10. Fringe - 'Liberty / An Enemy Of Fate'
As we came into the final season of Fringe, the stakes had never been higher. The Observers had swept back through time, invading Earth's history between the events of seasons four and five. Emotion. Freedom. These were the very things that humanity now needed to fight for and it took our intrepid heroes, freed from amber, to lead the battle. And it had come with personal cost. Walter's mind had deteriorated following his brutal interrogation. Olivia and Peter's daughter, reunited with her parents after two decades, was killed in the struggle. Peter had used observer technology on himself, leading to a brilliant story line where he almost became the enemy he despised. September had returned, now looking more human, discovered to have been working Walter on a plan to defeat the enemy. And the observer child Michael was revealed as the key to saving the future. What made the series finale so great was that it wrapped up the ongoing story line while cleverly serving as a Fringe greatest hits tour. I included the final two episodes as I discuss the finale as a) the serialised nature of season five meant there where no standalone episodes anymore and b) the penultimate 'Liberty' brought closure to one central ongoing story line as much as 'An Enemy Of Fate' did. I'm talking of course about alternate Earth and the characters introduced at the end of season two. It was great to catch up 'Alt Olivia' and our Lincoln many years on from the events of the fourth season and see just how well that version has developed. But it wasn't just a chance to revisit one of the central themes of the show. It was also a very clever use of Olivia jumping between worlds to rescue the Observer child Michael from Liberty Island. Sci-fi at its very best. The last episode delivered on all fronts. A desperate plan, (September taking Michael into the future to change the course of human evolution) and our heroes going up against impossible odds. The final battle is frantic. The death of September was tragic, not just because he had developed into a great character from his Observer origins, but because it meant that Walter had to take on the fate of the world, leaving Peter and Olivia behind to change the course of the future. Not only that, we got to see Olivia using her Cortixiphan-enhanced powers and her and Peter unleashing a whole host of Fringe events on the enemy. Every moment takes up back to an episode two or three of even four years ago and adds some great nostalgia amid an exciting action sequence. Some might argue that Walter changing events was a big deus ex machina, but I whole-heartedly disagree. Taking Peter and Olivia back the park and their daughter Etta and allowing them to live happily ever after was a beautiful and fitting end for two characters who had gone through so much. And the final white tulip picture is a touching final memento for Walter Bishop, one of the best TV characters in the last decade. I'll say it again. Where was John Noble's Emmy? Here's for your viewing pleasure are those final minutes, and it give us some well deserved closure after a fascinating five years of great sci-fi.