Fringe: “And Those We’ve Left Behind” Review
Friday’s episode of Fringe was a bit of a standalone episode. It was a strong one, though there wasn’t much plot advancement from a broader perspective. Still, a good episode is a good episode and “And Those We’ve Left Behind” tells a poignant time travel story with enough science and emotion to make it worthwhile.
“And Those We’ve Left Behind” begins with a time slip - something we saw at the end of last week’s episode in Olivia’s office. There’s concern over whether or not these Fringe events are sparked by Peter’s re-insertion into the timeline. By the end of the episode, it’s suggested that although these events were specifically caused by Raymond and Kate Green’s experiment, Peter’s presence did have a hand in the time-altering event.
The whole story arc involving Raymond and Kate Green is appropriately touching and well done. “And Those We’ve Left Behind” really merged the hard and soft science-fiction, creating a tale infused with a perfect blend of science and humanity. In one moment we listen to Walter explain the Fibonacci sequence and in the next, we’re watching a married couple handle the trauma of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and all the ramifications that come with it.
The end - with Kate crossing out the formula and writing her goodbye - is a bit predictable but that doesn’t make it any less effective. Sometimes knowing what’s about to come is more powerful than a surprise.
Though the story is well-told, “And Those We’ve Left Behind” fails to live up to its Season 2 companion piece, “White Tulip.” As a time travel story, “And Those We’ve Left Behind” certainly works, but its similarity and less-powerful outcome hinders the piece a bit. Still, it’s hard to imagine a Fringe time travel story trumping “White Tulip,” and the fact that this episode even comes close is saying a lot.
I really like the conclusion of this episode, where Peter gets his house back. The scene between him and Olivia is great because it made me rethink a critical issue of this season: what if this is another universe? That’s what Peter thinks, and it alleviated some of my concerns from last week. The reason Peter’s not reaching out to Olivia or Walter is simply because he doesn’t think these are the people from his own timeline.
It makes sense, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of that sooner. Still, it’s nice that the writers addressed the issue for those of us that didn’t catch on to Peter’s motivations.
Next week is the last episode of Fringe before another extended break. Let’s hope the show leaves us with something big to hold us over until January.
-MP
Note: This review is taken from Review Hub Central.
