fringe_rewatch | 4x16: Nothing As It Seems

The great thing about rebooting your series timeline is that you can go back and recycle some of your old episodes. All you have to do is tweak the plots a bit. You can even save a little money and reuse some of your old footage from season one. Yeah, okay, so it might be tough to get your audience to believe that the exact same crew is working for the same airline on the same flight four years later. It's going to be even harder for us to swallow that the virus that was being marketed as a bio-weapon to terrorists in the original timeline is now being sold as the opportunity of a lifetime to young couples.

"We'll be like Adam and Eve! We'll be born anew--as hideous, fat-craving, winged human/porcupine hybrids who no longer possess the power of language!"

What? What?

Yep. Just when you thought this season couldn't get any worse, it does. Thanks, guys.

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Writer: Jeff Pinkner, Akiva Goldsman
Director: Frederick E. O. Toye
Originally aired: 30 Mar 12

Synopsis:
While Olivia is deemed unfit for FBI duty due to her memories being out of alignment with reality, Agent Lee and Peter investigate the mysterious aftermath of VertusAir Flt 718. Peter's half-recollection and Olivia's memories of a similar case from four years earlier send the Fringe Task Force after a cult whose goal is to direct human evolution--and control our future.

Most Memorable Quote:
EDWARD MARKHAM: Yep, I was right. Here it is. I remember reading it means "renewal" or "rebirth." There's been some rumblings lately about a group out there—a cult, really.
OLIVIA: Okay, whereabouts were these rumblings?
EDWARD MARKHAM: You know, the usual places. Obscure corners of the Internet, conspiracy boards, sub-subterranean chat rooms. Far as I can see, they're just whack jobs. They're obsessed with the guided evolution of man. They want to create a new species...a better species...mutation by design.

Links:
Transcript
The A.V. Club
Entertainment Weekly Recap
Polite Dissent

Fanfiction:
Here's one from the Fringe Kinkmeme:
The Thoughts Your Actions Entertain by Monanotlisa.
Summary: A fix-it for 4x16 "Nothing As It Seems". Goes AU before 4x17. Basically? This is a love song to Lincoln Lee, Blueverse boy (who shouldn't be so blue).

Since I don't ship these pairings or the OT3, it doesn't fix it for me--but it's a popular story by an excellent writer. If there's anything else, let me know, I'll edit it in...