['Fringe' - 'Subject 13']

Well isn't that just Olivia's bad luck to have been dubbed "Subject 13" back in 1984 when she took part in Walter's experiments in Florida. Actually, hers was sadly not a very happy existence back then, but at least she discovered that she wasn't alone in her struggles. She had a Bishop in her corner, and in fact made an impact on four of them before last night's episode of 'Fringe' was out.

This week, we jumped into the wayback machine and spent the entirety of the episode in 1984 -- we even got a sweet retro-'Fringe' intro sequence to commemorate our journey. Add to that the classic "soft lighting" filming techniques of most dramas of the era, and you can tell the producers really put some care into the making of this episode.

As for the cast, John Noble was the only representative of the ensemble, and yet there is no doubt he can carry a show on his shoulders. He was masterfully supported by Orla Brady as his wife Elizabeth and the young actors brought in to portray Olivia (Kaley Scott Collins) and Peter (Chandler Canterbury).

Let's give a shout-out to the casting director who selected these two. Not only did the youngins have the gravitas to pull off strong emotional performances, but both of them perfectly emulated their elder counterparts enough to sell the idea that they were younger versions of them. Olivia's pensiveness and Peter's earnest discomfort were perfectly captured in these young performers.

Without solid kids in these roles, much of the episode would have fallen flat. In particular, the climactic emotional connection shared in the field of engineered tulips. In that moment, Peter came to realize a love and connection to this Elizabeth who was so very almost his mother, while perhaps coming to understand a little bit his own situation.

We've not yet come to the point where he's forgotten that he's from another world completely -- I liked the explanation that he thought it was at the bottom of the lake, as well as the emotional punch of his attempt to get home in the earlier hour -- but he had a realization perhaps in that moment that Walter was trying to do right by him, but that it wouldn't be easy.

The gentle soul that Walter possesses did come out in this episode, as he ultimately rejected the idea of using the method he knew to trigger Olivia's crossing over: love and terror. His threat to her stepfather was perhaps one of the most satisfying moments of the episode. I thought it beautifully appropriate that the stepfather had no response at all, though his eyes spoke terror, shame and anger at the same time.

I'll give the creators credit for one moment where they pulled the rug out from me. When Olivia burst into Walter's office to confront him about her stepfather and the truth about crossing over to the other universe, I totally didn't catch that she'd again slipped into that universe and was addressing Walternate. Nicely played, 'Fringe,' as well as explaining how Walternate figured out what happened to Peter.

While there were some pieces of the historical puzzle of Peter and Olivia's past with Walter, this was mostly an emotional journey into the past, and it was an incredibly successful and satisfying one. My first inclination was to wonder how Peter and Olivia could have forgotten one another so completely, even after all the encounters they've had with one another's pasts in the last three years. But then I think back to my own youth and there are just huge gaping holes in my memory through which locales, situations and people have fallen.

Certainly trauma makes the forgetting even easier, and I think we can agree both were going through a tremendous amount of that at this point in their lives. I also felt for both Elizabeths. Both trying to support their husbands, both struggling with what's happened to Peter, and both getting lost themselves because of it.

"This Side" Elizabeth in particular is so emotionally conflicted. She came so close to admitting the truth to Peter when he finally accepted his situation as one of permanence, but she couldn't bring herself to. Better, perhaps, to try and convince him that this is and always has been his home. Clearly, they were ultimately successful in this endeavor, or he simply abandoned and then forgot the truth.

What did you think of this journey back to 1984? Do you like these occasional divergences into the past or do you think the writers should stick to all that story they're juggling in both present realities?

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

[Follow Jason on Twitter @ultraversion21]

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