Fringe: "Reciprocity"

[icepixie]

I don't really know what to do with this episode. Good Character Turns Evil is just about my least-favorite narrative device of all time, so I am...reserving judgment on Peter's "weaponization." (And yes, I know his con-man past doesn't mean he was ever really objectively "good," but...you know what I mean.)

Did like the moment where Olivia told him she understood that the fallout from Fauxlivia's mission was probably not all sunshine and roses for him either. That smile he gave her was great. "I'm gonna get laid again! The one I've wanted for years is giving me a chance, yay!" Of course, she may not feel so warm and fuzzy toward him when she finds out he was the shapeshifter killer. Those poor kids just can't catch a break.

Also liked Nina! It's been forever since we saw her. She should be around more, as should Brandon. ("Can I swallow?" Awww.)

Comments

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

You know, I was worried at first that it was going to be Good Character Turns Evil, which I also dislike. (See: Garibaldi in S4. That storyline doesn't work for me at all because basically nothing he does is actually real, and that kind of programming/brainwashing/evil twin/whatever is almost always how that device plays out.) I thought the Machine had programmed him, or Walternate had done something to it somehow, whatever. But I think for all that Walter is talking about "weaponization," that was still Peter. Walter probably can't accept that Peter would do something like that, so he's looking for some outside influence, but until/unless I'm proven wrong later on, I don't think that's the case.

I mean, it was hard to watch him kill the shapeshifters, but from his perspective he thinks this is the best way to save his entire world, to keep him from getting caught up in Walternate's plan. Whether he's justifying it as an ends justify the means kind of thing, or whether he genuinely doesn't believe the shapeshifters are anything other than a weapon and that therefore there's no moral dilemma in destroying them, or both, I don't know that that necessarily makes him evil, or even more morally suspect. Like you said, he was a con-man for a long time. This is probably more in tune with who he actually is than anything else.

[icepixie]

...I think I might actually dislike it more if this is mostly or partially who Peter really is, actually. I dunno...intellectually, I get what you're saying, and I see the seeds for it in his con-man past (even if we didn't really see much of that onscreen before). On the other hand, apparently killing even shapeshifters in cold blood is A Line for me, no matter whether he believes they're just machines or not, and my hindbrain is going NO NO NO SHOW I HATE YOU. Part of it is the not telling anyone bit, too. Maybe that's even worse.

[singer-shaper.livejournal.com]

I see the seeds for it in his con-man past (even if we didn't really see much of that onscreen before).

That's part of my problem with Peter-as-killer: a con man does not a murderer make, and the show has never suggested that Peter is violent. Also, the way Jackson played Peter while he was killing indicated to me that he was possessed by something. Either way, this is definitely an uncomfortable twist.

[icepixie]

Yeah, that's part of my problem with it as well. He was vaguely dangerous for, like, four episodes in S1, and that was it. And we never got the impression that he was violent, as you say.

Also, the way Jackson played Peter while he was killing indicated to me that he was possessed by something.

This too. I suppose it could be both (though I would say it's about 80-90% possession, 10-20% latent violent tendencies and/or psychological trauma from the past season or so).