Resetting the Fringe Timeline

Fringe showrunners only had a half season of episodes with which to bring the sci-fi drama’s twisted universal shift to a close. Based solely on the glimpses I’ve gotten of the previews leading up to the last three hours of this wild ride, I’m teetering on the edge of fan girl madness. All because of those 3 little words: reset the timeline.

When you hear “reset the timeline” does your stomach suddenly drop into a pit as deep and dark as the hatch on Lost? Pass the Red Vines and butterscotch pudding, please. I have the urge to drown my sorrows in pure cane sugar.

In many ways, the thought of resetting our Fringe timeline is quite exhilarating. After all, what good is the Fringe universe without eye candy like the lovely Dr. Brandon Fayette? And I’m still not satisfied that the mysterious Sam Weiss died behind the wheel of a used Winnebago.

But how far back on the timeline will those deliciously evil writers take us?

Remember the nickname Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman earned from fans: the instigators. These guys and their writing staff are sneaky, and the love to mess with our minds. How early in the timeline are we talking “reset”? Which timeline? Which universe, for that matter?

Did Lost‘s man in black teleport the Boom Boom Machine to William Bell on a cloud of smoke for just this purpose? Given the gun-shy nature of some of us longtime J.J. Abrams, still suffering from Lost letdown, I would be willing to bet many are clinging to their constants for dear life as the final episodes loom.

If you don’t go back far enough, you run the risk of not “fixing” things completely and having the series end in a decidedly off-kilter angle. If you go back too far, there’s the threat of minimizing some of the most significant plot developments and erasing the existence of some beloved characters. Or, god forbid, bringing back others we’d like to forget completely:

• R@chel Dunham & her daughter
• Amy Jessup, AKA Agent New Girl
• naked mole rat baby from Night of Desirable Objects episode in Season 2

But please don’t erase Lincoln Lee, Nick Lane or the greatest hits of Violet Sedan Chair from our collective consciousness.

Tune in to the thrilling conclusion to Fringe’s final season on Friday nights at 8 CST. I promise I’ll be your constant.