Thoughts on the Fringe series finale

Nonspoilery, outside the cut, I wanted to say that if you haven't seen Fringe and you're thinking about watching it, I thoroughly recommend it. (I wrote this outside-the-cut part a week ago -- I just wanted to wait to post it 'til I'd seen the finale, so I'd know if I still felt that way ... and I do.)

The show wasn't always perfect, by any means. The plot ran off the rails in places, the science made Stargate's science look plausible (my husband and I semi-jokingly refer to Fringe as the place where science goes to die), and there were a few characters who deserved much better than they got, over the years.

But the show always kept me guessing, surprised, intrigued and delighted. I adored the characters, and the actors. I loved some of the things the show had to say about -- well, "redemption" is too flat a word, but the way that the choices we make determine the people we become, and the fact that you can always make better choices (but it doesn't erase what you've already done).

And it was one of the only shows I've watched in the last few years that went just long enough. It didn't end prematurely, leaving bitterness and regret for what it might have had a chance to become; it didn't limp onward to a miserable finish that made me wish it had been cancelled years ago. I had some ups and downs as a viewer, even a couple times when I thought about taking a break from the show, but ultimately, I ended the series feeling just as positive about it as when I first discovered it and marathoned the first three seasons, two years ago.

( And now onward to series finale feeeeeeeelings (and major spoilers) )