Fringe Summer Rewatch: #303 "The Plateau"

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 have often reread my progress reports and seen the illiteracy, the childish naivety, the mind of low intelligence peering from a dark room, through the keyhole, at the dazzling light outside. I see that even in my dullness I knew that I was inferior, and that other people had something I lacked - something denied me. In my mental blindness, I thought that it was somehow connected with the ability to read and write, and I was sure that if I could get those skills I would automatically have intelligence too.


Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.

                                                             - Flowers For Algernon

The thing about Fringe is that every time I watch it again, I find things I missed before. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I've seen it, the ever expanding story adds new layers to all that's gone before, and re-watching inevitably uncovers some new connection that I never expected. The Plateau seemed fairly straightforward the first time I saw it, but having seen it several times since, I've found that I'm still making those connections – and I may never make them all.

In a nutshell, our story is that of Milo and Madeline (“sounds like a children's book.”) Milo was born severely mentally deficient, with a measured IQ of only 65, but his little sister adored him anyway. They liked the same cartoons, played the same games, and she looked after him when their parents were gone. But she worried for him, that he'd end up getting hurt, that he'd never be really happy. And so she tried to help him, with tragic consequences. The experimental neorotropic treatment she volunteered him for turned out to be far more effective than anyone had dreamed, and the once helplessly disabled boy became a super genius with a mind capable of impossible calculations, literally overnight. Much like Charlie Gordon, Milo enjoyed his new intelligence, dazzled at the bright new light shining into his once dim world. But unlike Charlie, Milo's stunning IQ wasn't going to revert on it's own; it was to be taken from him. And Milo resorted to murder in order to keep it.

The irony of the situation is that Milo was now intelligent enough to murder and almost certainly get away with it – if he'd simply killed his victims and dumped their bodies he most likely would never have been caught. It was the arrogance that accompanied his new brain, driving him to kill in the most impossible way, that caught the attention of Fringe division and led to his eventual capture.

But enough about Milo the evil genius, we're in this because of Olivia, and the alternate Fringe team that's begun to really grow on us by now. 

After her traumatic but (apparently) successful brainwashing in her last episode, Olivia is now back at work, secure in her identity – at least on the surface of her mind. She slips with deceptive ease back into the rhythm of her alternate's life, falling into the easy banter that makes the OT Fringe team so much fun to watch. It is so good to see Charlie again.

But her “re”-intergration into her other's working life isn't as simple as it first appears. Broyles, who knows the score very well, is troubled by the deception, worried about his own Agent Dunham, and not at all comfortable with Secretary Bishop's assertion that if her new identity doesn't hold OurLivia will “no longer be necessary.” And Charlie's long friendship with his Olivia is definitely causing him to pick up on a new strangeness. He's suspicious, remembering her desperate assertions that someone was trying to make her believe she was someone else, knowing she has a doppelganger from another world. But she passes his memory test, and when Lincoln dismisses his concern as “nuts” he reluctantly lets it go, for now.

As for Olivia, she's hallucinating people she's never met. Except that one of them is telling her that she has, that she's not from here, that she can't forget who she is, can't forget this. And even though she can't possibly know the man in the pea coat, this is a kiss that makes her ache to remember it, even if it never really happened.

And that, to me, sounds like a potential road map for the beginning of season four.

Parallels:

"We all get really good at pretending that the loneliness isn't there and then something comes along to remind us. I know what it's like to have a hole in my life. It's been there as long as I can remember."

Here she is, popping pills to try to bury the feeling that something is not right here, something is in fact very very wrong. But the pills aren't helping, the feeling won't go away, and Pea Coat Guy, who she knows is Peter Bishop, except that that's impossible, the Bishop kid was kidnapped and probably murdered twenty-six years ago - he won't go away either. He comes to her when she's alone, and sometimes when she's not; smiling at her with warm affection, laughing at her stubbornness, kissing her...

She should want him to vanish forever, but she can't. Because somehow he feels truer than all the things she knows to be true.

Personally, given the quote above, I think the first few episodes of season four are likely to be quite similar in emotional tone, if not in content. Of course that's purely my own speculation. ;)

Another parallel I just picked up on this time around: Lincoln, like Peter, dismisses the oddness in the woman he loves. Even when Charlie confronts him directly with his suspicions, Lincoln considers only briefly before laughing it off as crazy talk, even making fun of Charlie for getting bamboozled by a doppelganger. All of the hints, Charlie's concerns, even his own personal experience with Olivia's ravings, and he still can't seriously entertain the notion that Olivia is not Olivia. Both of them, blinded by love.

And finally in the correlation department, Milo exhibits abilities uncannily like those of the Observers. He's able to do that creepy mind-reading thing, finishing Madeline's sentences for her at every turn. Milo believes he can do this because he can see the most probable outcome of any interaction with his sister, or indeed with anyone. And he can certainly see a million possible outcomes to any given situation, and deduce which one is most mathematically likely to occur. It's not exactly the same thing, but the similarities are close enough to be eerie.

Random observations:

Walternate: "Over time, she will reach a plateau and her new identity will become fixed." And so I believe it does by the end of this episode, except that it's not the new identity that becomes fixed. The Peter Who Wasn't There made sure of that.

"Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men" But Milo became something more, or arguably, less, than a man. He consciously chose to reject his humanity in favor of his intelligence, looking Madeline in the eye for the last time before telling her “that's irrelevant now,” in response to her pleading assertion that his family always loved him. And by the end of the episode, he's completely lost to her. Even a feeble-minded man is capable of love. Milo no longer is. I would argue that Charlie Gordon was by far the more fortunate of the two.

“I'm still a scientist Brandon, I just have a much larger laboratory.” - Secretary Bishop

“They're calling these events The Pattern, as if someone out there is experimenting, only the whole world is their lab.” - Agent Broyles

People Over There are well aware of Fringe Division, and they're afraid of them. The receptionist at the hospital immediately asks if they're being quarantined.

Olivia hallucinates Walter giving her the sweetest smile in the hospital, possibly because it reminds her of a mental institution. Subconsciously, she misses him too.

Olivia's hair quite noticeably changes colors throughout the episode. In her first scene at fringe division it's entirely red. In the next scene, investigating the first bus accident it's got the beginnings of blonde

streaks - just in time for her to see Peter across the street. And the blonde streaks are even more evident after she hallucinates her Walter at the hospital. It doesn't stay streaky the whole time though. Maybe it's just the lighting, or maybe it's a visual indicator of the two sets of memories warring inside her.

Easter Eggs:

The clock in Frank and Olivia's apartment reads 8:15 when they're about to have dinner. There's a sign in the background at the third bus accident that reads “Oceanic Plaza.”

There are Tinker Toys in Milo and Madeline's house, a visual throwback to Earthling, where Walter built a molecular model of the ET/Vasiliev entanglement.

There's a leaf on the lampshade in their house as well. And a collage of red, yellow and blue butterflies and tulips on the wall. One of the Tulips is white.

Unanswered questions:

Did Bolivia ever really love Frank? Ostensibly, she slept with Peter as part of her cover, but she readily, and I believe honestly admitted later that it became “something more.” I believe she did love Peter, at least a little, but if she loved Frank, would she have been able to cross that line in the first place? In The Plateau, Ourlivia was adamant that she didn't want Frank to stay, and he was more than a little stung. She also quickly changed the subject when he said that he loved her. Her own personality showing through? Or Bolivia's real feelings?

Would Bolivia recognize that Milo was reciting the digits of Pi?

The Walternate quote above recalls first season references to ZFT and The Pattern. Did those story lines get dropped, or were some of those early cases related to Walternate's war with our side?

If Peter Bishop didn't exist:

Milo, his tragic experiment, and his murder spree would have likely still taken place, but Ourlivia would almost certainly have never crossed over, and the two would have never been switched. Instead, Bolivia would most likely have been killed exactly the way Milo predicted she would. Walternate might still have been seeking to cross over, but it's unlikely he would have had Ourliv to use as a Guinea pig.

John Noble in Science Channel's "Dark Matters" Premieres Tonight

Science gone awry
‘Fringe’ star gets dark and twisty
By LARRY GETLEN

Last Updated: 7:59 AM, August 28, 2011

Posted: 8:26 PM, August 27, 2011


A Russian scientist in 1920s Europe tries to create “an army of ape warriors” -- first by artificially inseminating a female chimp with human sperm, then, when that doesn’t work, by reversing the process, implanting ape sperm into a young Russian woman.

Is there any surprise that the person telling us this gruesome and remarkably true tale is John Noble, the star of “Fringe?”

“It was a primitive attempt at genetic manipulation,” says Noble, who plays genius Walter Bishop on the Fox drama and is also hosting “Dark Matters: Twisted But True,” which premieres Wednesday.


WEIRD BUT TRUE: Noble weighs in..
“We’re far more sophisticated these days in terms of our understanding of the human genome. At the time those experiments were done, they didn’t have that knowledge, so they were just trying to cross whatever they could. It raises the question -- why would you want to do it?”

For each of the show’s six hourlong episodes, Noble brings us three true tales of science gone awry, including a scientist who transplanted the head of one monkey onto another, and a woman who was attacked by her own hands.

The show employs re-creations over Noble’s narrative, and hopes to prompt the viewer to contemplate science’s dilemmas.

“The question is, is there anything we shouldn’t approach? Probably not,” says Noble, whose “Fringe” character discovered an alternative universe thanks to the use of LSD. “There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Einstein did: He found a way to allow other scientists to split the atom, and it was a wonderful, exciting time. That fact that it was used for destruction, it doesn’t take away from [what he did], or make it not legitimate and wonderful

Source: nypost.com

Don't forget to support John Noble by watching "Dark Matters" on the Science Channel http://science.discovery.com/tv/dark-matters/

tonight at 10PM!

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #302 "The Box"

This is not the face of a cold-blooded killer.

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.

For every Olivia lover, there is a Bolivia lover. That's me. And it happened right here.

It's the first mystery since getting back from the other side. Something dug up from the basement of a Milton home, Walter discovers, is emitting ultrasonic frequencies that induced some form of vegetative trance before killing its victims.

We find out it is a piece of the machine Bolivia meant for Peter to find. When the only living witness shows up with it, at Olivia's apartment, Bolivia finds herself in a difficult situation. The look on her face, when Newton suggested he would kill Joe, was transparent. The idea was an unpleasant one. You can almost read the thoughts going through her mind. Newton didn't need to know about him. Now he's going to die because of me. This is my fault. Knowing that there was no way for this guy to get out of this alive, she had to pull the trigger herself. Judge all you want. This was still a mission and she did not take pride in what she had to do. So yeah, she is allowed to say sorry.

In these early scenes, there isn't much pretending on her part, as she approaches each situation with reserve. On the surface, she is essentially Olivia. It doesn't have to be an act. It's a good thing Olivia was not close with anyone around her or she would have been discovered sooner rather than not at all. Bolivia is more or less free to be herself in order to get Peter invested in the machine. She tells him that he can't do that without Walter. I like the scene that follows.

PETER: I feel like I'm stuck in one of those bad buddy cop movies. Like I'm handcuffed to a...

BOLIVIA: ...to a mad scientist who kidnapped you from another universe?

This too would prove to be true and made even more meaningful when she chooses to help people on the other side. And speaks volumes of her good character.

...meeting another Olivia Dunham has made me think about the way I look at the world, the choices I've made.

The gentleman preferred blondes. Somehow when Peter said in "Over There, Part 2" that he liked hers better, did not seem, to me, just about hair colour. Although, in my opinion letting it down did work in her favour. If Olivia did not find Peter, he might have at lease one reason to stay.

Interesting to note, later in the apartment, what Bolivia says to Peter is similar to what Broyles said to Olivia in the first episode.

You can't expect just to go back to the way it was before overnight.

Unanswered Questions:
William Bell's legacy to Walter was Massive Dynamic and the letter. DON'T BE AFRAID TO CROSS THE LINE. Refers to something Bell used to say. Something The Secretary will echo over there in "Amber 31422".

Only those that risk going too far can possibly know how far they can go.

It was William Bell who urged Walter to cross over and it was Walter who thought it was dangerous to do so until he had to cross universes to save Peter. What would have been Secretary Bishop's line to cross? He was first and foremost a scientist, it would have to be about science. Might we find out what he aimed to achieve in Season 4?

William Bell gifted Nina a bell that reminds me of Peter's comments in "The Day We Died".

I didn't say I didn't get my bell rung.

Is this a clue about who Peter is?
What else did Nina get from William?


If Peter Bishop Never Existed...
and a piece of the machine turned up, Walter would have figured out how it was killing people and know how to block its ultrasonic frequency.

New Season 4 Canadian Promo

CityTv released last week this new video to promete Season 4. The promo doesn't contain new footage, but it's a good overview from past seasons 

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #301 "Olivia"

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 season three premiere episode, "Olivia" starts off with our Olivia in restraints sitting across from a doctor asking her questions. Olivia tells the woman that she is from another universe and that the photographs they are showing her of Charlie, Lincoln, even her mother are not people she knows. The doctor asks her why she thinks they would try convincing her she's someone she's not. Olivia doesn't know why but it is certain she is not the Olivia the doctor is telling her she is.

Confusing much? Of course, it's Fringe. We're next shown Walternate informing Brandon that the treatments aren't working and that they should continue with another dose, even if it kills her. His reason: "Somehow, this girl came here. Somehow, she is equipped to move through universes. We need her to help us understand this skill because if we can do it, we can win this war. And if not, soon, there'll be nothing left to protect. Let's try again."

Olivia is then taken from her cell to a lab, strapped down to a table and injects a blue liquid into her. She fakes feeling ill and Brandon orders for her to be unstrapped and to sit up. It is then that Olivia makes her move on a daring escape.

Other things of interest

Alternate Olivia may have won a medal for marksmanship but Olivia has done an amazing job at shooting suspects as well. Even though she mentally thinks she's not that great of a shot -- in "Grey Matters" we see Olivia shoot at the van that is attempting escape. She manages to shoot the driver in a moving vehicle and another suspect in her attempt to arrest Newton (who she temporarily captures).

Henry's words, "sometimes you just got to believe what you can't see." Sounds like a huge clue for season 4 and Peter Bishop.

The sign on the cab reads "DOGS" instead of CATS for a broadway musical over there.

When Olivia is in the cab, she sees an electronic sign for Glatterflug, making daily trips to the moon.

We've seen Glatterflug at least once before. It was the airline used in the Pilot episode.

Questions not yet answered

What kind of trouble was Henry in before getting his life back together? Is there a Henry in our universe?

What does the tattoo on the back of Olivia's neck mean? We've seen it before and now our Olivia has it.

Who ordered the amber protocol at the Opera house? Perhaps it was Walternate? Was there a need for it (breakdown of the universe) or was it because they suspected Olivia could try and get home in the same way she arrived?

Massive Dynamic doesn't exist over there so where is Nina Sharp and what does she do? Does she even exist?

Who owns Glatterflug?

If Peter didn't exist

We didn't see much of Peter in this episode and we certainly didn't see any Peter on the other side where Olivia was at. We did see Peter back in our universe with Fauxlivia.

Had he not existed Olivia would not have crossed over, been captured and held captive by Walternate. Olivia would not have needed to escape and would not have Fauxlivia's memories injected into her. Olivia also would not have met Henry had she not crossed over and escaped.

Is it possible Olivia would have been willing to succumb to some crazy Walter experiment if Peter didn't exist? Would she have willing crossed to the other side for a reason other than Peter Bishop?

New Fringe Promo 4x01 "Neither Here Nor There"

Fox aired today a brand new promo for Season 4, with new unseen footage. Hope you like it.

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #223 "Over There, Part 2"

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.

Once again, I will highlight the traits common to both Olivias.

On the way to meet his father at Liberty Island, Peter sees, first hand, signs of various Fringe Events over the decades, thin spots, spatial distortions, wormholes, etc. We can see quarantined zones encased in amber on a greater scale than what was in "The Ghost Network".

Picking up where part 1 left off, William Bell helps Olivia reach Walter before The Secretary's people can get to him first. It is at the hospital, where Fringe Agent Olivia Dunham watches in shock as her double crosses the screen in the surveillance footage.

The rest of the episode mirrors the pilot in some degree.

The first meeting between this world's Olivia Dunham and Peter. It's interesting that this Olivia didn't know Peter before they met. From The Secretary's surprised reaction to their initial encounter. Was it serendipitous or were they destined to meet? Suspecting his son is attracted to the other girl, he seizes the advantage and assigns Agent Dunham to explore the true nature of that relationship. Leave it to Olivia to be the first to figure out that these two make a couple.

Walter and Bell make haste to the Harvard lab to get a particle accelerator they need to use as a doorstop to keep open the crack at the opera house.

Olivia heads off alone to look for Peter. She goes back to Agent Dunham's apartment, hoping to enlist her help, by appealing to her sensibilities. "I'm you." Perhaps she has not shared the same experience or maybe because she's on The Secretary's side. She turns on Olivia now. I will always remember that in "Reciprocity", Olivia declares, "We're the same." Olivia knocks out her double, and after a quick transformation, assumes her identity.

In an eerie echo from the pilot, this world's Charlie Francis comments on recent events.

This job isn't what it was ten years ago. You’ve got alternate universes. I mean, it just -- just wasn't part of my training, you know? I mean, how are we supposed to fight these people? Truth is, Livvy, this makes me feel obsolete, you know?

Peter discovers a connection he has with the machine. Only he can activate this part of it. Just like it acts like how the machine acts like a magnet in Peter's presence. (Reciprocity)

Olivia lists the reasons for Peter to come back with her, where "Your need to stay." is replaced with "You have to come back."

In the ensuing melee of gunfire, at the opera house, there is a switch. Turnabout is fair play, right? No one is wise to which Olivia accompanies them back, since Bell provided the power they needed for crossing over.

The episode closes with Olivia imprisoned in a darkened cell, the same place The Secretary holds the other Agent Dunham in "6:02 AM EST", for conspiring against him.

Walter Stuck on Guilt
Walter is held responsible for the damage to this world. Secretary Bishop is firm in this belief. He tells Peter as much. Even William Bell tells Walter is to blame for the devastation he sees of the blight. Walter is only too willing to shoulder that blame, even fifteen years in the future.

She's A Lot Like Her:

What's she like? ... She's a lot like you.

Olivia does not like to be lied to. She was more than a little miffed that The Secretary failed to inform her the "invaders" were actually them. Is it just me, or does she always stand up to the boss more than anyone over there? We know which Walter she likes better in "Reciprocity". She only became embroiled with Peter when The Secretary conscripted her. Little does she knows how much her life is about to change.

Differences and Similarities:

• William Bell died as a young man in a car accident.


• Massive Dynamic was never created.


• Olivia's mother is still alive, but Rachel died during childbirth.

Unanswered Questions:

• If The Secretary failed to find a way to cross between universes, how were the shapeshifters sent over?


• The Secretary can extract Peter’s DNA from infant Henry to power the machine. Is there no part of his genes that is compatible with Peter?


• In part 1, James Heath said that Walter was exactly the same as he remembered. William Bell says Walter asked to have parts of his brain removed, because of what he was becoming. We have seen a man driven to succeed and obsessed. Was Bell being honest?

If Peter Bishop Never Existed...
Who would be left to power the machine?
No one would be taking a walk in the other's shoes.
Olivia would not find out for herself that people in the other universe is not her enemy.

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #222 "Over There, Part 1"

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.

It is wonderful that I get to comment on the rewatch of an episode that had me start writing stories (shameless self-promotion). It gets even better when I get my own soapbox for the other Olivia too. it feels like I have been handed a powerful tool. Beginning with this episode, I will be pointing out similarities in this new Olivia Dunham to the original. It is my firm belief that they are more alike than most people think. I am not the only one to notice this. And I will not be calling her Fauxlivia or Altlivia, because I happen to like this character.

This is the beginning of what is to come for season 3. The episode starts off with our heroes Over There, where everything is similar yet slightly different. For one thing, Fringe Division is based in New York City and is a military organization headed by none other than Colonel Philip Broyes.

The Fringe team over there is comprised of Captain Lincoln Lee, Olivia Dunham, and a very much alive Charlie Francis head to an opera house in the Bronx to respond to a Class-One Fringe Event. Before they have to quarantine the site, Agent Farnsworth, a Looker, analyzes the situation and reports that the Event is terminating. Quarantine has been averted, for now. We see in these seen the familiar Nixon silver dollar found in the "Jacksonville" episode. So we know that this is where the coin originated. While this is going on, the original Olivia Dunham is watching the scene unfold unseen from one of the balconies in the theatre, along with Walter and their companions.

At this point, we return to a time just after Peter has left for the other side with his biological father. Walter frantically trying to look for something at the lab. Olivia continuing to reflect on things since learning the truth in "Peter". She was finding solace in alcohol, until one of the Observers leaves her a cryptic message in the drawing depicting Peter in the machine.

Walter has recalled the Observer's warning and this is the worst possible development.

He told me that I had to agree to never let Peter return to the other side.

When Olivia asked him what it means...

My son is going to be responsible for the end of the world.

Together with Agent Broyles, they head over to Massive Dynamic to confront Nina Sharp, asking for help get Peter back. Leave it to Nina to tell everyone in private that Olivia had the ability to cross over safely. This reminds of how Glinda told Dorothy that she had the power to go home all along. Everybody is skeptical, especially Olivia. Walter suggested if there were more of Cortexiphan subjects like her, it would enhance her abiilty. Then Broyles surprised both of them by providing the ones that have been rehabilitated, including James Heath ("Olivia. In the Lab. With a Revolver.") and Nick Lane ("Bad Dreams").

They gather at the new Fringe Headquarters in the Federal Building, that coincidentally resembled the one over there. Broyles informed Olivia that it was authorized by Senate Intelligence as part of Peter's list of demands from "Night of Desirable Objects" prior to securing funding for Fringe Division. They are making the attempt to cross over at an opera house in the Bronx. All but James Heath would arrive alive.

The Secretary briefs the Fringe Team of the threat of invasion, putting them on alert.

Olivia, Walter and the others are cornered at their rendezvous point in Central Park that resulted in the death of Nick Lane and Sally Clark. Lincoln Lee is severely injured by Sally's pyrotechnic abilities.

Meanwhile, Peter having revived from Temporal Acclimation, is reunited with his birth mother. As they get reacquainted with each other, Peter studies the blueprints for the machine we saw in the drawing. We will see that this machine is assembled deep in the bowels of the Department of Defense.

Left on her own device, Olivia follow her counterpart home and perhaps feel a little envious of the life of her other self, with a loving boyfriend awaiting her return. It is where William Bell comes to her aid, with his signature greeting.

It is good to see you again.

She's A Lot Like Her:

You will see that she shoots first and asks questions later. She takes a shot at Walter in the same way the original Olivia dispatched the shapeshifter in "The Man From The Other Side". Fortunately, for Walter, Olivia was not aiming to kill. She may not have photographic memory, but she has great recall when she told The Secretary she read about Reiden Lake in the Z.F.T. in 1995.

Differences and Similarities Over There:

• Charlie Francis is still alive, but is infested by bugs.


• Nick Lane existed over there.


• Elizabeth Bishop is still alive.


• Coffee is rationed.


• People carry Show-Me identification.


• Currency have different people on them.


• The public mode of air travel are airships.


• Medicine is advanced, rapid healing, complete recovery is possible for serious injuries.

Unanswered Questions:

• There are still over a dozen Cortexiphan test subjects unaccounted for. Will we see more of these in Season 4?


• What would have happened if Walter had succeeded in preventing Peter from going to the other side?


• Lincoln Lee recognized Nick Lane after he shot him. How does he know him?


• Elizabeth reminds Peter that we all have to take responsibility for our own decisions. Is this the reason why perhaps future Peter feels guilty after using the machine that resulted in the destruction of his world?


• How did William Bell travel to the other side so many times?


• Why did they need to prepare three-year-old children to be guardians and protectors before Walter took Peter?


• Was Walter exactly the same as James Heath remembered?


• Crossing over at the opera house caused a detectable breach. Is any travel between universes is harmful to the fabric of reality?

If Peter Bishop Never Existed...
This is a Peter-centric episode. It has been alluded that Walter still crossed over using his gateway, weakening the very fabric of reality. If Peter never existed, what reason would Walter have for going over there in the first place?
The Cortexiphan test subjects probably would not cross universes to rescue someone that doesn't exist.

Summer of Fringe Rewatch: #221 "Northwest Passage"

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

Northwest Passage is another one of my favorite Fringe episodes. As a fan of The X-Files, I adored the Pacific forest feel throughout the episode. Plus, the characters of Mathis and Ferguson reminded me (intentionally) of role-reversed versions of Mulder and Scully. The guitar music from Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready was icing on the cake. But it was Peter’s role in this episode that stole my heart.

Peter from Boston

Poor Peter… His life was all a lie. He had opened his heart, trusted and loved, only to feel like he was betrayed.

So, he resorted back to his old modus operandi and ran as far from Boston as possible, stopping for pie (Twin Peaks homage) and possibly some long overdue physical attention along the way. Sadly, Peter’s choice of a potential one-night-stand ended up dead… possibly because of him.

Peter told the café waitress, Krista, “Technically, I’m from no place that you ever heard of.” Of course, he was talking about Over There, but maybe it really is more technical. Is Peter Bishop really from a place that has not yet been revealed?

There was something about Peter’s character that really showed how much he had changed since the first season. Peter, by all rights, could have just kept on driving by the police that were at the Hilltop Café. But Peter genuinely cares for people, so he became involved. Even when his world was turned upside down, he took the time to help others. Unfortunately, when he heard that part of the girl’s brain was missing, like in Grey Matters, he became convinced that he was at fault. That Newton was after him.

It seems a common thing for Peter to be placed into situations that make him feel guilty. He learned that many people died Over There as a result of what Walter did to save his life. He believed that his mother committed suicide because she knew the truth about him. His forced action to destroy the other universe in The Last Sam Weiss had to weigh terribly on him as time passed, and his adopted world was still dying. Olivia did not want to have children because of the state of the world. But Peter always tried to stay hopeful. Will the worlds still be falling apart without his “existence?”

Peter echoed Walter’s past words about how amazing the human brain is at recording every detail a person observes. Something else that he said to Mathis stuck out to me: “If you can imagine it, it’s possible.” A conversation between young Peter and his mother in Subject 13:

ELIZABETH BISHOP: A professor who was working here missed them, so he imagined a tulip that would grow in this climate, and he invented it. He used his brain and his imagination to turn the world into what he wanted it to be. How would you change the world if you could, Peter? What would you wish for?

YOUNG PETER: I wouldn't make stupid flowers grow. 

ELIZABETH BISHOP: (laughs) What would you do? 

YOUNG PETER: I'd go home.

Yikes, what if Peter does “go home” in Season Four? But where is home?

Man of Many Talents

Peter was able to use his skills of persuasion in order to purchase guns and ammunition.

Peter also calmed upset Mathis with a touch of his hand.

Peter has often been shown finding locations on maps using different data like he did to find the dairy farm killing location in this episode.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Mathis asked Peter when she thought that her partner was taken to get information about Peter:

“What is it that makes you so special?”

Peter sought answers one again in this episode. He had previously told Walter in August about his frustration in seeking answers. In The Arrival, Peter told Olivia that he wasn’t going anywhere until he could explain what was going on. But the answer that he received in this episode, only led to more questions. Walternate’s appearance in his hotel room shocked Peter into a state of awe and fear.

Peter showed great empathy with Mathis, upset and feeling powerless over her missing partner:

“What if he's alive? What if he's out there somewhere, thinking I am doing everything in my power, including calling the F.B.I. to save him?”

Poor Peter had to be feeling just as helpless when he found out about being deceived by the other Olivia in Entrada.

When they went to look for the missing partner, Peter walked across a bridge, while in deep thought. Bridges are somewhat a common background in the series.

• In The Same Old Story, an image of bridge was used to find a kidnapped victim.
• 
  

• In The Man From the Other Side, a bridge was used to bring Walternate Over Here, and helped Peter to deduce that he was not from here.

• In Over There, Nick Lane and Sally Clark died on a bridge, after Clark had sent a fireball into Lincoln Lee.

• In The Day We Died, Peter built a bridge between the two universes.

Many Fringe fans picked up Mark Helprin’s Winter's Tale to read after young Olivia was shown reading it in Subject 13. It soon became apparent that the some elements in the show were inspired by the book. Fringe producer Akiva Goldman is even making a film adaptation of the book. One of the characters is a mechanic named Peter Lake. Bridges play a significant role in the book.

Mathis told Peter that she wondered if he was not completely off his rocker. Having his sanity questioned must have been unnerving for Peter. Walter faced such accusations all the time, and Peter would completely agree. Though Peter asked Mathis why she’d listen to an insane man. Peter said she was desperate. Of course, he had seen that level of desperation before - in Olivia. For the same reason as Mathis.

“Ferguson is more than just your partner, isn’t he?”

This in a way also mirrors what Nina Sharp told Olivia about recognizing the look in her eyes, letting Olivia know that Nina knew about her feelings for Peter.

The desperation would cause Olivia crossing universes to save Peter. Peter’s love for her caused him to jump into her mind and to go back and make a different choice in the machine in order to save her life.

You Can’t Get There from Here.

This was of course referring to Peter’s home universe of origin, but maybe the real meaning is a bit deeper. Peter wanted to find his place - to find out who he really was.

Peter was very sharp and on edge. He had suspicions that Mathis might have been replaced by a shape shifter when he saw blood on her wrist, and thoroughly questioned her at gunpoint. In Entrada, he asked Fauxlivia’s hostage a question that showed she was really a shape-shifter.

Watching Mathis walk to the second unknown body, thinking that it could be her partner was heartbreaking. I’d hate to imagine Peter’s reaction to seeing Olivia’s body in The Day We Died.
.

Walter Falls Apart


“Do you know what you are putting in our bodies? Death! Delicious strawberry flavored death!”


Walter was broken without Peter. After all, it was Peter that always helped him. His home was wrecked and he could barely function. Is this a glimpse at Walter in season four? Will Astrid and Olivia be as caring or indifferent to “crazy” Walter?

Walter spoke to Astrid while they cleaned the Bishop home. While listening to Violet Sedan Chair’s She’s Doing Fine, he said:

Thank you, Astrid. You're a Federal Agent. I doubt, during your years of training, that you had dreams of babysitting a helpless old man.

In The Day We Died, Walter asked about Astrid when he was allowed to set up the lab to help Fringe Division’s investigation.

Walter: Will Astrid be here?

Peter: No. Astrid's a Fringe Agent now. We need her out in the field. 

Walter: Oh. I suppose since she's no longer caring for me, she's able to (realizes his hands are chained) -- spread her wings.

What will become of Astrid in the fourth season since Peter has gone missing?

Walter set up a spectrograph to be attuned to Peter’s energy signature as a way to find him. Could this possibly be employed to find Peter in season four?

Find the Crack

“In the darkness, there's always a crack. It's how the light gets in.”

There are a lot of scenes that I love in Fringe, and it’s hard to rank them. I always enjoy the scene where Mathis talks to Peter and tells him, “I wish that there was something that I could do for you.” These two are both people that have deep hurt in their individual journeys. Peter was “looking for meaning in things that have no meaning.” Particularly in the reason why the secret was kept from him. Peter was looking for his place, and Mathis was right, he’d find it. And have it all fall apart in front of him.

Unanswered Questions

What was the deal with the phone calls that Peter received in the hotel?

Did Peter really see Newton at the Hilltop Café and in the woods?

Was Peter attuned to a specific frequency or energy that only he could hear because he was from the other side?

What happened to the pen that Mathis gave Peter?

If Peter was Removed from the Equation

Krista might have escaped being kidnapped and killed since she wouldn’t have taken extra time to burn a CD for Peter.

Deputy Ferguson would have probably been killed, leaving behind a devastated Sheriff Mathis.

Fringe - All New Season 4 Promo

Here's a new promo of Fringe, aired today. Enjoy.

Fringe - First Season 4 Promo *UPDATE*

Here's a better quality promo. Enjoy.

Fox has just released the first season 4 promo for Fringe. Am going to try to recorded with better quality because there's a glimps of Peter from season 1 at 0:09 that doesn't appear on this video.

Fringe Summer Rewatch: #220 "Brown Betty"

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.

(Oops! Somehow episodes 219 and 220 got out of order in our queue. Sorry about that.)

This Rewatch brought to you by fringeobsessed & SamSpade.

The Setup

Olivia is asked to watch her niece, Ella while Rachel is in Chicago. Olivia brings Ella to the lab for Astrid to look after her while she goes looking for Peter Bishop. At the lab, Walter has already smoked something which he calls “Brown Betty” and decides (with Astrid and Ella’s instance) to tell Ella a story with a mixture of a musical. It begins with a Detective Dunham that is closing her doors only to get one last case in, from Rachel. Rachel tells Detective Dunham that her fiance, Peter Bishop, has gone missing and she’s in love with him. Detective Dunham tells her, "You know, most times when someone comes in here worried that their sweetheart's gone missing, or worse...by the time they find out what I usually find out, they wind up wishing he really were dead." Rahcel insists that Peter is not like that and Detective Dunham accepts the case.

I remember the first time this episode aired. Many fans were complaining on the fringetelevision.com live chat right afterwards that 'Brown Betty' was weird, bad, a WTF episode. But you know, my mouth was still hanging open afterwards in awe. 'Brown Betty' is a multi-faceted gem. Even after that initial viewing I sensed there was a TON of foreshadowing of future episodes. If you haven't rewatched 'Brown Betty' since it first aired I encourage you to get out your DVD's or find it on your TIVO and watch it again post-Season 3. The foreshadowing will stick out like a sore thumb and some things will make you smile. Take a look at our "Foreshadowing" section further down in this post.

New Tech Juxtapositioned Next To Old Tech

One of the things that's fun about this episode is the coexistence of old and new tech that is so trademark of Fringe. I can't remember who commented on it in an older interview, but I'm pretty sure it was one of the executive producers saying how he loved it too. There's the old
rotary phones complete with their tinny rings on Nina and Astrid's desks, next to their state-of-the-art computers! And Detective Dunham has a cell phone? IN the 1940's? And Nina was talking to what looked like William Bell's head on a screen that looked alot like Walter's that he showed the Red Verse to government heads in the 1980's. Not as much fun a Donlad the Observer hitman's wireless, portable dot matrix printer, but close.

One Of The Must-See Episodes Of Season 2

There is a website right now that has listed the 5 must see episodes to catch-up new Fringe viewers. If I had to list must-see Season 2 episodes, 'Brown Betty' would be the third, after 'Momentum Deferred,' and 'Peter.' Why? There's so much information in 'Brown Betty,' it almost makes your head hurt.

Colors
I promised I'd report any significant colors in the episodes as we go along in our scheduled rewatch. All I could find in this one are 2 examples:1)Walter's labelmaker had a blue and a red button, and 2)poor Gene the cow in the fictional Harvard lab has red, blue, and yellow spots all
over her fur. On first viewing it made me think of the mat that comes with the game Twister, but seeing this Gene post-Season 3 reminds me of all the red/blue/yellow references that were thrown at us in Season 3.

The Watchers
If you haven't already read Count Screwloose's recent piece in this blog titled "The Sign Of The Four, Why You Can't See Peter Bishop, And The Last Great Storm Revealed," click here, you should. In it he talks about comic book characters called "The Watchers" who are "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 “Brown Betty” these “Watchers” are very much engaged in battle with Peter and Olivia, and it's an interesting change from their usual passivity.

The Singing
If you recall, “Brown Betty” originally aired during a FOX network theme week. All the weekly shows had singing in them that week in homage to FOX's GLEE, and “Brown Betty” was no exception.

Lance Reddick did a lovely job on the first few lines of Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys by Traffic, with piano accompaniment to boot. Jasika Nicole was outstanding with her piece to impress Nurse Mikita(they might as well have changed the namepin to Nurse Wrachet, as she looked identical to that character from “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.”) And Anna Torv was very touching singing Stevie Wonder's For Once In My Life to a dying Peter Bishop.

And let's not forget that surprising bit of harmony from Dr. Walter Bishop's 'Singing Corpses,' that felt straight out of a Monty Python episode. (Now if that is foreshadowing of Season 4, that is spooky!)

Walter's Book Of Creations
In this episode Walter Bishop tells us he is responsible for making all things wonderful in the world.

Besides the hug, rainbows, teddy bears, matching pajamas, and the beacon from episode 104, 'The Arrival,' there is a drawing of what looks like a white horse. If you've been reading the book young Olivia is reading in “Subject 13,” Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, you might be wondering as I am if that horse is Peter's Lake's horse, Athansor.

Unanswered Questions That Arise In 'Brown Betty”

Walter says “ Oh no, no, no. I couldn’t possibly look after anyone else. I’m well into Phase One.” What is Phase One? How many phases are there?(The only other reference to phrases is in '6955 mHz' when FauxLiv types that they have found all the parts of the machine, and she's told to start Phase 2.)

The observers intervene a lot in the story that Walter tells Ella. He refers to them as “The Watchers.” Why do they intervene so much in the story? Is it because it’s from Walters POV and they saved him and Peter and he’s had more contact with them? “Don’t stick your heart out where it doesn’t belong,” Mr. Gemini tells Detective Dunham. Is this foreshadowing for Season four?

Why dows Bell refer to Peter as “the boy?” (Remember the Observers have called Peter “The Boy' a few times as well as Walter in “The Transformation.”)

A hundred and forty-seven pins represent the number of children hurt by Walter Bishop. Where did they come up with that number? Does that include just the Cortexiphan subjects from both trials? And which Walter Bishop are we talking about? Depending on the timeline here we could be talking about Walternate Bishop, because we have no idea how many people he's experimented on with the amber he made or the cortexiphan Brandonate found in our Olivia's brain.

In the story, Peter believes The Watchers work for Nina Sharp. Is this because Walter believes the same thing? In the episode Peter, we see that Nina and Carla leave Reiden Lake after Nina’s arm gets messed up in the portal. Walter and Peter slip through the ice and September saves them. September then tells Walter that Nina is getting her arm fixed and that the boy is important, he must live. In Walter’s mind, does he think that Nina sent the Observers there to look after him and Peter coming through the portal?


If fictional Peter Bishop stole Walter Bishop's heart how come his thumbprint opened the high tech case?

Examples Of Foreshadowing In “Brown Betty”

Fictional Rachel comes to Detective Dunham and tells her, “My boyfriend has gone missing” which is foresahdowing of Peter disappearing at the end of episode 322.

Walter tells Ella “As with all good stories, things aren't always what they seem,” which pretty sums up the entire Fringe series and reminds us of the issue of perception in episode 212, 'Johari Window.'

Walter tells Ella, “She took this case to see if true love really existed.” Is this foreshadowing of Season 4?

In fictional Rachel's apartment there is a poster that says “The Glass Man.” Is this foreshadowing of Peter?

When Walter describes that fictional Rachel has been killed, Ella tells him, “She can't die. She's in love. True love.” I believe this is foreshadowing of Olivia dying in the future in episode 322, 'The Day We Died.'

In this episode fictional Rachel is murdered and discovered to have a different identity. Is this foreshadowing of Olivia's sister Rachel?

There is a Dunham/Broyles confrontation in this episode. Will this happen in Season 4?

Olivia in the floating casket is similar to Olivia’s death scene and her in the floating casket in episode 322, 'The Day We Died.'

Walter says in the story to Ella, “Kind of. Slightly less handsome than your Uncle Walter."
Is this foreshadowing of his alternate self, ie. Walternate?


Astrid says to Olivia, "You're always looking for something that doesn't even exist."
Could this be foreshadowing of Peter no longer existing in Season 4? "

William Bell in the screen says, "By utilizing the heart's power we'll be able to create a stable door between universes.” In 'The Day We Died', episode 322, we see the Bridge that Peter created.

The singing corpses sing the 1970's hit “The Candy Man.” We meet, on the other side, the killer known as The Candy Man in 'The Abducted,' episode 307.

The glass heart in the story is 'a power source.' This is foreshadowing of Walternate mentioning a power source as part of the Wave Sink device AKA the machine that is discussed in 'Reciprocity.' We know from Season 3 that Peter combined with the machine is also a power source.

Fictional Astrid speaks about William Bell, “….here is the interesting part. In the past few years, no one has seen him. No press conferences, no public appearances. It's like he just disappeared off the face of the Earth.” Then Detective Dunham replies with, “Okay, so what's that got to do with Peter Bishop?” and Fictional Astrid responds, “I don't know. But that's weird, right?” Again another clue about Peter vanishing!

Peter talks about how Fictional Walter steals children’s dreams and replaces them with nightmares. We see something similar in episode 205, ' Dream Logic' (but with adults, not children).

Fictional Peter tells Olivia, “It must be nice to know who you are, to know your place in the world. I thought I knew who I was but I was wrong.” I think that's all foreshadowing of Season 4.

Ella wants a happy ending to the story and retells it her own way to Walter. We see in episode 322, ' The Day We Died,' Ella saying there are no happy endings anymore. Also, young Ella tells Olivia, “His ending was bad, but I fixed it for him.” If Ella Dunham is a First Person, will she have any influence on how this series ends?

Which Walter Bishop?
When I started thinking about what to write here a particular bit of dialogue bothered me. Dr. Walter Bishop is describing how the glass heart came to be to Detective Dunham. He says, “I had a bad heart, so I invented the glass heart.” As far as we know our Walter has no history of a bad heart, unless you mean his personality before Belly removed parts of his brain. Walternate may not have had a bad heart before our Walter snatched his Peter away. It has often been said that the 2 Walters are 2 sides of the same coin. So truly, which Walter Bishop is the one that had a bad heart and has a lot of good left in them? At the moment I'm leaning toward our Walter, because he also told Olivia he and Peter had the same last name but he wasn't his son.

Other Interesting Stuff
There was one mystery she couldn't solve, how to men a broken heart, as Olivia dumps a picture of her real life ex into a box. That's sad. Nice of Anna to be a good sport about that.

Fictional Olivia (to fictional Peter), “I take it you don't live here.”
Peter to Olivia: “No, but nobody else does either.” Hmm. Do they meet (again) in that yellow universe?

The third use of Charlie Francis's line to Olivia, “You're gonna be fine.” The first was when Liv told Peter that story in episode 205, 'Dream Logic.' The second was when she jumbled the phrase at Sam Weiss's request at the end of that episode.

Walter's drawing of the Beacon reminds us of the same item in episode 104, 'The Arrival.' Above it in the book it says Iridium capsule which we learn more about in episode 322.

“It's too late, Walter. There are things you can't undo.” Pretty much what Walter told Peter when Peter told him to go back in time and not send the machine back, and Walter said it had been done and he couldn't undo it.

Fictional Olivia makes an awfully good shot and hits one of the Watchers. Is Olympic sharpshooter, FauxLivia-in-Liv's-head responsible for that?

“You ever play that game Operation?” The third reference to the popular Milton-Bradley game.
The first was in 212 “Johira Window,” then earlier in “Brown Betty” when Ella complained that Walter was killing the guy trying to take out his heart.

Ella's ending ends with “And together they made good and lived happily ever after."
Will the Fringe series have a happy ending?

If Peter Bishop Never Existed
If Walter told Ella a story, it would in fact be different since this one is about Peter. Who would Rachel have said was her boyfriend and had gone missing? Technically though, there should be no story since Olivia is out looking for Peter instead of spending the day with her niece, Ella.

Who would have rescued Olivia from the floating casket in the story? Simply put, this is another episode where without Peter's intervention it is quite likely she would have died.

Walter probably still would have smoked his Brown Betty marijuana hybrid, but not to get his mind off his missing 'son.'

During the telling of his tale, Walter stops and tells young Ella, “I'm not sure you want me to go on.” Ella replies,”Does it have to do with Peter?” to which Walter answers, “It just might.” If there was no Peter, there may not have been any wonderful tale of the adventures of Detective Dunham.