The Last Sam Weiss
| "The Last Sam Weiss" | |
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| Fringe episode | |
Peter Bishop looks at the future One World Trade Center
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 21 |
| Directed by | Thomas Yatsko |
| Written by |
Monica Owusu-Breen Alison Schapker |
| Production code | 3X6121 |
| Original air date | April 29, 2011 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"The Last Sam Weiss" is the penultimate episode of the third season of the Fox science fiction television series Fringe, and the 64th episode overall. The storyline follows the continuing disintegration of the prime universe, as the Fringe team races to prevent the destruction of their world. FBI agent Olivia Dunham recruits Sam Weiss for help while Peter recovers from touching the doomsday machine in the previous episode.
Executive producers Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker co-wrote the episode, and cinematographer Thomas Yatsko directed. "The Last Sam Weiss" is meant to be the middle of an "epic trilogy," as the season finale aired the following week. Guest actors Kevin Corrigan and Ryan McDonald returned as Weiss and Brandon Fayette, respectively.
On its initial broadcast on April 29, 2011 in the United States, an estimated 3.49 million viewers tuned in. More viewers in America time shifted the episode than watched it live, leading to a 67 percent increase in the 18–49 demographic. This was the highest increase on any network for that week. While the episode received generally positive reviews, television critics were divided about the ending, with some comparing it to the television series Lost.
In the prime universe, the doomsday machine creates numerous static lightning storms along the eastern seaboard. As Walter and Astrid see to Peter's recovery after his failed attempt to enter the machine, Olivia takes Sam Weiss to the machine. Weiss states that the machine is not meant to be a doomsday device and that the strange effects are a byproduct of the machine's "frustration" due to its believing that Peter is already inside the machine. Weiss suggests finding a proverbial "crowbar" that can be used to break the shield protecting the device to give Peter enough time to enter it. As Olivia travels with Weiss to collect a box and the key containing this crowbar, Weiss explains that he descends from a long unbroken line of men named Sam Weiss whose forebear found the incomplete collection of information on the First People and the device, and have sought to try to find the rest. Upon collecting both the box and key, they open it to find a parchment, revealing that Olivia herself is the crowbar.
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