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A comment on the ending of last night's Fringe
I gotta say that, while the episode certainly had fun bits, the ending basically encapsulated everything I hate about the "true love trumps all other considerations" theme that runs through a lot of JJ Abrams' shows (and media in general). Olivia is, in essence, giving up all the other important relationships in her life for Peter -- and this is when she's only been together with him for a few months in the original reality; I think it would feel less imbalanced to me if it was, say, a 20-year marriage, but a relationship of a year or so in which they spent a lot of that time fighting? Er ... yay? Anyway, that whole dynamic (Olivia gives up everything else that's important in her life for ~true love~) mashed down my DO NOT WANT buttons hard.
It wasn't quite as 100% do-not-wanty as it might otherwise be because it isn't strictly an either-or proposition, and Olivia knows it -- her alt-self has close relationships with some of her other friends too (Walter and Astrid, for example), so she won't have to rebuild everything from scratch. And the Observer's "love brought you back" comment to Peter was clearly not referring only to Olivia, but referencing Walter as well. So it's not absolutely, 100% "romantic love is the only important thing in the world!" But it was damned close, uncomfortably close for me, especially since the memory trade that Olivia is making will basically cost her the shared history that she has with everyone else in the world besides Peter -- all the little in-jokes, the memories of missions with the others, any and all differences between this timeline and ours ... if the memory replacement becomes complete (which I hope it doesn't, but the decision she made is based on the assumption that it might), she won't remember any of that. Our memories make us who we are, and it feels like Olivia is basically giving up not only all the other relationships in her life (either severing them, or changing them irrevocably) but also giving up her self to be with Peter. And, even though it's a decision no one is forcing her into, the fact that canon set it up so that this was her decision is something that leaves me tremendously uncomfortable.
It wasn't quite as 100% do-not-wanty as it might otherwise be because it isn't strictly an either-or proposition, and Olivia knows it -- her alt-self has close relationships with some of her other friends too (Walter and Astrid, for example), so she won't have to rebuild everything from scratch. And the Observer's "love brought you back" comment to Peter was clearly not referring only to Olivia, but referencing Walter as well. So it's not absolutely, 100% "romantic love is the only important thing in the world!" But it was damned close, uncomfortably close for me, especially since the memory trade that Olivia is making will basically cost her the shared history that she has with everyone else in the world besides Peter -- all the little in-jokes, the memories of missions with the others, any and all differences between this timeline and ours ... if the memory replacement becomes complete (which I hope it doesn't, but the decision she made is based on the assumption that it might), she won't remember any of that. Our memories make us who we are, and it feels like Olivia is basically giving up not only all the other relationships in her life (either severing them, or changing them irrevocably) but also giving up her self to be with Peter. And, even though it's a decision no one is forcing her into, the fact that canon set it up so that this was her decision is something that leaves me tremendously uncomfortable.
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Of course, I'm not as invested in Fringe as I've been with other fandoms - once burned, always Abrams shy - so I don't exactly feel betrayed by the writing. It's disappointing. Shows very often are. I'm holding on to a couple possibilities for the moment. There's no saying that September told Peter the truth; the rest of the Observers and September might disagree on methodology, but they're united in that their efforts are all about stabilizing a timeline that results in their future. Plus, there's a chance something will happen to obviate the amber timeline and fork off another one or that the memories won't completely overtake the amber Olivia.
I'm thinking now of the Observer telling Olivia she had to die. I suppose getting your memories over written to become a different timeline version would qualify in my book just as much as taking a bullet.
Mostly, though, I'm annoyed in a selfish way. Now I have to either factor this into my ridiculous crossover story or set it before this episode.
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Letting blue Olivia's memories take over with the real possibility they'll overwrite hers comes across as a kind of suicide. If they'd established this timeline's Olivia as emotionally wounded/miserable/utterly isolated/recklessly suicidal, then I could accept it a little easier, but she's been shown as balanced, with friendships. Giving up you entire self for love? The idea makes me shudder.
Yes. Exactly. I think there are plenty of ways this could have been done that would have been more interesting and less skeevy -- and other ways it could have been done that would've played up the creepy, skeevy, intellectual-horror elements of Olivia making that choice. But the episode framed it so explicitly as Olivia choosing Peter over her entire life in the Amberverse, and that being a good thing, and ... just, no. NO.
I'm not really invested in Fringe as a fan, or rather, it's more what my friend
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You know what would have been more interesting than the woman gives up all for romantic love plot line? If they'd reversed it and had Peter be the one losing his memories and having to choose whether to integrate into the new universe, sans himself in a sense, or go the way of the rest of his timeline and not be at all.
Or even if they'd had her making the choice but him rejecting her sacrifice of self, which is where the last episode seemed to be heading and which I liked. Be the better man - that's a good message. Give yourself up for a man - effing bad message.
You know, sometimes it's better if I don't think about episodes very much beyond watching them. At least for my blood pressure.
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Oh, one thing I should have added is that it's Type A as contrasted with Type B fandoms, which are the ones where you get involved with writing fic and trying to plug the holes in canon. Type A=canon for canon's sake, Type B=canon as a gateway to fic.
You know what would have been more interesting than the woman gives up all for romantic love plot line? If they'd reversed it and had Peter be the one losing his memories and having to choose whether to integrate into the new universe, sans himself in a sense, or go the way of the rest of his timeline and not be at all.
Ooh! That would have been so much better, and more plausible with regards to the metaphysics of the whole thing, too!
I really liked the way that Peter, in the last few episodes, was choosing to do the right thing and not become involved with Olivia while there were unpleasant lack-of-consent and identity issues floating around. And now ... I guess it doesn't matter anymore?
Pfeh. So many more interesting things they could have done. I think one problem with Fringe right now is that they're not sure if it's coming back for another season, so I'm guessing that they're trying to wrap up plotlines and get it to a place where they can leave it if they don't get renewed. But throwing characterization under the bus in order for that to happen makes me frowny.