Fringe "There's More than One of Everything" review: crossing to the other side

“Fringe” is my favorite debut of the season. While it doesn’t speak for what season 2 holds, the first season begins and ends like a fine book. It offers both closure and intrigue, and most importantly, the finale offers Leonard Nimoy.

Unlike previous episodes, the May 12th finale is more of a capper to the questions we’ve been asking than something that offers lots of twists and turns. The episode starts off immediately after Nina Sharp’s shooting. The culprit is revealed to be a mutated David Robert Jones. Nina Sharp, in addition to being William Bell’s second-in-command, is also the keeper of an energy cell that is needed to tap into the alternate reality the show’s been exploring for quite some time.

Functionally, the episode does a lot of stalling because ultimately only two major plot points occur. One, Walter is led by the Observer to find a plug for the gateways to the alternate reality (or realities). The other is stopping David Robert Jones from entering the alternate reality so he doesn’t harm William Bell. Yes, William Bell is residing in the other world, something I’ve predicted for a while now.

Despite its seemingly convoluted storytelling, the episode is quite straightforward in nature. However, the episode is extremely illuminating in the mythology of “Fringe.” First of all, all the fringe cases are a result of the advancement of modern science. The experimentation with reality and than some has caused the barrier between different realities to weaken at various soft spots. Therefore, it is both mankinds’ experimentation with God’s work and the distortion of realities that has caused all these mysterious happenings.

This is also why the Observer tracks all the fringe cases, because it is apparently his job to stop the crossover of realities. If we recall, Nina Sharp cites the Observer’s increased sightings as a signal for something. It is now clear that his increased presence means someone will soon attempt to open a portal to the other world, and it is his job to stop that from happening.

It has clearly been a while since this has happened, because Walter has not used the plug for many years. Most likely, the last time it was used was to retrieve Peter from the other reality. Yes, the reason Peter recalls so little of his childhood is because the Peter from this world passed away many years ago. Something tells me that dire consequences can come from such a tampering, but so far it has yet to of any significance. I’m also curious why the Observer would allow such a thing to happen if his job is to prevent it in the first place.

Olivia also gets the opportunity to warp into the other reality and meets William Bell. The only major reveals from this little scene is Bell’s unnamed illness and the other reality’s apparent awareness of our world. Apparently, the work of Massive Dynamic is well on its way on the other side as well. What's a few differences between the worlds, you ask? For starters, the Twin Towers are still up and the Statue of Liberty is missing in the other reality.

Clearly, the creators have been planning this alternate reality storyline for a while. It is a great setup for season 2. While season 1 is officially wrapped up with most of the villains dead and cases solved, we have no idea what’s in store for the fall. Potentially, we could meet multiples of the same character, as we’ve briefly seen with Agent Francis. The coming war between the realities is also most likely an important part of next season.

While the show has officially opened a whole can of worms, I have very little to question. More than any other show, “Fringe” strikes the perfect balance of revealing answers while presenting more questions. Audiences can watch the first season with satisfaction, but they can also anticipate season 2 with great intrigue. I look forward to another season of this wonderful show come fall.

What do you think is in store for next season?

Rating: 4.5/5

Fringe season 2 promo: