by Michael Ausiello
It’s the showdown we’ve been waiting for.
Fringe’s second-season finale this spring will feature a long-awaited confrontation between weird science partners-turned-frenemies William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) and Walter Bishop (John Noble).
“William and Walter will finally face off in the finale,” confirms consulting producer Akiva Goldsman, who is directing the two-part episode (written by exec producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman). “These [characters] have so much that they’re bringing to bear. And Leonard and John are two fantastic actors.”
The William/Walter reunion is just one of several mythology-related payoffs Fringe has in store in this season’s final episodes. “We’re going to be looking very closely into Peter’s [Joshua Jackson] identity, Walter’s choices in the past, and Walter’s choices in the future,” reveals Goldsman. “And by the end of the season, we’re all going over to the other side.
“We’re trying to do the last two episodes as a singular event, a little bit more movie-like,” elaborates the acclaimed auteur, who won an Oscar for his adaptation of A Beautiful Mind. “It’s really one big story. We’re approaching it like a mini-feature. It’ll have a singular narrative drive.”
But will it have any closure should, heaven forbid, the episode turn out to be a series finale? “Good stories typically have sufficient closure, but also have the promise of continuing — even if you’re not watching them continue,” he says. “So, short of killing somebody — which we’re not doing — we’re just treating it like the end of a movement, not the end of a symphony.”
Want more Fringe spoilers? Check out this week’s Ask Ausiello for the rest of my Q&A with Goldsman. In the meantime, riddle me this in the comments section: Do you think the showdown between Walter and William will fall short, meet, or exceed expectations? And what do you make of Goldsman’s “we’re all going to the” alterna-universe spoiler? Do you think we’ll finally meet the “other” Walter? Sound off below!
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