John Noble Thought The Fringe Finale Was One Of The All-Time Greats
Fringe was never the kind of show that was to give you a boring, run-of-the-mill finale. No, with the series finale, you could bet they were to pull out all of the stops. In fact, John Noble, who played modern-day mad scientist Walter Bishop, called the Fringe finale “One of the great finales of all time.”
That’s a bold statement, but, all things considered, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. After all of the shocking revelations in the previous episode, “The Boy Must Live,” nothing seemed on the table for the Fringe finale.
On Friday, January 18th, 2013, Fringe aired back-to-back episodes, “Liberty” and “An Enemy of Fate,” the 99th and 100th episodes of the series.
John Noble told reporters at the time about the Fringe finale, “I think we finished the series off as well as I could possibly have dreamed of, as I hope will be evident in the next couple of weeks.”
He continued, “I think [the script is] the best finale I’ve ever read, just in terms of being able to tie up the five years, five years of intense work. To be able to pull it together in the way that [executive producer] Joel Wyman did is quite remarkable to me.”
Adding about the Fringe finale, “So I honestly think the fans will be … well, they’ll be disappointed. There’s no question, because the series is finishing. But I think they’ll be very thrilled and honored by the way that Joel has made that happen.”
Fringe was well known for the rabid fan support it inspired. Hell, the doggedly devoted enthusiasts are of the main reasons it was on for so long. And few shows had a cast who was as willing and excited about interacting with their fan base. So if Walter thought fans would be satisfied with the Fringe finale, that speaks volumes.
Season five was a tumultuous journey for Walter, Noble’s character. A vast majority of the events of Fringe hinged on Walter, and he was always been the emotional core of the show. Part of why Noble adored the finale so much is, as he says, “I think it’s the perfect out for Walter.”
He wasn’t wrong. Fans praised John Noble’s final moments when he sacrificed himself to allow Michael, the child Observer, to travel to the future and undo the creation of the Observers. The Fringe finale ended with a reset timeline in 2036 where the Observers never took over, and the Fringe team lived peaceful lives
Some fans thought the Fringe finale was a bit too happy an ending for a series that often was anything but. That being said, it capped off in a way most could appreciate at the time. Best of all-time? We won’t go that far with the Fringe finale, but it was a fitting end to the series.
