I knew I'd been forgetting something...

I should have added "Jacksonville", from Fringe's second season, to my list of all-time favorite TV episodes. I just rewatched it on Saturday and was struck by its near perfection. Perhaps the reason I didn't add it to the list was a subconscious desire to avoid the pain that the end of the episode leads into, but it is SUCH a phenomenal episode. Anna Torv gets a chance to shine that she didn't really get in "Grey Matters". The way the conflict between Walter and Olivia plays out, with Peter a not-silent bystander, is just breathtaking. As with many of the best Fringe eps, there's also a high creepy/gross factor. The poor guy at the beginning who gets combined with his alternate-universe self, "Dreamland"-style? Blech. And then Olivia's terrifying dream-vision thing while drugged? Nightmarish, truly.

It's also heartbreaking to think of how Olivia and Peter go from being cute and flirty and funny with each other on the phone at the start of the ep, to Peter being concerned for Olivia throughout their time in Jacksonville, to them taking what will perhaps be a significant step in their relationship (going out for drinks), to... that final revelation at the end. Oh, man. I wonder what it would have been like to watch this as it aired, unspoiled. I think I still would have figured out Peter's origins without having seen the first half of season 3 first, but if the reveal was that stunning even having known, I can't imagine how awesome it would have been without that knowledge.