Fringe Summer Rewatch: #211 "Unearthed"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.

Life after death has been an obsession of mine. Specifically in what happens to a person after they die. So this episode was especially appealing, even if it was not memorable.

Seventeen-year-old Lisa Donovan was brain-dead as a result of a cerebral aneurysm. Just when she was about to have her organ extracted, she revives. She sits up repeating an alpha-neumeric sequence. It immediately reminds me of Olivia waking up suddenly in "A New Day In The Old Town".

The real mystery to investigate here is how a teenage girl could have access to classified military codes. The Navy provided information on Petty Officer Andrew Rusk, who was last assigned to a nuclear submarine. This was his personal identification number. Not only that. Lisa also knew Rusk's Russian pet name for his wife.

One explanation was that Lisa and Rusk shared a psychic link. It was only inconceivable since they have never met. Lisa's aneurysm occurred in her left frontal lobe. Specifically her Broca's Area, the part of the brain that processes language, which Walter proved had the most dramatic effect on a person's ability to create psychic bonds.

Lisa's continued visions of Andrew Rusk lead to the discovery of his murder. The relative time of Rusk's death and Lisa's rebirth was enough to convince Walter that Rusk's sudden dispatched energy was what brought Lisa back to life along with his memories and consciousness. Not that unlike Olivia carrying John Scott's memory.

Lisa's mother reluctantly allowed Walter to 'exorcise' Rusk from her daughter. Through the procedure they learned how Rusk died. Unfortunately, this gave Rusk the opportunity to take possession of Lisa momentarily in an attempt to exact revenge. I don't know what everybody thought. It was not clear to me who it was Peter reached. Rusk or Lisa?

Whatever the reason why this episode did not air in the first season aside, a lot of recurring themes stand out.

Faith and Second Chances:

Lisa's mother got her daughter back.

I never thought that I would... get a chance to tell her how much I loved her again. -- God gave her back to me.

Much in the way Walter told Peck in "White Tulip", that he never believed in God until he took Peter from the other side.

Walter was always an advocate for talking to the dead, as seen in the Pilot and "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones".

Peter contextualized Tibetan philosophy even when he did not truly believed it, despite his experiences. (Leads me to think this episode was shot earlier in season 1.)

The near-death experiencer can often converse with those who have already died.

Innermost subtle consciousness is ever present. It never leaves the body even in death.

If Peter Bishop Never Existed...

Perhaps Walter would have better luck in talking Andrew Rusk out of his unfinished business.

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #210 "Grey Matters"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.

Walter’s Remedy for Insanity

Those familiar with Shakespeare know how Walter’s journey is similar to that of King Lear. Much like the play’s monarch, Walter made a decision which he would live to regret, one that would cause a descent into madness, and to a major, unbearable loss. This episode signaled that Walter’s storm was coming.

Walter was still uncomfortable with mental institutions. It makes his fate in The Day We Died so much more heartbreaking. Walter remarked to Peter that he did not have any visitors the whole time that he was in St. Claire’s, and Peter was ashamed. In TDWD, Peter could not visit Walter, as much as he wanted to, without congressional involvement.

Walter remarked that he had thought long and hard about a remedy for insanity. We know that Bell told him that Walter asked for part of his brain to removed because he was afraid of what “he was becoming.” But this is the very process that made him insane? Walter was in Saint Claire’s for 17 years. Paris (Bell) performed the operations after Walter had already been sent there.

A foreshadowing exchange between Astrid and Walter:

Astrid: Why would someone do that, Walter -- make someone crazy?

Walter: Any number of reasons. It would make them insusceptible to interrogation.

Walter received that interrogation in what I consider one of the most powerful scenes in the series.

At the time this episode aired, there was still some murkiness about exactly what was the deal with Peter. Walter’s tears at remembering Peter’s death told of an untold story.

The information concerning the doorway that Newton sought would later explain the tale of how one Walter Bishop, with the best intentions, tried to save the life of a boy, only to have everything go wrong. This event was always the blame for the damage in the other universe. Peter heavily felt that burden. However, at the end of The Day We Died, Peter blinked out of the equation, and the universes were still at war.

Walter’s concern for Peter’s safety in season three led him to the belief that Walternate was his intellectual superior. He wanted to undo the damage done to his brain so that he could protect Peter. But a damaged Walter seemed just as capable because his motivation was love, not revenge.

Once again, the theme of memory association is discussed. Peter knew how to find kidnapped Walter:

Memory is all about -- it's all about context, all about association. Every time Walter asks for a piece of food or music or art, he's trying to recreate a moment in time to help him remember.

I feel that physical objects in several episodes show this, such as Christine Hollis’ teddy bear in August or Peter’s silver coin through several episodes throughout the series.

In Season Four, will a physical object, such as a silver coin, act as a trigger for Walter to know that someone is missing from his life?

When Walter was reconnected with the missing pieces from his brain, he became belligerent and taunting, very unlike himself. When Walternate was fully introduced in Over There, it showed just how similar both men could have been, but their paths were different.

After seeing this episode the first time, I was pretty sure that Peter was not from our world. So the Jacksonville reveal wasn’t that surprising, but the way it occurred broke my heart.

The Man Who Fell to Earth

I sometimes hate to admit it, but I love the character of Thomas Jerome Newton. He is a "gentleman" villain, much like David Robert Jones. In this episode, he was very apologetic to Mr. Slater when he was forced to leave without closing up the man’s skull. He could have just killed him. But at other times, Newton was very cold to innocents. For example, he had AltLivia kill the deaf man in The Box. He also had no problem in giving the wave sink box to the homeless man at the train station, knowing that the temptation to open it would be too great.

I suppose that one might think that in Slater’s case, the shape-shifter was simply showing mercy. But all of these examples show a cold, calculating brute. Newton talked like he was concerned in order to put people at ease. He left Slater alive because he wanted the Fringe team to investigate. He purposely looked at the camera as he left the hospital. He wanted to test Altlivia’s mettle by having her kill the man in The Box. Newton wanted to get Peter interested in the machine.

Olivia's Weakness is a Strength

Frustration developed for Olivia because she was having a hard time in understanding the motivations behind Newton and his group. Part of the reason for this was Walter’s garbled memory. Walter knew some things, such as Peter’s origin, but not enough to connect that fact with everything else. In Subject 13, he expressed that he knew “they’d” come for Peter someday.

Peter told Olivia in the SUV:

Olivia, I know you think you're alone in this. Maybe that's because of what Bell told you. Maybe that's just your personality. But this isn't just your fight.

Bell confirmed this when he told Olivia in Momentum Deferred:

Remember this -- Einai kalytero... Anthropo apo toy... Patera toy. Tell that to Peter. You're going to need him by your side. Tell it to him. He'll know what it means

Olivia did have a lot of information from Bell when she met him, but she seemed shook-up by Peter’s statement that he was in this with her. I’ve previously mentioned that it seems that Olivia needs Peter by her side in order to use her telepathic abilities, and nothing illustrated this more than their cooperative deactivation/activation of the machine in The Last Sam Weiss.

Olivia was upset because she allowed emotions to cloud her professional judgment. However, when she tried to save John Scott’s life, her main motivation was emotional. At this point, Olivia seemed scared of becoming attached to Walter and Peter. And with good reason. Newton’s taunt “Now I know how weak you are” may be bigger than it initially sounded. I’ve always wondered that if part of Walternate’s reasons for talking Peter into coming back to the other side was because he knew Olivia would come to rescue him -that maybe Walternate wanted our Olivia just as much as Peter.

I feel that Olivia’s willingness to do what it takes for the people that she cares about is her greatest strength. It is what made me love the character in the pilot, and it is what I continue to admire the most about her. The fact that Peter was on the same wavelength in this matter is also endearing. Peter would go all out to save the person who deserved it the most - Olivia.

Peter Cares for Walter

Peter showed his concern for Walter by calming him down at the hospital as Walter waited to start MRI scans. Peter has always had a gift for making people relaxed. Maybe this is why he was a conman for awhile. I still wonder that if he were able to sit in a room with Walternate, and not with a hologram like in TDWD, that he’d be able to possibly talk some sense into him.

Peter told Olivia that he thought about if Walter wondered what it would be like to “turn back the clock before he want crazy.” In the fourth season, will Walter still go through madness, and not have Peter to help him weather the storm?

I absolutely love how this episode showed the progression of Peter and Walter’s relationship. Peter’s concern for Walter’s well-being is such a powerful change, that I still cry a bit at the scene when Peter thought Walter was dying, and he begged Olivia to help him.

One interesting exchange that may lead to something:

Peter: I should have visited you, Walter, While you were in St. Claire's.

Walter: Oh, that's okay, Peter. If you had, I probably wouldn't have remembered anyway.

If Walter somehow is in the institution in season four, I wonder if he’ll have “visits” from Peter? Like Roscoe Joyce received visits from his son Bobby in The Firefly, and Olivia saw projections of Peter while trapped Over There.

I just hope that at the end of the series, that we do not get the King Lear ending which signifies that love only leads to insanity, chaos and death. I hope that love conquers all.


Small Matters

Is it just me, or did the pen that Newton and his associate used to close the incisions look like the Observer's pen-laser using in Brown Betty?

This episode is the first in which the band Violet Sedan Chair was mentioned. A former band member, Roscoe Joyce, would play a pivotal role in the third season episode, The Firefly. As a creation of J.J. Abrams, there was promotional pressing of the album with copies sent to independent record stores. It is said that the songs contain spoilers, and many of the songs seem relative to the Fringe characters.

Unanswered Questions

Newton is different from the other shape-shifters. Why did he have to be retrieved in order to extract information from Walter? What is so “special” about him?

Walter recognized Newton. He asked him about the other side. How does Walter know Newton?

How did Newton know about the brain pieces? Bell told Walter that what he accomplished was too dangerous. He assured Walter that he’d store the brain pieces only where he could find them. We know that Bell designed the shape-shifters. But I can’t make sense of why Bell might have told Walternate about his knowledge.

If Peter Bishop Did Not Exist?

Would “Dr. Paris” still remove parts of Walter’s brain at some point?

Would Newton still have needed to obtain the information from Walter about opening a door to the other side?

Would Olivia have chosen to save Walter’s life?

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #209 "Snakehead"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.


"Mother Nature has a real sick sense of humor." - Walter Bishop


The opening scene takes place in China town when a Chinese man is searching for someone who can help him as he is clearly in a lot of pain as he stumbles down the street. Eventually he is given directions to a shop where he finds the man he's been looking for. The man offers him a bed and shelter and tells him that it'll all pass. Unfortunately for him, it does not pass and a octopus/snake/worm thingy pulls itself from the man's mouth. On a scale of hybrid monsters, melting people, goo-ifying brains, and porcupine people an octopus/snake/worm thingy - not too bad in the realm of Fringe. It is slightly disturbing the method of which this creature make it's appearance. Moving on! We then switch to a crime scene where Olivia is waiting for the Bishop's to arrive and is curious when Peter shows up before Walter who has taken a taxi. Walter has finally gotten to a place in his life where he wants to be more independent and make more decisions on his own without consulting Peter. In short; he's tired of being the child in the father/son duo. Then comes one of my favorite Peter/Olivia banter scenes on the show:

“So how many are there? Is it bad?” - Peter

“Have you eaten?” –Olivia

“Yeah.” – Peter

“Well that’s unfortunate.” - Olivia

Pretty much explains the scene they find when they arrive down by the water side to see a surprising number of people dead on the shore with varying degree in stages of the creature breaking free from their bodies. Their inspection of the bodies and creatures is both disgusting and humorous, but they manage to find a woman still alive and she is rushed to the hospital. We learn when Olivia and Peter go to interview her at the hospital that she never took a pill given to everyone else for "sea sickness" and also that Peter can speak Cantonese. Walter and Peter later pose that the pill was hosting the larva that later grew into the creatures they have now by using the human body as an incubator.

They manage to get a triad member into custody and make the link that the triad is using immigrants to smuggle in the worm. Back at the lab, Walter and Astrid are doing tests on the worms when one latches onto Walter and Broyles sees it all. His lack of surprise speaks volumes. Olivia and Peter then run off to explore a financial lead to the suburbs to find a single mom to a teenage boy and what seems to be a dead end. Walter makes the leap after testing his own blood after the worms bite that the drug is in fact medicinal and not recreational uses. This leads Walter to want to explore China town to gather a few samples from herbal shops to compare to. Peter tries to persuade Walter into letting him do it, but this only upsets Walter and he is obstinate on going alone. Astrid is easily coaxed by Peter to keep an eye on Walter as he practices his "self actualization" in China town.


While they're off in China town, Peter and Olivia go back to the suburban house to talk to Matt (the teenager) in hopes of getting him to talk. Peter opens up about his past and how he was raised by his mother and knows Matt is just trying to protect his own mother. We learn that it is actually Matt who has an immune deficiency and he's been receiving treatments for awhile now. In China town, Walter catches Astrid following him and instead of being completely offended he invites her to tag along with him as a friend. Unfortunately Astrid loses Walter while they were buying refreshments and after consulting Peter, Astrid decides to head back to the lab to see if he'd headed back already. What she walks in on though is definitely not Walter, but a couple triad gang members who render her unconscious while they steal the worms from the lab. Walter is still in China town and uses all his money to try and call Peter, whose number he's forgotten, when an elderly Chinese woman takes pity on him and takes him home to use her phone to try and get a hold of Peter.


Astrid is later discovered by Peter and Olivia who finally return to the lab and she tells them about the big Asian guys with tattoos that took her out. They deduce that she must've been followed back from China town. Peter then gets a phone call from the Chinese woman who found Walter and he breaks off from the group to pick him up. Walter then tells Peter about bragging to an herbalist about the worms they had back at the lab. Peter calls Olivia to tell her about the herbalist shop while she is already at a raid that is in motion. The raid on the boat is a bust though and they find they are too late. Lucky for team Fringe and the boat load of Chinese people, Peter has spotted them being loaded into the herbalist shop and relays the information to Olivia. Deciding that he can't wait, Peter picks the lock of the shop and goes in without any backup. Meanwhile, Walter is singing his Lion's Den song back in the car, which is the second time in the Fringe series. Not sure if it means anything, but it seems he only sings it when they're in a hostile situation.


Peter, in typical Peter fashion, manages to get himself caught while trying to save a woman from being opened up. The Chinese men, in an attempt to get Peter to spill information forces a larva into his mouth. Olivia is right on time though and shoots Peter's captors. At the risk of sounding like an idiot girl, the way Olivia immediately rushes to Peter in the meelie of people says more than "meh, we're friends". On a side note, I thought it was interesting that they used the exact same location for Henry the second's debut via fauxlivia later on in season three.


The episode finishes up with a touching Walter/Peter scene where Walter informs Peter that he has implanted a tracking chip into his neck and gives the tracker to Peter so that he can always find him even during his moments of independence.


If Peter Bishop Never Existed...
Seeing as he played a VERY large role in this we may just have to break it down into points.

• The connection between the sterile suburban house and the drug ring would never have been made which would've seriously delayed the investigation.


• Olivia wouldn't have been able to get any answers from Matt about being the immune deficient person in the family and about how it was done.


• They never would've found the Chinese immigrants after they were unloaded from the boat since they were spotted by Peter in China town.

Fringe T-Shirt: Bishop & Son LTD

T-Shirt-of-the-week site OtherTees has a Fringe themed t-shirt available until August 17th .

The shirt titled "Bishop & Son LTD" features a drawing of the Wave Sink Device (aka Doomsday machine), with the names Walter and Peter with the description  "physicists scientists engineers"

The t-shirt is $13 but our readers can save $1 using the code "fringetelevision.com" at checkout.

Summer of Fringe Rewatch: #208 "August"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.

The Observers played a significant role in the later part of season three, setting up events in an experiment to determine if Walter would be willing to let go of Peter. The producers have stated that they will play a significant role in season four. Bits and pieces about “The Observer” (September) were dropped in The Arrival, The Road Not Taken, and There is More Than One of Everything.

In the second season, the Fringe team finds out that there is more than one of everything… including Observers. And that they do more than Observe.

My Own Observing

As August waited for Christine Hollis, there were several things of note. Of particular interest was the black notebook that he used to take notes in a strange, cryptic language. He was taken aback when a veteran engaged him in friendly conversation, starting with a compliment concerning his binocular-like gadget. He told the veteran that the object is “from far way.” With as little as we still know about the Observers, what does this mean? Far is word for a measure of distance. Or does August just use this as simple explanation for an idea that is very complicated? The veteran gave him a flag pin, and August looked like he did’t know what to make of a kind gesture. Humans and our quirks must have been interesting to him.


They Just Watch?

In physics, there is a well-known principle called the “observer effect.” This states that the results of an experiment are affected by the act of observation.

So, while the Observers claim to not get involved, they still can change events by merely watching. This was taken to the literal extreme when September interrupted Walternate, keeping him from seeing that he was successful in finding a cure for his dying son. Hence, a whole new chain of events was started.

In this episode, August left his notebook on a park bench, knowing that Walter Bishop would eventually break the code and help him. Thus, setting a new path into motion. The Observers have weapons, which means that they get involved more often then they’d like, I’m sure. As a security guard fired his weapon, it didn’t seem to phase August, and we later learn that he caught the bullets in mid-air. September was able to do this in The Firefly. Both can start vehicles using electrical impulses from their fingers. The Observers appear to be able to slightly bend the laws of physics.

While investigating, Olivia and Peter enlist the help of Massive Dynamic’s Brandon Fayette, who happens to have a geeky interest in the Observer’s appearances and the origin of their writing. He explains the fluid nature of time; how everything occurs at once. Yet the Observers can sit back and watch it at any point. But time is not linear in one direction, it branches like a tree with new possibilities for every new decision path.

September told Walter in The Firefly:

Various possible futures are happening simultaneously. I can tell you all of them, but I cannot tell you which one of them will come to pass. Because every action causes ripples, consequences both obvious and... unforeseen.

Memory and Objects

After all these years, August kept Christine’s teddy bear. Just like Walter kept his Peter’s silver coin. A reminder of someone they love. Humans use physical objects in order to help them remember. Walter even used food in order to jog his memories and make connections. For instance, Walter was on a quest for the perfect strawberry milkshake in this episode. But after season 3, there is no reminder of Peter. As far as we know, anyway. However, Walter once called the human brain an amazing organ, and it never forgets experiences. When Olivia was trapped Over There in The Plateau, her projection of Peter told her that he was a part of her that she had to hold on to. That she could not forget him. Walter also said that if anything went wrong when Peter chose to go back to our current time with knowledge of the future, that Olivia would be their fail safe. I’m counting on one or the other to “remember” Peter somehow in season 4. As a fan of Dune, I’d like to think that memory transcends life-times. So maybe it can transverse time-lines as well.


No One Special

Fringe often questions the nature of “special.”

Agent Broyles briefed Olivia about Christine’s background, saying that “As far as we can tell, she’s no one special.”

Peter asked about Christine Hollis: “What is so special about her? Why save her?"

Olivia also found nothing “special about her” when she was reviewing information about the girl.

One could ask what is so special about Olivia? To Peter, she was his everything.

To Walter, Olive was special to him (Subject 13.)

August explained that he had observed Christine for all of her life, and that she was unique. At the Asian restaurant in the episode, September reminded August that humans “are all unique.” This fact alone was not enough to keep her from her fate, that she was meant to die in an airplane crash.

Is there a difference between “special” and “important?” The Observers might say that they see no future for someone, but one change in a decision from someone else could alter things toward a new outcome. It could cause those ripples that September spoke about. In The Plateau, we saw Milo Stanfield literally get away with murder, as he set up a string of events that just seemed random. But Olivia acted in a manner that he did account for in his calculations. Peter had remarked early in season one that random events happen all the time that seem linked, but that doesn’t mean that there is any significance to them. Then he changed his tune by the time of The Arrival. One could say that Olivia had no future when she was killed, but Peter would not accept that fate.

August chose to meet with Walter because Walter would not accept no for an answer. He chose to do whatever it took to bring his son back. Walter’s advice:

Well, in that case, if you cannot persuade the others of your conviction, then you must do something to prove it. You must make her important. And of course whatever you do, you must be prepared to face the consequences.

• Walter’s consequences were the destruction of two universes, plus the pain of watching his son crumble.
• August’s consequence was dying for a woman that he fell in love with. September said,“You made her important. She is responsible for the death of one of us."
• Peter’s consequence was to erase himself from existence so that his love, Olivia, would live.
  
  

All of this falls nicely into one of Fringe’s core themes: How far would you go to save someone you love?


Peter Searches for Answers

What are they looking for? We're looking for them, but they're looking for something too. That's why they keep on showing up. So what are they looking for? - Peter

August made it a point to hand Peter his gun, and it appeared as if he communicated telepathically to Peter. Peter was astounded that he was able to fire the weapon. Peter once stated that he could “bring anything mechanical back from the dead.” Is his ability to easily use and fix technology more than just because of his IQ?

Peter asked Walter if the Observer ever told him why he saved them both. Walter’s face suggested that he knew more than he was telling. Of course, Peter did not know where he came from at this point. At some point, Walter must have spoken in detail with September. We do know that Walter was warned to never allow Peter to return to the other side. Did Walter know why? Walter also begged August when they met to not take his son. Over several interactions with Observers, Walter is very frightened about them taking Peter from him. He told August that he had made “an arrangement” with September. Did he tell Walter that his time with Peter was limited?

Peter: They have the answers. I know they do.

Walter: Don't worry, son. You will get your answer.

So maybe in Season 4, we’ll finally get the answer Peter has been seeking.

At the end of this scene, Walter cups Peter’s face, just like he did when they decided to cheat time in The Day We Died…

Olivia’s Life

It was nice to see Olivia laughing and trying to live a normal life, as she took care of her niece, Ella. Ella was not afraid of roller-coasters, and she giggled because her brave aunt was frightened of them. When they had to put their plans on hold, Ella said, “It’s OK, Aunt Liv. I know that you have an important job.” I never would have guessed that Ella would be doing that job in the future, and that she’d be one of the First People.

At this point in the series, I now know that Observers standing around at the end of an episode can only mean bad things for our heroes. As they observed Olivia and Ella on a roller-coaster, December remarked to September:

It is a shame things are going to get so hard for her.

The first time I saw this episode, I remember perking up on the edge of my seat and saying “What? No, you bald @#$*% had better leave poor Livy alone!”

Just as Olivia went out on a limb and went out of her comfort zone, everything went crazy. Metaphorically, Olivia’s life became an emotional roller-coaster from this point out. In Grey Matters, she found that she had become very attached to the Bishops. In What Lies Below, I think we get the first glimpse of the fact that she had confused feelings for Peter, as she was shaken-up over the thought of him dying from the virus. The discovery of her ability to see objects from the other side in Jacksonville, led to her seeing Peter glimmer, and to hearing Walter’s story of his grand deception in Peter. Then she had the terrible secret she was keeping from Peter, which he found out any way, and he left this universe in a hurt and confused state of mind.

Risking life and limb to get him back, she told him how much he meant to her. But then she became trapped and her alternate slipped into her life back home, and Peter bought into the alt’s deception. I felt so bad for the both of them in Marionette. Peter loved Olivia for so long, and really thought she was opening up to him, only to have to crush his Olivia with the news that he was deceived. Olivia came to see herself as her own person, that her alternate is not better, and to live her life with the people that she loves. So, she and Peter marry, but their world was still disintegrating and children are out of the question for her because of this bleak future. Walternate eventually kills her. Very hard for her indeed. Luckily, Walter and Peter stepped in:

“Give Him the keys and save the girl.”

So now, we get to see life without the ripples caused by Peter. Will it be better? Maybe in some ways. But I have a feeling life without Peter will be much worse than the future we saw in The Day We Died.

Unanswered Questions

Where are the Observers from, and why do they care about events in the world, but distance themselves from individual humans?

Why could Walter decipher the Observer’s language?

Just how much does Walter know about the Observers and their plan for Peter?

Why can Peter use the Observer’s gun?

Who was Donald Long? He did not appear to be an Observer, but he had some interesting capabilities, especially when he found August’s hotel hideout in the phonebook.


If Peter Did Not Exist

August was emboldened by Walter’s act of love in saving Peter. Without Peter, he probably wouldn’t have tried to save Christine Hollis.

Donald Long may have killed Olivia since Peter would not have been there to stop him.

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #207 "Of Human Action"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.

This episode starts out swinging, and in that regard it reminds me of "Safe" from Season 1.

It looks like three cops from Queens are dealing with two kidnappers and their teen-aged victim. But "Of Human Action" is an episode about perspective(and that makes it foreshadowing of "Johari Window"), and if you walk away with anything from it, it should be that things are not always as they appear-a very good thing to keep in mind if you're caught up with 'Fringe' through episode 322. For at least the first 15 minutes of this episode, it seems that the men are the kidnappers, and the teen is the victim, not the other way around. The two actors who play the used car salesmen are well-casted, and even though they are well-dressed, there's a slightly sinister air about them.

It's not until Peter Bishop is unwillingly stopped dead in his tracks that we realize Tyler Carson is the mind control master, with his endless dispenser of medicine-in-a-Pez. Cameron Monaghan does a great job as Tyler Carson, a troubled youth desperately looking to reunite with his birth mother(more on that shortly). Tyler takes Peter hostage as his driver, dragging him along for the ride of his not-thought-through plan. At first Peter tries to fight the youth's control, to no avail. Then Peter tries to acquire information from him, like how far a distance Tyler can utiltize his mind control power. But Tyler's pretty sharp and refuses to give Peter any information.

Things get a little dicey when they get pulled over by a cop for speeding. Tyler almost looks like he's enjoying himself, as he makes the cop put his revolver on the Vista Cruiser's roof. Peter's hand is visibly shaking as Tyler makes him pick it up. In a very smart move, Peter yells to Tyler,"Do not force me to shoot this man." For some reason, Tyler changes his plan from having Peter kill the officer, to making Peter just knock him out. (Peter's words will come in handy when the poor man wakes up and alerts the authorities.)

I believe this is only the second case in which our Olivia Dunham is emotionally vested. The first, of course, was involving her lover, John Scott, in the pilot. Olivia seems off balance as soon as she realizes Peter is the crazy kid's hostage. You can hear it in her voice and see it in her body language.

Walter Bishop is also off balance as soon as he realizes Peter is gone from the crime scene.There's a beautiful scene where Olivia goes to Walter in a room at Massive Dynamic's New York headquarters, and tried to comfort him. Let me post that conversation:
Walter: I can't lose him again.
Olivia: Walter... I know you're worried. We all are. But we can get Peter back. We just need you to find a way to disable Tyler.
Walter: Peter always helps me. I don't know what to do. How do I do this without Peter? He always helps me.
Olivia: He helps me too. But you can do this.
Nina: Walter...I know you're scared. But you're the only one that can help him.
Walter: Maybe I could use an EMF scrambler to disrupt his beta wave transmissions.
Nina: Sounds like a good place to start.

It's very interesting to me how it is Nina Sharp here, who is able to get Walter to clam down and move into a thinking mode, and not Olivia. Will that be what happens in Season 4 when Peter's not there to help Walter?

Meanwhile, crazy kid is hungry and wants to look at girls, so he makes Peter take him into a strip joint for dinner. This is a very interesting scene, and makes me think of something Akiva Goldsman would write in. I noticed in the credits of this episode that he's listed as 'consulting producer.' There's alot of conversation and emotion going on at the dinner table of the two unlikely diners, as a scantily-clad body dances above the men. Peter tries to chip away at the kid's master plan by boldly needling him. Regarding his dad, Tyler tells Peter "He lied to me my entire life." Again, doesn't sound like much in Season 1, but if you've seen "The Man From The Other Side" this is true foreshadowing of what truths lie ahead for Peter Bishop.

Peter answers Tyler saying, "Let's not get dramatic." The youth continues to tell Peter further that his father told him his mother was dead. This could also be foreshadowing of Peter's alternate mother, Elizabeth, who we're told killed herself years ago after Peter went to Europe.
(What if Blue Verse Liz is not dead, interesting, yes?) Tyler tells Peter he found his birth certificate with his mom's name on it and tracked her down, and is going to see her. "She was never really dead at all."

Meanwhile, Walter has picked up his pace, and Olivia walks in on he and Astrid wearing aluminum foil hats in one of Massive Dynamic's labs. Olivia tells him nervously she hopes he has something better to stop Tyler with than what he's wearing. Walter tells her "I don't trust them here. I think they are trying to read my thoughts." And who knows, he could be correct. What don't they do? Astrid, who's also donning an aluminum foil chapeau, offers Walter mutual support. "Massive Dynamic gives me the creeps too." (That makes 3 of us.) Walter tries to explain to Olivia what the modified electromagnetic pulse(more foreshadowing of "Johari Window") will do. She doesn't get it, and Peter's not around. Fortunately, Astrid's getting better at Walterese and tells Liv "Where gonna crash his brain." And I'll tell ya, folks, I think that's what somebody's going to do to Peter in Season 4. To summarize, the writers have painstakingly painted some similarities between Tyler Carson and Peter Bishop in this episode. We learn toward the end that Tyler Carson is Tyler Carson #3, as in one of many "Tyler Carsons" in an experiment. Does that mean Peter Bishop is an experiment also?

Tyler and Peter get to Tyler's mother's house in Maryland, and of course she's very shocked to see him. Inside Tyler tells her he doesn't blame her for leaving, that he thinks his dad didn't want him to be with his mother. Renee Davies says, "Oh no, Tyler, it wassn't like that." My guess is that she donated her eggs to Massive Dynamic for money, but there is no proof of that.

They are interrupted by the arrival of Renee's husband, and Tyler gets mad, seeing this man as the reason for his mom's departure from his life. Tyler has Peter pick up his gun and point it at Renee's husband. Just then Broyles bursts in and tasers Tyler, but all it does is anger him. He has Peter move his gun hand and shoot Broyles, then Tyler again takes off in Walter's car with Peter as his hostage.

Minutes later, Olivia arrives, and joins Walter and Astrid in her car with Walter's contraption.
Conveniently Walter spots the Vista Crusier and Liv's practically screaming for Walter to get close enough to use his machine. Peter sees Tyler momentarily out of it, and crashes the poor station wagon into a pole. Walter is bending over Peter, passed out on the ground, as he regains consciousness, telling him "You always prove to be more resourceful than I give you credit for." More foreshadowing, perhaps?

Peter looks in Olivia's direction, and all she does is nod toward him. For as crazy worried as Olivia was about Peter in this episode, I found that simple nod a bit understated.

The second to last scene is the Bishop men in their Cambridge home. Peter gets off the phone with Olivia and Walter guesses he was correct that the mind control stopped when the Pezes left Tyler's system. Walter asks Peter how many crepes he wants. A bandaged and subdued Peter tells him he's not hungry and doesn't need any crepes. Walter replies" You were abducted. Of course you need crepes!" which is one of my favorite Season 1 Walterisms. Then for possibly the third time this episode, Walter brings up Peter's mother again. "Whenever your mother made them you called them 'creeps'...drove her batty. She was a strong woman, your mother."
In response, Peter swallows hard, which we've come to know means he's upset by Walter's words.

In "The Dreamscape" the timely death of Georges Morales makes you think Nina Sharp is a dark, controlling character with secrets. The last scene of "Of Human Action," cinches it.
Nina Sharp is typing a note to William Bell on an old computer, and it's the content that makes the hairs on your neck stand up:

"William, I don't know if you've been receiving these messages, but I continue to hope. I wanted to update you on the status of the Penrose-Carson experiments. One of the Tylers did, in fact, display a rather dramatic ability for mind control. But before we became aware of his ability, there were some unintended consequences. Among them, he was able to locate records of his surrogate mother, and, unfortunately, made a misguided attempt to reunite with her. In light of this, I am suspending the experiments indefinitely. You were right -- mind control is possible, given the right conditions. So despite the unfortunate circumstances, we can consider the project a success. As always, I hope this finds you in good health. Warmest Regards, Nina."

Wow, remind me to not completely trust Nina Sharp ever again! Penrose, you will remember was the doctor from 102, "The Same Old Story," who adopted the age-generated experiment guy as his son, and helped him acquire people's pituitaries to stay alive. If you remember, Christopher Penrose told Olivia someone paid Penrose-we must assume to keep those experiments going. Now we know it was Massive Dynamic who Dr. Penrose worked for.

Questions That Arise From "Of Human Action"
As Peter and Olivia try to figure out how the used car salesman fit into the kidnapping, Peter says "Maybe they're hiding out in plain sight?" Is that foreshadowing of what "Peter" will do in Season 4? On the same subject, this is the second episode to have car salesmen in it(they were also in "The No-Brainer." Of the car sales profession, Peter says, "There's certainly nothing more mundane than being a used car saleman." Will they bring Peter back as one in Season 4?

The only person under Tyler Carson #3's mind control who was able to alter it in any way was Peter. Is that because he's from another unvierse, or is it because he is a "mutant" of some kind as Walter hinted in "Night Of Desirable Objects?"

Why did Peter drive the Vista Cruiser into the tree? On the surface it seems he did it to stop Tyler Carson from using his mind control, but is there another reason? Is it possible Peter knew he wouldn't die?

So Tyler Carson numbers 3, 4, and 5 are being kept alive(or animated) at Massive Dynamic Headquarters. How many Tyler Carson's were made? And what happened to the others?

If Peter Bishop Never Existed
Who would have pushed Nina Sharp to reveal more information to the feds?

Who would have streamlined the informational session with the SWAT team guys and given Walter the microphone to talk with them?

Would Olivia have become Tyler Carson #3's next kidnappig victim? If so, would she have survived the ordeal? Is this then the 4th example of "Give him the keys, and save the girl" in this series? By Peter's being kidnapped to become Tyler's driver, did he save Olivia's life?

If Peter didn't exist, would Phillip Broyles have died?

FRINGE Season 4 Teaser: 'Where Is Peter Bishop?' Part 3

FRINGE Season 4 Teaser: ‘Where Is Peter Bishop?’ Part 3

August 12, 2011 by Marisa Roffman

(AKA Fox wants in on the network-endorsed shipper videos!)

Another Friday, another glorious FRINGE season 4 teaser. Can we please get a new one of these every Friday, powers that be?

While past promos have centered more on the overall disappearance of Peter versus a specific aspect of what his absence will mean, this 30-second spot focused in on Peter and Olivia’s convoluted romance. The teaser showed a scene from “The Plateau,” where Peter “appeared” to Olivia (as she was trapped in the alt-universe and brainwashed to believe she was Fauxlivia) and told her, “Real is just a matter of perception. I am here. And I’m a part of you that you have to hold on to. You can’t forget who you are, Olivia. You can’t forget where you’re from. You can’t forget this.”

Pretty fitting, given that in season four, it certainly appears Olivia will have no memory of Peter ever existing. Will we have a repeat of Peter trying to remind Olivia of his place in her life?

Take a look at the promo and then read on for my speculation on one of the season four tidbits in the spot…

(Note:The video is the same one J. Dunham posted in the previous post)

“I don’t think there is anything sadder than when two people are meant to be together and something else intervenes.” – Walter

Walter Bishop, you kill me a little. I don’t think this is specifically about Peter and Olivia (since as far as our characters know, Peter probably died when he was a kid), but I wonder if Walter is reflecting on his own life? A case they’re working on? A movie he’s watching? With Walter, it could be practically anything.

Share your theories below! Source:givememyremote.com

Fringe Teaser 3: "Where is Peter Bishop?"

Here's the third Where is Peter? teaser.

Here's Teaser 1 and Teaser 2

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #206 "Earthling"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.

We open with a guy on the phone with his wife. He's telling her he's about to board his plane, but we can see that he's actually at home, getting ready to surprise her for their anniversary. She's sweetly understanding as he apologizes for not being there, and he casually asks if she's on her way home.

The television comes on by itself.

Suddenly uneasy, Romantic Guy tells her he needs to go. The lights are acting strangely as well. Trying to disregard the crawling in his skin, he's tucking a card into some roses near the door, when the lights go out again. He flips them back on to reveal a man-shaped shadow, horrifying in it's sudden proximity. Terrified, he stumbles backward...

A few minutes later, Wife enters and comes face to face with the flowers. Smiling, she reads the card, and enters the living room to find him sitting perfectly still in a chair. When he doesn't respond to her banter she becomes alarmed, reaching to snap him out of it. The place where she touched him crumbles into a fine ash, followed rapidly by most of the rest of him. Powdery remains and her screams swirl through the apartment, and the credits roll.

Early the next morning, Phillip Broyles breakfasts alone in a cafe. Tall, handsome, and intimidating, he is enthralling to the young boy at the next table. The boy is playing copycat, imitating Broyles' every gesture, and Phillip plays along, watching the boy out of the corner of his eye until he catches the kid in the act, giving him a rare and beautiful grin. The boy grins back delightedly before resuming the game, hiding behind his menu. Broyles' phone rings, and when the kid peeks back around, his silent playmate is gone.

Fringe Division is already at the residence of the victim, Randy Dancik. Walter examines the ashes as FBI agents mill in the background. There are no signs of struggle, no forced entry. Lack of scorch marks on the chair indicate that there was no combustion. Walter is asking for a vacuum cleaner to transport the remains when Broyles arrives, looking grimmer than usual and asking questions about the victim visiting hospitals. Olivia is taken aback, and Broyles explains that it's not the first time he's seen this kind of murder.

Peter and Olivia accompany Broyles to a storage unit, where he elucidates as he digs through some boxes. It's clearly personal storage; there's an old suitcase, a bicycle, other odds and ends indicative of a man who's not as settled as he might seem. Signs of an interrupted life that nicely foreshadow his later confession to Olivia.

Broyles tells Peter and Olivia that this incident is identical to a case he worked four years ago. He's tight, almost angry, as he tells them about five previous victims, all of whom worked at or had visited the same hospital. After the third death, Broyles was contacted by a man who had specific details about the case, a man who offered to turn himself in if they could decipher his formula. Government agencies could make no sense of it, and after two more deaths the killings stopped. Broyles hands over a copy for their perusal, and Peter recognizes it as a molecular model.

While Peter heads to the lab with the formula, Olivia receives a call confirming that Randy had visited his mother at Latchmere General the day he was killed. While she's on the phone, Broyles finds an old micro-cassette recorder. He stuffs it grimly into his pocket as he and Olivia head for the hospital. When they arrive, Broyles has a warrant at the ready, employee records - now.

At the lab, Peter, Walter, and Astrid are examining Randy's remains. To Walter's surprise, they hold no traces of radiation whatsoever. The equation describes something highly radioactive, the ashes should be clicking merrily if the formula had anything to do with his death. When Olivia calls to check on their progress, Peter informs her that so far all they have is a total lack of radiation, and Walter's theory that the formula describes an organism. Walter takes the phone, starting to tell her something, when an idea strikes him. He sets the phone down muttering, and moves back to the whiteboard, lost in thought. Bemused, Peter rescues the abandoned phone to tell Olivia that Walter's on it, and they'll let her know when they come up with something.

At Latchmere, Broyles is brooding and edgy, refusing to take a break while the records are being searched. Cautiously, Olivia tries to draw him out, asking why the killer called him. Broyles says the man seemed distraught by the killings, unable to control them, wanting them to end. A sudden flurry of activity amongst the hospital staff alerts Broyles and Olivia to another killing - this time right under their noses. Broyles is fuming when an agent reports that they've found an employee who worked at both hospitals - and he didn't show up for work tonight.

Back at his office, Broyles has opened up all his old case files. His whiteboard is covered with information on the previous victims as he listens to a recorded conversation between himself and Koslov. He is visibly upset, listening to himself tell the man his team needs more time... This case clearly means more to him than he's telling, but his reverie is interrupted by a message - Senator Van Horn is on the line.

Broyles meets the senator in a Washington park. The fingerprint they found at Koslov's apartment raised several flags, and Broyles is ordered to cease and desist as other agencies squabble over the case. The CIA wants Koslov, so do the Russians. According to the Russians, Koslov stole some property belonging to the them. Van Horn tells Broyles he knows what this case means to him, but there's nothing he can do, Phillip is losing the case to the CIA. Both men know that Broyles has no intention of letting it go.

Back at Latchmere, Olivia is reviewing the hospital security footage when Broyles calls to tell her they're off the case - except that they're not. Stop documenting, he says, write nothing down, but keep on it. Olivia demurs, concerned for his job if they're caught. Behind her, the security tech calls for her attention; the cameras caught something. Just before the second victim was discovered, a man's shadow is seen on film. Another angle shows that a shadow is all it is, there is no face.

Back at the lab, the whole team watches as Walter examines the footage. There's no translucency, no reflection - Walter is certain this thing is it's own entity, possibly the result of a Russian Experiment. Broyles watches the footage silently, avidly.

Heading back to his office, Broyles receives a delivery from the senator's. Opening it, he finds a top secret file on Timur Vasiliev, aka "Tomas Koslov," and his brother - Aleks Vasiliev the cosmonaut. It was Aleks that Koslov stole six years ago. Officially Aleks is dead, but he actually returned from his last mission in a coma. Timur took him from the quarantined facility where he was being studied, and has apparently been bouncing him from coma ward to coma ward ever since. And since no one has been removed from the coma ward in two weeks, Aleks must still be at Latchmere. Broyles has a team ready to go, and Olivia can only follow.

At the lab, Walter has deduced that the creature is seeking out radiation, absorbing all there is in it's victims, leaving not even normal traces behind. All five previous victims were undergoing radiation therapy at the time of their deaths, and Dancik had taken a long flight the day he was killed, getting a nice dose of UV from the window seat.

At Latchmere, our team bursts into the coma ward looking for Timur, but he's nowhere to be found. All beds are accounted for, but one of the nurses is missing - she's been sedated and switched for Aleks. The brothers have escaped, but while making their getaway in an unmarked van, Timur doesn't look exactly triumphant.

Back at the Lab, Walter is aiding his concentration by blasting Donizetti at ear-splitting levels, with Peter watching in open amusement and Astrid valiantly concealing her frustration, when Olivia and Broyles arrive. Quelling his disappointment at being interrupted, Walter theorizes that the cosmonaut picked up a hitchhiker of some kind, a parasite capable of projecting itself without ever actually leaving the host. Distractedly, he moves back to the chalk board, not responding to Broyles' question about solving the formula, but Olivia steps in front of him, her impatience fueled by worry for Broyles. The momentary derailment of his focus gives him the inspiration he needs. Grinning, he says that he can do it, but he needs something from home. Wryly, Peter follows his Dad out the door.

In his motel room, Timur is listening to voice mail while he prepares to move his brother once again. Timur jots down some notes, crooning to Aleks in Russian about the new home they'll have soon. The second voice mail is from Broyles - he has information on the formula. Sponging his brother's forehead, Timur's hands go still, but before he can think about it, the TV fuzzes out and the lights flicker. Timur quickly hooks his brother up to the batteries with a pair of jumper cables, and gives Aleks a brutal jolt, begging forgiveness as he forces the emerging shadow back into his brother's body. This is clearly very stressful on the comatose man, and when Timur is forced to jolt him again to keep the thing inside, Aleks flatlines. He comes back after a moment though, leaving Timur half weeping with relief.

Astrid has set up a trace system for if Timur calls back. Broyles is still brooding fiercely, and Olivia has finally worked up the courage to take the plunge. "Why this one?" she asks, "Why is this case so important to you?" And astonishingly, he tells her: by the time this case happened four years ago, he'd stopped caring about professional advancement, he'd seen too much, and only wanted to protect people. He became obsessed with the case, and it destroyed his marriage. In the most poignant line of the episode he tells her "I took this job to make the world a safer place for my family. Instead I lost them."

At home, Walter and Peter have built a model of the formula out of Tinker Toys - a physical representation to give Walter new perspective on the molecules. He peers thoughtfully at it for a moment, and then carefully he and Peter pull two similar halves apart as far as they'll go, but they catch, fundamentally linked, just before they fully disentangle. Oh no. The child's toys have eloquently demonstrated that there is no hope for Aleks, the man and his uninvited passenger have become one.

Meanwhile, Timur has his brother back in the van, preparing to run again. He heads back into the motel room to call Broyles and ask if they've solved the formula. On the line with Olivia, Walter says sadly that they have, but it's bad news. The two have become linked on a molecular level. Killing one will kill them both. Broyles tells Timur that they have the answer, but it's not the one he wants to hear. As Broyles explains, Timur is overwhelmed, legs buckling in despair as he sinks into a seat. Swallowing his grief, he tells Broyles that he doesn't want his brother harmed. Broyles attempts to reassure him long enough to get a trace, but Timur is gone. An oscillating fan rotates, blowing his ashes gently along the light breeze. And The shadow walks out the door.

The Fringe team got the trace, but they arrive at the motel to find Aleks in the back of the van, and Timur's crumbling remains in the motel room. Walter and Peter rush to the van, finding it full of batteries, wires, and one comatose cosmonaut. Walter surmises the equipment must have been used to keep the entity too weak to leave Aleks' body. When Broyles asks how the shadow can be contained without Timur, Walter responds that a body sized lead case would be a good place to start, but they'll have to wait until it gets back.

Wait, what?

There's no radiation coming from Aleks' body. The shadow is gone. Urgently, Peter asks if the shadow can be drawn back by distressing the host. Walter is uncertain, but it's out there right now, and time is of the essence, it's worth a try.

In a nearby room, a young girl is watching cartoons when the TV fuzzes out. Her attention disrupted, she suddenly notices the half-closed closet door a few feet away. It looks darker and scarier in there than it ever has before. 

Walter is having trouble with Timur's primitive equipment. As he fumbles with foreign knobs, a child's shrill screams pierce the air. Everyone jerks up in horror, but Broyles never hesitates. Roughly ordering Peter out of the way,  he shoots Aleks in the head. Tara's mother comes running out of the bathroom, dripping in a hastily donned bathrobe. The child sits perfectly still, staring blankly at the snowy TV. She doesn't respond to her mother's frantic questioning. With a trembling hand, Tara's mom reaches out to touch her daughter, and at last the child turns her head. "There was a man," she says solemnly, "a shadow man. He disappeared."

Later that evening, Broyles pays a visit to his ex wife. From the moment she opens the door it's clear from both their faces that the sight of each other brings up old wounds. The kids aren't home, she tells him, but it's her he wants to talk to. As she stares at him uncertainly, her new husband pokes his head out long enough let us know he's in her life - Diane has moved on. He withdraws gracefully, leaving them to talk. "I closed that case," he tells her "the one four years ago." Closing her eyes against memory, she's happy for him, truly, but it's not enough to fill the gulf that yawns between them. Nothing ever will be. He declines her invitation to stay for dinner, and says goodnight. He's able to not look back until after she closes the door.

When he reaches his car, there's a CIA agent waiting in the street. The man reminds him that the CIA kinda means it when they say butt out, and tells Phillip that he should be very grateful for his friend, Senator Van Horne. When Broyles asks what happened to the cosmonaut, the man looks meaningfully up at the stars, and replies "We had no choice, once he started breathing again." Broyles follows his gaze, seeking the place between the stars where the shadows live.

To me, this episode is really a character study for Broyles. Until this point he's been an enigma. He's been The Boss, distant, in charge, even abrasive at times when testing the limits of his team, but here we find that:

•      He's surprisingly good with kids, even ones he's never met.

•     Ultimately, he was faced with an impossible choice - the job or the family. Broyles chose the job, despite all it cost him, because it was the best way he knew to protect his family.

•     He regrets having to make that choice still.

•     And yes, there are still feelings between Phillip and Diane, as this last scene illustrates with such heartbreaking clarity. And Broyles is later keenly interested in the fact that the two are still married on the other side.

This is the first real glimpse we've had into Phillip Broyles the man. He's a sad man, isolated by the weight of his knowledge, but he cares deeply for those around him, as he'll prove in What Lies Beneath, as well as many other episodes. His job is all he has left, and he performs it with courage and conviction, because he believes that he can help defend people from some of the freaky things they don't report in the news. But the cost can be hard to bear, and I think it was not without compassion or regret that, in the Pilot episode when Olivia insisted that she just wanted to go back to how it was before, he told her "Dunham, I don't think you can."

Interesting tidbits:

•     There's a poster on the wall behind the hospital administrator lady with a familiar person shaped shadow on it.

•      Both Peter and Olivia unconsciously smile when they're on the phone together (awwww).

•     This episode establishes the relationship between Van Horne and Broyles that will come back into play in 3x04. As we know now, Van Horne is already dead here, and has been for years.

•      The Observer cruises Broyles while he's on the phone with Olivia at the airport.

•     Speaking of which, Broyles is in an airport - because he flew to Washington? Is this a glimpse of all that off screen travel they must do?

•      Interestingly, this episode establishes the undoubted existence of Extraterrestrial life in the Fringeverse, with very little fanfare.

 And finally, What if Peter Bishop didn't exist?

Sadly, Peter really didn't have much to do in this episode. His role here was mostly sarcasm and charming comic relief, with a little bit of pointing the team down avenues they would eventually have explored anyway. However, it must be remembered that without Peter, it's highly unlikely that Walter would have ever been freed from St. Claire's, and Walter was instrumental in solving the formula. I think that if Peter (and by extension Walter) hadn't been present, the case might have turned out very differently, with more casualties, almost certainly including an innocent child. And Broyles might still be spending his nights staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to take him, and wondering if he'd ever solve the mystery that destroyed his family.

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #205 "Dream Logic"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.

"Dream Logic" was written by Josh Singer. It's a stand-alone episode with what I think is a smidgen of foreshadowing of Season 4 or 5. Another interesting thing to me is it seems to have 3 different beginnings, Sam's discussion with Olivia, the poor worker in the office in Seattle, and Peter and Walter moving into their new home.

There's a smooth transition from the previous episode, 204, into this one. Olivia returns her bowling shoes to Sam Weiss, telling him she got her memories back. Sam looks into her eyes for not even 3 seconds and says, "Who died?" In the next scene we see them sitting together on his therapy couch, the plastic bowling lane chairs. Apparently Olivia has told Sam something about how her partner Charlie Francis died. Sam tells Olivia she needs something to make sense of it all(where's he been through all the Pattern-related stuff, hmm?) She says "Like bowling?" and they both laugh at her joke. He tells her he's giving her a project.Sam's next words are very interesting, because really, how much has he really discussed with her:

"You're gonna think I'm full of it, but here's the thing, Olivia, whether you admit it or not, your life is something of a nightmare."

That's a pretty bold statement from a man that doesn't know her that well, or does he? Then Sam pushes a slip of paper her way and says,"I hope you don't have anything against the color red."

In this episode there are 3 incidences where normal people commit horrific crimes, killing people, and die themselves in the process. Their hair turns solid gray. Peter and Olivia follow the trails. In performing Greg Leiter's(the first victim) autopsy back in Boston, Walter finds a suture line on the back of his neck(If you've watched Season 2 you may be thinking of "Gray Matters.")During the autopsy of Leiter's brain, Walter pulls a filament out of his midbrain attached to a computer chip. While talking with Peter about it on the phone, Peter finds an incision at the base of the second victim's head.

In a not surprising scene Nina fills Phillip Broyles in on the fact that the computer thingies in the two victim's brain are B.C.I.'s , brain-computer interfaces. She tells him they act like a pacemaker, monitoring sleep, and stimulating the thalamus when necessary. She also tells him there's a brilliant researcher in Seattle working with them that Massive Dynamic has been tracking for years, and hands him a file on a Dr. Nayak.

Peter and Olivia pay Dr. Nayak a visit, and he tells them both victims were part of an 82-patient clinical trial of the brain chips. Olivia collects the doctor's business card, and Peter makes the leap as to a possible motive:

"The bio chip plugs directly into the thalamus which not only regulates sleep, it works as a relay tower to the cerebral cortex, which also controls motor function."

Walter enlightens Peter further via phone saying "Mind control." He reminds Peter of his work on the famous MK Ultra project. Walter says at that time they thought they could do it with LSD and hypnotic suggestion, which should make you think of the "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide" episode from Season 3, and eerily enough, of Olivia's 4 experiences in the tank in Season 1.
"Mind control" is also the first example of fringe science Olivia gave Peter on their ride back from Iraq in episode 101. And if you've watched through all of Season 2, "Of Human Action" should be entering your mind about now as well.

Peter asks Walter if he could test the chip Nina gave him if he sent him the schematic of it. Walter tells Peter he'd prefer a live subject. Peter jumps in and makes Walter promise not to experiment on any students. Little does Peter know Agent Kashner, a non-student, has just walked into the lab!

Peter and Olivia noodle over the fact that Dr. Nayak could only list 26 patients. Peter sees her glance at a picture of her and Charlie and watches her expression change. He changes topic and tries to reassure her she didn't kill her partner. Olivia launches into a memory of the first time she met Charlie on a mission. Her voice cracks and she gets teary. Peter starts swallowing which means he's getting affected. Quickly Olivia gets up and says she's gonna go help the clinic staff round up more of Nayak's patients. That moment where Peter finds himself sitting there alone saying "Ok," very softly, is foreshadowing of the depressing scene in "Marionette," where an upset Olivia leaves Peter sitting alone in the garden saying "Sorry."

We learn about halfway through this episode that Dr. Nayak sits in front of a console wearing a cap with electrodes. He dials up a patient from the sleep clinic files. His assistant asks him if he really wants to increase the dose.

In a strange moment Sam Weiss calls Olivia on her cell phone. When she answers he says in an extremely casual manner, "What's shakin', Bacon?" Strangely, Olivia doesn't seemed shocked by his call and gives him a cocky answer. Sam gives her the rest of the instructions of his assignment. She asks him what to do with the letters on her paper and he answers, "Jumble. Anagram. Word Puzzle. Find the phrase," which is foreshadowing of the phrase on the blackboard Over There in episode 223.

Peter informs Olivia during her investigation of a third case. When they confront Dr. Nayak he admits she was also one of his patients. He tells them his lab assistant, Zach Miller skipped work today. Peter and Olivia investigate Zach's apartment, and Peter finds him dead in his entertainment center. After they leave, Dr. Nayak picks up his phone and leaves a message,"I told them. I showed them your damned note. So you might as well stop."

Walter pretty much figures out in his lab with the help of an unconscious Agent Kashner how Dr. Nayak's B.C.I.'s work. He tells Peter it's not mind control, but that the biochips are transmitting large amounts of data. Walter tells Peter the chips are accessing all the data that runs through a person's thalamus.
Olivia gets right to the point, "Walter, are you saying the Doctor Nayak's bio-chips are stealing dreams?" And again, if you've watched through all of Season 2 "Brown Betty" should be popping into your head right now.

Peter points out to Walter that Leiter slept for hours but never dreamed. Walter points out that the dreams were siphoned off before they reached his consciousness and that by not allowing the brain to recharge it could put a person into death by exhaustion. Walter gets to the heart of the matter by telling Peter he believes the bio-chips could turn on while a patient was awake, and that could lead to what they are witnessing in the three victims. Peter asks Walter why someone would want to steal dreams, and Walter tells him for the rush. Walter goes so far as to say he thinks the person who comes in contact with that rush could become its slave. Olivia get an idea and she and Peter go back to the hotel. Olivia brings up her drunk stepfather, saying he had two personalities, like Jekyll and Hyde. (If you're starting to think of "Dark Peter" in "Reciprocity," you're not alone.) She compares Dr. Nayak's handwriting to the note he found on his clinic door, and she determines the two are from the same person.

In an interesting moment, Dr. Nayak checks the messages on his answering machine, and hears his own voice telling him he showed them "your damed note. So you might as well stop. Please." Mystery solved. Nice that Olivia's nasty stepfather was useful for something.

Then we see Dr. Nayak enter his home lab and don his EEG skull cap. He dials up another patient from the sleep center files, a seaplane pilot who's in the process of taking off from a lake in the Seattle area. As Dr. Nayak get high off the pilot's thoughts Peter, Olivia, and the detective they've been working with hurriedly enter Dr. Nayak's house. They find him hooked up and Peter tries in vain to shut down the computer program. Peter can't disable the server. Olivia gets impatient and warns Peter to stand back as she shoots the computer mainframe 6 times.


As Peter and Olivia exit Dr. Nayak's house they discuss what they think happened.
Peter has a theory, anad here's how that P/O conversation goes:

Peter:"You remember how horrified Nayak was when we told him his patients were dying? I don't think that he was fully aware of what his darker side was up to...until tonight."

Olivia: "So this was his way of trying to put a stop to things."

Peter:"I guess that's the irony. His addiction to dreams became his nightmare, one that he couldn't wake up from. Maybe that was his only way of ending the nightmare."
Hmm. Is this foreshadowing of something to come with one of our 3 main characters in Season 4? The episode could have ended right there, but this is the first of 3 endings.

In the second to last scene Olivia is at Charlie Francis's grave paying her respects. She gets back into her SUV and pulls out the letters Sam Weiss had her write down and jumbles them. After a few tries You're gonna be fine shows up on her notepad, and she wipes the tears from her eyes. The episode could have ended here, but there is one remaining scene.

The episode ends with Walter watching as Peter sleeps. A young Peter dreams of his father in the mirror and he screams. Peter wakes up and sees Walter sitting there watching him. Walter tells him he was talking in his sleep. Peter tells him he thinks he was having a bad dream about being a kid in his room and Walter being there. Walter asks if he can remember anything else and Peter shakes his head "no."

Interesting Things About This Episode
The MK Ultra Project-This is very heady stuff! According to sources, the CIA director in the 1950's ordered a program to start called MKULTRA(it had other acronyms) as a result of alleged Soviet(Russian), North Korean, and Chinese use of mind control techniques on US prisoners of war in Korea. The CIA wanted to exert mind control techniques on its own subjects. Apparently there were several sub-projects also involved and studies on unknowing subjects who did not give consent were conducted by the CIA from the 50's into the 70's. Around 1973 the then CIA director ordered the related documents to be destroyed.
Interestingly, over 20,000 were reported found after that time. Sometimes the studies involved giving LSD to unkowing subjects.


Unanswered Questions That Arose From "Dream Logic"
Sam Weiss tells Olivia her life is pretty much a nightmare. How much does Sam Weiss really know about Olivia Dunham, and how does he know it?

Peter says from the age of eight to almost nineteen he doesn't remember a single dream.

Did Walter exert mind control on Peter after they returned from Over There? Did Walter steal Peter's dreams? If so, why didn't Peter die from exhaustion like the bio-chip victims did? Isn't it too bad no one checked Peter's neck for a healed suture line?

Why has Massvie Dynamic been tracking Dr. Nayak and his work for years?

Dr. Nayak only gave the feds 26 of the 82 bio-chip patient names. Was he selfishly keeping the others a secret to use them to get high? Did anyone ever get the rest of the patient names before Dr. Nayak died, or are all these people still walking around with the bio-chips in their brains? If so, can anyone else, like say Massive Dynamic, dial them up like Dr. Nayak did?

Walter tells Peter they thought they could do mind control back in the time of the MK Ultra project with just LSD and hypnotic suggestion. Olivia had LSD and hypnotic suggestion 4 times when she went into the tank. Did Walter exert mind control on Olivia? Did Walter and William Bell practice mind control on all the cortexiphan kids?

Did the machine in "Reciprocity" exert mind control over Peter (sans the LSD)?

Walter is fishing for information after Peter awakens from his bad dream.
Again, did Walter exert mind control over Peter for several years to get him to forget being kidnapped from Over There?


If Peter Bishop Never Existed
Walter Bishop would probably never wear his shorts to bed. Actually, Walter probably would not be living in that big house in Cambridge either. But wherever he would be living, you can bet it faces east.

Walter probably would have begged Olivia to go home to Boston. Would she have let him?
Would Olivia have stayed in Seattle by herself to work on the case? Or would Broyles have sent her some help? Or, would both Astrid and Olivia have accompanied Walter to Seattle to work on the case?

If Agent Kashner had to accompany Walter back to Boston, no one would have given him any nuggets of advice on how to deal with Walter on the flight home.

If Olivia had to interview Mrs. Leiter herself, she may have missed the significance of the sleep disorder books on their bookshelf, and wouldn't have thought to ask about a sleep journal, let alone request to see it. Therefore, Olivia might have missed the link to Dr, Nayak and his bio-chips. Following this line of reasoning, Dr. Nayak may still be alive, tuning into his research patients and getting high, while killing them off one by one. And of course, there would be much collateral damage.

There would be no matching gray P/O shirts(How sad).

Walter may have implanted the bio-chip into Agent Kashner's brain.

He wouldn't have given us that great bit of foreshadowing of "Reciprocity":
"I don't think that he was fully aware of what his darker side was up to...until tonight."

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #204 "Momentum Deferred"

Join us for our Fringe Summer re-watch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.

Momentum Deferred is an important episode in the overall story of the show. It's importance stems from the fact that previously Agent Charlie Francis had become a shape-shifter and no-one is the wiser on the Fringe team.

The episode centers around Olivia trying to recover her memories from crossing over to the other side. Her attempt in doing so in the beginning of the episode involves her drinking flatworms to help trigger her memory. Meanwhile multiple cryogenics facilities have been robbed and someone seems to be targeting frozen heads across the country. One of the corpses found at the scene bleeds silver (mercury) and left behind one of the devices used to help him shape-shift. Charlie begins to suffer the effects of his previous shape-shifting, having been in the body too long and in an attempt to heal himself, drinks mercury to recompose himself. It seems to be a temporary fix.

Olivia takes the shape-shifting device to Massive Dynamic where they work at rendering the image of the last shape-shifter and promise to have it on a public server for Olivia the minute they figure out who it is. Meanwhile Peter takes Walter to visit Rebecca Kibner, a previous test subject that had the ability to recognize people from the other side. Rebecca eagerly agrees to come back with them to the lab to undergo tests once again in order to help.

While in the lab, they ring the bell while Rebecca is under. The sound immediately affects Olivia as she passes out onto the floor and is unresponsive. During this time, we get a flashback of Olivia and William Bell from the otherside. Olivia is told that she is the gatekeeper, the strongest of all the children protected. She is informed that very few can cross over and that her ability makes her special and that she is just now coming into it. She must also remember the symbol on the back of the shape-shifters neck and show it to Nina Sharp . Peter revives Olivia painfully with a needle filled with adrenaline straight to the heart. Jolting up, she gasps that she needs to speak with Nina Sharp. Olivia remembered her time crossing over.

Nina breaks it down to Olivia, telling her about the Pauli Exclusion Principle and the last great storm. Olivia is interrupted by her phone and sees Charlie is calling. He tells her that Nina is the shapeshifter and to get out. Olivia quickly excuses herself, confessing to Charlie that she almost gave the information to Nina, that the body is at “Laston-Hennings Cryonics.” Just as she tells him, she sees another message on her phone and looks down to see the reconstruction of Charlie as the shape-shifter. Charlie manages to make the call, assaulting Olivia and attempting to kill her. She has no choice but to defend herself and finds that she has to shoot him in the head to kill him. In the end, the facility had already been cleaned out and presumably had taken whatever it was they were looking for. We see a head being strangely reattached in the final seconds of the episode.

New questions raised in this episode that remain unanswered:

Charlie is dying in his body and needs a new device to survive. How long is a typical shape-shifter in their body? Do they use the device for anything other than changing bodies?

The frozen head that the shape-shifters are after – where was the body prior to being frozen? What led him to this state?

What does the symbol mean on the back of the shape-shifters head? Why does he have it?

Bell tells Olivia that most people are torn apart that try to cross over. How many others have tried to cross over? We know Olivia has a natural ability to cross over but how was Walter and Peter able to cross over? What about William Bell? Is that why he needs the oxygen mask?

Did William Bell know that by ringing the bell it would later help jog Olivia’s memory?

How does William Bell know the phrase “Einai kalytero... Anthropo apo toy... Patera toy” Did he know Peter’s mother more intimately than we’ve been told?

If Peter Bishop never existed:

This episode is not heavily Peter centered. His lack of existence in this episode doesn't change the major story. It is after all Olivia that finds out Charlie is a shape-shifter and Olivia that is forced to kill him. Peter does give the shot of adrenaline to Olivia but presumably Astrid or Walter could have assisted.

The only major Peter element is what William Bell tells Olivia to say to Peter because she will need him by her side. "Einai kalytero... Anthropo apo toy... Patera toy."