['Fringe' - 'Amber 31422']

Thank goodness the San Francisco Giants were able to dispatch of the Texas Rangers in five games. Otherwise, the return of 'Fringe' would have been delayed another week, and two weeks without was plenty. In this episode we returned to the other side, where we saw that both Twin Towers are now fully standing.

At the end of the ep, I was struck by how powerfully it connected this season and, in its own way, both disparate universes we've been following. It would have made for a much stronger pre-World Series cliffhanger. Plus, when the show came back, it would have been in "our" universe, which would have made more sense to any potential new viewers.

As it was, though, for those of us who've been with this show for the long haul, we finally got some payoff to this back-and-forth. Last time we were Over There, Olivia was fully entrenched in Fauxlivia's life, and we got to watch her on a case. This time around we got another case, but we also got a deeper look into the amber process that's such a big part of this world when a brother managed to remove his twin from its encasing after four years and found him alive.

First developed way back in 1989 by Walternate, after our Walter tore a hole in the fabric of reality and weakened the universe on the other side, amber is a way to contain things like the mini-sinkhole/black hole that erupted in Central Park. There are literally hundreds of people encased in amber from the various times Fringe Division has had to put the protocol into effect, and Walternate has known all along that they're alive.

He told Broyles that removing them would disrupt the structural integrity of the amber, but do we know that to be true? It might make sense for those deeper in the amber, but for those on the fringes of it, like the Rose brother, could it have much effect? I was far more disturbed that the amber quickly gobbled up Joseph's accomplice in extracting his brother. Was that because it had been freshly cut, or is that a danger for anyone who gets too close to an amber site?

The episode featured what always seems to be the case in crime procedurals when twins are involved: One twin is good and one twin is bad. They switch places throughout the episode. At the same time, I thought it was very satisfying emotionally that Joshua, a former bank robber who'd caused amber incidents at each of his robberies due to his methods, seems to have fully repented his sins since his brother, Matthew, was ambered at the last job.

After extracting his brother, he handed him back his old life and even managed to make the government leave Matthew alone. Or at least that was his plan: Make it so they never figured Matthew had been in amber for four years, otherwise he'd likely be taken in for experimentation and examination. This way he'd get his wife and kids back and Joshua finally would have done something good.

All that was satisfying on an episodic level, but far more satisfying was Olivia's trips back to her home reality. It was also nice to see Peter, or at least her subconscious version of him, getting to her more and more. That's one way to keep Joshua Jackson a major part of every episode. This time, though, it looks like he finally got through to her about what Walternate is really trying to accomplish.

Walternate's story was to tell her that her double on the other side can travel between worlds, so maybe she can too. Now she knows she is that other Olivia, because the Peter in her mind knows things about the other world. The kicker was a combination of the World Trade Center being down in our world and a phone call to her niece on her 7th birthday.

When she got back over there, the look in her eyes when she told Secretary Bishop that it hadn't worked, that she'd seen only blackness, well that was the Olivia we know and love. Glad to have you back, girl. You've been missed. Maybe next week we can see Peter figure out that Fauxlivia isn't his Olivia.

This week also got me thinking about what happens next. We can't follow around two worlds forever, and yet I find myself rather liking elements of this one. Particularly, I love having Charlie back and I think Lincoln is a fantastic character. I'd hate to lose both Kirk Acevedo and Seth Gabel when we return to our world, as the chemistry and effectiveness of their three-man team is a lot of fun to watch.

Don't get me wrong, I still love Olivia, Walter and Peter, but I think Lincoln is too rich a character to just abandon. Maybe we can meet the Over Here version of him soon. And maybe, since he died in the Over Here world, we can just kidnap the Over There Charlie like they took our Olivia. Tit for tat.

'Fringe' airs Thursdays at 9PM ET on Fox.

[Follow Jason @ultraversion21 on Twitter.]