Wow, what a cliff hanger! Not since Commander Riker ordered Worf to fire on the Borg Cubeship containing an assimilated Captain Picard has a sci- fi show left me on the edge of my seat wanting more like this. I won’t lie I’m a little pissed at Fringe for making me wait 6 months before they even start to reveal what’s going on. It seems like Fringe is going to take us in a completely new direction next season, and I cant wait.
In “The Day We Died” we get to see the world two steps into the future, and Fringe in 2026 is very similar to to the other side. Peter is an agent and married to Olivia. It turns out that the other side no longer exists, destroyed when Peter entered the machine in “The Last Sam Weiss.” There were so many cool twists and glimpses of the future. Ella, Olivia’s niece, has grown up to be a junior agent of Fringe division. Broyles works for the government as some type of elected official. Walternate is a refugee and recluse. This episode in many ways seemed to mirror the first episode. Both showed mysterious conspiracies carrying out high tech terrorist attacks. One agent is pushed to extraordinary measures for the one they love. Both even show Walter being released from imprisonment with a crazy beard. Additional kudos go to John Nobel for play crazy yet benevolent Walter, and stern villainous Walternate so well.
Its a dark sad future, where the world is fraying at the seems. Though there is a bright spot, Olivia and Peter’s relationship. After everything I was glad to seem them together. I’ve always found their relationship believable. Their personalities mesh together in such a natural way it was nice to see they have a happy life. Peter and Olivia have a conversation about having a child, which Olivia is reluctant to do because the world is ending. Who would want to bring a child into a dying planet. I know this will eventually play out to greater tragedy when they decide to drop the baby bomb on Peter. Will Olivia and Peter want to stay together when they learn Peter has had a child with someone else? This could change everything about their relationship.
Speculation:
Honestly the biggest part of “The Day We Died” is the ending. My girlfriend and I watched, and rewatched the conclusion while debating the ending for about an hour afterward. I think I have it figured out so stay with me. If you don’t want spoilers, leave now! In 2026 our world can’t survive without the other side. To prevent the end of the world Peter’s consciousness has been sent into his younger self so he makes a different choice upon entering the machine. The machine is sent back to the Triassic period with the first people. He uses the machine to bridge the two worlds so that they can work together to save both sides. Just as Peter does this, he vanishes. The Observer remarks that Peter has never existed and that he served his purpose. Wait what? After alot of head scratching these are my thoughts:
- The first people and the machine are created by Walter in the future
- Because the machine is so powerful only one person can be allowed to use it, thus they attune it specifically to one biological signature
- We saw in “White Tulip” that time travelers (besides Observers) can only go back to a point where they already exist.
- To send Peter’s consciousness back in time to make a different choice, they needed a body to send it back into therefore they need to create Peter.
- Because Peter is the only person who can use the machine and the future Walter wants to keep him close he somehow sends back something to artificially inseminate his wife.
- Peter is not technically Walter and Elizabeth’s son but just a biological creation raised as his son
- Because Peter’s existence is dependant upon the world ending, when he takes actions which save the world, his creation is no longer needed thus he is blanked from history.
- In the alternate timeline where Peter was never born, Walter tries to cross over, just to see if he can, instead of trying to save his son.
- This then damages the universe and leads to the cold war between the two Earths.
- However thanks to Peter bridging the two worlds they are able to repair the damage and prevent 2026 apocalypse from ever happening.
I know this theory isn’t completely water tight, but symbolically it could make Peter into a sci-fi time travel messiah. Walter is a god figure immaculately conceiving a son to save the world. Peter has to blank himself out of history in order to save the world. His possition in the machine is definitely like a crucifixion. Either way Peter hasn’t been written out of the show. Joshua Jackson signed up for another season. There was also a mysterious comment by Walter in 2026. He said something to the effect, If this doesn’t work Olivia can always be our backup. What if she is possibly part of this long term plan to save the universes. My head hurts from thinking about this. Damn Time Paradoxes!