Many critics praised Torv's portrayal of Olivia after her recent trauma, as well as the aftereffects of Fauxlivia's deception, as realistic and well-acted.

Again, they discover the eyes were obtained from organ donation, and they find a connection to a woman called Amanda (Anja Savcic), a ballerina who had committed suicide.

Though there are several possible suspects, Olivia's intuition leads her to a man named Roland David Barrett (Mark Ivanir), who was noted to have become enamored with Amanda at the meetings.

Using a makeshift set of ropes and pulleys, Roland engages Amanda's body in a marionette act to make her perform like a ballerina, promising her he will bring her back to life.

[2] When asked why they chose "Marionette" and not the previous episode "Entrada" as the mid-season finale, co-showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman stated they were more interested in consequences, such as the repercussions of having both Olivias back in their own worlds.

[1] The episode featured onetime guest appearances by Mark Ivanir as the puppeteer Roland David Barrett,[5] Anja Savcic as the dead ballerina Amanda Walsh,[2] Barbara Tyson as her mother Mrs. Walsh, Michael Bean as Grant Russo,[6] Genevieve Buechner as Tabatha, and Elizabeth McLaughlin as Dr. Alexandra Ross.

[9] A week after "Marionette" aired, Fox came out with a promotional video meant to reassure Fringe fans that the show's move to Friday did not automatically mean it was on the road to being canceled.

Torv explained, "The reason I love those scenes is because it’s really easy to be great in your own bedroom [rehearsing], but when you get on set you have so many different obstacles.

The scene with Peter and me outside was done at like 1:30 in the morning, in the middle of town, so we had piles of drunk people screaming up and down the street, and massive fire engines and trucks coming through….

Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly wrote that despite the "burden" placed on "Marionette" because of its timing, "by now, the series is so sure of its tone, its surging story-telling power, that it more than met its challenges".

Tucker believed the show had become "exhilaratingly fearless" by pulling in the many references from literature, movies and other sources, and also thought that Olivia's reaction to the Peter-Fauxlivia relationship "felt right".

[20] Andrew Hanson from the Los Angeles Times called the episode "the perfect epilogue to that first chapter," explaining: "I’ve always wanted to see more of what happens after the ending of a big action movie.

[21] Despite not typically liking "monster-of-the-week" episodes, James Poniewozik of Time Magazine thought it "did quite a good job using the case to tell the story of the tension between Peter and Olivia, and the emotional aftermath of returning to a life someone else has borrowed".

Dee praised the realistic tone, writing that normally in other shows she was used to the female character being "annoying" after trauma, but "not once in this episode did I feel like Olivia’s emotions were irrational".

[24] Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly named "Marionette" the eleventh best episode of the series, calling it "a strong, disturbing outing that was part of Fringe's mid-series peak, in which the show found its best storytelling voice by crafting strange, emotionally resonant case-of-the-week plots that thematically paralleled the ongoing character arcs in ways that felt organic, not contrived.

[26] Anna Torv submitted "Marionette", along with the season three episodes "Olivia", "Entrada", and Bloodline" for consideration in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.