Fringe (Season 5/The Final Season)

Show: Fringe

Season: 5

Episodes: 13

Created By: J.J. Abrams

Released: 2012-2013

Rating: 4.5/5
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The Device They Spend All Season Building
Turns out to be unused by the end. Why am I not saying what the device does here? I like to keep my written reviews mostly spoiler free. MOSTLY being the key word. So in the beginning of the season Walter has forgotten his plan (due to Windmark torturing him at the start) and so must find the tapes hidden randomly in his old lab. So in nearly every episode Walter, Peter, Olivia, and Astrid find a tape and do what it says. For the majority of the season you are left in the dark as to what this device will end up doing. Luckily, during the last few episodes, you find out what it does. However, one part doesn't work so they have to go to Plan B.

It Ends Where It Begins
One of the best things about this season is that it starts and ends at the same point. While I would've wished to see where other characters (like Astrid and Broyles) ended up, I thought it was nice and sweet that it ended at the beginning. If you took the epilogue without the feelings of what happened previously, it was a happy ending which the two love birds (Peter and Olivia) more than deserved.

All the Information About the Observers
Throughout the first four seasons of Fringe the Observers are shown to be mysterious alien beings from the future! Here and there we were given bits and pieces of who (and what) they really were. By the end of this season the majority of questions about these beings were answered. Some of them (like why there are no women Observers and why the Observers wear the old time clothing) aren't answered. But enough are to leave you satisfied. And it's the Observers' past/future that becomes the whole basis of Walter's Plan.

Final Thoughts
This being the end of the Fringe saga (unless they continue it in other media forms, which I hope they do), made me sad as the Season went on. By the time the final few moments of Fringe came and went, I felt LOST. I felt completely heartbroken. Don't worry, it wrapped all the major plot lines up nicely. The season played out well, though there were a few slow moments. Like the psychic/anomaly that Olivia encounters when she goes to pick up the magnet. One character's death was very sad but I felt the character was killed off a little too quickly. However, there were some great moments such as the Monty Python Tribute (in the episode "Black Umbrella") or when Walter gets his redemption (in the episode "Enemy of Fate"). This was a fun season and I am going to miss not tuning into Fringe every Friday (well, I usually had to DVR it so actually every Saturday at the earliest). Thank you JJ Abrams for a great ride for 2 years (yes, Fringe was on the air 5 years but I've only kept up with the show for 2 of them).