FRINGE: 4.12 Welcome To Westfield — REVIEW

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Was “Welcome To Westfield” just another procedural-baked cookie with little overarching significance, or was it an episode that progressed Fringe‘s big ideas in a way that satisfied seriable hopes?

THE GOOD

• This mythalone did a better job at informing and extending the overarching story than recent episodes of a similar ilk.

• Crucially, it tied back into the central conflicts and delivered progression to leave us with a better understanding of the bigger picture.

• It was good to see the Olivia, Walter and Peter in tandem again.

• It would be cruel to thumbs up the lack of Lincoln, because I don’t think he’s completely pointless, but let’s just say he wasn’t needed in this episode.

THE BAD

• The case of the week felt a bit inconsequential. It was also wrapped up very conveniently.

• The setting of this episode didn’t resonate with me. As I feared, it felt a bit hokey at times.

• I’m pleased the BBM continues to act as a point of purpose for Peter, but the odd reference to the Jones threat and any progress (or lack of) made in that department wouldn’t go amiss. While this came into play later, once again, it was our team stumbling upon a trail rather than being — or seeming to be — proactive. I don’t expect Jones, shapeshifters and parallel universes in every episode, but with obstacles like these out there, the team’s priorities still feel haphazard. It’s a problem when his level of dedication is not met by their level of commitment.

THE OVEREVIEW

• So, we open with Ohhlivia getting to grips with her problem — no, really! As I mentioned in the preview for this episode, Olivia, Walter and Peter have all had significant dreams since Peter’s re-entry.

• Dreams have always carried significance in Fringe, offering a gateway into a character’s inner mind and subconscious desires/fears — the original ‘over there,’ if you will.

• Olivia’s dream identifies a longing, a hidden connection she’s seemingly been resisting for a while. Whether retroactive or planned, we can assume that she was lying when telling Peter back in ‘ATWLB‘ that her dreams contained zero emotional context. And to be fair to her, if I dreamt about straddling Peter’s BBM, I’d keep it to myself too.

• Olivia wakes from her x-rated dream to good vibrations — but don’t worry, folks, it’s her phone, honest. This episode represents a bit of a wake-up call for Livvy, who is finally catching up with the audience.

• The nature of her resistance is interesting, does she accept what her internal guide is telling her or ignore it and hope it goes away? People tend to gravitate towards dreams and block out nightmares, but sometimes it’s not a conscious choice.

• As if by magic, Walter and Peter have completed a biological interface for the BBM, which will allow Boy Wonder to communicate with the beguiling contraption using just his thoughts — a nice bridge from Olivia’s dream to Peter’s quest to get back home.

• In a sense, both share the same properties — both are dreams, aspirations. Olivia is receiving subconscious wish-fulfilment through her dreams (“I love you”). Peter, meanwhile, is getting closer to tapping those heels and returning home. Is one ‘dream’, more real than the other?

• Within that, questions are again raised about the ‘reality’ of this timeline, and the metaphysical grapple continues — the story within the story.

• As a pure standalone installment this episode would have entertained some, but would not have plugged into the show show’s higher ambitions. Once you go ‘over there,’ it’s very difficult to come back and do five standalone episodes for every one central episode.

• Fortunately, the episode managed to become about our heroes and their internal and external conflicts within the overarching framework.

• Clearly some ‘mythalones’ work better than others. I think it’s becoming ever clearer that for best results, mythalones need to be driven by the overarching story and central character development — this is where the likes of “Wallflower” and”Forced Perspective,” for me, fell short. But that’s something to look at as we continue to explore the different degrees of serialization.

• It will be interesting to see exactly what Jones and Nina’s plans are for the two universes – perhaps destroying one or merging them together (or something of that magnitude). No doubt they plan to wield Olivia to achieve their ultimate ambitions.

• Olivia’s returning memories are possibly an unintended consequence of the Cortexiphan dosing, exacerbated by the events in Westfield (Peter’s memory bump/universe merger).

• As for the timeline, nothing has really changed, we already knew it was rewritten in some sense. The main question for me is whether the ‘original’ and the ‘overlay’ can exist as separated entities. This episode seems to further suggest they can — but what would that really mean?

CASE NOTES

• The dream revelation also informs Olivia’s concerned glances in the previous episode when Altlivia was eying up Peter.

• Interesting to see Olivia ask Peter about “the other Olivia.” She’s basically asking about herself, specifically how Peter perceives her. This is positive reinforcement for Olivia, she can now see herself through someone else’s eyes. And not just anyone, but the guy who presides her oh-so-bad dreams.

• The scene also serves as a reminder as to where Olivia found Peter when their journey reconvened, emphasising the purpose that Peter has gained by her side.

• Peter’s follow-up comment is probably one of his biggest confessions in the entire series, and it’s something that only seems to strike him the moment he says it — the comparison between his mother and Olivia.

• As we know, Elizabeth taught him the power of dreaming, programming him until he accepted his new life. While this can certainly be viewed as a form of child abuse, Peter doesn’t really see the negative connotations, which, as frustrating as this can be, is fairly in-keeping with his character.

• He’s always been an over here boy, because for a long time it was his “crack,” his place. Even though it was based on a lie, the experiences within it were real.

• But as I’ve said before, what this new timeline/process has done is allow him to widen his rather narrow view of the situation, to better understand the two sides and his importance to their healing, and his own. He may not quite be the ‘hero’ the show desperately wants to portray, but he’s learned some valuable lessons since ‘ceasing to exist’, and that’s not to be sniffed at. *sniff*

• But getting back to the point, it’s interesting that Peter is making the parallel between Olivia and Mother Peter. It’s an important moment for his character, because while we can draw parallels, to have him make this connection as to what home really means to him, in a rare moment of reflection, carries weight.

• It was kinda fun to hear about Peter and Olivia’s Friday night routine, eating pizza while watching Fringe. And who knew the BBM doubles as a Nielsen box? Who knew?

ANSWERS

• Fringe Division didn’t investigate the Edina/Project Elephant case in this timeline, though Olivia remembers it — foreshadowing the fact that she’s remembering.

• David Robert Jones used quantities of the amphilicite retrieved in “Enemy Of My Enemy” to merge the two Westfields, producing an overlap.

MYSTERIES

• We have some ideas, but it still needs to be stated: How does Olivia factor into Jones and Nina’s Phase 2 ambitions?

• Is the new timeline really the old timeline? In what context?

 FINAL THOUGHT

• An episode that exceeded my admittedly low expectations. There was enough serialized mythos and character progression in there to make the episode fairly important in the grand scheme of things.

Best Moment: The cliffhanger.

Best Performer: Anna Torv.

Best line: “THAT. ..Is Phase II””

 8/10 Seriable Stars

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Tagged as: Fringe, reviews, welcome to westfield