Everything in Its Right Place (Fringe)

Plot

Agent Lincoln Lee, grieving the death of his partner by a shapeshifter and struggling with Olivia Dunham's altered memories, feels out of place in the Fringe division. While the team prepares to take Walter Bishop's cow Gene for grazing day, Lee offers to deliver case dockets through the dimensional bridge to the parallel universe so Astrid Farnsworth can visit her father. Once there, Fauxlivia tells him a new Fringe case takes priority. They investigate a parking garage where a woman was attacked and her assailant was killed by an unknown figure who then vanished.

The dead man matches the profile of two dozen missing criminals, but this is the first body left behind, suggesting vigilante justice. Lee meets his doppelganger, Captain Lincoln Lee, who is more outgoing and brash, and notices the romantic bond between Captain Lee and Fauxlivia. The two Lincolns discover their backgrounds are identical, diverging only when Captain Lee chose to become more assertive.

Cultural references

The episode title comes from the song "Everything in Its Right Place" by Radiohead. When the main-universe Lincoln Lee mentions Batman in relation to the vigilante attacks, his alternate double and Fauxlivia are confused. He explains the concept of a billionaire playboy in a cape fighting crime, and the alternate agents say their equivalent is a character called M.a.n.t.i.s. This conflicts with comic covers seen in "Over There" that depict Batman and the Batman symbol. Differences in comics between universes were also referenced in "Subject 13", where young Peter notes the Red Lantern is not supposed to be green.

Reception

The episode aired on April 6, 2012, on Fox, drawing an estimated 3.01 million viewers, a slight decrease from the previous episode. Cory Barker of TV.com ranked it the 9th best of the series, praising its focus on incremental personality distinctions in Lincoln and noting that the development of Lincoln in all versions often paid dividends for the show.