Wouldnt be a Fringe thread without a STW hate post.
I'm sorry that I actually don't accept anything that a writer puts out and lap it like some Pavlovian dog.
Also, I didn't hate the last two episodes they were entertaining set-up but this episode was a mess and since it was meant to be the pay-off for this season it really was lame. The writers did nothing but steal ideas from recent tv shows like LOST and Heroes which did something similiar with the whatever happened happened aspect of time travel, our heroes actually being a part of a historic event unbeknowst to them due to time travel(Hiro traveling to feudal Japan in S2 of Heroes and being his childhood hero, the 815 survivors traveling to 1970s and integrating into Dharma and triggering the Incident), a "What if..." worst case scenario that must be avoided(ENT's "Twilight", Heroes" 5 Years Gone").
This season put aside Sam Weiss, the First People, the Weapon after they became intriguing elements introduced early on in the year. Now I see why they were absent since they were paper thin. You might like the idea that the First People weren't some intriguing ancient civilization that would have added another layer to the story but was just Walter sending the Weapon back--these paradoxes are tired and easy ways out besides this was fresh with the anti-time anomaly in TNG's All Good Things.. not after years of use. I was waiting anxiously for some interesting explanation on why the weapon responds to Peter--what did we end up getting --Peter was linked to the Weapon just because it was always that way--it comes across as the writers too lazy to come up with a compelling reason like he was from the other universe that triggered all this--but they couldn't even do that since they chose to go the route that the Weapon wasn't created by anyone it just existed--well we all know why--it was a plot macguffin by the writers that literally popped it into existence because thy couldn't come up with who built the weapon, why they built the weapon, why it was tuned to Peter--it was the Fringe writer's "God" card they pulled out much like Ron Moore did on BSG when he threw his hands up and made it the catch all for any unanswered question.
The mythology had been the show's greatest asset but in recent episodes it started to look like it would probably end up turning into a botched mess like every show that has attempted these series-spanning myths have ended up being--X-Files, LOST, Heroes, The Event, Flash Forward, BSG, The 4400. I started feeling that way when the writers started showing their cards with the revelation halfway through that the fate of both universes hingd on who Peter loved more. Then this finale's cheap answers to the weapon and first people just reinforces it. So I decided I won't be burnt again--the mythology was the only thing tethering me to this show--the characters aren't that interesting and the standalones are boring and I could care less about all the romantic angst.
They kill Olivia then she is back alive before her future corpse was cold. I might have enjoyed this or been moved had this been my first time to this particular sci-fi rodeo but at this point in my life I know how these type of episodes go and unless they are done really well it is cheap because the writers can be bold and kill off characters when they know it won't be permanent.
Those were my main issues with this finale. Now when it comes to this season yes I've been hard on it--too many stale one-offs, the silly sci-fi which I could tolerate before just went off the rails, the Peter/Olivia/Fauxlivia romance was focused on too much, Bell's return was wasted and just killed time. The show was never consistent but this was the weakest most aimless season yet. I'm dumping this show before they get a chance to disappoint me the way LOST or TXF did.