'Fringe' Season 3, Episode 13 Recap

['Fringe' - 'Immortality']

Commenter lbrown2293 saw it coming. Did you?

We slipped back to the "Other Side" this week and checked in with how their Fringe Division is handling things. One of their big concerns has to do with Alt-Broyles. While we know the sacrifice he made to save "our" Olivia, his compatriats do not.

To them, he is missing, and in his absence, someone else has stepped up to take charge. Sheep are still extinct, the avian flu is a pandemic that knows no vaccine, and Fauxlivia is asked the big one by her boyfriend. But that's before--

Well, we'll get to that.

Since this entire episode takes place in the alternative universe, we're going to dispense with the cute Fauxlivia and Walternate names for the most part. If it becomes necessary to talk about both counterparts, we will. Otherwise, assume I'm talking about "Over There."

The case of the week was pretty straightforward, if something very specific to the other universe. With avian flu a real problem, the scientist who was working toward a cure hit a real setback when the sheep died out. That's because he was tracking an enzyme in a parasitic beetle that could only live in them.

He modified it for humans, but it is lethal for them. Nevertheless, it looks like he chose to sacrifice himself in the end and his death may lead to a cure. That would certainly be a boon to Olivia's boyfriend Frank's line of work.

I say Olivia's boyfriend, but of course that isn't necessarily the case right now, is it? See, Dr. Silva, the aforementiond sacrificial lamb (sorry, I couldn't help myself!), had Olivia captured and tricked everyone into thinking she was infected. A bit convenient she had a burst of morning sickness at the appropriate time, wasn't it?

That's right, as lbrown2293 predicted, Fauxlivia is pregnant. And as she's six weeks along, that will make Peter the father. Not so easy to see which Olivia he's going to pick now, is it? As for Dr. Frank, well he simply asked her if she loved the father. Her answer spoke volumes, so we know that the relationship she forged with Peter was real and had love reciprocated both ways. That is hard to say no to.

Another thing that keeps getting emphasized is that these people "Over There" just don't seem like such bad people. At least when we see them simply interacting with one another in their own universe. They just have hard jobs and sometimes that puts them in difficult situations. And, of course, they see the "Over Here" universe as something that is actively trying to destroy them.

We even saw a conscience in Walter, as he refused Brandon's suggestion to test on children, despite indications their work with whatever crap they pulled out of "our" Olivia would work better on young test subjects. That's a line "our" Walter had absolutely no difficulty in crossing.

The more time we spend over there, the more difficult it is going to be for the audience to face that moment when we might have to lose one. We'll probably be rooting for both to survive, and you can bet that's exactly what the creators want us doing.

It was great seeing Lincoln selected to step in as the head honcho in Broyles' absence. Hopefully, it will become a permanent promotion. As much as I like seeing Charlie again, there's no denying how brilliant Lincoln has proven to be at his very difficult job.

Is it weird that I want a traveler's guide to the "Other Side." I want to know all the other differences between their universe and ours. I want to read a history of that world, as it seems to be so incredibly well thought out. If we can just get the show as big as 'Lost,' we'll probably get one eventually. Or shift it to The CW where it's current ratings would be smash-tacular!

In two weeks we face an episode titled '6 Months Later.' Does that mean something significant is going to happen next week, or is this time jump going to position us for something epic then? Maybe it has to do with Brandon's unspoken idea about how to bring Peter back.

I hope it's more than, "We tell him Olivia is pregnant with his child." Anyone could have come up with that plan, Mr. Big-Shot Scientist!

'Fringe' air Fridays, 9PM ET on Fox.

[Follow Jason, @ultraversion21, on Twitter.]

Watch the full episode here: