Fringe Observiews 4.07 Wallflower

Welcome to the Observiews for Season 4 of Fringe. I call them Observiews because they are more visual observations than deep thinking reviews. 

Screen caps from this episode are taken from fringefiles.com. 

All observations are mine and therefore could be totally off the wall and/or wrong. I have not read or looked at any recaps or reviews. I could also have missed a few things, oh well… 

1.09 The Dreamscape

OLIVIA: “…I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to give you an answer, but I, um, I think I finally have one...”

An acrostic for the word Fringe: 

Forever Reveling IN Genius Entertainment

2.11 Johari Window

OLIVIA: “You ever get the feeling that doing this job just makes you less and less normal?”

… “Well, I guess that depends on what your definition of normal is.” - As Olivia explains to Charlie in 1.19 The Road Not Taken as they examine Susan Pratt’s apartment. 

Glyphs spelled: DAVID 

At first I thought it had something to do with the preview for January, seeing David Robert Jones in there. But then I did some digging. As you know I pay attention to numbers. Well, the number 14 shows up a lot in conjunction with Eugene so I looked up some number sites and this is what I found: Regarded as the number of David, according to the Bible. 

Observer can be seen here. They need to get more involved in the stories again so they will be seen better.

So on to our story. 

Olivia has a migraine and goes for pills. 

Apparently that has been going on for a while; she’s used all her refills already. 

Wonder what color they are. Last time she went for pills, she was on the other side, looking for red ones. 3.05Amber 31422

So it’s 3 o’clock in the morning as she goes to the pharmacy to get her refill. She doesn’t hesitate and takes them right there without water. On her way back she walks by a diner where she runs into Lincoln. There are two glyphs hanging on the wall, the daisy and the butterfly.  The butterfly is right between Lincoln and Olivia. 

LINCOLN: “I used to believe just a few months ago that, uh, I understood the world we lived in. I mean, there were basic truths that I thought were... well...true.”

It’s ok Lincoln, Olivia has been there as well. 1.04 The Cure: 

“When did this happen. When did this become the world we live in?”

There is a blue dot on the guy’s face that is there just a few seconds and then it disappears again. 

Green rug and

and red door.

So Peter is shopping. There is a daisy on one of the cards (bottom left corner). 

This reminded me of 1.10 Safe when Walter and Peter shop at a hardware store. 

Also here, Peter is accompanied by Tim who was watching Walter in 4.01 Neither Here Nor There. Peter also gets $200 allowance each week. And his contact with civilians is limited. How sad is that?

The circumstances might be different but the victims 

reminded me of 2.05 Dream Logic. 

Walter still sends Astrid out to investigate. She says that being scared to death is an old wife’s tale, to which Walter replies: “Where is your imagination? “

Walter says that to Peter in 1.02 The Same Old Story: “When was it you lost your imagination, son?”

Olivia asks Astrid if the things get to her and if she ever talks to anyone about the cases and the things that they see. 

ASTRID: “Yes. Every day. If I wasn't seeing the agency shrink, my head would have exploded a long time ago. It's not like I can talk to family or friends. I mean... Well, who do you talk to?” OLIVIA: “No one. I'm starting to think that that's weird. That's just not normal, is it?” 

-Well, Olivia? Last time Charlie asked you if you’ve talked with Dr. Katz you said: 

“Even though it’s confidential, I’ll still have a psych eval on my record.” (1.09 The Dreamscape) and then later in 1.19 The Road Not Taken, Harris ordered you to get one but you still refused. 

Maybe this guy can help although I’m still not sure if he can be trusted. 

There were elephants in the shrine (top, middle). This episode reminded me some of 2.11 Johari Window. I’ll get back to that later. 

Will this pass as another tank? 

Olivia says later that it wasn’t about curing himself. He just wanted to be seen. 

There was someone else who just wanted to be more confident. In 1.05 Power Hungry, 

Joseph Meegar agreed to an experiment that would make him more confident, or so he thought. There was a girl he wanted to just even have a conversation with. Unfortunately the side effects, or the real purpose of the experiments, killed her. 

I guess you’re not quite visible yet. 

There is almost no color in the lab this time. 

I think it’s during this scene that the song “Long list of Lovers” from the Violet Sedan Chair album is playing in the background. 

They identified the person doing this but according to the information the boy only lived for four days. 

Walter says: “Perhaps we’re looking for a ghost after all.” 

It reminded me of 2.02 Night Of Desirable Objects where they discover the baby’s empty coffin. 

“The grave of a boy… who was not in his grave.”

So Lincoln and Olivia go to Parkview Hospital. This time the reflections are only red. 

They go through files and Olivia is having another migraine attack. And Lincoln is being helpful. Grrr. 

LINCOLN: “So this baby was a mystery.” 

OLIVIA: “Says he died from complications of his genetic abnormality on the 30th of July, 1989.”  Reminded me of “molebaby” from 2.02 Night Of Desirable Objects. 

So they find the nurse and talk to her. 

The last time we saw Olivia sitting in a hospital cafeteria was in 3.09 Marionette, having a not so pleasant conversation with Peter. 

The nurse points out:

 “I've never told anyone this. As they carried him out... I thought I heard him cry. It was faint. But I thought I heard him. I assumed I had imagined it.”

Again, back to 2.02 Night Of Desirable Objects. Crossing over had given Olivia “super hearing” 

OLIVIA: “I heard. Hughes' son. I think I might know where he is. When we were at the Hughes' house, I heard a noise, like something breathing. I thought that I had imagined it, but... I didn't. So if hughes' son is still alive, I think that he is somewhere in that house... or near that house.” 

And finally some information about Olivia’s mom. She died of cancer. 

The bills were paid by Cyprox which was a subsidiary of Kelvin Genetics which ultimately became Massive Dynamic. That sounds scary. They just have their hands in everything, don’t they, hence their motto: What don’t we do!

So of course they go off and have a conversation with Nina. 

Now, I’m not sure if that question was already asked but the machine and the bridge room are at Liberty Island, right? So, is MD located on Liberty Island then? 

NINA: “…Well, there were military applications, yes. Unexpectedly, the experiment also allowed this child to survive. Something about the chromatophores offset his very fragile condition.” OLIVIA: “And you knew about this?” NINA: “No. This was a satellite research facility, one of dozens. Neither Doctor Bell nor I had any specific knowledge of what was going on. Now, I’m not trying to justify what was done. I'm just saying that this child would have died had he not been part of that program.” 

OLIVIA: “Maybe that would have been better.”

Ugh, girl, you’re killing me. You’re thinking about your own situation, aren't you? Just like you’re thinking the other Olivia is better than you in 3.16 Os. 

This time the hallway leads to a green door. 

There’s not much color in her apartment, except blue in the kitchen and some green. 

And a bowl of fruit with apples, pears and avocados. 

Apples are part of the glyphs, pears I’ve only seen two times, once in 2.04 Momentum Deferred, they were eaten by the shapeshifter and the other time in 3.19 LSD. Olivia had a whole bowl full on her table. And avocados are hard to get, uh… at least in the alternate universe. 

Eugene is here. So this is the reason he wants to become visible? Julie!

It’s about his love for her. Also there is a butterfly on the pillow. 

So, meanwhile at the house, Peter is trying to come up with a plan to get to his time line. 

Last time he had a map set up at that house was also in a different timeline, or whatever you want to call it. 

2.19 Brown Betty, which is full of Easter Eggs and one of my favorite episodes. We will get back to BB later. 

So Peter gets a visit from Lincoln who was able to get the schematics of the machine, I suppose. And it looks like right now, Lincoln is Peter’s only ally. 

LINCOLN:” Sorry it took Broyles so long to sign off on this stuff.” PETER: “I was starting to get worried.”

LINCOLN: “For all your help the other day, I'm surprised he didn't give you a badge.” - See, what did I say last week?

PETER: “Thank you.” LINCOLN: “That's my job.” PETER: “No, no, I mean... thank you for treating me like a human being. I haven't been getting that a lot lately. I appreciate it.”

Yep, Olivia has one of those friends too. Henry helped her escape from the alternate universe in 3.07 The Abducted. 

OLIVIA: “Thank you... for everything.” HENRY:  “Hey, I just borrowed a boat.” OLIVIA: “No. You believed in me.”

Back to Peter and Lincoln.

LINCOLN: “Alt universes, different timelines. Olivia says that, eventually, all of this is going to seem run of the mill. Which, frankly, I'm having a hard time believing. It's insane how none of this phases her.” 

PETER: “She's made quite an impression on you, huh?” LINCOLN: “I've never met anyone like her before.” PETER: “Yeah, I know what you mean.” 

2.14 Jacksonville 

PETER: “Olivia…You. I’ve never met anyone who can do the things that you.”

Back at the lab Walter has something to show them. 

ASTRID: “Hey, why did we just get a bill for $818... you know I’m gonna be the one to take the blame for this.” This reminded me of 1.09 The Dreamscape again. 

CHARLIE: “Hey, Liv. What do you know about a bunch of frogs? I just got a P.O. request from Agent Farnsworth, asking to send a terrarium and ten pounds of live insect larvae, and charge it off to the Mark Young case. Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

This is something I haven’t seen since 

3.11 Reciprocity. 

Haze, which may let us see things from their perspective.  

I love Walter’s demonstrations with John the mouse. He claps his hands to turn the lights off. 

Which he first did in 1.18 Midnight. He had ordered it on Television. 

And now it makes sense why he named the mouse John. Meet Yoko as well. 

The last time Walter talked about John Lennon and Yoko he was smoking a bong with Kevin in 3.16 Os.

There has been another victim. The number on the wall says 228. 

22 is the most powerful or strongest number and 8 is Olivia’s. 8 is also infinity. 

So Eugene is still in the building which they are going to raid.  Here we have a spiral, the staircase. 

As they raid the building, Olivia goes off on her own because it takes too long. And sure enough, she breaks through the floor. 

Fauxlivia has been there too in 3.13 Immortality. 

They are on the 23rd floor. 

For more info on the number 23, see here and scroll down a bit. 

As Olivia asks Eugene for help he says: 

“You understand right now how important it is to be seen. Your life depends on it. Me seeing you right now.” And then he pulls her up and grabs her gun. 

EUGENE: “I don't think you're here to help me heal. Not after what I’ve done. If you're here to help me, it's because I have value to the military, and they don't want the long-lost Experiment 69545 to self-destruct! Not when they found him again.” OLIVIA: “We have nothing to do with the military. I am just here to stop the killing.” EUGENE: “All my life... I've been watching them live theirs. Watching them... fall in love. To be looked upon by the right person... to connect... and to see in their eyes kindness. Happiness. And... recognition. That's when you exist.”

Olivia seems touch by his statements. 

OLIVIA: “There is a scientist who I work with for the FBI. He works out of a Harvard lab. Now, if anyone can hope to undo what they've done to you –“ EUGENE: “I lived my life in a lab! I am not going back!”

OLIVIA: “If you treat yourself again, even once, it could kill you.”

Then he slips away as Olivia is distracted from the walkie-talkie. 

Julie is in the elevator again and she looks expectantly for someone to enter it. But Eugene isn’t there…yet. 

JULIE: “I thought you weren't coming today. I see you every day. I - I thought you might have caught the cold that's been going around.” EUGENE: “No.” JULIE: “Well, that's good, then. It's too beautiful a day to be sick.” EUGENE: “The most beautiful. My name is Eugene.” JULIE: “I'm Julie.”

He finally was “seen” and then he died. 

That made me sad because I think she “saw” him all along. This line came to mind: 

“How far would you go for someone you love?” 1.18 Midnight

So Olivia is back talking with Nina. 

OLIVIA: “All he wanted was to be like... everyone else. But how could he? He'd never be like anyone else. Not after what they did to him.” NINA: “So you're thinking about what was done to you.”

OLIVIA: “You know, even with my colleagues, I'm different. Things that should bother me... do you think that it's possible the Cortexiphan Trials stunted my emotions?” NINA: “Oh, Olive, you can't let what happened to you as a child, define you.”

This came to mind from 3.12 Concentrate And Ask Again. 

OLIVIA: “He can barely function around people. The Cortexiphan Trials ruined his life. He's broken.” PETER: “Olivia, I know what you're thinking. You and he are nothing alike.” 

Back to Nina: “And no -- the answer to your question is you are perfectly normal. At least as normal as any of us is normal. Life is an experiment. You have to find out where you belong, find your own place in this world.”

Back to Brown Betty

PETER: “So what made you wanna be a detective?” OLIVIA: “I don't know. Uh, I, uh... I guess that I just always knew what it was I was meant to do.” PETER: “And what's that?” OLIVIA: “To care for people.” PETER: “Then who cares for you?” OLIVIA: “Okay. I did it.”PETER: “Okay. There's one more. Must be nice to know who you are. To know your place in the world.” 

OLIVIA: “But shouldn't I know where that is by now?” NINA: “Not necessarily. I mean, before you and your sister came to live with me, my life was work. And I didn't think that I could find the time or the room for you girls in my life. Now, I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn't taken that risk. Now, when the time is right, you'll know.”

Back at the office: Peter is wearing a pea coat!

The way Peter said: “I got you something.” reminded me of 2.17 White Tulip, when Peter came back in the house, having fixed Walter’s turntable. 

Peter went shopping for Lincoln. He bought him glasses that look more attractive. This Peter seems to be a Lincoln/Olivia shipper. And promptly she says she might see him at the diner. 

At home she is trying to figure out her hairstyle. 

Last time she did that in 2.14 Jacksonville, for Peter. She is going to wear the same cool jacket too. 

I guess I’ll go off on a little side track here. This is the 3rd time we see Olivia through a mirror. First time when she was in her bathroom, looking for the pills. 

The 2nd time is in the building just before she crashes through the floor and now as she’s getting ready to go out. And even in the shot from 2.14 Jacksonville we see her through the mirror. She’s not the only one though. We also see Peter through the mirror. 

And Lincoln as well.  

What does that mean? I have no idea, just thought it was interesting. 

Remember a few weeks back (Observiews for 4.03 Alone In The World) I made a list of the best last five minutes of an episode? Well, I have to say that this episode’s last few minutes for sure top that list. I did not see that coming at all. This is probably the best unintended cliffhanger of all times. 

So Olivia is getting ready to go out when there’s like gas coming through the crack of the door 

and knocks her out. 

There is a camera installed in her apartment. Two guys come in and one is disabling it.  

They inject her with something red. 

One of the guys says: “She's not gonna remember the last two hours, anyway. When she wakes up, she's gonna have one hell of a headache.”

Take a closer look, yep, it is Cortexiphan. 

We know that Cortexiphan enables her to see things from the other side, to cross over safely, to be able to turn the machine off. Or as Walter calls it: to bend things with her mind in 3.21 The Last Sam Weiss 

In 2.14 Jacksonville she subjected herself to Walter’s experiment so she could identify a building from the other side. 

In 3.08 Entrada Walternate discovered a substance in her brain and synthesized it. But did he know the name of the substance. And it eventually helped her cross back to her universe. 

I also thought back to 1.14 Ability where David Robert Jones insisted that Olivia was treated with Cortexiphan. 

He also calls her “his girl”. Why? That is something I want an answer to. 

This whole scenario also reminded me of 1.120 There Is More Than One Of Everything, when David Robert Jones shot Nina Sharp to get to the energy cell that was planted in her robotic arm.

And not that this isn’t bad enough already – here comes the kicker. 

Nina! What the heck are you doing? 

This reminded me of 2.19 Brown Betty again where Nina and the Watchers had kidnapped Olivia and were now trying to get rid of her. 

Ok so here are my questions.

What is Nina up to?

Why did they inject her with Cortexiphan?

How did the guy know there was a camera?

If he was taking the camera out then who installed it? 

Is the memory loss an unintended side effect or the purpose?

What is Olivia not allowed to remember? Or is she forced to remember something? 

Who of those knowing about Cortexiphan have a plan for Olivia? And what is it?

We know Cortexiphan heightens her emotions, why does she think they are stunted?

And why do I have to wait till January? Argh!

WOW!

OTHER OBSERVATIONS:

Eugene was experiment 69545

WALTER: “They're chromatophore cells. You find them in octopi, chameleons. Cells that have the ability to translocate pigment in the body. It's what certain creatures use to blend into their backgrounds.”

It sort of reminded me of 2.11 Johari Window, where Walter says: “In the late '70s, the Army became obsessed with finding a new way to camouflage soldiers.”  

At one point Lincoln said: “We’ll take the north stairwell.” I thought: no Lincoln, you were supposed to say “northwest”. 

Walter: “I have two pieces of news.”

That reminded me of 3.10 The Firefly where Roscoe tells him: “I have several things to tell you.”

The first victim we saw was killed in Beacon Hill. We’ve been there before. That’s where the meat packing place was in 1.15 Inner Child. Mrs. Jarvis lived there in 2.09 Snakehead and Dr. Verona lived in Beacon Hill in 2.17 The Man From The Other Side. 

Walter said: “Leprechauns are possible.”

That reminded me of 3.16 Os: “…I stopped believing in leprechauns and miracles a long time ago.”

When Eugene said to Olivia: “I don't think you're here to help me heal. Not after what I’ve done.” I thought of 1.12 The No-Brainer where Brian says: “Why should you care whether I live or die? Especially when you know what I've done.”

Maybe this one is a bit farfetched but I couldn’t help to think of it. When Olivia was looking at Lincoln in the diner, I thought of her look at Walter in 1.09 The Dreamscape before she went into the tank again. 

I couldn't find the right screen shots that would reflect it. But if you go watch these two episodes and then compare, you might see what I mean. 

Butterflies: 

There were several throughout the episode: one hanging in the diner, one on Julie’s pillow and one on the lampshade in Olivia’s apartment. So I did some digging and this is what I found: 

According to Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, by Lafcadio Hearn, a butterfly was seen in Japan as the personification of a person's soul; whether they be living, dying, or already dead. One Japanese superstition says that if a butterfly enters your guestroom and perches behind the [bamboo] screen, the person whom you most love is coming to see you.

That’s it for 2011. Fringe will return January 13th, 2012 with new episodes. 

For the break I’m going to go and start over again with 1.01 The Pilot and watch them all. 

Until then, Happy Holidays. 

“In the end I have to believe in hope”

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