It’s still the weekend! Just two today – Supernatural and Fringe. Where is Peter? What the hell is with Cas?
Fringe
In short: No Peter, or is it? Two worlds exist in one space, and we meet Our Lincoln. An Observer has a conscience, and there are transluscent people running around the place spreading their see-through creepiness.
You might catch Peter if you’ve got a sharp eye. He’s kind of like a subliminal message, flickering into existence for a millisecond onscreen before the scene glosses it over with a new development.
The opener is a monster of the week and we’re introduced to the Lincoln of our world, a bespectacled, upright officer of the law. It makes me so reminiscent of Olivia’s first foray into Fringe and its strange but wonderful division adventures. While he deals with his initial shock, we catch glimpses of an emotional Observer – the very first one one we ever encountered as viewers. The story is pushed forward little by little, and John Noble knocks it out of the park again. Hopefully this won’t be something that they’ll drag out too long – we need Peter back!
The best thing about this show is its talented actors. There’s no need for suspension of disbelief (at least for me) because they make it so easy to accept that the characters of Altverse are so different from current verse. You don’t think that they’re one person acting as two different people. They are two different people. Anna Torv and John Noble don’t deserve to be snubbed at awards shows.
Bottom line: Yes! Plenty of JJ Abrams branded complexity and character focus, which is great. Lost is great TV, but it’s not merciful at all. Let’s cross our fingers that this won’t turn into a convoluted plotline that can only be resolved three seasons down. My brain can’t handle more than what’s already happening now.
Supernatural
In short: Cas is God, and he makes the world feel it. They make him feel it too. Sam on the other hand, gets (quite freaky) Stigmata type hallucinations. Metallicar gets TLC after being flipped like a flapjack. Bobby & Brothers beg Death to kill God. Was last finale the ultimate shark jump?
Supernatural should’ve ended on its own terms. For some reason, it got extended (twice) and all viewers got was filler and silly meta episodes, which you’re only allowed once as a show. The angel business was both a gift and a curse, but it wasn’t handled well enough for the writers to maintain the same excellence they did when daddy Winchester was around or when Ruby was still played by Katie Cassidy.
Now we’re stuck with the fact that Cas is “God”, where in fact, he isn’t, but simply has the powers of God. And with the spirits and souls of billions long dead – including the older-than-angels beast myths called leviathans – even his little Angel meat suit can’t handle the stress. Poor Misha Collins.
This storyline ends and segues into the next big bad arc quickly by episode’s final minute. It could be interesting, but it could be another “Angels” type attempt at creating something epic. It should’ve just ended with Sam’s diseased soul frying in the pits of hell, but, oh well. Some significant sidenotes: Death is an awesome character; Mark Pellegrino drops by again (yay!) to mess with Sam’s mind. I really want to try some pickled chips.
Bottom line: I have no idea how the writers are going to dig themselves out of this hole, which they’re doing a really good job at. They’re about twenty feet in now, but I’m still waiting for that single turn of events that redeems this show and makes sticking through all the random sputtering worth it again. Climb out of it Supernatural, you still can.
The Big Gap 