Season 2 Premiere-Feel like discussing it?

[wjobsessed]

Hopefully you have had a chance to watch the Fringe Season 2 premiere episode "A New Day In The Old Town" which aired last night. If you haven't seen it use the link below to watch it in its entirety on the fancast website.

"A New Day In The Old Town" on fancast:
http://www.fancast.com/tv/Fringe/100695/1267261793/A-New-Day-in-the-Old-Town/videos

There are many things that happened in this episode that were confusing. I was on the live chat at fringetelevision.com after the show aired last night, and many people there were trying to figure out when exactly Olivia crossed over to the "Alternate Universe"(let's call it AU from now on to make it shorter).

Did Olivia cross over to the AU when she had that near collision with her car on the street in NY? Or when she was in the elevator of the building in which she thought she was meeting Nina Sharp? What do you think?:confused:

[mtj]

It would seem the crossover was from her car. All the weird light in the elevator made you think it was then.
However, if you recall, Nina Sharp never made the meeting in the restaurant.
I think that is because Olivia was already in the alternate universe and Nina could not make the meeting, because she was not a part of that reality.

[wjobsessed]

Good points, mtj. And I have to agree with you.
I had to think about it a bit after Thursday night's episode.

We were led in the Season 1 finale to believe that Liv crossed over in the elevator during the blue light events.
But with all the new information from the Season 2 premiere it does indeed seem she crossed over that moment in her SUV while driving. If that's true it would also explain why her seatbelt was still fastened, and why she wasn't in the vehicle post-collision. It also explains why she was projected through the windshield with such force those few moments later.

Let's change gears. Does anyone reading question why we were left for 25 minutes wondering whether Olivia was dead or alive? One of the editors at fringetelevision.com has posted about this. While I found the dark scenes in the first 25 minutes very well-written bittersweet stuff-especially that whole scene with Broyles and Peter lamenting over the loss of Agent Dunham-one has to wonder WHY director Akiva Goldsman went that route.

Couldn't Olivia have awakened spewing Greek without being near death beforehand? The only thing I can figure is that the writers/directors wanted us to see how affected Broyles and Peter Bishop would be if she'd died, and how they would form an alliance of sorts. Did that scene help set the stage for the "all for one" discussion later on the Capital steps?:surprisedq:

[Metrocrash]

I enjoyed the new premier, although I was dissappointed we didn't get to see William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), but the season is just getting started. According to press releases, LN is heavily involved with JJAbrams following his work on Star Trek. Moving on, the episode picked up after some time has passed from the cliffhanger finale with Olivia looking out the window of South Tower WTC.

Did anyone catch the The X Files tribute on the dude's tv in the first scenes?

My biggest complaint is that I miss the New York City backdrop. Though Fringe is primarily set in Boston, much of S1 focused heavily on events in and around NYC, with some eps featured primarily in major NYC landmarks (Granc Central Terminal). Somehow, Fringe relocating to Vancouver, BC, where such shows as Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, XFiles, 4400 and Warehouse 13 were/are filmed to great effect, VBC changes the dynamic of Fringe. VBC looks too clean, warm and sanitized and it rains before it snows in VBC. I really enjoyed the scenes in S1 where the cast were bundled up in subfreezing temps, becuase it is typical of Boston, MA for the winter months in which much of network TV are produced. Yes i understand that it is typical that early network episodes in most series and seasons are filmed in late summer & fall months, but the winter dreariness is part of Fringe's character. Somehow, the evergreen VBC will detract from that.

Walter's lab looked different too, the Harvard University setting, probably Simon Fraser Univ or something, has whitewashed buildings compared to the dark bricks and gothics of Pratt Institute that stood in for Harvard in S1.

Anyway, otherwise the episode was very powerful. Liv's waking up in the hospital was very JJAbrams like from Syndey's rev in Alias s2-3. Can't wait till next week!

[mtj]

Oh, I forgot to mention.
What WAS UP with that Nina/Broyles kiss?
The writers have already hinted at a past Nina/Walter relationship.
Broyles too?
Nina Sharp sure does get around.

[wjobsessed]

*laughs* Now see I was already programmed for a Nina/Broyles thing thanks to a couple of the Fringe
fanfiction writers who had put them together.
So my shock came and went a few months ago...

I would not be surprised if we find out he worked for her and/or Massive Dynamic directly or indirectly in the past.
And remember we STILL do not know who that group was that they are both involved with which was shown at the beginning of episode 2, "Same Old Story." My theory is that's the Northwoods Group. But who runs it??:confused: