"Fringe" is back after a very long absence, and I have a quick review coming up just as soon as I quote Oppenheimer at you...Though J.J. Abrams doesn't have anything to do with "Lost" anymore, "Peter" felt oddly similar in structure to last week's Richard-centric "Lost": an hour taking place almost entirely in the past, filling in the emotions behind a story where we already knew or suspected most of the details, and a powerhouse acting showcase.
John Noble was wonderful at playing the younger Walter, and at showing how what began as a noble mission (to ensure that "Walternate" and Alt-Elizabeth didn't also lose their son) turned into something else once his wife got a look at a living, breathing Peter. Walter's trip to the other side also gave us an explanation for Nina's fancy bionic arm (because the real one got knocked out of phase with our universe when she and Walter wrestled at the stargate), and showed us a younger, much less certain version of The Observer. And the '80s setting also gave the show's graphics team the chance to put together an awesome version of what the "Fringe" opening credits might look like if it were airing in 1985.
We end the episode more or less where we began, with Olivia still uncertain about what to tell Peter. But given what an important part of the show's mythology Peter's abduction is, we needed an hour to experience it, and to see it as Walter did, and also to watch John Noble be at his best.
What did everybody else think?
