Fringe 4x15-4x17
Oh, I understand why they did everything they did, but....
THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I WANTED.
Don't get me wrong, I'll still defend this show to the ground as smart, and engaging, and wonderful. The thing is, it's finally gone and done the ONE THING that almost all shows do, sooner or later, and that I was SO PROUD of it for not doing... it's went OOC for the sake of plot.
Ok, granted, it's a matter of opinion. Personally, though, the idea of our Olivia cheerily abandoning her hunt for the truth, including all her memories of incredibly important relationships, for the sake of being with Peter? DO. NOT. WANT. Seriously, the Olivia I fell in love with would NEVER be that careless, blithe, or callous. I understand that, to her, her memories of Peter are real, but I cannot believe that it wouldn't bother her that she's lost the mother/daughter relationship she clearly had with Nina, or that she's obviously breaking Lincoln's heart by forgetting everything they shared.
Throughout the first three seasons, I enjoyed the Olivia/Peter romance as a side plot. Not a whole lot of chemistry, in my opinion (unlike with Lincoln/ Olivia, but my bias is showing), but they were cute, and anything that make Olivia happy was good with me.
My tolerance ended the SECOND it jeopardized the integrity of the show, and of Olivia's character.
And then. AND THEN. They just had to go and destroy the ONE SOLID SHIP I was rooting for! Red-'Verse Lincoln and Olivia were fun, uncomplicated, and clearly meant for each other, IMHO (see Bloodline). Now-- I guess as an attempt to simplify the relationships?-- the show decides to: screw up the home 'verse Lincoln/ Olivia (by making Olivia wildly OOC) --> drive Lincoln to flee to another universe because of it --> quickly kill off that universe's Lincoln so that the home Lincoln will have a reason to stay. Voila! Four unique characters, two unique ships. Cut and dried...except for the character assassination.
It's almost like Rise of the Cybermen/ Age of Steel... except that Lincoln is NOT MICKEY, Peter/ Olivia is NOT ROSE/ DOCTOR, and Alt!Lincoln is NOT RICKEY (he's a real character, not a placeholder... and speaking of, did anyone else think that they were making him purposefully less likeable in 4x17? He was a little cocky before, but never pathologically narcissistic, or whatever home Lincoln called him).
I really want to believe that this is going to work out, and that I'll regain my faith in the show in another couple of episodes (I haven't seen last night's, yet), but this is probably the most disappointed I've ever been with Fringe.