We went Over There in the aptly named opener to the two-part Fringe finale last night -- over there, of course, being the other side, where an ID is a "show-me," Martin Luther King Jr. is on the 20, and Agent Olivia Dunham is about 100 times cooler than she is over here. In addition to those revelations, however, Walter Bishop and Co. offered up a ton of fodder for the show's scientific canon. But did these revelations jibe with what we already know?
Scenario: If you can use more of your brain than normal people (like the Cortexiphan kids) then you can traverse into the other world without opening a portal by rearranging your molecules a la Charles Wallace in A Wrinkle in Time.
Plausibility: 8 of 10. I like this. I like more that there are consequences to rearranging your molecules, which is why William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) is stuck over there -- he's gone back and forth so many times that another trip will permanently unstick him.
Scenario: Olivia can get to the other side using only her brain, but she needs to combine powers with the other Cortexiphan trial patients, who, conveniently, have all been trained to use their special abilities for good by Massive Dynamic.
Plausibility: 4 of 10. The "four heads are better than one" element definitely puts a much-needed obstacle in front of interdimensional travel, but it also seems a little meaningless. If the four of them are only transferring themselves (and Walter), why does standing in a circle with their arms outstretched make it any easier? And since the other trial patients died over the course of the episode, what purpose did bringing them back really serve?
Scenario: Peter's going to the other side will bring about the end of both universes.
Plausibility: N/A. This one really smacks of Alias, doesn't it? Remember that Rambaldi manuscript (c. 2002) that says Sydney's going to "render the greatest power unto utter desolation"? Yeah. Looked a lot like that document with the picture of Peter on it. But since we don't know what the document says -- or anything about that weapon that Walternate is hiding in his Department of Defense lab -- it seems a bit too soon to render a judgment.
Walter's best lines:
"If none of you are going to kill me, I think I'll go have a bit of a cry." -- After reuniting with the Cortexiphan trial patients.
"I suspect aliens." -- After explaining that people used to have heightened brain functions, but something seems to have dampened them.
What'd you think of last night's episode? Excited about the possibility of a Walter-Walternate face off?