There’s More Than One of Everything (S01E20)
Airdate: 12 May 2009
Written by: Jeff Pinkner & J. H. Wyman
Directed by: Brad Anderson
Running Time: 47 minutes
In the often chaotic landscape of television series finales, particularly within the realm of science fiction and mystery dramas, a subtle but pervasive trap awaits both creators and audience members. The primary problem for any season finale is that it frequently ends up looking too much like a season finale—a distinct, self-contained event that attempts to wrap up every loose end while simultaneously planting seeds for a future harvest that may or may not ever be harvested. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable to more experienced and jaded viewers. It is a curse that often plagues episodes that would otherwise be highly praised for their individual merits, as the heavy-handedness required to signal a "finality" can sometimes obscure the nuance of the storytelling. Season 1 of Fringe offers a compelling case study in this regard, culminating in the episode There’s More Than One of Everything. While it certainly bears the hallmarks of a traditional season finale, it manages to transcend the genre's usual tropes to deliver a cohesive and thrilling conclusion.
The episode wastes no time in hitting the ground running, immediately resolving the cliffhanger established in the previous instalment. Nina Sharp, having survived a gunshot wound, is shown recovering in the hospital. The mystery of her attacker and the motive behind the elaborate assassination attempt is dispatched with efficient procedural pacing. Audio and video recordings from the crime scene quickly identify the chief attacker as none other than David Robert Jones, a figure who has been lurking in the shadows of the series' mythology. The reason for Jones's ruthless planning is revealed to be both pragmatic and desperate: he requires the energy cell that powers Nina Sharp’s artificial arm. Jones, whose face is heavily bandaged and who is dying as the result of his previous teleportation experiences, apparently intends to travel to the parallel universe, and this energy cell is a critical component of the process. His subordinates conduct two experiments to test the gateway, with horrifying results that serve to demonstrate the volatility of the technology. One experiment results in a lorry from the parallel universe arriving on a New York street and being instantly cut in half by the dimensional barrier, while the other, conducted on a soccer field in Providence, Rhode Island, slices one of the players in half right.
With Nina recovered enough to participate in the investigation, the piecework of the plot begins to move faster. She informs the team that William Bell is located in the parallel universe and that Jones, who used to be one of Bell's proteges during the early years of Massive Dynamic, intends to meet him. She presents Olivia with an offer: she must stop Jones, and in exchange, she promises to arrange the long-sought interview with William Bell.
Simultaneously, Walter Bishop embarks on a very personal and desolate journey that takes him to a graveyard and then to his old beach house. It is a trip born of panic and desperation, as he desperately tries to locate a mysterious object he has previously developed. Peter Bishop arrives to assist him, and Walter reveals that he and Bell had developed the method to travel between universes, though he also possesses a device capable of plugging the dimensional gaps. Walter locates the device and deduces that the specific gap Jones is targeting is Redien Lake, one of many "soft spots" that have begun to pop up in the world over the past decades. The team rushes to the lake just as Olivia deduces that Jones will make his final attempt to cross into the other world. Olivia is unable to stop him on her own, but Peter arrives with the device designed to plug the gap. In a visceral moment of violence, the device activates, severing Jones in half and killing him, effectively ending his threat.
One of the most poignant elements of this episode involves the explanation of Walter’s cryptic words regarding his trips to the parallel world. Walter had made ominous remarks about taking something from the other side, a fact that had puzzled viewers up until this point. Later in the episode, this is explained when Walter visits a graveyard and sees a gravestone with the inscription "Peter Bishop 1977 - 1985."
The narrative arc concludes with a spectacular reveal that transports the audience into the parallel universe itself. Nina Sharp holds up her end of the bargain and arranges for Olivia to visit a hotel in New York City. While using the lift, Olivia experiences strange light and disembarks on one of the floors, which appears to be the offices of William Bell. He sees her, and the sheer scale of the mystery is laid bare. It is revealed that the office is situated within one of the World Trade Center towers that had, in this timeline, not been brought down during the 9/11 attacks. This visual choice was slightly controversial at the time, particularly for US audiences, as the wounds of that tragedy were still relatively fresh. Some might argue that the authors of the series went slightly overboard to signal that the world in which William Bell resides is different from the regular one, but for many, it was a striking and effective piece of world-building.
There’s More Than One of Everything is one of the most critically acclaimed episodes of Season 1, and there are very good justifications for this acclaim. The script by Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman did something that many "mystery box" series, most notably Lost, failed to do during their peak: it tied up many loose ends from the previous episodes and made the content of almost any other episode look like a part of a coherent whole. The motive of parallel universes served as a very good explanation for both the overarching conspiracy and some of the most intriguing aspects of the relationship between Walter and Peter. The direction by Brad Anderson complements the good writing perfectly, allowing the plot to unfold quickly, yet in a way that doesn't confuse the viewers despite the complex lore being introduced.
The episode remains memorable because of its major cliffhangers and the questions that remain unanswered. We learn—or at least get a strong hint—that Peter Bishop might not be Walter’s biological son, at least not from our universe, a revelation that rewrites the history of the characters we thought we knew. However, even more importantly, the episode ends with a somewhat prolonged sequence in which Olivia ends up in a parallel version of New York. It is a moment of cinematic grandeur that features William Bell, played by the iconic Leonard Nimoy, a larger-than-life figure who brings a gravitas to the show that few other actors could match. The scene of the standing WTC towers serves as a stark visual reminder of the alternate reality, a choice that, while potentially controversial, undeniably left a lasting impression on the audience.
Ultimately, thanks to excellent acting—especially by John Noble, whose character receives a more tragic aspect in this finale—the episode is one of the more successful and memorable season finales in the recent history of US television. Noble imbues Walter with a depth of sorrow and desperation that elevates the material, making the audience care deeply about his fate. There’s More Than One of Everything shows the power of a well-written science fiction serial, proving that even a finale burdened by the expectations of its genre can deliver a truly compelling and cathartic experience.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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