No, Really: There's More Than One Of EVERYTHING

From the moment in the Season 1 finale when we saw that Walter was keeping a Terrible Secret about Peter, Fringe has been building to Peter finding out what his deal actually is, and the fallout that his knowledge would cause. But not until the two-part Season 2 finale do we learn that it might cause literal fallout, in that he seems to be intended as the fissile material in some kind of crazy-ass Over There bomb that's supposed to destroy Universe A. In which case, I guess there actually wouldn't be any fallout, because there wouldn't be anything at all anymore. So it's a good thing Peter doesn't arm that bomb after all and I bet that's the last we ever hear about it!!!

The arc of Season 2 is such that so many plot turns, when they happen, feel inevitable -- and yet, amazingly, watching the season episode-by-episode isn't an artificially slowed-down slog that leaves the viewer whining about when she's going to get to the fireworks factory. Instead, each phase of the mytharc -- Olivia recovering from her own trip Over There to her sharing the secret of Peter's true identity with Walter to Peter's response and the season-ending trip to retrieve him from his original home -- seems like it's proceeding at just the right pace, propelled along with Monster Of The Week episodes that are individually compelling. I know every other sci-fi show isn't run by stylists this strong, but crappier writers could just try to copy what worked here and it's kind of shocking that more haven't. (And if Kurtzman and Orci's current show, Sleepy Hollow, is just as assured, then...maybe I need to give it another shot.) (Hi Sarah!)

Speaking of Peter's response...okay, as I wrote in the last installment of the Marathon Diary, while I appreciate the story purposes he serves, I've sometimes gotten impatient with Peter's whininess in general, and specifically his resentment toward Walter, because I love Walter more than all these other knuckleheads put together. So when Peter decides that the way for him to deal with the discovery that he's not really in the right universe is to throw a hissy and take off to the west coast without telling anyone where he's going, I rolled my eyes and thought he was being a crybaby, even though, okay, I have no frame of reference for what I would do under the same circumstances and I'm pretty sure I never will although WHO'S TO SAY.

But what the two final episodes do well is remind us that even though the Walter we have come to know is a benign, shambling sweetie, there was a time when he was drunk enough with power to do some PRETTY HARDCORE experiments on children, and the few of those children who not only managed to become adults but haven't yet been killed for the powers Walter gave them are still kind of pissed off at him. And, you know, they're not wrong. When Broyles and Olivia bring a few of them back together for the trip Over There (bringing my dream of a CorteX-Men team to life!), even Walter is prepared to be killed in reprisal for his part in kind of ruining their lives. And then Bell tells Walter he can quit being mad at Bell for having taken out parts of Walter's brain because, guess what, Walter asked him to, apparently because he couldn't think of any other way to stop him doing what he was doing in the name of science. All this by way of saying I guess Peter's reaction isn't really that crazy or unforgivable (by me), and at least we leave things with Peter expressing a willingness to continue building a good relationship with Walter, which is all I can ask.

Best of all, though, I loved the way the show embraced the chance to show us SO MUCH of Over There's goofy weirdness. Blimps we'd already seen, but I have to give a slow clap for The West Wing still chugging along; the still-copper-coloured Statue Of Liberty; the Grand Hotel; the marquee showing Indiana Jones And The Nest Of The Hydra; and the fact that KFC tastes the same in any universe, which I guess means that Universe B's calamities doesn't include a worldwide salt shortage. If the trees in Over There's Central Park look suspiciously piney...I guess it's because trees that are native to the area all got worms like Over There Charlie? Also, shout-out to the Royal Bank Of Canada, which in the other universe has made such impressive inroads that there's even a branch on Flatbush Avenue!

Most Horrifying Indignity Visited Upon A Human Body Part: Though I'm not thrilled with Dr. Peck's super-committed steampunk cosplay in "White Tulip," he willingly did it to himself, so I don't think it counts. Let's say it's what happened to the unfortunate Hilltop Diner waitress who lost some key pieces of her head.

Favourite Character Actor From The HITG! Pantheon: Aw, it's a pre-The Killing and The Carrie Diaries Katie Findlay as a murdered teen-turned-Over There supersoldier!

Heartbreakingest Walter Moment: Left to his own limited devices after Peter flounces off, Walter makes the mistake of checking the ingredients on a box of toaster pastries and melts down in the cereal aisle.

Oh, Walter. Do yourself a favour and never look at what's actually in your beloved Red Vines.