Pop Culture Podcast
Popspotting #167: “Fringe of Anarchy” (Nov. 22, 2011)
In the past week, “Fringe” on FOX saw its fall finale, not to return until January 13, 2012, and the FX biker gang series “Sons of Anarchy” gave us a 90-minute episode to set the stage for the last three episodes of Season 4.
For better and worse, “Fringe” has given us more of the “monster of the week” format we saw in Season 1. And the question that kicked off this fourth season — “Where’s Peter?” — may still be a valid one. Will the second half of the story next year bring us back into the larger arc and bigger battle between universes?
And Jen declares this latest season of “Sons of Anarchy” her favorite, as everything comes to a head and threatens to fly apart. Did we ever really know Clay? Is there no way out for Tara? And Kurt Sutter reveals himself to be both a great showrunner and a great actor, as this latest season explores many of the SAMCRO members that started off as mere background.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Implied, perhaps, but definitely left unsaid in your discussion of the fall finale of “Fringe” is that this episode was never intended to fill that role.Â
Based on the previews, episode 8, which will be broadcast on January 13, 2012, looked appropriately mythology-heavy for a split season-ender, but the World Series ran a day late because of a rainout, thus bumping Fringe back a week.Â
FOX was committed to airing no “Fringe” episodes after last Friday, so here we are, with a nice MOTW episode, but a somewhat ho-hum fall finale.
That’s an excellent point, David. I didn’t realize that it was the fall finale date, and not the episode, that served as the hard stop last week, but it makes perfect sense. Fortunately I enjoyed the MOTW enough that I didn’t have a gripe with it leading us into the break, though definitely the preview for Episode 8 was the closest thing to a cliffhanger that we got to wrap 2011.
From what you two were discussing on the Fringe front, it seems like you agree with Peter in thinking that he’s in yet another universe. I don’t think so. I think Peter has convinced himself that he’s in an another universe because thinking that where he is is the correct universe would mean that he has no one. As we saw at the end of the last season’s finale, the Observers “fixed” the universe by removing Peter, but Peter is too special to completely go away. I think the culmination of this season will be Peter’s slow realization that he’s in the correct universe.Â
Sorry to go all conspiracy-y on you. I tend to do that with JJ Abrahms’ shows. 🙂