Join us for our Fringe Summer Rewatch, where we review every episode of Fringe during the summer hiatus. Comments are welcome as we dig into the connections made over three seasons.
Before I discuss this landmark episode, "Peter," here are my Fringemunks recapping the show via a parody of "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi:
Without delay, I will examine key topics that have effectivity for the here and now, as we approach Season 4 (which, as of this point, begins in a month).
IF PETER NEVER EXISTED
Whereas this "what if" section usually appears at the end of the re-watch write-ups, I will bring this idea to the forefront now.
First off, "never existed" implies that Peter was never born in the first place, in the new reset timeline, and he's neither Here nor There. No funeral. No tombstone. No kidnapping. No coin tricks. The name "Peter" is derived from a word that means "rock" - and Walter has no such rock as his foundation. But whereas the idea of saving Peter was Walter's primary motivation to cross universes, it wasn't the only motivation. The absence of Peter would require Walter to have a fundamentally different primary motivation.
Some of the possible motivations have been implied since "Pilot" - mostly focusing on the brilliant-though-reckless partnership of Bell/Bishop, and in later episodes we heard more about how they proactively explored the idea of an alternate universe.
With the 2011 machine event (depicted in the Season 3 finale, "The Day We Died"), Peter has been cancelled out of time and existence. But the following items could be created independently of Peter, when given a different motivation: the window to the other side, the thingamajig that Walter used to walk between universes in 1985, and even the machine.
If the events in this episode were re-broadcast in a Peter-less environment, then we would see the motivations come to light. We wouldn't hear any Peter discussions, but perhaps we would hear more exposition from Walter's wife, Elizabeth, and even his ill-fated lab assistant, Ms. Warren. There would be no kidnapping, and yet years later, Walternate is still upset at Walter even without Peter factoring into the equation. So in a Peter-less "Peter" episode, Walter will perhaps have had to steal something else from Walternate, even if "that was an accident" (as Walter bluntly proclaimed to Walternate in "The Day We Died").
Let me throw this idea into the mix: the machine event of 2011 seems to be a diversion from the "Peter exists" timeline we're familiar with. But what if Peter himself was the diversion from another timeline? And if so, who planted him in this timeline? Who moved him into the picture, thereby creating a new set of Peter-infused possibilities? Only the Observers have the capability of doing that.
THE OBSERVERS: "THE BOY IS IMPORTANT"
Let's just hypothetically consider the idea that the Observers were the ones who planted Peter into the timeline we're familiar with. That isn't saying that I totally believe this happened, but let's just consider it, in order to consider other impossibilities.
If so, then 1) it is their absolute agenda to save both universes, and 2) they would have needed to "pluck" Peter's being from another time/place, as I don't think they have the power to create a person out of thin air.
As we gaze through the window at Walternate's lab, we see September disrupting his timeline, altering history. September intervenes to save Walter and Peter from drowning. So it is not inconceivable that any of the Observers (September included) would have had the capability of shaking history into their own liking (while still having the time to watch "Back to the Future" in a cinema).
In the Fringe universe, the Observers exist, and yet so does God. Who are the Observers, in relationship with God - are they working for His agenda, or against it? And why?
CARLA WARREN
This brings us to Walter's assistant, Carla Warren, who we are introduced to for the very first time, in this episode. Carla, of course, plays a huge part in the overall mythology of Fringe, as it is her death that leads to Walter being locked a mental institution for 17 years.
Her religious convictions compel her to criticize Walter for wanting to "play God." Logic indicates that her agenda is different from that of the Observers, who want Walter's disruption to happen. And, back to the "if Peter didn't exist" frame of mind, would she still be around today, or would she have died (perhaps killed?) in the same fashion, for the same reason, whatever reason that may be?
"YOU CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE A CHILD..."
... and yet, what you can imagine, is this: what it's like to gain a child. Think outside the episode now, and outside of Fringe. Think real life. People around you exist; and yet, there are ideas of people who were never born that you can make-believe. The son you never had. The best friend that exists only in the mind.
What if they were once real? What if they ARE real? How would your life change? How are you worse off, knowing that reality overrides any of those thoughts? Would you be a better person? Would the world be a better place? Is there an alternate side of you that works against you (not in an alter-universe, but within your own mind)?
That is Fringe in a nutshell.
In the final "Peter" scene, Walter wraps up his 1985 story, with a dejected/confused Olivia listening. In a Peter-less timeline, these two people will be having similar conversations, full of anger, remorse, sadness, and regret. Both are at a loss, and out of balance. And even more so, now that they never had a "Peter" in their lives.
And in your own personal lives, think of those around you, perhaps people you may take for granted. They're always around, but no need to get closer, right? Well what if they never existed?
Embrace them, and appreciate them, for they help make you what you are.
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 episode begins with what appears as a typo “Manhatan” which is really the other side.We quickly learn that coffee is a rarity on the other side and that New York has been getting microquakes.It’s then that both universes appear to have collided Manhatan and Manhattan, leaving Ted Pratchet and a few others their victims.It is Walter that realizes that universes must be in balance and as one building came over from their side – another building of equal mass must disappear over to their side. Walter recalls that Olivia once had the ability to see a "glimmer" and that going to Jacksonville and recreating the experiment might again trigger her ability. Once in Jacksonville, Olivia undergoes another round of Cortexiphan but her ability doesn't seem to get activated. Walter realizes she's changed -- no longer afraid and that fear was the one thing that seemed to activate the drug in her body. They head back to Massive Dynamic in an effort to determine which building will vanish over there. Coming closer to the deadline, Olivia now fearing her own failure she goes to Peter to admit she's afraid -- and an almost kiss happens -- when she confesses her fear. It's then she realizes she is afraid and her ability should be activated. She rushes outside, overlooking the city and finds the glimmer that Walter had been talking about.
Unanswered Questions:
Sixteen items in the daycare room in Jacksonville were from the other side – did one of those items include Peter or would he have been number seventeen?
Why can’t Olivia remember her time in Jacksonville at the Daycare facility?
When preparing to administer the IV of Cortexiphan – right arm, left arm, left arm -- what happens if it’s the wrong arm?
We meet young Olive within Olivia's Cortexiphan drug trip. Is this what she experienced as a child to trigger her ability? What's with the demon looking eyes?
We hear a whisper of "Olivia" while Olivia is in the forest. The transcript reads that it's possessed Olivia saying her name but are we sure of that. Could it in fact be Peter? There is some speculation it's his voice.
Things of interest:
We see a height chart at the daycare center. We find out later Olivia wrote down all the initials which comes in handy in "Olivia in the Lab with the Revolver."
If Peter Bishop didn't exist...
Peter remembered what Walter had said about the two items having to be of the same mass for crossing over.That helped them narrow down the buildings that it could be and he also helped in running the calculations and shutting down non-essential functions with the computers.
It was Olivia that came to Peter and confessed she was scared---scared of failing and possibly even scared of taking the next step and kissing Peter?It was her fear that trigged the ability to see the building, locate it and help in its evacuation.
It is also her ability that allows her in the end to see Peter is from over there.If he hadn’t existed, she wouldn’t carry the burden of knowing he was stolen from the other side.
Join us for our Fringe Summer Rewatch, 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 is one that still perplexes to this day. Many might write it off as a mere stand-alone that gave some insight into the Bishop family past. However, I hope that in Season Four we will find out some answers to some of the “mysteries that are destined to remain unsolved."
Purple Never Goes Out of Style
When Walter and Peter arrived at the Staller wedding crime scene, Walter spoke to Peter about when he married his mother. In a way, I found this very sweet, even as Peter was scared for his life with Walter driving. Walter spoke fondly of Elizabeth:
She was so beautiful, Peter. So beautiful in white. I won't deny I was never happier
But he had been hostile about her before. In The Arrival he told Peter:
Must you always be so small-minded? Damn it, don't be like her. Like your mother. Questioning my judgment. I am not a child. I will not be babied.
More insight into the nature of the relationship between Elizabeth and Walter is given in Peter and Subject 13.
Walter's question about Olivia has new relevance: “Do you think she’ll call me Dad?" Although she later married Peter, she was never shown calling Walter by the term. But the scene in The Day We Died in which Walter gave her “an appropriate welcome to the family” was very touching, and one of my favorites.
Walter told Peter “She’s just what you need. Someone who can see right through you.” I wonder if Olivia will be able to see through whatever way Peter returns in season four?
She saw through him in this episode. Olivia shook her head and let out a small disapproving laugh at Markams’s bookstore. Peter sensed this, and Olivia called him out on his real motivation for selling the books. Peter showed shame as he explained the sale was more of a way to get back at Walter for abandoning the family, by selling his most prized possessions. Peter’s discomfort is another small mile-marker in his relationship with Walter. It is also noteworthy that he did not want Olivia to think any less of him.
Tick-Tock
The Nazi scientist, Alfred Hoffman, made small conversation as he unleashed the toxin in a cafe, via a cup of tea. He said something that perked my attention:
These days are precious. Soon all you will have... are pictures.
(Tea in the Fringe universe seems synonymous with bad things going down... Bell used tea to have Olivia (and maybe Peter) ingest a soul magnet. The world Over There is so bad off, that tea is the hot beverage of choice due to coffee scarcity.)
Of course he was referring to the immediate situation with the mother and child in the café. However, as the series progresses, the audience is shown just how precarious life can be. Especially as we learn more about the conditions and life Over There. Pictures are very meaningful in Fringe, and many examples of this importance abound.
Olivia kept one of herself and Charlie.
Walter keeps family pictures with his own son that died, but he also keeps pictures with the adult Peter he cured.
Altlivia kept the photo booth pictures of herself with Peter.
Henry Higgins prominently displayed his family’s photo in his taxi cab.
Olivia admired a childhood picture of Peter in 6:02 AM EST. In the same episode, Lincoln Lee was shown looking at a photograph taken of him and Altlivia.
I think that the ultimate expression of this sentiment is found in The Day We Died, as Peter mourned the death of Olivia, and he saw the child’s drawing of their never-to-be family on the refrigerator. At the end of The Bishop Revival, Walter showed Peter a picture of Robert Bishop, but did not show him the one with Alfred Hoffman, a man that had not aged a day.
At the café crime scene, Walter offered to drive back to the lab. His key-chain was shown as a white rabbit’s foot. The white rabbit is one of the characters from Alice in Wonderland, known as a favorite book of J.J. Abrams. The White Rabbit was always obsessed with being on time. Walter mentioned to Peter in There is More than One of Everything that he did not know the consequences of not being on time. Plus, the Observers are always seen marking time as they write notes. There are digital clocks in many episodes, and an episode named 6:02 AM EST.
Also, misunderstood artist Eric Franco described one of Walter’s father’s books as “Alice in Wonderland Meets the Evil Nazi Experiment.”
Das Seepferdchen
Walter said that his father, Robert Bishop, came to the US in 1943. Robert’s gravestone in The Arrival lists his date of death as December 11, 1944. However, it has been stated that Walter was born in 1946...
In The Bishop Revival, we learn that Walter’s father, Robert Bischoff, left his library of books to Walter. Walter reveals that his father was actually a spy for the Allies, as he worked for the Nazis in Germany. His father hid important notes about his work among his books so that they could be smuggled to America and kept safe from the wrong hands. As Walter searches for them, we learn that Peter sold the books ten years before because, “he needed money.” This brings out the angry side of Walter that insists the books were HIS and that his father entrusted them to him to keep safe. Walter lashes out to Peter that because Walter had failed to protect them, his father’s work was killing people. This is of interest because Peter was concerned about Walter’s work hurting people.
Another sweet Bishop father/son moment occurs when Peter returns what was left of the books he had retrieved. Walter was clearly thankful, and finds a group picture that had Robert pictured. Walter tells Peter, that he wished that he and his grandfather could have met, and that they “share the same noble brow.”
(Am I the only one that feels this is an allusion to Josh Jackson’s trademark forehead?)
Walter exhibited a single minded mentality when he set out to kill Albert Hoffman, instead of allowing for him to be captured. Walter stated that he would do anything for family, then he glanced over at an unknowing Peter, leaned up against a wall and chatting on the phone. Later, it would be revealed that yes, Walter did quite literally anything to save another version of his dying son, including risking the stability of the fabric of reality.
This offers an interesting parallel in Walternate. He also will do anything to achieve what he sets his mind to. However, his motivation switched from his son (family) to revenge for taking that son away from him.
Show and Tell
Alfred Hoffman was shown in his own basement lab, complete with phonograph and an antique typewriter, along with modern computer and lab equipment.
Some might wonder why Peter was not affected by the toxin in Hoffman’s lab. Hoffman must used a hair from Walter’s sweater to make the toxin specifically to target Walter, not just any Bishop.
Maybe the same “Cellular rejuvenation” listed in the 2026 Fringe opening was the same process that kept Albert Hoffman looking young? Walter had also mentioned that the Nazis were seeking a biological “fountain of youth.”
Parallels in History
The Nazis used humans as unwilling test subjects, including children.
It has often been noted that the men responsible for these atrocities thought that they were doing the right thing for their country and the betterment of humanity. They were mostly normal men, with families. Some people, like the artist character, Eric Franco, are not amused with showing “history’s tyrants, as these regular smucks.” Peter sarcastically quipped to Franco, “That’s deep.” But really, it is exactly that.
Walter often tried to justify the Cortexiphan trials. He told Olivia that that he and Bell were trying to prepare them. To make them more capable. At other times, Walter insisted that “they were Belly’s trials.”
The Nazis perceived the Jews and other “undesirables” as a detriment to their country and persecuted them. They questioned the humanity of these people. German citizens were brainwashed into believing the propaganda, and as such, many did terrible things to those chosen to be eliminated by the State.
Walternate explained to AltLivia that the people in the blue universe were “monsters in our own skin.“ He said that although they may look like “us,“ to not be fooled. In season three, the war between universes escalated. Peter saw things differently from his biological father. He explained his feelings to AltLivia in 6955 kHz:
There are billions of innocent people over there... just like here... people with jobs, families, lives. I got to believe there's another way. And whatever my part in all of this is... I got to believe there's another way. There's always hope, right?
In The Day We Died, it was revealed that Walter received his own trial. He became the scapegoat for the destruction of one world and the problems of another. To the people in 2026, Walter’s face was the face of evil.
Unanswered questions
Who was Alfred Hoffman?
Was Hoffman’s statement about Walter looking just like his father literal?
How did Robert Bishop die at such a young age?
Why was Walter supposedly born after Robert’s death?
If Peter was Removed From the Equation
Peter really didn't seem to have a direct influence on this episode, which was mainly concerned with Walter and his father's work. However, Walter’s books may have never been sold.
A huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish to the man who makes our favorite mad scientist(s), the
Walter Bishops, come to life. If the imdb website is correct, John turns 63 today.
From all of us here at Fringe Television we wish you a bacon, coffee cake, red vines, cotton candy(blue, not pink), fruit cup, root beer float, blueberry pancakes, strawberry milk shake, Violet Sedan Chair, LSD, and Brown Betty-filled special day!
Our favorite Fringe Media Master, Ari Margolis, sent this photo via Twitter
earlier today with his usual Fringe Friday tweet to fans. http://instagr.am/p/Ks-AX/ You can follow Ari on Twitter at: @jonxproductions.
The title of episode 401, previously "A Sort Of Homecoming" has been changed to
"Neither Here Nor There."
Fringe: Joshua Jackson on the "Super Cool" Turn of Events with Peter
Jackson on why he's so excited by what happened to Peter last season.
August 15, 2011 August 16, 2011 August 15, 2011
Level 8.by Eric Goldman
Joshua Jackson knows better than to reveal any of the secrets about what's to come on Fringe this season and how the show will deal with last season's jaw-dropping finale, in which it seemed his character, Peter Bishop, ceased to exist. Of course we do know that Jackson is still considered a cast member on Fringe, and is promoting the series – and when I was among a group of journalists to speak to him recently, Jackson spoke about the oddity of his current situation on the show.
Moments before we began our conversation at a FOX party, I'd seen Jackson encounter his co-star, John Noble, and give him a warm embrace – a far more "How have you been?!" reaction than you'd normally have with someone you were working day-to-day with, considering Fringe is now back in production for Season 4 in Vancouver.
And that's where our conversation begins…
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Question: If I was going to hyper-analyze, I'd say you and Mr. Noble had a very nice hug just now, almost as if you hadn't seen him in a while… Joshua Jackson: Yeah, I think that's a fair analysis. It's been odd for the beginning of this season. I enjoy working with John so much. So to have that all going on and to have me here [in Los Angeles] is a strange feeling.
- FOXQ: How much of a heads up did they give you at the end of last season on what was going to happen?
Jackson: Well, the broader script, none at all. But the cliffhanger, what was going to happen, we actually kind of built that together. There was a lot of debate about what degree to take it to, and I was a huge proponent of that cliffhanger. I just thought it was a great thing to do because the stakes are so high. When we look back on Fringe, I think probably the iconic image of Fringe is going to be the Season 1 cliffhanger when you pull back from the Twin Towers. But my hope is that the iconic, dramatic cliffhanger that we're going to have had will be the last three months - of everybody going, "What does that mean, he didn't exist? Where did this guy go? If he wasn't there, then how does everybody know each other? And why is the bridge still there? And what does the machine mean?" So, I was a part of building that, and I just think it's great that Fringe has the cojones to go after something like that. Instead of doing it halfway and then having me be in the first scene of the next episode go, "Don't worry, it's all okay!" or wake up in the shower like, "Woo! That was a crazy dream." I just think it's good that we still are still creatively ballsy enough to go after things like that.
Q: You showed up at Comic-Con dressed as an observer. You must be well aware of the theories that the fans are floating that Peter has been transformed into an Observer…
Jackson: Well, I was pro-Observer theory. The guys told me that that was wrong, so I guess that was my one chance to get all Observer dressed up and try it out.
Q: So we can at least say that Peter is not an Observer?
Jackson: [Laughs] You can say whatever you like, and I can say whatever I like. They don't tell me those things. So as far as I know today, I'm not an Observer. But who knows tomorrow? I thought it would have been really cool. I had a whole theory. Everybody has their theories. I had a whole theory that the Observers became Observers because they had messed with the timeline and got themselves basically stuck outside of time. The Fringe world was kind of working on a time loop, and each of the Observers was Peter from a different time the loop had gone around... But that was wrong!
Q: But we do know that you are going to be a cast member on Fringe this season...
Jackson: I will at least be a cast member on some Warner Brothers show on FOX. [Laughs] That's all I know right now.
Q: [Laughs] Right, so maybe Alcatraz, or...?
Jackson: That could work! That's Bad Robot. Maybe, we'll see.
Q: Last season, you were only in about half the episodes.
Jackson: Clearly, somebody likes me!
Q: And this season, you don't exist.
Jackson: Or somebody hates me. [Laughs] Either they're telling me a message in a very unsubtle way, or somebody's being very kind to me and leaving me inside the Bad Robot world.
Q: Are you in more episodes than last season or less episodes?
Jackson: Currently? That would be less. But I don't make those decisions. Our show is not a star-driven show, it's a character-driven show. I mean, I'm assuming since they want me here, I'm going to be a part of Fringe. In fact, I know they want me to be a part of Fringe, but I know they also want to tell the story in the best possible way to tell the story. That's why I think it's ballsy, precisely because it's so unusual to take one of the three leads in your show and to break them out of the show. And then show what it's like when he's not there. It's just something that you don't really do that often. Particularly on network television where a lot of it really is personality-driven. There's a lot of nervousness about upsetting the apple cart. To have, like I said, the balls to really honor that… That cliffhanger was so big that if they half-assed it in the beginning of Season 4, I think our audience, who has been so good with that, would kind of smell the suck on that. They'd be kind of disappointed that we gave them this big thing, and then we didn't actually go after it. And we went after it. I think that's super cool.
Q: Have you had some memorable fan encounters with this show?
Jackson: Well, the Comic-Con experience… I mean, it's not a single moment but the experience being at Comic-Con. For us, the panel discussion is the coolest moment of each Comic-Con. Just the passion and the knowledge and the general good feeling in that room is such an unbelievable thing to be a part of. It's so unusual for an actor to get to be a part of, and it doesn't really happen in film… It really doesn't happen in TV either! To get to be a part of a discussion with people who really love whatever it is your working on while you're working on it. Normally, that's something that comes afterwards. Only after everybody watches do you get to have the interaction. But Comic-Con, while the show is on the air, provides you an opportunity to go back year after year and check in with your audience to gauge their level of engagement.
Q: Right now I know it's an impossibility, but eventually are you excited to hopefully get to show Peter finding out he has a kid? That's obviously a huge reveal.
Jackson: I think Peter already knew. I think at the end of last year when we were fast-forwarding to 2026, that Peter had lived all of those years in between. He had made the decision to destroy the other universe, and it strikes me as unlikely that while he was making that decision nobody said, "And by the way, you're killing your lover [and kid] on the other side." So I actually think that he's aware of that. Because the only guy that we saw when he came back was just that glimpse, and he had to get like, "There's a bridge here. Don't kill each other while I'm gone," before he disappears. So, I think he's keenly aware of that.
- FOXQ: Early in Season 3, you theorized that perhaps the real connection was between Peter and the other Olivia, because they were from the same universe. Since then, Peter and Olivia, "our" Olivia, have gotten together. But do you still think that maybe at the core it is "Fauxlivia" that he truly loves?
Jackson: I would revise my opinion now given the story that we've told last year. I think he has a more natural attraction for the other Olivia. But the fact that he was willing not only to kill her but to sacrifice himself ultimately for his love for Walter and Olivia, I think that speaks to the depth of his commitment. So I think over the course of last year, in the way that they wrote those scenes where Peter tells Olivia and the pain that she goes through, I thought they wrote those scenes really well because he dealt with it in a very menschy way. As opposed to getting defensive or being pissed off or being self-pitying, he just sort of took it, and that, to me, was the first time I saw that Peter really cared about Olivia in a romantic way rather than just a big brotherly sort of way.
Q: How much input do you have on upcoming storylines?
Jackson: Well, sometimes a lot, and a lot of times none at all. [Laughs] The finale last year, I was intimately involved with that, but the guys are pretty tight with their information. It is a Bad Robot show. The vault is kept close at all times. So there are some things that they're open about and we get to play with together. But mostly the way that I have an influence over the character-- and John will tell you the same thing, and he and I do this a lot-- we take the things that they've written and try to figure out, particularly for that father/son relationship, how to make all that stuff real and human in the center of this really big, over-the-top, science-fiction show. So I guess on set is where I have most of my influence.
- FOXQ: Is the lack of Emmy love for a show that's so deserving frustrate you, or you tend to brush it off?
Jackson: I don't know if you can be frustrated by extension, but yeah, I think it's ridiculous that John didn't get nominated for an Emmy. I thought it was ridiculous that he didn't get nominated last year. If it wasn't for his performance in the first season of our show, I firmly believe we would have been cancelled. It took the show, like it takes a lot of shows, some time to figure out what it was going to be. We had some concepts that were great, but it just took it awhile to gain traction. And I don't know if you guys have been watching from the very beginning, but those first six episodes are bumpy. They were uneven and we couldn't tell how procedural the show was going to be. It was still trying to find its format. And TV is a cutthroat business. If you don't deliver right then and there, then you're in deep trouble.
But he was so compelling that first year, and that character was so interesting to watch, that he became the through line. While the show was trying to find its form and its footing, he was the thing that gave the thing shape episode after episode after episode. And the Emmys, they don't... Whatever, it's a sci-fi show, it's a mad scientist role. Whatever. For whatever reason, they don't give the love. Just personally, if there's an MPV award for a television show, I can't think of another actor -- maybe Hugh Laurie -- who's more valuable on a network show to his show's survival than John.
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Fringe returns Friday, September 23rd.
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.
I cannot think about "What Lies Below" without hearing the music of this excellent fanvid by littletonpace in my head:
We're working our way into the middle episodes of Season 2, and what I like is they are all different. "What Lies Below" has a really different feel to it. You can tell in the first 10 minutes this is not a Wyman/Pinkner/Goldsman episode. It is something different than that, but it has a very dark and intense feel to it, none the less.
An Episode In The Medical Thriller Genre, and 'Fringe' Meets Outbreak
There is a genre in fiction called medical suspense. Basically, the plot invovles something medically sinister, like bad bacteria, bad viruses, bad doctors, nurses, hospitals, or these days, HMO's. Basically, a medical suspense story is a whodunnit in a medically-related setting. If you've watched any of the Rissoli&Isles shows, that's medical suspense. Once in awhile a good medical suspense book is made into a movie, like Robin Cook's Coma.
"What Lies Below" is a medical suspense episode of Fringe. And it reminds me very much plot-wise of the 1995 movie "Outbreak." In the movie a man smuggles an illegal monkey out of Zaire and into the US to sell on the Black Market. He doesn't realize the monkey is infected with an Ebola-like virus called Motaba. Of course the monkey bites him and he dies, and so does the pet shop guy who gets bitten trying to take care of it. In the world of epidemiology, all you need is the first patient, known as Patient Zero, to get the ball rolling. The pet shop guy infected other people in a mythical California town. The situation gets crazy out-of-control, and the CDC and federal government get involved trying to figure out how to keep the contaminated people within the quaratined city limits. They also struggle to decide if they will need to kill the inhibitants of the town to keep the virus contained, and save the world. In the movie, the CDC epidemiologists get their hands on the monkey and his antibodies and get lucky, and so do our favorite dysfunctional characters in 'Fringe.'
Colors In "What Lies Below"
If you've been reading other posts in our Summer Rewatch program, you've probably noticed that fellow fan, cortexifan, has been picking up on the significance of colors in the episodes. That is something I've missed in some of them, so I feel the need to mention them here.
Mike the Courrier's bike is BLUE.
Mr. Vandenkemp(Patient Zero)'s shirt is BLUE.
After Mr. Vandenkemp dies he's placed under a YELLOW tarp.
Olivia is wearing a BLUE blouse with her usual black pantsuit.
The caps on the virus samples Walter studies are BLUE.
When Walter, Astrid, and the CDC team enter Vitas Petrol their biohazard suits are RED.
Do these strategically-placed colors mean anything? Well, it could be foreshadowing of Season 4, we'll have to wait and see.
Walter Bishop, A Special Needs Individual
I love the second scene where Astrid has lost Walter(reminiscent of "Snakehead" and "Grey Matters") in the mythical Boston Children's Science Center. A kind employee asks her what school he's with. Astrid replies, "He's not from any school, he's a man. His name is Doctor Walter Bishop."
The kind employee replies, "Hmm, I see. A special needs individual."
Astrid deeply chuckles and says, "Heh, you have no idea."
Astrid finds Walter only after he's narrated a horrifying story to a group of youngsters about the return of Magellan's ship(without him) to Spain with only 18 crew members out of 237, and about the result of looking for and finding monsters under their beds. A concerned Science Center employee looks on as Walter tells the children, "You see, when you open new doors, there is a price to pay," which is foreshadowing of the upcoming "Peter" episode.
Once Walter mentions the children getting eaten by the monster, the employee asks Walter, "Excuse me, do you work here?" He tells her no he's just a season pass holder and gives her his name. In the next scene Walter is telling Astrid how upset he is that they revoked his membership. Astrid points out that he terrified the kids. Walter replies that they are "tragically coddled and ill-advised," and in that moment it's easy to picture Walter as the scientist experimenting on 3 year olds in the upcoming "Jacksonville." This episode resembles the structure of "Unleashed," as there's a story of something scary and then an actual scary plot unfolds.
Again, Give Hime The Keys, And Save The Girl
Poor Peter accidentally falls into the deceased Mr. VandenKemp's blood when the secretary scares him, before she takes a header out the window. The look on Olivia's face is pure horror as she takes in the blood on his arms and hands. Her voice almost cracks when she says his name. Peter makes a beeline to the nearest sink and starts scrubbing. His baby blues are intense as they bore into hers, as though she shouldn't even entertain the possibility that thy won't have their time together in the future. Olivia leaves Peter to keep scrugging and goes into a hallway to try to get herself back under control. I believe this is the first time in the series we see her come anywhere close to hysterical.
Remember, normally Peter calms her down, but he can't this time-he's preoccupied.
Olivia gets her breathing under control and sees Peter moving quickly down the hall in his undershirt. As she rounds the corner, she sees Peter frantically digging into the pockets of VandenKemp's clothing. She screams at him to get away. The rest of that conversation is below:
PETER: Can't wait any longer.
OLIVIA: Stop it! Get away from him now!
PETER: I got his blood on me. If I wasn't infected before, I probably am now.
OLIVIA: Peter, this is insane!
PETER: They're down there and we're up here. And they're not sending anybody else up. This is our last chance to figure out whatever it was that he came here to try and sell. Rental car keys. Never take anything into a negotiation that can land you in jail. Always leave it in neutral territory.
Peter finds the car rental keys. Which leads to the next scene where hazmat-suited workers open the trunk of a car with a bumper that reads: Altius Car Rental.
Altius=Higher; Who's higher on the food chain-viruses or us?
Altius is Latin for "higher," and I think this refers to Walter's great lecture to Astrid and Bill Hubert, the CDC guy manning the centrifuge, back in Walter's lab. That conversation is below:
WALTER: If we can isolate the strain, we may be able to understand this virus's personality.
ASTRID: The personality? Walter, it's not a person.
WALTER: Centrifuge is over there. No, viruses are not people, Astrid. But they seem to have minds of their own. The rabies virus can't survive in water. So it inflicts its host with a paralyzing fear of water.
ASTRID: Walter, that sounds...
WALTER: Heh, trust me, I know how it sounds. It's almost beyond belief. The more we learn about viruses, the more unbelievable they become. They deny our definitions of living and dead. And their only function seems to be to survive, to replicate. And they use us as a vehicle to do so. It's the folly of humans to believe we're at the top of the food chain. In truth, viruses are.
Walter grows more animated as this conversation goes along. It reminds me of the scene in "Bound" when Peter and Olivia are trying to catch the super-sized cold virus slug, while Walter gets quite passionate and loud over deceased Dr. Kinberg's continuing slide show on viruses:
Walter: Look. Simian hemorrhagic fever. The infected cells have a definitive spiderweb look. Makes HIV look like a common cold by comparison.
Ebola. First the headaches then the skin turns to rice pudding.
No time for the immune response.
Let's face it, besides food, viruses get our Walter Bishop excited. And he repects them.
There are many great conversations within "What Lies Below" Peter and Olivia
1. A frustrated Olivia is tying to figure out who VandenKemp came to see. She's looking through Ames' appointments when Peter notices the employees on the phone.
PETER:They're all calling their families. Wanna call your sister? Just to let her know what's going on?
Olivia doesn't even acknowledge what he said, and makes a comment about the schedule.
Peter just shakes his head.
2. Peter and Olivia sit down on a sofa. He asks her if she got ahold of Rachel.
Olivia says she didn't try, that "Rachel just went through all this stuff with me in the hospital," which is a reference to 201 when Olivia almost died after flying through her windshield.
Olivia ends her defense with "What's the point in scaring her again?"
Peter intensifies those baby blues and replies,"That's just like you. Even now, you're protecting her. I thought that was the point of having people who care about you in your life... to have someone to talk to when you're scared." And that could be some Season 4 foreshadowing right there. Fear is half of what triggered Olivia's ability to see the glimmer of things from Over There in "Jacksonville." Perhaps it will be fear again that makes her see through to Peter in Season 4?
They don't have much time to let Peter's words sink in as Olivia sees the sick secretary out and walking. Peter and Olivia split up to look for her.
3. Olivia is well on her way to the switchbox ofr the ventilation system when she gets hit by a fast-moving infected Peter. The conversation is below:
OLIVIA: Ohh! (draws her pistol to defend herself. pleads to her friend) Listen, I'm here to help you.
PETER: Give me the gun, Olivia.
OLIVIA: Peter, they're gonna shoot you.
PETER: They're gonna kill us all anyway. (stalking forward. paranoid) The cure is out there. They're lying to us. And you locked me in here.
OLIVIA: Uhh! (as Peter attacks her) Uhh! (they struggle) Uhh!
PETER: You betrayed me! (takes a blow to the midsection) Ahh! (her pistol fires into the ceiling)
OLIVIA: Uhh! (Olivia knees Peter in the privates and then dives for her dropped pistol below a vehicle)
PETER: (steps on her arm) Hyuh!
OLIVIA: (in pain) Agh!
PETER: (after grabbing the pistol) Stay down. (aims at her. dazed, he wanders away)
Wow! Did you ever think we'd see the day when Liv has to draw her gun to protect herself from Peter Bishop?! I'm still shocked how after she kneed him rather effectively he didn't even flinch.
Broyles and McFadden, the CDC Man in Charge
One of my favorite parts of this episode is when we get to see how protective Phillip Broyles is of his 'family.' He begs McFadden for more time to find a cure, twice. McFadden seems like a blood-thirsty beaurocrat who can't wait to send in the Army to "eradicate" all those still in the Vitas Petrol building. The first time, Broyles has an idea. "Fentanyl gas. Pump it inside the building. Knock them out long enough to synthesize a cure. We could have a gas truck here in ten minutes."
The second time Broyles begs for more time, he bares his soul to McFadden, and shows us what lies below. "I understand you have operational authority here. But there are people in there that are like family to me. Another ten minutes." Wow. Phillip Broyles has sure come along way from the pilot, hasn't he?
Walter and Astrid
Another of my favorite scenes in this episode is when Walter refuses to leave the building.
Astrid never tells him of the Army's plan to kill those still inside. Walter asks her to help him get VandenKemp's body on a table in another room that they make into a lab. It looks like Walter's making progress in evaluating the body and thinking how they can beat this virus when he gets frustrated. In a gut-wrenching moment Astrid asks "Walter...what can I do?"
Walter replies,"I can't let Peter die again. He's going to. They all will. There's nothing I can do about it." I wonder if that statement right there is foreshadowing of the bigger plot. I sure hope not!
Astrid is not focusing on Walter's reply. She reminds him of the 18 of Magellan's crew wh made it back alive. That's all Walter needs. He makes the leap to how we're still alive today. He is reminded
of the giant volcano Mt. Toba that erupted thousands of years ago raining down....
WALTER:Ash.
ASTRID:Astrid.
WALTER:No, ash. Mt. Toba.....
That is a lovely little comic moment where Astrid thinks he forgot her name again, but he was making reference to the ash from the volcano.
Walter's hand is shaky as he attempts to check the effectiveness of their horseraddish on the blood sample containing the virus. Astrid lovingly takes it from him and finishes the test.
Beautiful Blue Flares
The scenes near the end of this episode where Peter and Olivia are passed out on the floor from the Fentanyl gas and get treated by Walter's cure are beautifully shot and full of blue flares like the ones in "There's More Than One Of Everything," and other scenes in Season 3.
Our Jekyll, Peter, looks almost angelic when he wakes up cured from the virus.
And from Peter's point of view, Olivia looks angelic as well. Is this foreshadowing as well?
Peter waking up from who knows where and seeing Olivia?
Things of Interest
There is a real Museum Of Science and a real Boston's Children's Museum in Boston, but not a Boston Children's Science Museum.
Astrid loses Walter twice in this episode, like she does in "White Tulip."
If you call the number on the Altius Car Rental bumper sticker, 800-555-0995, you get a recording to call a "talk" line.
The movie the Vitas employees and Peter are watching is "Forbidden Planet," the same movie Peter's watching in the pub in episode 304 when FauxLivia gives Peter his booty call.
Astrid tells Olivia, "Walter will figure something out, we're gonna be fine." She also tells Walter "Peter will be fine." Both remind me of Charlie Francis's message to Liv "You're gonna be fine" via Sam's jumble exercise in "Dream Logic."
Astrid and Walter work in this episode on a closer level than before, yet when Astrid asks Walter in the last scene what he meant by "I can't let Peter die again," Walter puts distance between them and bluntly tells her "Some things are best left alone, Agent Farnsworth."
Peter apologizes to Olivia for the events in the parking garage. She tells him, "You weren't yourself." That conveniently fits into the post-Season 3 theme of Peter not existing. It also reminds me of Peter not being right in "The Last Sam Weiss."
Peter was quite dark when he was infected, which I believe is foreshadowing of "Dark Peter" in "Reciprocity."
Olivia allowed Peter to take charge several times in this episode.
It's a good thing neither Peter nor Olivia were allergic to sulfa drugs.
Unanswered Questions That Arise From "What Lies Below"
1. Why did Walter seem to know immediately what was going on with Mike The Courrier as he stepped up to the door of Vitas Petrol? Did Walter have previous dealings with a highly contagious virus?
2.Is it significant that Mr. VandenKemp's body was placed under a yellow tarp?
3.What did Peter Bishop keep in neutral territory while he made shady deals in his past?
4.According to the Fringepedia website, the core sample in the briefcase was drilled 10 miles down at the "Pioneer Valley Project" in Massachusetts by Solum Oil Corporation. What is significant about that area? Does it have something to do with "The Pattern"?
5.OK, if the virus was wiped out by the sulphur from Mt. Toba thousands of years ago, why was there still live virus in the earth?
6.Why was Peter able to have some control over his actions while he was infected?
If the virus's main goal was to infect others, why didn't he try to infect Olivia, or use her as a hostage to try to get out of the building?
Why didn't infected Peter kill Olivia with her gun?
If Peter Bishop Never Existed
Would Walter have been as motivated to find a cure for the people inside, including Olivia sans Peter?
Olivia probably would not have rifled through VandenKemp's pockets and found the rental car keys. Therefore, Olivia may have died with the others at the hands of the US Army's "Level 6 Eradication." (Full circle for "Give him the keys and save the girl.")
Would Olivia have been able to stay in charge effectively of the quarantined Vitas employees?
"Three dead cops and a missing boy." - Olivia Dunham
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 is the story of Edina. A typical small town in America with an incessant "buzzing". This episode begins with boy named John who is found trying to run away from home and in typical Fringe fashion he is not what he seems. A police officer takes him back to the station and finds out exactly how different he is en route. John is one of the deformed people that are rumored to live in the area, but he is the first to be photographed once they reach the station. As the photograph is loading two more deformed men barge into the station and shoot the cops, taking the boy with them. Little John apologizes as he is pulled through the door, tear tracks running down his cheeks.
When the case pops up and the picture of the boy is discovered, the case is naturally put into the Fringe division. Of course Broyles warns Olivia before they leave for Edina that with three cops dead and this being the first sign of proof that the secret of the deformed people is obviously a well kept secret that some people want kept a secret and that she should watch her back while on the case. Broyles actually looked concerned. I think he is beginning to settle into a more protective role over the Fringe team with a growing soft spot for each member.
Team Fringe travels to Edina and after Walter sings a lovely tune about artichokes and elephants to the "Edina Hum" they talk with the town Sheriff and show him the picture of the boy. The Sheriff tells them that he's heard the stories but never seen picture proof of "one". After a long day of investigating they all pack into the SUV to head back to a hotel out of town. Walter is apparently zonked after a long day of playing scientist again and falls asleep in the back while Peter and Olivia talk in the front. They're in the middle of talking about Walter and his fear of leaving the house when an oncoming truck swerves at them and drives them off the road and into a ditch a ways into the woods. Walter is still asleep while Olivia is knocked out and Peter wakes to see a monster get out of the truck and he begins shooting at them. Peter is able to get Olivia's gun from its holster and return fire, wounding the monster and he drives off. A back up team of cops arrive to help them out and collect any evidence when a call comes in that a truck was spotted abandoned a mile up the road back toward Edina. They rush to the scene only to find an ordinary man dead in the woods, having tried to escape on foot. Peter appears to be silently upset over having killed a man and Olivia shares a vague story of herself and her first kill, explaining to him that he hadn't had a choice and that he had done the right thing. Peter doesn't seem to acknowledge her advice at first, but he had just killed someone, so I think we can give him a little credit.
While at the accident scene Walter sees a beautiful butterfly that he immediately wants to give to Astrid who has a love for them and collects it for her before they return. Once back at the lab, Astrid is almost offended that Walter has brought her back a misformed moth instead of the butterfly he had claimed to have captured. Poor Astrid also makes the discovery that the man is actually deformed as well and they discover that Peter wasn't stretching the truth about shooting a monster. Walter is convinced that it must be something with metamorphics.
Olivia and Peter return to Edina and talk to the Sheriff, but they are feeling less than warm toward the town Sheriff as he breezes by their questions with vague answers that seem helpful, but aren't. They end up at town hall looking through tax and population records in order to find out who Joe Falls (the man Peter shot and killed) is and where he lives so they can finish that lead only to come up with nothing. Meanwhile Walter and Astrid are led to the Harkness library through Walter's song: Hard Artichokes, rarely keep, Norwegian elephants Singapore sleep (HARKNESS) to find pictures of other deformed individuals from projects elephant and Walter begins to understand. They drive to the edge of town so Walter can show Astrid the transformation between moth and butterfly.
"The moth and the man don't change, what changes is our perception." - Walter Bishop
And there's that comment on perception. A lot of Fringe is based on our decisions and our perception.
Going against Peter's strict orders to return to the lab where he would be safe, Walter lies to Astrid and tells her that Peter wants them to head into town so they can find the source of the pulse. They eventually find a house with an antenna and dish. It ends up being the house of an old colleague that also worked on the project. Astrid distracts the boy while Walter explores the house looking for the machine that keeps them all hidden.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Peter make the leap that the entire town is actually deformed just as the Sheriff opens fire on them. A chase scene happens and just when they're cornered Rose comes to their rescue, shooting the Sheriff. The story comes out that the first pulse deformed people of Edina so Rose's father Cobb created a pulse to allow them to look past their deformities and live normal lives as long as they remained in Edina. Walter talks Broyles into keeping Edina a secret so that the people can live out their lives normally and not be humiliated through experiments. Peter and Walter talk on the way back and he tells Walter how proud he is of him and Walter says that he is glad Peter chooses to see him that way.
Olivia and Astrid would've been hard pressed to get him out of the house, because only Peter can coax Walter with such ease. There's a good chance Olivia and Walter would be dead after swerving into the ditch since neither was awake when the monster opened fire on the SUV.
By
Count ScrewlooseEmail Post
8/17/2011 08:26:00 AM
"What if the team member fated to die doesn’t actually die but merely disappears? Perhaps after the time-deck is reshuffled, they become someone who simply was never born…"
Or so we guessed in the piece we wrote shortly before the season finale aired (“I Love An Apocalypse!”), but then we stuffed that thing with so many guesses that one of them was bound to stick to the wall. So we’re going to stop short of claiming any powers of clairvoyance. After all, looking into the future can be a dangerous business…
At any rate, you can never say that FRINGE doesn’t give you any clues as to what they’re on about. When the show namechecked “The Schrödinger Hotel” early in the proceedings of 6B, I doubt it fazed any longtime viewers. FRINGE fans have been discussing the relevance of the paradoxical thought experiment known as “Schrödinger’s Cat” since its first season. Even viewers who aren’t terribly well versed in the concepts surrounding quantum mechanics are probably familiar with it:
"A cat is placed in a box, together with a radioactive atom. If the atom decays and the geiger-counter detects an alpha particle, the hammer hits a flask of prussic acid (HCN), killing the cat. The paradox lies in the clever coupling of quantum and classical domains. Before the observer opens the box, the cat's fate is tied to the wave function of the atom, which is itself in a superposition of decayed and undecayed states. Thus, said Schrödinger, the cat must itself be in a superposition of dead and alive states before the observer opens the box, “observes” the cat, and “collapses” its wave function."
In other words, the cat is both alive and dead until the moment it has been observed.
"The most commonly held interpretation of quantum mechanics is the Copenhagen interpretation. In the Copenhagen interpretation, a system stops being a superposition of states and becomes either one or the other when an observation takes place."
- Wikipedia
Perhaps even more interesting:
"Other interpretations resolve the apparent paradoxes from experimental results in other ways. For instance, the many-worlds interpretation posits the existence of multiple universes in which an observed system displays all possible states to all possible observers. In this model, observation of a system does not change the behavior of the system—it simply answers the question of which universe the observer is located in."
- Wikipedia
The idea that observing an event changes it, that two worlds can exist at once, etc., are so much a part of FRINGE that one might say that the shadow of this particular cat has been draped over the show from Day One. The difference here is that the writers have finally made the concept of Schrödinger’s Cat a literal and physical one. In the last moments of the finale, we are left with a Schrödinger box created by Peter in which two states exist simultaneously and which is surrounded by “observers.” It’s a wonderful, wonderful joke.
It was Schrödinger, also, who conceived of the idea of “quantum entanglement” that Walter mentions and which I suspect may become even more important as the story proceeds. You might also want to do some reading up on “Bell’s Theorem” (honest!) if you really want to impress your friends!
“Oh, that’s fantastic news!” – Walter Bishop
There was another moment in that last episode, however, that struck me as intimately familiar and with the release of the “Where Is Peter Bishop?” teasers, I now have to wonder if I’m not seeing something of an intentional campaign to bring something in particular to mind.
I’m talking about the scene where Olivia reunites with Walter after he’s been released. A box of delicate equipment appears to be headed to the floor when it halts in midair, as if by magic. Olivia has used her powers of telekinesis to prevent it from being damaged and explains to Walter that she’s learned to control it.
And this thing is bugging me, as if I’ve seen it before, practically grown up with it: a young woman with long blond hair creating a force field, a scientific genius with salt and pepper hair. What was it?
Then they showed us the Four. And I remembered. Are there any sci-fi or comic book fans who don’t recognize this four?
I can’t imagine there are, especially with the film versions having come out. It’s the logo of the Fantastic Four, the flagship title for Marvel Comics and “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” if one was to believe the banner that appeared at the top of each issue’s cover.
The FF set the tone for the revolution Marvel was about to visit upon the comic book industry, something they called “superheroes with human problems.” As the series went on and more titles appeared, the template became clear. Marvel Comics would be as much soap operas as super sagas, continuing storylines from issue to issue and loading their characters down with everyday problems just as much as cosmic ones. To readers who had grown up with DC Comics, whose stories had neat beginnings, middles, and ends and usually tied things up unambiguously in favor of the good guys, this was a huge shock to the system.
More than most, the FF were an actual dysfunctional family of sorts who had to juggle their emotional relationships inbetween tussling with villains of the month intent on their destruction. Linked together by the strange powers they returned to Earth with after a mission in outer space, they were:
Reed Richards (“Mr. Fantastic”), team leader possessed of salt and pepper hair and an almost unchartable intellect that allowed him to conduct experiments in the furthest regions of science. His ability consisted of being able to stretch his body like a rubber band.
Sue Storm (“The Invisible Girl”), now a telekinetic prodigy with the ability to project protective force fields as well as the ability to turn invisible, Sue would eventually marry Reed and become Sue Richards (as well as change her professional name to the long overdue “Invisible Woman”) and was the sister of…
Johnny Storm (“The Human Torch”), the young hotheaded member of the team who (after shouting his traditional “Flame On!”) could become, well, an actual human torch who could fly and manipulate fire and whose favorite party trick was creating a flaming “4” in the sky.
Ben Grimm (“The Thing”), whose powers of tremendous strength were offset by the fact that he was now fated to live in a body that resembled nothing so much as a cobbled together collection of orange rock. Luckily for Ben, he found himself a girlfriend who was a blind sculptress and who loved him for the person he was inside.
So not to put too fine a point on it, but Reed makes as good a Walter as Sue and Johnny Storm make an Olivia and Peter, setting aside the obviously different personal relationships. The important thing is that we are, in both cases, discussing a family dynamic. What, however, should we make of the lack of a Ben Grimm, or is that trying too hard?
“Apparently, you have the ability to turn off the force field that’s keeping Peter out…” – Walter Bishop
So do I think the FF refs are intentional? Well, consider this: there wasn’t an article about FRINGE early on that, when broaching the subject of The Observer, didn’t bring up this fellow:
As any loyal comic fan knows, this is The Watcher, fated to ever observe the machinations of humanity and the universe, but forever forbidden to meddle in our affairs (much like The Observers, too, that rule seemed to become more and more elastic as time went by). In fact, it seemed to become an accepted truth from the first few episodes that The Observer was an homage to The Watcher, so why in the world wouldn’t there be other similarities waiting to be discovered?
So what does it all mean?
Well, you take these things with a pinch of salt and use according to taste, I suppose, depending on the viewer. FRINGE is, of course, telling its own story and its occasional homages may mean nothing more than a wink to the audience. But I do think there’s a case to be made for some borrowings being more important than that and possibly becoming the warp and woof of the story under construction.
For example, the FF has two characters named Storm. Now read this line in light of that:
There is a storm coming…
Now the family relationships are obviously very different, but we’ve already determined that Peter and Olivia together are much greater than the sum of their individual selves. So what if the storm that’s coming isn’t The War Between The Universes at all? What if it’s the single force created when FRINGE’s analogues of Sue and Johnny Storm pool their powers together? What if they’re The Last Great Storm(s)?
“You’re going to need him by your side.” – William Bell
Want more?
Between Sue and Johnny, we have three remarkable abilities, more or less: the ability to move things with the mind, the ability to manipulate fire, and the ability to turn invisible.
They’ve given Olivia two of these already. That leaves one.
Why can’t you see Peter Bishop?
He’s invisible.
Just how he is invisible has to do with time, I think, and how he now moves within it. I say this partly because I think the room he's created is a nod to another famous sci-fi program.
Not the one it owes the most to, but another one. More on this later.
Oh, one other thing. Remember who said this?
“Well, I didn't say I didn't get my bell rung.”
More to come.
"Wigner’s Friend is a variant on the (Schrödinger) experiment with two external observers: the first opens and inspects the box and then communicates his observations to a second observer. The issue here is, does the wave function "collapse" when the first observer opens the box, or only when the second observer is informed of the first observer's observations?"
- Wikipedia
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.
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 inAugust 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 TheFirefly, 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?
If you are searching for a friendly place to discuss the Fox TV show Fringe, or just a resource for keeping up with the latest news, clues and views on the series, you have come to the right place.
I'm a real boy! Right?
Whereas this "what if" section usually appears at the end of the re-watch write-ups, I will bring this idea to the forefront now.
Let's just hypothetically consider the idea that the Observers were the ones who planted Peter into the timeline we're familiar with. That isn't saying that I totally believe this happened, but let's just consider it, in order to consider other impossibilities.
This brings us to Walter's assistant, Carla Warren, who we are introduced to for the very first time, in this episode. Carla, of course, plays a huge part in the overall mythology of Fringe, as it is her death that leads to Walter being locked a mental institution for 17 years.
... and yet, what you can imagine, is this: what it's like to gain a child. Think outside the episode now, and outside of Fringe. Think real life. People around you exist; and yet, there are ideas of people who were never born that you can make-believe. The son you never had. The best friend that exists only in the mind.
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