Fringe (TV Series) Liberty (2013) User Reviews

Amazing Episode

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 10 April 2017]

Captain Windmark secretly brings Michael to a facility in the Liberty Island to interrogate the boy. He goes to 2069 to ask his superior to destroy the boy but he is asked to disassemble him to be studied. Meanwhile Broyles finds where Michael is and Olivia decides to use Cortexiphan to cross to the parallel universe to reach the Liberty Island facility and bring Michael with her. Meanwhile September assembles the time machine but one important component does not work. What will happen next?

"Liberty" is an amazing full of action episode of "Fringe". The final but short encounter of Olivia with alternate Olivia and Lee is a great surprise. The participation of Broyles is excellent. It is hard to point out the best episodes of "Fringe". My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Liberty"

Kitchen sync, Part I

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 18 January 2013]

Last episode, we were left wondering why the "Anomaly" would step off of the train. Maybe it was to let Fringe Division get away, or maybe the "child" observer wanted to taunt Captain Windmark - Who seems to have a big problem reading this kid. Every Observer trick old Windy tries out, backfires on him - He's gotta leave the room, he can't read this kid, the kid throws it all back at him.

Meanwhile, Fringe Division has to figure out a way to get this kid back. This is a crash and burn situation, there is no going back to the way it was for anyone after this: Broyles has to burn a bridge to get Fringe the info on where the kid is being stashed. So what better way to snatch the kid then to let Olivia user her Cortexiphan abilities and do it from "The Other Side"- Problem is, she hasn't had the stuff in her system since "The Bullet that Saved the World" - So Peter is worried what it's gonna do.

No Problem, Walter has a stash of the stuff - With a shelf life of 127 years. The risk is the massive doses she has to take, which Walter administers in four huge injections - Enough for a few hours of universe-hopping. Anna Torv does a great job playing an older Fauxlivia, it really seems like two people.

Meanwhile Old Windbag goes "back to the future" to talk to the head Observer, who suggests taking the kid apart and putting him in cold storage like hunks of beef, because the kid is too interesting to waste. Too bad he'd be dead, but that's how cold these Fedora-Heads are.

While Fringe Div is in Battery Park, September sneaks into the Lab and starts assembling the machine - Oops, it does not work. Big Problem.

The great thing with this ep is of course we get to see "The Other Side" after 25 years. This includes seeing Fauxlivia and Agent Lee, who have aged while Olivia had not. But while there, Olivia has time shifts (Kitchen Sync to S1E20 and S2E1), so it is hard for her to see what is really happening in front of her, her perception keeps shifting from one universe to the other-Not the thing you want to happen when one Universe has a Liberty Island filled with Observers and Loyalists. But this gives us a chance to look in on Agent Lee and Fauxlivia and questions about their fate are dealt with. Same old Fauxlivia, and Agent Lee has become more like his "Doppelganger" who had been shot in S4. Also the fate of Walternate - Who is 90 years old real time in that universe.

There is a great revelation in this episode, and it comes at the very end, where we see Eugene Lipinski as "December" once again - He was the "Boss" of the 12-member Observer team of which September had been a part. December can go to the Future and retrieve the broken piece September needs. What nobody ever realised until this point is that it was not only September who was affected by the Humans of the 20th/21st century - All of the Observers who were part of that were affected- And once again, Kitchen Sync - the 2nd Season episode "August" comes to mind.

So if these 12 "Disciples" from the future, who were observing Walter and Peter could be affected by their positive emotions, so too can the Observers who are occupying the time frame where this season is occurring-This includes Windmark, but where September and the other 11 had positive experiences, Windmark is being affected by Negative emotions - Like Hate. This was hinted at in the episode just previous to this.

So Olivia succeeds - But this is just part one, there are more Kitchen Utilities to be thrown at us.

We're Back

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 19 November 2023]

I won't say too much here. Just that things are lined up. Our boy September appears to be a traitor. This makes no sense. Olivia goes through an elaborate rescue of Michael and returns him to the Fringe group. So the plan can go forward, right? She pays a dear price because she had to be injected with that awful stuff. The baldies continue their assault. They are so narrow in their thinking. Of course, that's what makes them what they are. I'm having trouble going on to the final episode because I will miss moving through this incredible series. It was good to see the people from the other universe and involve them in the rescue. Great story.

Tension and an inspired end run

[behaynes-55279 · 9/10 · 25 December 2023]

I love Fringe. Not just some inspired crazy "fringe" science fiction, but they manage to weave philosophy, religion and metaphysics into the storylines.

It was a joy to see "our" Lincoln Lee still with Fauxlivia, and they are happy and complete together. Previously, I felt bad for Lincoln and his obvious interest in Olivia... knowing that her destiny was with Peter... even while he had been erased from the timeline. As for Fauxlivia... I have had a love/hate relationship with her. A warmer person (in general) than Olivia, but cheerfully ruthless when her job needed it... they both had "the job"; Olivia had a sister and niece, but Fauxlivia had her mom and her friends. Walter and Bell definitely had an influence on "our" Olivia's emotional state.

I guess my gripe is (what seems to me) a gaping plot hole. Olivia can cross between universes and take things with her. After all, it's not like she shows up naked. So Walter practically overdosing her with four doses of Cortexephan, and imposing a running clock... why, in God's name didn't he just give her some to take along with her? He could have given her two doses, and sent two (or more) with her. Two would be enough to get her there and back, if something went wrong (I.e. The Observers had taken over the other side as well). If all was well, they could give her another dose or two in the other universe for her to jump over to get Michael, then return to the prime universe.

Yes, I know, I know... it's more dramatic this way. I just hate seeing smart characters making questionable decisions.

Fringe Liberty

[dalydj-918-255175 · 20 January 2013]

Michael know is with the observers while the fringe team find it hard to find where he has been taken. Looking for Michael they call Philip looking for help. The observer struggles to get into Michael's head and fails when Michael is able to make the observer bleed. Philip goes outside the office and calls back the team telling them where Michael is being kept captive. Olivia thinks that their best option is for her to travel between universes again. While Peter thinks she should not do this she thinks this is really the only option to get Michael back. No one quite knows what has happened in the other universe but they get to see through an ideas of Astrid's. Donald goes to the lab and finding no one there goes through with building his part of the plan. The gang arrive at the safe house and Olivia feels fine to take her dosage to travel to and back. Olivia struggles to take the dosage but takes it either way all four of them. Olivia reacts strange not seeing most people around her. Once Olivia wakes up she must go to the other universe. Once she travels she is instantly detected and taken into the headquarters of the other universes Fringe division. She is then reunited with older versions of Fauxlivia and Lincoln Lee. Olivia gets the help she needs and is taken to liberty island. She then travels back to her universe to get Michael who is not in the room she thought he was. Olivia makes her way through the building to the room where Michael is shooting anyone in her way. She finds Michael but when she goes back to the other universe is followed by an observer. Lincoln and Fauxlivia help her get away by keeping her safe with their guns. Olivia and Michael then travel back to their universe reunited with the fringe team. The observer learns the fringe team found out Michael's location was from Philip. Donald is missing a piece for his machine and finds out December asking for help from a favour he is owed. It was great to see Lincoln Fauxlivia one last time making the episode even better. With one episode left I wonder who will live and will the fugitives win in the end.

EPISODE GRADE: B+ (MVP: Anna Torv)