From introducing alternate universes to killing off beloved characters, no one can accuse Fox's Fringe of not being a brave show. But despite the writers' faith it'd turn out all right, there was one crazy plot twist the cast just couldn't get behind.



Though everyone seemed to think the idea of introducing the alternate dimension of "Over There" was a cool move, nobody seemed really excited about the season-three finale that saw Peter (Joshua Jackson) erased from existence. In fact, the cast all pretty much hated it.

The cast and crew are doing an extensive sit-down with TV Guide in the lead-up to tomorrow's epic finale, and in looking back at the past five years, they all agree that losing Peter for the first several episodes of season four didn't work. At all. And most fans would agree.

Here are John Noble's (Walter Bishop) comments on the twist:

"I didn't like it, personally, because to me, to have a Walter there without Peter, he was basically locked in this lab for what function? Because he's a genius, that's about all. So I'll say it, no, I didn't think it was a great reset. We built a team, and it wasn't the same. If you take any one of the characters out, it wouldn't be the same. But we got it back ... I chose to play Walter quite strangely. He wasn't that pleasant. Walter wasn't very pleasant or happy, and that was a deliberate choice. I said, 'Please put him back. I miss Josh.'"

"I thought it was really weird. You obviously have to put a lot of trust in the writers, because they've written three really fantastic, amazing, dynamic seasons already and so you have to put your faith in them and trust that they're going to bring you to a good place. But it was definitely a difficult thing for me and I think a couple of the other actors too ... In this timeline that they created, I didn't understand what Astrid's purpose was anymore because before she had been a person who was a friend to Walter and that was a really important way to show the audience different facets of Walter's personality."

"I was never a huge fan of the paradox that you get yourself into when you start dealing with circular time like that. I felt like Season 4 had some clumsy moments trying to fudge through some of the logic leaps that you have to make. Well, if he didn't exist, how is he here, and why do some people remember him, and why is only that memory bleeding through, and if he was here until he was 9 years old, then why does the portal even exist? But that's part and parcel of when they're swinging for the fences, they're not all home runs. You have to deal with the double-edged sword of our show being really brave creatively, that not every single one of the ideas is going to be masterful. ...So the repercussions of The Machine came out of a conversation that I had with [consulting producer] Akiva Goldsman, and then he had the conversation with Joel and Jeff about the only choice that Peter could make that wouldn't result in the death or destruction of one side or the other would be self-sacrifice, which is a pretty noble thing."

Jasika Nicole (Astrid) said she believes the change messed up a lot of the character development, and left her character in a very weird place:Oddly enough, Joshua Jackson was the most open to the twist. The reason? He felt it was a noble place to end the series if it'd been canceled after season three, which was a distinct possibility. It gave Peter's arc a good way to go out and resolved the broken-worlds storyline in a meaningful way. But, that doesn't mean he thinks the aftermath translated well to the small screen in season four. Here's his breakdown:

What do you think? Did you like the disappearing-Peter twist?

(Via TV Guide)