Guest Star Goodness: Fringe “Nothing As It Seems” 

Before I get into some of the great guest star action in this latest episode of Fringe, can I just rave about a few things?

1. Walter and Peter are simply a fascinating duo. Kara already wrote about their dynamic in “Nothing As It Seems,” so I won’t go into it anymore than I have to. Just know that John Noble and Joshua Jackson have the best father/alt-universe son chemistry out there. A hug between these two is epically awesome.

2. Good for Olivia that Broyles let her return to work after her shaky memory skills were called into question. She needed a little bit of validation, so I’m cool she got some from her boss. Now she has her job back and she has Peter. Things are good for Agent Dunham. For the moment.

3. Lincoln Lee absolutely rules my world. Poor guy had to deal with the fact that Olivia was no longer the same woman he’s been working side by side. She’s losing the memories of conversations they shared. And even though there was a definite attraction, he’s backing off. And that makes him classy in every way. Plus, Lincoln let Olivia tag along on the case even though she was on administrative leave; he got in the way of the flying human porcupine hybrid thingy and became infected for his trouble (thankfully he was saved from becoming one of the monsters). At least he got to bond with Walter, play chess, and eat lots of bacon. He was also the one that killed the giant porcupine creature (although, there are others out there, which is such a creepy thought). You have to love Lincoln’s buttoned up ways and cute ass glasses. Yes, there may be a little of a crush involved here (on my part). Now, if we can just get someone on the show to crush on him…

Guest Star Goodness for “Nothing As It Seems”

Alessandro Juliani

The Role: Don’t know his character’s name. Didn’t even see a credit at the beginning of the episode.
Fringe Assessment: Juliani played one-half of a couple that turn themselves into one of those creepy flying porcupine monsters. And I think he’s holed up on some sort of freighter to be used for — whatever — at a later date. Here’s to hoping we’ll see him on the show again at some point.
The Actor: Alessandro Juliani is, of course, known to sci-fi aficionados as Felix Gaeta from the Battlestar Galactica reboot. It was so good to see him on Fringe, wasn’t it? And it was a total surprise. In my world, this is a solid guest-star get worthy of promotion. Anyway, having said that, ever since BSG ended, Juliani had a recurring role on Smallville; appeared in a couple episodes of the short-lived CBS series called Chaos; and he’s going to be in the big screen Superman reboot, Man of Steel. How cool is that?

Gina Holden

The Role: Kate Hicks
Fringe Assessment: She’s somehow involved with the porcupine human hybrid guy. She helps inject him with some sort of drug and says they’re going to be like Adam and Eve. In the end, she gets shot but isn’t able to let the Fringe Division know who created the drug designed to turn humans into monsters.
The Actress: I love Gina Holden. Supernatural fans (like me) will know her as Haley from a Season 1 episode called “Wendigo.” She’s also had roles in Smallville, Lifetime’s vampire series Blood Ties, and Syfy’s Flash Gordon; she appeared in the mini-series Harper’s Island (which included other SPN alums Katie Cassidy and Jim Beaver); and she did a few episodes of the CW’s Life Unexpected. She starred in Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage, a movie that featured Jared Padalecki as the lead. I think it’s time for Holden to get her own TV series again. Hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later.

Gabrielle Rose

The Role: The shrink evaluating Olivia
Fringe Assessment: Olivia has to go through her in order to get her job back. She’s asking questions Agent Dunham thinks she’s answering correctly, but she’s definitely forgetting the memories of her other self while the memories from the timeline she shares with Peter are getting stronger. For example, Olivia talks about her sister and niece and how her sister’s divorced. In the shrink’s world, Olivia’s sister is happily married. This character (or one who looks exactly like her) has made another appearance in the Fringe-verse. In the Season 3 premiere, “Olivia,” her name is Dr. Anderson and she’s a therapist in the Over There reality. She attempts to convince a captured Olivia that she is this world’s Olivia (or Bolivia) and that there is no other universe.
The Actress: Rose recently had a role on Once Upon a Time in an episode called “The Shepherd.” She was Ruth, Prince Charming’s biological mother as well as mom to his twin brother, the one who was forced to take Charming’s place after he died. Coincidentally, she’s also played characters named Ruth on USA Network’s Psych and the Syfy series, Sanctuary. And she did a few episodes of Dark Angel during Season 2.

Fringe airs Fridays at 9/8c on FOX.