Spoiler Warning:

Suffice to say, if you haven't finished Fringe : Season 3… What are you doing reading this?

The Fringe: Season 3 Finale changed the game, but for better, or worse?That's the burning question that Season 4 will have to answer. We like Fringe , we really do, but we're concerned about its future. The fans that still watch it love it, but the problem is that Fringe appears to lose a third of its initial fanbase every season. The Season 3 finale had the lowest viewership numbers the series hasreceived. It is not a stretch to say that Season 4 will determine the fate of the series.With that in mind, we've compiled a short wish list of what we'd love to see from Fringe in this critical upcoming season.

Old+Becomes+New+Again+

Iridium+Beacon...+so...+phallic.

One of the biggest critiques of another J.J. Abrams produced, story-heavy series, Lost, was that so many clues and plot points from earlier episodes were left unresolved. We may find ourselves in a similar situation with Fringe since the events of the last episode seemingly point to a story "restart". A few aspects of the old mythology won't be missed, but we'd really like the series to revisit some past ideas.Why?Because they were so damned good.Think about past stories like the possible youth stages of an Observer that we saw in " Inner Child ", or the mystery of the iridium beacon in " The Arrival ", or all the episodes, alternate reality games, and supplementary material that had codes and special references to the Fibonacci sequence / Golden Ratio. This was the brilliant stuff that made us interested in the series in the first place, and all of these elements could easily be brought back and expanded upon to broaden the mythology. Sure, the writers could just say, "What's past is past, so get on board with the new story," but we think that would be a tragic waste of so much good material, and perhaps an insult to the fans who have spent years captivated by every little mystery the show has put before us, hoping that there would be a payoff eventually.It's understandable that the showrunners may want to wipe the slate clean to try to bring viewers back and reach a new audience, but sometimes you need to go back before you can go forwards, and revisiting some of the most popular old ideas could help recover viewers that loved Season 1 but checked out in Seasons 2 and 3.

+Let's+Observe+The+Observers+

The Observers are a key part of the mythology and the fans love them, but they've been relegated to fleeting glances and some occasional screen time in pivotal episodes. It's time they moved to the forefront of the story. They've been an iconic part of the Fringe mythology since the beginning, and if it weren't for their little chat at the very end of the finale, Peter's disappearance would have been even more confusing.As we saw during the events of " August ", it has become clear that the Observers can be more than just witnesses – they can be active participants in the actions that shape time, both willingly and unwillingly.It appears September may have acted as a guardian of the timeline, fixing things that he himself broke. In the monumental " Peter " episode, we saw how September's eagerness to witness an important moment actually screwed up everything because it distracted Walternate from realizing he had found a cure for Peter's disease, which led to Walter's bold excursion into the other universe. Later, September starts to rectify the problem by saving Walter and Peter . The Observer named December isn't opposed to fixing problems either, and once hired an assassin to kill someone. The Observers have knowledge of multiple futures, pasts, and everything in between. If we can see the story events unfold from their unique, time-independent viewpoint, it'll be easier to understand all the time paradoxes. They're the perfect characters to lead us into this new season.Besides being the catalyst for all these events, the Observers also provide an objective moral viewpoint on humanity that adds a new angle to the actions we see from our main characters. This third party perspective may be very enlightening as the two universes attempt to work together to solve their mutual problems.

+Two+Worlds+Collaborating

Peter's last act before his disappearing trick was to create a bridge between the two worlds. This could make for great drama as Walternate, Fauxlivia, and Brandonate figure out what to do. In the final moments of the episode, Walter and Walternate are still going at it, even though Peter isn't there. Both Olivias, however, seems ready to get to work on fixing things. There are lots of opportunities for new plot developments, but we believe that the Season 4 story has to leave most of the contentious stuff behind, and focus on the two universes working together.The story of the universes fighting should be over. It was good while it lasted, but if the writers continue to try to draw this out, the series could get stale. We've already seen Walternate as the bad guy, and Fauxlivia as the bad, man-stealing doppelganger. It's time for something different.The seeds are already there. Season 3 spent a significant amount of time showing us that the denizens of the alternate universe aren't bad people, they were just stuck in a bad situation. Charlie, Lincoln, and alt-Astrid are all great people who smile and laugh and care about each other and have unwittingly gotten caught up in Walternate's vengeance game. Alternate Broyles sacrificed his life to get Olivia home, and Fauxlivia risked hers as well. It's time to switch the focus to that aspect of the story, and let us see these characters struggle to make things right for everyone.

The+Curious+Case+of+Peter+Bishop

The "WTF?!?" moment of " The Day We Died " – the disappearance of Peter – obviously needs solid resolution. Time travel stories usually either get deep into the paradox solving game with clever logic, or gloss over things with some hand-waving and explanations that really don't hold up to scrutiny ("Wizards did it!"). We're really hoping Fringe goes with the first option.We're left with some huge questions about where the story is going, and that's a good thing because it gives us the whole off-season to speculate, but in the end all that matters is that whatever the creative team comes up with is sufficient to put this mind-bender into context that is exciting and makes sense. We don't think there's a specific route the story should take (the door is option to a cornucopia of good options), but we do hope these revelations start right from the beginning of the season, and reach a satisfying point well before the halfway mark. If the writers drag out the Peter story over the full course of the season, viewers may get frustrated and leave the show with even worse ratings. The Season 3 finale requires a lot of faith that things will turn out okay, and that faith needs to be rewarded quickly.

What do you want from Fringe: Season 4? Make a list, check it twice, and share it in our comments.Big TV News: