The last we caught up with Jasika Nicole, it was fall in Vancouver on the set of Fringe, and Peter (Joshua Jackson) was just about to return, so needless to say, all eyes were on how things would be different with him back in the mix-- the only character without an alt-universe doppelganger because he never truly existed in either of these “new” universes. That got us thinking to what would happen when Nicole’s Astrid finally met her own doppelganger. At the time, she admitted though the two women were “fundamentally different,” she really had no idea what their common ground would be. Their meeting wasn’t written yet, so she had no inkling of how Astrid would even respond. But oh, how things can change in just a few short months.
The next all-new episode of Fringe, entitled “Making Angels,” has Astrid not only meeting her alternate self but freaking out a little bit about it. In fact, Astrid’s exact response when she comes face-to-face with, well, herself is to scream, prompting Olivia (Anna Torv) to remark that she always wondered why more people don’t respond in such a way. It is pretty weird to see yourself outside of a mirror.
For Astrid, though, it’s not just about the shock and surprise of the physicalities but also about realizing just how good she has it by seeing what her life could have been through this other woman's eyes. Alt-Astrid has a different job, but Nicole shared that on a much deeper, more personal level, alt-Astrid has had a hard life and actually comes to our Astrid needing a bit of help.
“Alternate Astrid is looking for solace. She’s had a rough life, actually,” Nicole previewed on a conference call for the press, LA TV Insider Examiner included. “This Astrid has had such a charmed life compared…I think this Astrid has taken that for granted because you know, you never know what other direction your life could have gone down. And so seeing this alternate Astrid has probably given her a little insight into how fortunate she is and lucky that she is to have the people around her that she does.”
“Alternate Astrid is not closed-off; she has Asperger’s,” Nicole continued, dropping a big spoiler. “So she’s got some fundamentally different things about her that make her disassociate with other people around her and the world. I don’t necessarily think that she wants to be closed off or wants to be awkward in conversations and social interactions, it’s just how she is. But I think that knowing there’s another version out there that doesn’t have these difficulties makes her excited-- makes her want to meet her and see what her life is like.”
We expect a little heartbreak, how about you?
Alternate Astrid is the one, then, that “crosses over,” so to speak and seeks out our Astrid. It’s not simply to see how the other half lives-- though we’re sure that once the two women come face to face, it will stir up a lot of emotions that may lead to at least one of them trying to change to be more or less like the other.
“Something personal happens to [alt-Astrid], and it’s really traumatic, and she doesn’t have anybody else to turn to, and her only option is to come here, which I think is incredible; I think it’s pretty brave because I think this Astrid is maybe too afraid to go over to the alternate universe,” Nicole shared.
“Because of this traumatic event that happens to one of alternate Astrid’s family members, that’s the impetus to bring her to this universe to find out more about the 'coulda, shoulda, wouldas'. This Astrid needs the alternate Astrid just to give her perspective on her life. She’s been closed up inside this lab for the last four years with this kind of crazy doctor, and all of these really bizarre, terrifying things are happening in the world. She meets this woman who looks just like her and could have had the exact same life as her but has not. And that opens up her eyes a little bit to realize how fortunate she is to have these people in her life. You know, as crazy and dysfunctional as her work family is, it is a family, and that is of great significance to her.”
Fringe airs on FOX on Friday nights at 9pm. “Making Angels” airs on February 3rd 2012.
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