Top 35 Shows of 2013: No 18 Fringe

He showed me that, for the plan to work, I would have to sacrifice myself

Having Fringe on this list is a bit sneaky as only the final 3 episodes aired in 2013 but I really can’t help but praise this show one more time.

There are some series finales that wrap things up perfectly, others that leave audiences with a cliffhanger and some which try their best to handle the mess of previous seasons. Fringe did something altogether different and gave me the finale I always love, the emotionally satisfying one.

Sure by the time S5 was drawing to a close it was clear that the show was going for the dreaded reset option but really I truly didn’t mind because it gave our heroes a chance for happiness and damn if they didn’t deserve it.  Not only that but Walter Bishop, the crazy once egotistical scientist who kicked started the entire events of the show with his desire to save a boy he had already lost once well Walter got to finally free himself of the years of guilt and burden by performing an act to save the world and ensure the happiness of his family.

Yes happy endings can come across as sentimental and cheesy but when characters suffer setbacks and anguish again and again there is sweet relief and satisfaction when they finally get to stop fighting the good fight. With Fringe Olivia and Peter got that and really even if the show wasn’t as consistently brilliant as it was in the glorious S3 it always had a heart, it always showed that family and love matters and that freaky scientific events are really damn cool.

Favourite Episodes: Liberty / An Enemy of Fate