['Fringe' – 'The Day We Died']

Remember how Peter looked all dazed and confused after he woke up in the future in last week's episode? Well, that's exactly how I looked as this incredibly compelling, if somewhat maddening, 'Fringe' season finale came to a close.

A million questions flooded my mind as the minutes ticked on. Questions like, "Why doesn't Peter remember that he traveled through time?" and "How is it that the machine sent him 15 years into the future?"

I don't think we got one straight answer to any of those questions before the episode was over. 'The Day We Died,' with its sad, stunning ending and its fuzzy "First People" plot resolution, only brought up more questions that won't be answered until season four rolls around.

Befuddlement gave way to genuine suspense as the episode's "End of Days" plot ramped up, and Future Peter, Future Olivia and the Fringe Division called upon an incarcerated Future Walter to help them save the day.

The time jump business made everything feel more intense as the Future Fringies worked to seal the volatile vortexes blasted open by Walternate's universe-ripping terrorist pals. But watching this future plot unfold, and seeing how the characters grew and changed over 15 years, would have proved captivating even without all the mind-bending questions hanging in the air. Why? Because 'Fringe' has one of the best casts on network TV. These people are damn fine actors. There wasn't a false moment here as our players were tasked with portraying yet another new version of the original 'Fringe' ensemble.

In the year 2026, Peter and Olivia were married, but they didn't have children for fear that the world would end before their brood could grow up. Walter was the most hated man on the planet, and he was locked up for bringing about the worldwide catastrophes caused by his universe hopping. Free of having to look after Walter, Astrid rose to VIP agent status, and Broyles was a senator with a damaged eyeball. The years had not been kind to the team as the world around them was coming apart.

We learned that the Other Universe was destroyed after Peter joined with the machine. Its only survivor was Walternate, who claimed that he came Over Here on a "mission of mercy" seeking help for his dying world.

Consumed by rage and hate and a sense of betrayal, Walternate decided that he would make Peter experience his own pain by shooting Future Olivia in the head – a bleak and shocking image that'll stay seared in my brain for days to come.

Walternate continues to fascinate the hell out of me. He's not your average supervillian who hatches an evil plan for the sole purpose of doing evil things or to gain power and influence. In his mind, he's been fighting a war for survival against a callous and selfish madman who invaded his world and stole his son.

The scene with Holo-Walternate meeting Peter was one of the most chilling scenes of the hour. It wasn't hard to sympathize with Walternate here, as he said, "One man broke the universe, the other man did nothing," and he talked about how His World slowly ran out of air, water and light. But Walternate went from early Magneto crazy to 'Episode One' Darth Vader evil after murdering Olivia.

I liked seeing Olivia's niece Ella (played by game guest star Emily Meade) on her journey as a rookie FBI agent. Her scene with Walter in the lab ("I remember the cow.") was a nice treat.

This episode was full of wonderful little grace notes for Walter, from his joyous reunion with Olivia, who had learned to control her telekinetic powers, to Peter calling him "dad." I'm sure it was hard for 'Fringe' fans not to tear up here and there as an emotional Future Walter was brought back into the fold.

OK, let's try to make sense of the second mind-boggling ending in as many weeks ... Walter realized that he must have used the time vortex in Central Park to send the pieces of The Machine back in time some 200 million years, making he and Peter and crew the 'First People.' In order to stop the Other Universe from being destroyed, Walter also had to somehow send Future Peter's consciousness back in time so that he could use the machine to bring people from the two universes together instead of destroying the Other Universe. We have no idea how Walter did all this, as the show quickly cut back to 2011, moments after Peter connected with the machine.

Using the machine, Peter tore a hole in the universe, allowing the Alt Fringies to appear in our world and face their doppelgangers. Future Walter hoped that both factions could work together to solve their problems instead of trying to tear each other apart.

Peter was able to stop the destruction of the Other Universe and, in doing so, change the future so that doomsday never happened. But he seemingly sacrificed himself in the process, as he disappeared shortly after the two Walters and the two Olivias started staring each other down.

The Observers standing outside Liberty Island confirmed that no one remembered Peter -- he was erased from existence after fulfilling his purpose to unite the two universes.

What? Yeah, erased from existence. Forgotten. Gone. Where? "Somewhere," according to 'Fringe' co-executive producer Joel Wyman, who tweeted about the episode last night. "'Where is Peter Bishop?' IS the question. Season 4 WILL have answers," Wyman tweeted after the episode ended.

Next fall can't come soon enough. I wonder if they'll keep the cool black and silver opening credit sequence.

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Watch the full episode here: