Lucky the ignorant. At the end of the season 3 premiere I had no idea what happened outside the building right before Olivia tried to enter. Amber, sweet Amber. Silly me, I thought it would be about a woman. But the amber is actually a technology invented by Walternate to prevent the parallel universe from collapsing on itself because of the fringe events. The people trapped in it almost looked like insects fossilized by an ageless tree resin. But things are not as natural as in Jurassic Park and the orange beauty had a secret of its own. Sadly they decided not to throw raptors in the mix even if it would have definitely been funny. However when the Fringe headquarters went red because of an anomaly my mind instantly jumped to Primeval. So fans of these productions should feel right at home.
Otherwise the show had wild cards of its own and playing its game was puzzling. Indeed what could be better than a bank robber with a twin brother ? Add wormholes, Olivia's ability to cross over and you get an other paranormal journey. Some scenes also featured well rendered visual effects even if it seems Peter's appearances will never get the creative treatment they deserve. They decided to film these scenes like if they were real. A deliberate decision I suppose but I can only regret it. However it's still a minor issue compared to the show numerous qualities. Acting is one of them and John Noble is quite convincing as Walternate. It was nice to see him back at the labs after what he said in The Plateau. So I'm glad they didn't do the same mistake as in Caprica where experiences were ran by a nerd while Daniel Graystone the evil genius was cooking diner. An other talent we can count on is Lance Reddick. His portrayal of Phillip Broyles, Fringe division head, is relatively inexpressive but definitely charismatic. It makes him even more enigmatic and blurs the lines we're supposed to draw. Is he really rooting for Walternate and his elaborate strategy ? When will he know that Olivia has doubts about her identity ? These questions were raised right when we learned about these plot lines and the writers were wise enough to leave some breadcrumbs regularly.
Last but not least one of the most fascinating dialog was probably between Walternate and his assistant. Nature is not about good and evil. It's defined by balance and imbalance. He sees Olivia as the key to close the door between the universes, to seal their fate for the greater good, even if it leads to the extinction of the Prime world. Amber, bitter Amber. What are your strengths and weaknesses so I can free you from yourself ?