The finale of the latest season of J.J. Abrams' interdimensional adventure proves no disappointment...

Well, if I had any reservations regarding the direction the story was heading last week they've been completely nullified by this fine season finale. Not only are character motivations made clear, they are also shockingly exposed. Very few shows would be comfortable ending their second season with their primary character relationships virtually redefined. By the end of "Over There Part 2" Peter (Joshua Jackson), Walter (John Noble), and Olivia (Anna Torv) are all forced to reveal themselves in ways that make the prospect of season three seem even more exciting.

When we last saw them, Olivia and Walter were in deep trouble. Walter had been shot and Olivia left wandering the streets of the parallel universe alone until she ran into the enigmatic William Bell (Leonard Nimoy). Bell tells her that she has no choice but to trust him. That's true and so the two of them search the local hospitals to find Walter.

Meanwhile, Peter has been enjoying the comforts of mom's home-cooked meals, but it's about time for business, so he's ushered by helicopter to see dear old dad at his office on Ellis Island. Do not pay too much attention to the bronze Lady Liberty or that Madison Square Garden is now is the quarantined site of a worm-hole. Since 1999, hundreds of people have been frozen there like insects in amber. That was just one of the results of Walter's original crossover.

Peter's visit with Walternate is full of warm words but chilly delivery. Nothing like Peter's scenes with his mother. Walternate isn't just happy to have his son back, he needs him. It seems that he cannot figure out why the power source of the mystery doomsday machine does not work and thinks Peter can solve it. He seems to be hiding something more significant about this as well. Hmmm, like the "Ark of the Covenent" power of God coming from Peter's eyes maybe?

Anyway, by this time Bell and Olivia have tracked down and rescued Walter who has healed very rapidly due to some alternate universe advanced medicine. They escape the hospital just seconds ahead of Alternate Olivia and Charlie (Kirk Acevedo). Alternate Olivia is very unsettled by who she sees on the surveillance camera tapes running out with Walter. She is even more perplexed by Peter's strange reaction upon first meeting her. She senses that Peter has feelings for this "soulless, empty shell" version of herself and is taken aback by his display of charm, "Your hair's different -- I think I like yours better."

"Basically if anything goes wrong, the plan fails. If this is the best that a pair of geniuses can come up with then the situation must be virtually hopeless"

Cut To: KFC. Where Walter seems to be enjoying some wonderful product placement for the new Double Down "sandwich". (It worked as I have the urge to have one immediately. Damn you KFC.) As he devours the Colonel's sammy, Walter along with Bell and Olivia work out a "non-plan" plan to "rescue" Peter. The non-plan is to split up with Olivia looking for Peter while Bell and Walter build a "doorstop" to allow them to return to their world. It's all very Back to the Future-ish. No one can contact anyone else since Bell warns them that all communications are being monitored. The plan is to meet back at the Opera House at midnight. Basically if anything goes wrong, the plan fails. If this is the best that a pair of geniuses can come up with then the situation must be virtually hopeless.

Olivia uses her one lead, Alternate Olivia, to find Peter and the two ladies finally have their obligatory awesome showdown. Each learns a bit about the other. Alternate Olivia's mother is still alive but her sister is dead. Olivia for her part cannot hide that she's come "over there" because she has feelings for Peter. But more importantly, it's learned that Alternate Olivia keeps her side pistol in her jacket, not her bag. This leads to a knock-down drag out fight that Olivia just barely wins. She takes her opposite number's clothes and ties her up, dyes her hair "Chestnut Brown" and leaves the apartment smiling nervously at Charlie who has shown up to see if "she" is OK. Having learned Peter's whereabouts from some GPS device in Alt-Olivia's bag, Olivia tells Charlie they have to move the boy immediately. Charlie is just shocked that the famous missing kid has been found in the first place. Apparently "Peter Bishop" is the alt-universe version of the Lindbergh baby.

"Nimoy, ever the veteran, doesn't challenge John Noble but instead underplays masterfully. It's a fine lesson in acting from two very skilled peformers and a scene that had been building up for almost two seasons"

To find supplies for their "doorstop", Bell and Walter go to the alt-Harvard lab. It's a moment that allows the two old friends to dish out their differences and to fill in some gaps in the story's myth arc. Bell tells Walter that the "William Bell on this side was killed in a car accident as a young man; over here, the other you and the other me never had occasion to meet." John Noble's performance here is really wonderful. The way he says, "You robbed me of my memory, my wife, my son" was so full of regret and bottled up rage it sent chills down my spine. Nimoy, ever the veteran, doesn't challenge him but instead underplays masterfully. It's a fine lesson in acting from two very skilled peformers and a scene that had been building up for almost two seasons.

But what comes next is probably more surprising and affecting. Having finally found Peter, Olivia tells him to come with her and this alerts Charlie that something is up. He gets smacked in the head for his troubles and Peter knows that this is the real Olivia. However, the real problem wasn't just in finding Peter but to give him a reason to come back. It seems that Peter's figured out that his real dad is worse than his surrogate one. He tells Olivia, "It was never about fixing this universe -- it was about destroying yours." However, he also tells Olivia that he's not from this world or hers. That he doesn't belong anywhere. She tells him that she had hundreds of reasons for him to come back but none of them were important except one. In a moment many Fringe fans have been waiting for, Olivia lets down her protective guard and tearfully tells Peter, "You belong with me."

This leads to an explosive shootout in front of the Opera House as Walter sets up the machine with Peter (who is cordial to him) while Bell and Olivia use some Massive Dynamic weaponry to fight off the enemy. This gives Nimoy a wonderful moment where he whips out a large gun and says,"I supplied Fringe Division with the 76 model," which he fires setting off a huge display of pyrotechnics, "This is the 77." The way Nimoy read the line made me regret that there wasn't a whole subgenre of techo-action flicks made in the '70s with the actor as a badass scientist. It's a loss for cinema.

What happens next is intentionally confusing. Seeing that Alt-Olivia has shown up and is about to shoot Bell, Olivia screams for him to get down.Gunfire blazes and Bell is nearly knocked unconcious. He's helped up by "Olivia" who brings him into the theater. It's fairly obvious that something has happened here and that this may not be the Olivia we want crossing over.

Walter once again brings up the problem of having enough energy to cross back over. Bell tells him that he's crossed over so many times that his atoms are barely holding together. He will be the energy needed in crossing over as the atoms explode. Walter is moved by this and tells Bell that he's had him wrong all these years. They start the machine and the team crosses over. "Olivia" seems a bit startled by it.

Back at the "real" Harvard lab Astrid (Jasika Nicole) has been baking to deal with her nerves. She gives Peter yet another piece of pie and he promises not to make her worry. Peter is going to stay but he's not ready to deal with Walter yet. However, he tells him that "You crossed worlds twice to save my life. That has to stand for something." This pleases Walter greatly.

We now end with the season cliffhanger-our suspicions about "Olivia" were correct. The real Olivia is being held in a dark cell and watched over coldly by Walternate. She's curled in a ball the way she was as a young girl, alone and frightened. Walternate has no sympathy for her, shutting out the lights and leaving her screaming for help.

Finally, we see Alt-Olivia in the pawnshop looking for a certain typewriter. She receieves her orders and season three's conflicts are wonderfully set up. Especially with the additional offhand remark by Bell to Peter that he's held up "remarkably well" considering.

"This finale doesn't just resolve a season's worth of storytelling, it raises the stakes so that the next season can begin fresh with conflicts that are different from the first two seasons"

Credit must be given to writers Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner, and J.H. Wyman. There is nothing stagnant here and the respect that they show their audience is very impressive. This finale doesn't just resolve a season's worth of storytelling, it raises the stakes so that the next season can begin fresh with conflicts that are different from the first two seasons. One of the major problems with series writing is that the formula can lose its effectiveness after two years and many times the changes are merely cosmetic leading to those dreaded "Jump the Shark" moments.

But Fringe has rewarded viewers by commiting to its characters instead. It also helps that the cast is so comfortable with their roles by now and this episode was driven by fine work by not only the elder statesmen Nimoy and Noble but by really strong turns by Jackson and Torv. The separation of their characters at the moment they expressed their love for each other was a masterstroke. That moment is normally denied in a series to keep the sexual tension throughout and if Olivia was allowed to come home with Peter we would get boring scenes of the two in bliss. Now, we have the absence of that bliss and the intense need for them to bring her back. Season Three can't come soon enough.

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