If it seems too simple that the final 10 episodes of Fringe‘s third season will revolve around Peter, the two Olivias and the ultimate purpose of The Machine… well, that’s because it absolutely is. “We’re full of wrinkles,” executive producer Jeff Pinkner promises TVLine. “We’re like a pair of corduroy pants.”

One wrinkle the size of the San Andreas fault comes at the end of this Friday’s episode, which is set in the other universe. But even beyond that, Pinkner and fellow EP J.H. Wyman say that things will get increasingly labyrinthine as the Season 3 finale draws closer.

Fringe Exclusive: Andre Royo Poised To Return!

“Largely this season has been about the march to war, and it will continue to be so, driven equally by the relationship of Peter and the two Olivias,” Pinkner notes. “But we’ve got more stuff coming.”

Adds Wyman, “We can definitely guarantee that the last stretch [of episodes] is going to be very complicated, because you’re going to understand our show in a different capacity. It’s going to stretch your mind and make you think, ‘I never saw that coming.'”

No small feat from a show whose bread-and-butter is “Never saw that coming.”

So regardless of whatever rumors or spoilers you may have come across, “We have a few cards to lay down that I don’t think anybody expects,” Wyman teases. “That’s what we feel we owe the fans.”

Great Scott! Fringe Tops Ratings In Its First Friday Outing

What’s it all leading to? Well, just as Season 2 thrillingly teed up Season 3 by trapping our Olivia “over there,” this cycle’s finale will drop your jaw and then leave you immensely anxious for Round 4.

This May’s finale “will be as much as anything about setting up next season,” says Pinkner. As Wyman puts it, “It’s like when you read a great novel and you finish a chapter, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, something happened that’s going to propel me forward!’ That’s something we desire to emulate.”

Fringe fans, be sure to check back here after Friday’s episode for a preview of how a soon-to-drop bombshell will shake things up on “this” side.