With the penultimate episode of Fringe upon us, I have to wonder how much of the conclusion was part of the original plan at Fringe’s inception all those years back. “The Boy Must Live” peels back the veil on some of the last lingering mysteries. We find out what the Observers are, what the team has been planning, and who Michael is in the grand scheme of things. I can’t help but feel that it doesn’t jive with Fringe’s original tone. Back in the beginning Fringe’s sci-fi elements, though essential, were considerably toned down, and the crux of the storytelling was in conspiracy mystery. At it’s conclusion its much closer to an epic sci-fi fantasy. That being said Fringe appears to be coming to an incongruous yet fitting conclusion. I couldn’t have enjoyed this episode more.
I remember watching a TED talks with J.J. Abrams where he discussed the concept of the “mystery box”. In his youth Abram’s grandfather Kelvin (who’s name appears in many examples of his work) gave him a “mystery box.” It was a container with brown paper wrapper emblazoned with a question mark. There was some type of toy inside. It could be a doll, a slinky, a yo-yo, or whatever. Abrams said that he never opened it. Whatever he imagined inside was more interesting than what was actually in there. It was a concept he brought to his writing, and filmmaking, to heighten mystery and suspense. That’s why we never see a clear shot of Cloverfield. That why Lost was…lost. The biggest mystery box of Fringe is the Observers and now it has been opened.
The Observers are humanity’s evolution via self guided genetic engineering. By replacing the section of the mind that creates jealousy with additional processing power for logic and intellect human beings started a trend of sacrificing emotion for mental prowess. For five hundred years they propagate their species through cloning, and genetic engineering. Essentially the Observers are a cross between Vulcans and and Stormtroopers. Their future is a burnt out cyberpunk wasteland with people seemingly living in geodesic domes. I have to admit that Abrams was right they were more interesting when they were still in the mystery box, but this is cool nonetheless. When episodes started to focus on the Observers I guessed they were aliens or interdimensional beings that existed outside of time and space who created human like avatars to study our time line. Now they seem smaller, less dynamic, and more than anything else beatable. Its much more mundane than anything I had previously guessed, but its simplicity works. The element that ties the entire story together is Michael, the empathic observer child’s, true identity. He is cloned from September’s genetic material essentially making him his son. September was inspired by learning in the 20th century that fathers are supposed to take care of their children, and has hidden him in the past. Instead of going for some crazy sci fi head trip Fringe strikes closer to the heart. In the end, though less imaginative, we’re coming to a conclusion that’s been building thematically since since day one: science vs. familial love.
On a Scale of 1 to Epic (Epic = 10): 
