With Fringe's move to Friday, we can only hold our breaths for the ratings tomorrow. Fox has been struggling greatly on Friday, unable to be competitive with new episodes, airing repeats instead. While Fringe was not doing great on Thursdays, it may alter Fox's Friday fortunes. If it gets roughly the same ratings as it did on Thursday, I wouldn't be surprised if Fringe came back--though I wouldn't get optimistic.
It's a shame that Fringe may come to an end this season after a brilliant stretch of episodes starting from the latter half of the second seasons. The plot has thickened significantly, Anna Torv has gotten a lot better, and the overall focus on serialization has definitely picked up the pace.
"The Firefly" features magnificent Rube Goldberg action with Walter learning the far-reaching consequences of the Observer's actions. Months after Peter was saved from the pond, he picked up a firefly, leading to another girl not finding a firefly and trying to find another one, which results in her father hitting a young man--Roscoe's son. This stunning and heartbreaking revelation turns the episode with Walter exposed as the one who inadvertently ruined his hero's life and caused another chain reaction leading to the current war between universes.
The action ramps up in the second half as the Olivia and Peter chase the Observer. Knowing that the Observer is looking for balance or something like that regarding Peter, Walter lets Peter continue chasing, even though there is probably death in the near future. While Peter doesn't die in the end, it's revealed to be one large experiment. That Walter would sacrifice is very important to the Observers and they can use the knowledge however they want.
On the Olivia and Peter front, they come to an understanding at the end of the episode after Peter makes several attempts to help her understand what happened. It won't be easy, and there'll certainly be further tension, but for now they are back on track.
Score: 9.2/10
