the future does nothing to lessen my investment in their relationship. Take that, Moonlighting-theorists! (By the way, how cute was that? And how great was Ella as an agent? I love every time they bring Ella back, she's so wonderful.)
Bouncing back to current yet again, I really enjoyed this episode. Olivia working with the other side, on the other side, that was fun! I liked how cocky Alt!Olivia was, and how our Olivia in contrast contributed quietly but firmly to the investigation, and how much better she was at connecting with the professor. The concept of the serial killer -- stealing moments of happiness from other people -- was kind of chilling (no pun intended). I did love that scene in the gas station, when they inverted the mother-starts-screaming-for-abducted-child trope so neatly. I mean, I figured it out, but you never see that! It's always the other way around. I was so creeped out by the ending -- they came this close to creating a serial killer out of an innocent man, and I was so relieved when it turned out they hadn't. AND they managed to tie it into the Peter storyline. Damn, they're good.
Anyway, this is probably a good time to talk about Fringe! Katie and I were way behind as of about a week ago (we'd only seen through 3.09 "Marionette"), but we caught up in time to watch 4.02 "One Night in October" live last night.
Have I mentioned recently that I love this show? Because I really, really love this show. It's consistently quality TV, well-acted, and just damn interesting. And Olivia Dunham is completely made of awesome. I think she is hands-down my favorite character on TV right now, and Anna Torv keeps knocking it out of the freakin' ballpark with her acting. Katie recently counted how many different personas she's had to play (for sci-fi reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture), and the count is currently at a whopping seven: 1) original flavor Olivia, 2) alt!Olivia, 3) original-with-brainwashing, 4) original-possessed-by-William-Bell, 5) alt!Olivia undercover as original!Olivia, 6) the new world-without-Peter Olivia, and 7) noir-verse Olivia. And in all of them -- except in #4 as William Bell, in which she has eerily erased all traces of Olivia's personality -- she's still Olivia Dunham, but different Olivia Dunhams. It's astounding.
Last night's episode was a fun use of that; I think it's really the first time they've been able to have Olivia and Alt!Olivia onscreen together at the same time (well, not in a fight scene, at least, and interacting emotionally. Alt!Olivia fidgets, and our Olivia doesn't, and it's so bizarre how much of a difference that makes, and what it says about their personalities. Also, she has a wicked mean streak; our Olivia can be harsh, and hard, but she's very rarely outright cruel -- likely as a result of being subject to so much cruelty herself.
Speaking of -- this world-without-Peter version of Olivia killed her stepfather? Well, that's a change I didn't see coming. But it's a great one, with all sorts of subtle ripple-effects for the character. The parallels with the professor/serial killer guys are subtle but there -- small moments, one person, one day, all can matter enough to change a person drastically. Also -- so, apparently no Cortexiphan trials here? I mean, if Peter died when Walter brought him back, there was no need; world-without-Peter Olivia is wearing colors; there's a reference to the other side kidnapping her and stealing her life (rather than her being able to travel between worlds herself); and there have been no references to Olivia's special abilities. Hmmm. (Although, I would like to point out that on any other show, a plotline in which the hero loses their special powers would involve a LOT of anvil-y "OH NOES, what have we lost?" and "I'm not the person I was!" type of stuff. Even if no one remember, as they do here, they would likely be showy about the negative space. Whereas on Fringe, Olivia continues to be undiminished in her awesome, because she is what makes her awesome, not her Cortexiphan-induced abilities. I love that so, so much.)
This show plays really wonderfully with dualities, which I think I appreciate all the more for being an identical twin. It appreciates the subtleties that can mean everything, about someone's identity or mannerisms or interpersonal relationships. I don't know, I just -- the way they respect both worlds, and value both sets of characters, just pings something deep within my psyche and makes me happy.
Moving on from the serious topics, LET'S TALK ABOUT LEE. I love Lee. I adore Alt!Lee, who is competent and snarky and adorably smitten with Alt!Olivia in a way I totally approve. I really like our new Lee, too, who quietly rolls with all the new craziness in his life but is equally as competent and fierce. I'm glad they've already shut the Olivia/Lee option down over here (both because I'm very Olivia/Peter OTP, and because I don't think they would suit each other), and that that doesn't mean I can't still ship Olivia/Lee -- I can just do that in the alternate universe! Shipper dilemma solved! (Except, in a world-without-Peter, that apparently means she's still with Frank. Dang it.) But I would be totally down with Astrid/Lee. I'm just sayin'. At the very least, I want them to become friends, because I do think their personalities would suit. I'm excited about getting Astrid in the field more, by the by; I hope whatever way they find to bring Peter back doesn't reset that, at least (and ditto with Alt!SexyT-Shirt!Broyles still being alive). I've seen a lot of speculation that our Lee is gay, which I didn't really ping him as, but I am definitely open to the idea. I just really like having him around.
All the same, I'm really feeling Peter's absence. In a way, it's like the beginning of S3 all over again -- Olivia was around, technically, as undercover!Alt!Olivia and brainwashed!Olivia, but our Olivia wasn't there at all, and I missed her terribly. They're kind of terrifically great at that sort of It's A Wonderful Life dynamic on this show, aren't they? [ETA: lol, they just brought IAWL up in the SDCC panel discussion. \o/!] The absence of a person, the hole and sense of loss they leave behind -- it's a trope that comes up over and over again, about Peter first and foremost, but in so many other ways as well. Anyway, I want Peter back. Olivia is so much sadder and less open without him, and Walter is making me want to cry. Luckily, I have one thing to hang onto -- that this show is fantastic at drawing out its storylines just as long as they need to, and no more. I have no doubt that they will milk every bit of longing and drama and burning curiosity that they can out of the situation. But they won't start re-treading issues, or contriving re-sets, or murdering characterizations to sustain UST or create a complication just for sweeps or any of the other incredibly annoying things that most TV shows do. It will be exciting, and it won't be manipulative, and I will be absolutely thrilled, as always.
Speaking of, back to S3 -- my god, Peter and Olivia were such adults about their relationship in the middle of that huge, disastrous mess of a situation that I wanted to cry big, embarrassing tears of gratitude. They didn't play games with each other's hearts. They didn't flounce, or fling blame where it didn't belong, or divert responsibility, or act with unnecessary cruelty. And that doesn't mean they're any less in love, it just means they're not being immature children about it. They talk about their relationship and cuddle and say "I love you" without getting sap all over the audience, but still make my toes curl up at the cuteness. I just really, really love them together, okay? And I love that they took their time getting there, too -- two full seasons of building a friendship and a work partnership and a sense of trust and support, and then they went for it! And when it turned out an undercover agent from an alternate universe temporarily got in their way, did they let that stop them? Did they implode? No, they did not. They took the hit, and kept on ticking, and even the fact that we see they end up married ten years in the future does nothing to lessen my investment in their relationship. Take that, Moonlighting-theorists! (By the way, how cute was that? And how great was Ella as an agent? I love every time they bring Ella back, she's so wonderful.)
Bouncing back to current yet again, I really enjoyed this episode. Olivia working with the other side, on the other side, that was fun! I liked how cocky Alt!Olivia was, and how our Olivia in contrast contributed quietly but firmly to the investigation, and how much better she was at connecting with the professor. The concept of the serial killer -- stealing moments of happiness from other people -- was kind of chilling (no pun intended). I did love that scene in the gas station, when they inverted the mother-starts-screaming-for-abducted-child trope so neatly. I mean, I figured it out, but you never see that! It's always the other way around. I was so creeped out by the ending -- they came this close to creating a serial killer out of an innocent man, and I was so relieved when it turned out they hadn't. AND they managed to tie it into the Peter storyline. Damn, they're good.