Hello fellow fringe fanatics; my name is Ray, and this marks my first blog post to The Fringe Podcast, and I must say that it is an honor to be doing so. I thank Clint and Darrell for having me as a blogger alongside some amazing bloggers that have been here for quite some time. With the introduction out of the way let me get to the heart of the matter, the blog. First off, we have this altered timeline in which events from the past and present have happened and are happening differently because Peter was erased from the timeline. Season 4 kicked off with a golden-orange intro which marks that we are in an altered timeline. I know there are a few different names spinning around the web for this timeline such as ‘Peter-less Timeline’ or ‘Orange Timeline’; however, I am more fond of ‘Amber Timeline’ so I just wanted to make it clear what I meant by Amber Timeline.
I want to discuss something that has been nagging at me for the past few weeks now. I have noticed a good many fans seem to believe that in this ‘Amber Timeline,’ Olivia is in bad shape emotionally. I am very willing to admit that she isn’t the same and that she is by no means the bubbly woman who we knew from last season when she and Peter were dating, but it is my personal opinion that she isn’t in bad shape. We have seen that she doesn’t laugh or smile as much, and there is some tension between her and redverse Olivia. However, I honestly just see her as being more work focused and professional. Perhaps more like Season 1’s blueverse Olivia, though there are significant differences.
If we are to believe that Olivia without Peter existing is supposed to be a broken individual, then we need more evidence than her saying she’s missing something in her life. Many of us say we are missing something in our lives when we are getting older and haven’t found love (though its likely she still had fallen in love with John Scott) or settled down yet. If I am to believe that without Peter, Olivia is worse off, then I need the writers to give me some heart-wrenching scenes where we see her house or apartment being a mess, her alone having breakdowns. The way she presents herself in this ‘Amber Timeline’ isn’t the broken individual or lost soul one would expect if her soulmate were erased from existence (even without her knowing). One would assume (at least I do) that she would be a complete wreck, at least in her personal, private moments.
The evidence that we have seen doesn’t really show her as being very different of a person without Peter in her life. In the second episode of the season, we saw her with a vibrant shade of pink lipstick, something more reverse Olivia would put on. She may not be very social or humorous, not sassy nor bubbly, but she certainly is not a recluse either. She and this ‘Amber Timeline’ version of Astrid appear to be more sisterly towards one another. So, we learned that she killed her abusive stepfather in this altered timeline. Yes, this could be horrific event that could play on someone’s psyche, but perhaps this was the liberation that she needed in her life. Her stepfather was an oppressive force in her life, and by killing him, this could have been a life-changing event that took a terrified little girl and evolved her over time into a strong, confident FBI Agent. This altered timeline Olivia as well as the blueverse Olivia are both strong, masculine versions of a woman character. In the blueverse timeline that we have known from past seasons, Olvia didn’t kill her stepfather but attempted to. It very well may be this killing or attempted killing of her stepfather that makes Olivia the strong, masculine character that fans love. The concept of overthrowing or killing a ‘father’ is a classical element of Greek mythology. Chronus killed his father and Zeus killed his father (Chronus). One must wonder why in both timelines Olivia attempted to kill (in the altered timeline actually killed) her stepfather? Is it important that she attempts this act in order for Olivia to exist as we know her? Does the act of not having this stepfather or at least not trying to kill him create a version of Olivia like redverse Olivia?
I absolutely agree that this Newlivia isn’t better or worse off in comparison to her Blueverse counterpart. And personally, I think I might like her better!
The appearance changes are what stand out right off the bat. Blueverse Olivia never cared much about her hair or appearance, and it seems that while this new Olivia is still reserved when it comes to personal interaction, she does care more about how she looks. Her hair is down and wavy, and this past week we even got a neat french braid. Hello lipstick! Her clothes also seem to have a bit more color to them and we even got some Altlivia type clothing in “Alone in the World”
The personal interaction and relationship changes are also quite apparent. Her relationship with Astrid is very different when compared to that of the Blueverse and I also noticed a remarkable difference in her relationship with Walter. She is much more patient and understanding with him. Without Peter there, Astrid and Olivia seem to be his main ‘caregivers’ and you can see that she does take the time to ensure he is okay emotionally.
She is still very emotionally involved in her work, but she seems to give more of herself when on the job…i.e. Opening up to Lincoln in the season premier about losing her partner and the ‘hole in her life’, and telling John that she was also from an abusive home.
I don’t think I’d ever characterize Olivia in the Blueverse as being light and bubbly, she just doesn’t have that type of personality. But daring to be happy and, most importantly, trusting someone implicitly, I think we saw that when she was with Peter. He became her emotional safety net and she was able to, even if only temporarily, unburden herself from some of her emotional baggage when she was with him.
A lot of that baggage was due to the emotional distress caused by the fact that her stepfather was still alive, and I do agree that because he is dead in this new timeline, that would alter her personality slightly…while she carries around the fact that she killed him, I think that she has the capability to accept that she did the right thing by killing him, so him being dead wouldn’t be as much of a burden to her as him being alive and ‘haunting’ her would.
I’m very excited for Peter to return to this new Olivia, because I think that it will add something new and different to their relationship if they do in fact get to a place where they once again share an emotional bond. But for now, I’m loving how this new character is playing out and I think Anna Torv is doing an outstanding job of delivering yet another version of Olivia Dunham.
i agree, the writers need to expand and show as how much this olivia is different than the olivia from the last 3 seasons.
It’s very clear that AmberLivia is much darker than BlueLivia is on several levels. She actually killed her StepDad instead of just shooting him. She’s got a much harsher edge, seems even more bitter at times and is definitely much cooler. Even when she was making an attempt at being friendly with BlueLincoln, she seemed stiff, maybe a bit awkward and not very at ease with being social with someone. What is the big difference? It’s the absence of Peter.
Peter’s presence in her life gave her a bright spot in an otherwise dark world she was living in at a critical time in her development. It made a huge difference in her outlook on life. Although she still went through difficulties, his presence opened her up on some level and probably tempered some of her ableit necessary toughness.