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By LaToya Ferguson.

This review may contain spoilers.

When we last saw our presumably friendly Observer (Michael Cerveris), it was only in passing, since he manages to squeeze himself into every episode in one way or another.

There was also supposedly only one of him.

So imagine the Fringe Division's surprise that, not only is there more than one Observer, but these guys have been around for all of the world's important events since at least 1770. That's got to change your outlook on things, especially when you figure that there have been about two dozen of these events throughout history, yet there have been 26 Observer sightings in the past couple of months. The signs definitely can't be good if The Observers discussion near the end of the episode about things soon getting a lot harder for Olivia (Anna Torv) is any indication.

Despite the Fringe Division and even Massive Dynamic attempting to keep tabs on them, The Observers had been able to keep a rather low profile until now. The main Observer of this episode - August (Peter Woodward) - managed to break every "rule" The Observers followed, and he didn't even do it discretely. Grabbing a young woman in broad daylight, using a special gun, and deflecting bullets is certainly not the Oxford Dictionary's definition of discrete.

The episode focuses on August and his "fascination" with a young woman name Christine (Jennifer Missoni). He's been watching her since she was a child, ever since her parents died in an Observer-related event in 1989. There was nothing particularly unique or special about this girl, and everyone but August made sure to mention that little tidbit nearly every change they got. But August's strong sense that there was something more about this girl, that she served a greater purpose, eventually cost him his life (coincidentally proving his point as well).

Feelings change everything, it seems.

Of course, the presence of The Observers cause Walter's (John Noble) feelings to almost get the better of him. The Observers had a hand in whatever happened with the deceased seven-year old Peter and the Peter (Joshua Jackson) that we all know and love. Throughout the episode, it becomes painstakingly obvious just how much this secret is killing Walter, and it clearly hurts him to put on smile and lie right to his son's face. It's a surprise he didn't just break down and cry by the end of it all.

What Worked

Rarely do mythology-heavy episodes of television series disappoint, and this episode was no exception. This was an emotional rollercoaster (no pun intended), surprisingly led by a character that isn't supposed to even have emotions. The unimportant, average Christine turned out to be completely relevant. August "made her important," making her responsible for the death of an Observer, implying that that had never been done before. The Observer story is just so compelling, because there are apparently so many things left untold about them so far. Peter seems to realize this too, and if this episode is any indication, it probably won't be long until he develops an unhealthy obsession about find out all that he can about them and what they know.

It was also refreshing to see Massive Dynamic in a role other than the mustache-twirling villain. At the company's core, it is based on science's quest for knowledge and answers. It just turns out this quest usually leads to horrible, horrible things. This time, the Fringe Division and Massive Dynamic managed to work together with any coercion from the FBI's side, and there was even some humor involved at the expense of Peter's non-FBI-ness. "So Nina Sharp says you're FBI too... You don't look FBI." The way he kicked down a door later in the episode kind of proved just how FBI he really is.

One of the lighter-hearted parts of the episode came from Walter's favorite ice cream store being shut down and his determination to make the perfect milkshake. It all started with him compulsively making Strawberry Supremes, which just sound delicious. But the best part of this little subplot came when Walter got Astrid (Jasika Nicole) involved as a taste tester. Why Walter thought she would actually like a milkshake concocted from French vanilla ice cream and cough syrup (the obvious replacement for wild cherries) is something we'll probably never learn the answer to. Plus we all learned that a long drive and a Tooti Frooti milkshake are suitable replacements for telling your son the truth about his existence.

What Didn't Work

Outside of the mythology elements of the episode, Olivia found that being the fun aunt and a dedicated FBI agent isn't as easy as she thought it would be. Now that's all well and good, but the only interesting part about this subplot was the end, where The Observers revealed that her happiness would be short lived. Other than that, the promise of rollercoasters and pancakes didn't really do much for the story or the character, even if it is sometimes good to know that Olivia is a human being capable of having fun.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
'Fringe' stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole. "August" was written by JH Wyman & Jeff Pinkner and directed by Dennis Smith.
'Fringe' airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on Fox.