Over There: Part 2
- Episode aired May 20, 2010
- TV-14
- 43m
IMDb RATING
9.2/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
Sacrifices will be made and both universes may never be the same again after Walter and Olivia visit the "other side."Sacrifices will be made and both universes may never be the same again after Walter and Olivia visit the "other side."Sacrifices will be made and both universes may never be the same again after Walter and Olivia visit the "other side."
Blair Brown
- Nina Sharp
- (credit only)
Diana Pavlovská
- Nurse
- (as Diana Pavlovska)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Peter and the Olivia "over there" talk about the difference between universes, Peter looks at a famous comic book cover starring Green Lantern and Green Arrow, but in this alternate universe, they are Red Lantern and Red Arrow.
- GoofsFauxlivia, having never been experimented on as a child with Cortexiphan, isn't able to open the door between universes, yet does so anyway, and survives crossing over, also impossible for her..
- Quotes
Dr. Walter Bishop: Hello, William.
William Bell: Walter.
Dr. Walter Bishop: I see you've aged.
William Bell: It appears I'm not the only one!
- Crazy creditsThis episode features an opening title sequence that has been changed from predominantly blue colouring to predominantly red to reflect the fact that the episode is set in the alternate universe. The phrase "Parallel Universes" has been replaced with "First People".
- ConnectionsReferences Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Featured review
Season Two: Much Higher Floor (If Lower Ceiling) Than Season One
The first season of Fringe was quite an enigma. After getting off to a shaky start, it found its footing in the final third and delivered a string of 10/10 episodes to finish strong and secure a second season pickup. The last few moments of the S1 finale teased a concept that was as tantalizing as it was mysterious. In Season 2, the quality of each episode is higher (on average) than its S1 counterpart, so to speak, but it also does not-until its own finale-put together consecutive episodes that equal the last 5 or 6 of S1.
For a very basic overview, S2 essentially delves into (albeit in a slowly-but-surely fashion) the grand mysteries presented at the end of S1:
-Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) must come to terms with her trip to the alternate universe and decipher what that means for her-and the Fringe team-going forward. Her childhood involved in the Cortexiphan experiments are also further brought to light.
-Walter Bishop (John Noble) begins putting together the mental pieces (somewhat literally) of what happened to son Peter (Joshua Jackson) as a boy and how those events intertwined both universes.
-Somewhat similar to the ZFT angle of S1, here the alt-universe shape-shifters play a recurring role, one which has serious repercussions for Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo).
In terms of pound-for-pound quality, S2 eclipses S1 on an episode-by-episode basis. Whereas that first season featured a number of "6/10" efforts, there's almost not a single episode in season two that goes under 7 or 8 stars. Episodes like "Jacksonville", "Peter", and the two-part "Over There" finale are mind-blowing, to be sure, and stand up among the best of the entire show.
At the same time, however, there are probably only three or four of those types of episodes here that eclipse 8 stars. This is largely because of the show's preference for stretching out the mysteries as long as they can be sustained. It is very clear that Bad Robot (the same production company that gave us LOST) wanted to slow-burn the material as much as possible. Not a bad approach, per se, but after the enormity of the S1 finale reveal it takes until the end of the season here to truly circle back and dive into those potentialities.
Another indicator of one's potential enjoyment of S2 of Fringe might stem from the "live-watch" versus "re-watch" effect. While watching live, I considered this slate of episodes to be one of the best I had ever witnessed. LOST was ending just as S2 season was hitting its stride, so there was almost a sort of natural transition from one to the other for me. On a recent S2 re-watch, however, I wasn't quite as blown away as 2009-2010 me. Still a solid season of network TV, to be sure, but watching the episodes both quicker than once-a-week and with the knowledge of what was to come, more cracks began to show in terms of plot/character pacing.
Somewhat remarkably, S2 manages to end on just as explosive & intriguing of a note as S1. The "Over There" finale at least somewhat puts to bed the foot-dragging approach to mysteries that the show often took to that point. From this point onward, Fringe will have to strike out into new/unexplored territory (character and plot-wise) more than ever before simply due to the momentous events of "Over There".
Thus, rather surprisingly based on my expectations going in, I have to peg S2 of Fringe at the same 8/10-star level I bestowed upon S1. Whereas that freshman effort struggled to find its footing early and then was dynamite down the home stretch, this sophomore campaign was solid from beginning to end but only featured a few episodes that truly resonated with me as "great".
For a very basic overview, S2 essentially delves into (albeit in a slowly-but-surely fashion) the grand mysteries presented at the end of S1:
-Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) must come to terms with her trip to the alternate universe and decipher what that means for her-and the Fringe team-going forward. Her childhood involved in the Cortexiphan experiments are also further brought to light.
-Walter Bishop (John Noble) begins putting together the mental pieces (somewhat literally) of what happened to son Peter (Joshua Jackson) as a boy and how those events intertwined both universes.
-Somewhat similar to the ZFT angle of S1, here the alt-universe shape-shifters play a recurring role, one which has serious repercussions for Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo).
In terms of pound-for-pound quality, S2 eclipses S1 on an episode-by-episode basis. Whereas that first season featured a number of "6/10" efforts, there's almost not a single episode in season two that goes under 7 or 8 stars. Episodes like "Jacksonville", "Peter", and the two-part "Over There" finale are mind-blowing, to be sure, and stand up among the best of the entire show.
At the same time, however, there are probably only three or four of those types of episodes here that eclipse 8 stars. This is largely because of the show's preference for stretching out the mysteries as long as they can be sustained. It is very clear that Bad Robot (the same production company that gave us LOST) wanted to slow-burn the material as much as possible. Not a bad approach, per se, but after the enormity of the S1 finale reveal it takes until the end of the season here to truly circle back and dive into those potentialities.
Another indicator of one's potential enjoyment of S2 of Fringe might stem from the "live-watch" versus "re-watch" effect. While watching live, I considered this slate of episodes to be one of the best I had ever witnessed. LOST was ending just as S2 season was hitting its stride, so there was almost a sort of natural transition from one to the other for me. On a recent S2 re-watch, however, I wasn't quite as blown away as 2009-2010 me. Still a solid season of network TV, to be sure, but watching the episodes both quicker than once-a-week and with the knowledge of what was to come, more cracks began to show in terms of plot/character pacing.
Somewhat remarkably, S2 manages to end on just as explosive & intriguing of a note as S1. The "Over There" finale at least somewhat puts to bed the foot-dragging approach to mysteries that the show often took to that point. From this point onward, Fringe will have to strike out into new/unexplored territory (character and plot-wise) more than ever before simply due to the momentous events of "Over There".
Thus, rather surprisingly based on my expectations going in, I have to peg S2 of Fringe at the same 8/10-star level I bestowed upon S1. Whereas that freshman effort struggled to find its footing early and then was dynamite down the home stretch, this sophomore campaign was solid from beginning to end but only featured a few episodes that truly resonated with me as "great".
helpful•80
- zkonedog
- Jun 30, 2019
Details
- Runtime43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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