polar bear
Feb. 13th, 2011 01:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swatkatOMGWTFPREGNANCY?
I was afraid of this ever since 3.10, and OH GOD, they really went there! I don't know what to say. Pregnancy as a storyline in general has been tainted forever and ever in my mind, because too often it is used as a gimmick to generate tears and cheap melodrama. Fringe, to be very fair, does seldom do cheap melodrama, but we're at season 3.5 and this is usually where shows go off the rails so I don't know, I'm worried, despite this assurance from the writers. I found the final scene deeply creepy—something to do with Walternate's smile, the way he doesn't even ask Altlivia what she might have to say about being the mother of his future grandchild.
I've been struggling to make this post since last week, actually. Fringe is just really hard to talk about, and even more so when my own feelings are a confused mess, part anxious, part annoyed and part ♥OLIVIA♥. We're at that point in the season when they're taking a little breather after the explosive season opening arc—the fallout and setting up for future arcs; it takes a little getting used to after the breakneck speed of the first eight episodes. It doesn't help that much of my annoyance about 3.11 and 3.12 can be summed up by 'enough with Peter, I want Olivia', although I complained after 3.10 that the show doesn't really care about Peter as a character the way it cares about Olivia and Walter, which makes buying Peter/Olivia somewhat difficult as far as I'm concerned. But here's the thing—I don't really care about Peter's penis, or its capacity to save universes, I just don't; neither do I care for a storyline that might have the two Olivias competing against each other for Peter's affections, all in the name of saving the fabric of the universe. I prefer Peter when he's genius-wrangling Walter and being quietly supportive of Olivia. And so 3.12, and Sam Weiss and Nina Sharp's conversation, filled me with a lot of apprehension. THIS COULD GO REALLY BADLY, and I wouldn't want that for this show.
That said, a couple of interesting things that make me hopeful:
a. Peter likes Altlivia. As in, really likes her. Has ~feelings for her. This was unexpected, and I cannot believe they went there, with the clear assertion that while he wants to consciously choose Olivia, he can't help but feel what he feels for Altlivia.
b. It's still about Olivia. 3.12, with the appearance of another Cortexikid, was more about Olivia's feeling of isolation and her struggle to move on with her life after everything than about Peter and his Special Destiny. In case it wasn't clear, I'M OKAY WITH THIS.
c. Cortexiphan. Ability. Olivia's ability and conscious control of it, vs. Peter's bond with the machine, which is beyond his control.
d. The machine made Peter less 'reactive'. AND A COLD SERIAL SHAPESHIFTER KILLER.
Other things of note
- Walternate won't cross the line with children. Walter happily did.
- Brandonate is HORRIBLE
- How cute is Lincoln Lee? And the Alt-team in general.
- I like Dr. Frank. Maybe he and Altstrid can date.
- I cannot bear a sad Olivia. Any sad Olivia.
I was afraid of this ever since 3.10, and OH GOD, they really went there! I don't know what to say. Pregnancy as a storyline in general has been tainted forever and ever in my mind, because too often it is used as a gimmick to generate tears and cheap melodrama. Fringe, to be very fair, does seldom do cheap melodrama, but we're at season 3.5 and this is usually where shows go off the rails so I don't know, I'm worried, despite this assurance from the writers. I found the final scene deeply creepy—something to do with Walternate's smile, the way he doesn't even ask Altlivia what she might have to say about being the mother of his future grandchild.
I've been struggling to make this post since last week, actually. Fringe is just really hard to talk about, and even more so when my own feelings are a confused mess, part anxious, part annoyed and part ♥OLIVIA♥. We're at that point in the season when they're taking a little breather after the explosive season opening arc—the fallout and setting up for future arcs; it takes a little getting used to after the breakneck speed of the first eight episodes. It doesn't help that much of my annoyance about 3.11 and 3.12 can be summed up by 'enough with Peter, I want Olivia', although I complained after 3.10 that the show doesn't really care about Peter as a character the way it cares about Olivia and Walter, which makes buying Peter/Olivia somewhat difficult as far as I'm concerned. But here's the thing—I don't really care about Peter's penis, or its capacity to save universes, I just don't; neither do I care for a storyline that might have the two Olivias competing against each other for Peter's affections, all in the name of saving the fabric of the universe. I prefer Peter when he's genius-wrangling Walter and being quietly supportive of Olivia. And so 3.12, and Sam Weiss and Nina Sharp's conversation, filled me with a lot of apprehension. THIS COULD GO REALLY BADLY, and I wouldn't want that for this show.
That said, a couple of interesting things that make me hopeful:
a. Peter likes Altlivia. As in, really likes her. Has ~feelings for her. This was unexpected, and I cannot believe they went there, with the clear assertion that while he wants to consciously choose Olivia, he can't help but feel what he feels for Altlivia.
b. It's still about Olivia. 3.12, with the appearance of another Cortexikid, was more about Olivia's feeling of isolation and her struggle to move on with her life after everything than about Peter and his Special Destiny. In case it wasn't clear, I'M OKAY WITH THIS.
c. Cortexiphan. Ability. Olivia's ability and conscious control of it, vs. Peter's bond with the machine, which is beyond his control.
d. The machine made Peter less 'reactive'. AND A COLD SERIAL SHAPESHIFTER KILLER.
Other things of note
- Walternate won't cross the line with children. Walter happily did.
- Brandonate is HORRIBLE
- How cute is Lincoln Lee? And the Alt-team in general.
- I like Dr. Frank. Maybe he and Altstrid can date.
- I cannot bear a sad Olivia. Any sad Olivia.
