Astrid Farnsworth, Fringe

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WARNING: SPOILERS


I should start by saying that I love Fringe, I love it. However Astrid is a weak point. She's the lay person, the workaday inter-dimensional secretary, the person who picks up the groceries. Sure, this person is necessary in real life, but in sci-fi it just makes you yawn. In a conspicuously self-aware move even Walter (admittedly affectionately) couldn't remember her name. In a story about a cop, a mad scientist and a genius from an alternate universe, she more than faded into the background. There mostly to drag the practical elements of the story from point A to point B, I kept waiting for her shining moment, the instant when she was significant or you know interesting, but it never materialized. In the alternate world, where everyone had fun and fascinating shifts in personality and even looks (Olivia with red hair!) Astrid managed to get even more boring, which until that point I didn't think was possible, This was a missed opportunity by the show; my vote would have been Astrid as a stone cold bitch (fun way to mix things up). But seriously, this is a cynical interpretation. Astrid remained a grounding force for a team of emotionally stunted, impetuous and often surprisingly short-sighted people. But I couldn't help wishing she'd jump in the ring and get reckless with them.