Fringe

Fringe

Episode 17: Everything in Its Right Place

By: Carlos Uribe

Fringe is a show about a division in the FBI tasked with solving fringe science cases.

Spoilers Ahoy!

Lincoln Lee was brought into the Fringe team this season to essentially fill the role that Peter had been filling. He was Olivia's partner who was obsessed with both the shape-shifters and with her. They had a close bond and he had a place he could call home. That all changed when Peter came into existence and convinced the FBI that they could trust him. Lincoln still had a place as Olivia's partner and friend until Olivia started to have memories that didn't belong to her. It's at that point that Lincoln lost his place. He was no longer Olivia's partner and she soon started to forget the bond that he had with her. At the beginning of this episode, Lincoln doesn't really have a place. The place he called home now belongs to Peter. This isn't Peter's fault, but it is an unintended consequence of his return. Lincoln may not feel out of place due to Peter but it wasn't on purpose.

When the opportunity arises for someone to cross over to the other universe to help brief their Fringe Division on David Lee Jones, Lincoln does everything he can to be the one. The rest of the team have other obligations and he's the only one who is free. When he crosses over to the other side, they get involved with a case involving a shape-shifter. They give him the option of going back home but he refuses. He wants to be useful somewhere and he believes that the best place for that is in this universe. He's the one who actually identifies the shape-shifter as a shape-shifter due to his extensive knowledge of them. He's the one who gets the shape-shifter to turn on Jones and to give up valuable information that helps Fringe Division.

It also comes at a high price. Alt-Lincoln can be seen as the opposite of our Lincoln. He's confident and he's essential to the other Fringe universe. He has self-confidence that borders on narcissism. Our Lincoln isn't essential to this Fringe universe and he has self-esteem issues. Throughout the episode, Lincoln tries to figure out what exactly was different in their past that has made them so different. It appears that their background is largely identical and Alt-Lincoln comes up with the theory that it's not just the past who defines us but also our free will. Alt-Lincoln is cocky because he wants to be that way. His importance to the other universe makes it so tragic when he gets shot by a sniper. His death means that people will grieve him. Would anyone grieve for our Lincoln? Lincoln does see the hole that is left and he decides to try and be useful in this alternative universe by helping out their Fringe division.

It should be noted that the valuable information that the shape-shifter gave up led to the actual capture of Evil Nina and the lab where the shape-shifters are being made. They even find a database of the shape-shifter identities and a map that tracks their location. This means it's only time before they find out that Alt-Broyles is a shape-shifter and that is why he tried to derail the investigation into this shape-shifter. This is also a huge setback to Jones that could eventually lead to his own downfall. It's all because of Lincoln. He may not see himself as important, but he's definably an excellent agent on his own merit. He's so good that even Alt-Lincoln, the narcissistic agent, admits it.

This was an excellent episode of Fringe. It was a lot of fun to watch and it had a rather interesting case. The alternative universe had been missing for so long that it was just nice to be able to go back. Lincoln asserting himself into the Fringe Divison of the alternative universe hopefully means that these alternative characters will be playing a big role as the season starts to come to a close. I can't wait to see the next episode.