"Over There" is the two-part second season finale of the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe. They are the 21st and 22nd episodes of the season, and the 42nd and 43rd episodes of the series overall. Both parts were written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, together with showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman. Goldsman also served as director, his first such credit since the season premiere.
Fringes premise is based on the idea of two parallel universes, our own and the Other Side, each of which contains historical idiosyncrasies. The two universes began to clash in 1985, after Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) stole the parallel universe version of his son, Peter, following his own son's death. The finale's narrative recounts what happens when Peter (Joshua Jackson) is taken back to the Other Side by his real father, dubbed "Walternate" (Noble). FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and Walter lead a team of former Cortexiphan test subjects to retrieve him, after discovering that Peter is an unwitting part of Walternate's plans to bring about the destruction of our universe using an ancient doomsday device.
In the finale, the main characters spend the longest amount of time in the parallel universe to date. The writers sought to emphasize the differences between the two worlds: Anna Torv created a unique personality and physical demeanor for her character's doppelgänger, Fauxlivia; DC Comics designed special covers based upon some of their classic editions to display in the Other Side. These and other popular culture differences were noted and appreciated by critics, persuading the writers to add more in the third season. The episodes mark the first appearance of recurring character Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel), as well as the return of actors Leonard Nimoy and Kirk Acevedo as William Bell and Agent Charlie Francis, respectively.
Although originally intended to air on the same night, the two parts were broadcast in the United States a week apart. On its initial airing on May 13, 2010, an estimated 5.99 million viewers watched part one. Part two aired on May 20, and was viewed by an estimated audience of 5.68 million. Both episodes received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and the season was chosen for a significant number of "best of" lists by various media outlets; many critics praised the second episode's cliffhanger in particular. The finale was included in most of the categories at Entertainment Weeklys voter-driven TV Season Finale Awards, placing first in two. Pinkner, Wyman, and Goldsman submitted both episodes for the drama writing and directing categories for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, and Nimoy submitted his work from the second episode for consideration in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category; none received a nomination.
Plot
Part one Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) and FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) discover that Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) has agreed to return with his real father, dubbed "Walternate" (Noble), to his own universe called the Other Side, which runs parallel to ours. One of the mysterious Observers (Michael Cerveris) leaves Olivia a note indicating that Peter is named in a prophecy as the one responsible for the end of the world. To warn Peter of his impending role, the Fringe Division work with biotechnology corporation Massive Dynamic to come up with a way to cross over. They form a plan that takes advantage of Olivia's universe-hopping ability, and recruit three other Cortexiphan test subjects who have unique abilities: Nick Lane (David Call), Sally Clark (Pascale Hutton), and James Heath (Omar Metwally), two of whom appeared in previous episodes. The team—composed of Walter, Olivia, Nick, Sally, and James—successfully arrives on the Other Side. James dies shortly after arrival, but the rest manage to escape the alternate reality's Fringe Division, who had used their special technology to detect their arrival. It is revealed that Walternate is the Secretary of Defense on the Other Side.
Peter reunites with his real mother, Elizabeth (Orla Brady), while Walter's team journeys to meet with William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) at Central Park. But instead of Bell the alternate Fringe Division appears, and attacks Walter's team. Nick is shot and Sally stays with him; she produces a suicidal fireball that torches both her and Nick to ashes and severely burns the Other Side Fringe Division's principal investigator Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel). Walter is shot and walks to the hospital. Olivia follows her alternate counterpart and encounters Bell, who insists he did not betray their location to the Fringe Division and tells her that Walter is in trouble. Walternate is seen in the room housing the doomsday device Peter will be a part of, and leaves with its final component.
Part two Walternate learns of Walter's presence in the hospital and dispatches "Fauxlivia" (Torv) and "Alt-Charlie" (Kirk Acevedo) to apprehend him, but before their arrival Bell and Olivia liberate Walter and escape. Fauxlivia sees a surveillance shot of Olivia and Walter and decides to confer with Walternate about the doppelgängers. During a discussion in his office, Walternate lies to Peter about the doomsday machine's real purpose, claiming it can help to heal both worlds. Fauxlivia meets Peter in Walternate's office and subsequently drives him to his new apartment. Walter and Bell travel to Harvard to collect some equipment necessary for the journey back to their own universe, and Walter reveals his intense dislike for Bell, whom he considers to have been a selfish war profiteer while he himself was locked away for seventeen years. Bell tells Walter that the parallel universe equivalent of himself died in a car accident as a young man. Olivia confronts Fauxlivia, who recognizes that Olivia has feelings for Peter. The women fight, and after rendering Fauxlivia unconscious Olivia dyes her hair to assume Fauxlivia's identity. Meanwhile, Peter discovers that the machine is symbiotic and needs a particular human to control it—him.
Olivia and an oblivious alt-Charlie visit Peter to take him to a safe location. Olivia knocks out alt-Charlie and reveals herself to Peter, informing him of the machine's real purpose and Walternate's intentions. Peter tells her that he does not belong in either reality, following which Olivia admits her romantic feelings for him and convinces him to leave with her. The couple race to meet Walter and Bell at the Opera House, where Fauxlivia and a team of Fringe Commandos catch up with them. Bell and Olivia hold off the assault while Peter and Walter set up the dimensional device to enable their return home. Lacking a fuel source for the device, Bell sacrifices himself to create a nuclear reaction, using his body's unstable molecular state. Close to death, Bell reveals that he removed Walter's memories at his own request, and he and Walter are reconciled. Olivia, Walter, and Peter return home. Peter tells Walter he will never understand him, but because Walter traveled to another universe twice to save him—which has "gotta count for something"—he forgives him. Olivia is revealed to be Fauxlivia, infiltrating Our Side, when she arrives at a typewriter communication station to await orders. The Olivia from our world is then seen in a military detention center on the Other Side. Walternate visits and stares at Olivia without speaking before leaving her in the dark, in solitary confinement.
Production
Writing and filming "Over There" was written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter and frequent Fringe collaborator Akiva Goldsman, together with showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman. Goldsman directed the episodes, his first such credit since the season premiere. He explained the finale in a January 2010 interview with Entertainment Weekly: "We're trying to do the last two episodes as a singular event, a little bit more movie-like. It's really one big story. We're approaching it like a mini-feature. It'll have a singular narrative drive." They originally intended for the two parts to air on the same night, but Fox told them it would be shown on two nights, a week apart. The episodes first aired in the United States on May 13 and May 20, 2010. The writers, finding the script to be easily divisible, ended the first episode with William Bell and Olivia meeting outside Fauxlivia's apartment, and began the second with Bell helping Walter escape from the hospital.Pinkner et al, 4:52–5:07
Pinkner and Wyman brought back the "Cortexiphan kids", introduced in the first two seasons, because they felt that part of the storyline was really interesting. They wanted the end of the season to be a "beautiful culmination of everything" while traveling to the Other Side. The show had been developing a parallel universe storyline since its conception, but "Over There" marked the longest time spent in that world thus far. Pinker explained the idea of two worlds: "One of the big themes of the show is how small choices that you make define you as a person and can change your life in large ways down the line." Wyman said that the parallel universe "is a reminder to our viewers that your life is what your choices are." The two began discussing details about the Other Side early on, especially what the differences between the two universes would be. Pinkner commented in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that "a lot of them are ideas that we jokingly threw out. Some of them, like the notion of zeppelins or the Statue of Liberty if we didn't let it oxidize or the Grand Central Hotel, we're not making up. Had the Hindenburg not blown up, zeppelins would be passenger air ships docking at the Empire State Building. That was the plan. We opened ourselves to the standard that it had to be possible." Pinkner later elaborated, "We're interested in world building and all that stuff is the texture that actually makes it a world. The richness of detail is what makes it feel real." They used comic books as one way to subtly differentiate the two worlds. Goldsman, Wyman, and actor Joshua Jackson are longstanding comic book fans and decided to make the character of Peter a fan as well. Goldsman called on his friend Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer at DC Comics.Pinkner et al, 13:59–14:58 He arranged for DC to specially design ten alternate covers for some of their most iconic editions, which were displayed in Peter's apartment on the Other Side.Pinkner et al, 15:59–16:02 Visual effects company Eden FX created Peter's apartment and the alternate New York skyline visible outside his window. When fans reacted positively to these detailed characteristics written into the parallel universe, the producers stated their intention to show a lot more similar details in the third season.