Over the past five years, Fringe has treated us to some great plot arcs and story twists. But even die-hard fans will agree that not every move made by the production team has been a golden one.
The actors on the show agree. As the finale looms tomorrow, they’ve sat down with TV Guide to look at the five-year run of the series and to break down what they felt was the most disappointing plot arc and twist.
It relates to the season four twist to remove Peter from the timeline.
“I didn’t like it, personally, because to me, to have a Walter there without Peter, he was basically locked in this lab for what function? Because he’s a genius, that’s about all. So I’ll say it, no, I didn’t think it was a great reset. We built a team, and it wasn’t the same. If you take any one of the characters out, it wouldn’t be the same. But we got it back … I chose to play Walter quite strangely. He wasn’t that pleasant. Walter wasn’t very pleasant or happy, and that was a deliberate choice. I said, ‘Please put him back. I miss Josh,'” John Noble says.
His co-star Jasika Nicole agrees adding, “I thought it was really weird. You obviously have to put a lot of trust in the writers, because they’ve written three really fantastic, amazing, dynamic seasons already and so you have to put your faith in them and trust that they’re going to bring you to a good place. But it was definitely a difficult thing for me and I think a couple of the other actors too … In this timeline that they created, I didn’t understand what Astrid’s purpose was anymore because before she had been a person who was a friend to Walter and that was a really important way to show the audience different facets of Walter’s personality.”
At the time, the series was faced with ending and co-star Joshua Jackson says that he felt that ending and Peter’s noble sacrifice were a good ending point for the show. However, he says that the aftermath wasn’t handled as well as he’d hoped.
“I was never a huge fan of the paradox that you get yourself into when you start dealing with circular time like that. I felt like Season 4 had some clumsy moments trying to fudge through some of the logic leaps that you have to make. Well, if he didn’t exist, how is he here, and why do some people remember him, and why is only that memory bleeding through, and if he was here until he was 9 years old, then why does the portal even exist? But that’s part and parcel of when they’re swinging for the fences, they’re not all home runs. You have to deal with the double-edged sword of our show being really brave creatively, that not every single one of the ideas is going to be masterful,” Jackson says.
So, do you agree or disagree? And don’t forget to share your favorite Fringe moments, arcs or episodes with us in the comments or on our listener feedback line.
I agree with them.