Fringe - Some 'Pattern' Thoughts
22 Oct 2010
Cancelled Shows SpoilerTV ArticleBefore you delve into this, bear in mind it is me thinking out loud on a page, to see what people think about something I found intriguing.
We are now four episodes into Fringe's third season, and it's about time we started looking forward at what is to come for the season ahead. After all, four episodes into season two, we were given our real sign into where we where headed (literally), as Newton was un-decapitated, William Bell showed up to fill in some of the blanks about the alternate universe and Charlie Francis' imposter was exposed and killed in the corker of an episode that was 'Momentum Deferred.'
It felt kind of poetic that precisely one season after he was introduced, Sebastian Roche's villain, Newton was killed off, despite an outcry in my head that I didn't feel we had had the full potential of, in my opinion, the shows best villain. How eerie was his warning to Alt-Olivia, that she will fail.
[You're very good]at continuing to try to convince yourself that you don't care. But you do care, don't you? Every night when your head hits the pillow, in the last moments before you go to sleep, your emotions betray you, and you question your ability to pull this off. Words like, integrity, self-respect - they haunt you. They form a line that you're unwilling to cross and that will lead to your undoing. But I suppose that's not my problem anymore.
One nice thing I didn't realise, was Senator Van Horn was first introduced way back in the season two episode 'Earthling,' some nice continuity for you continuity nuts that largely went unnoticed to most people I'm sure.
Do we know much about the alternate universe than we did before the season started. Not really, we know they can take trips to the moon, they watch dogs rather than cats, and that they sent Alt-Olivia over to our side to firstly find 'The Box,' and for some other, as yet unknown mission, a mission that even stout Alt-server all his life Newton believe she will fail in. The Shape-Shifters have no faith in her, and their mission seems very different to the principal goal that Walternate and Alt-Olivia have. They seem to just lie in wait, Ray Duffy marrying and living a human life before Newton came calling. It's all fascinating stuff, but the clever part about the four stunning episodes we have had so far, is we know very little else about what the hell is going on, so crafted is the story telling, we believe we have learnt something but in fact are no closer to understanding what Fringe is all about.
It's a similar tactic that LOST employed, it was only in the final season that the true meaning for what LOST was about was established.
We have been very Observer-lite so far this season, that is assuming that our friend Milo Stanfield in 'The Plateau' was only deceptively appearing very Observer-esque, his calculating people's next words and understanding on what was to come in the world though, being surely a little set up for when we get our Observer explanation. Maybe I'm looking into this too much but the past two seasons have followed very similar structures perhaps so far.
I implore you not to forget one of the best endings to an episode in season two, when Broyles had Raymond Gordon in an interrogation room in episode three of season two, 'Fracture'.
They told you I was crazy, didn't they? The Pentagon. They said I'd had a psychiatric break. I told them what I'm telling you. That they are here. Collecting data. Making observations. That's what's in the briefcase. They've been planning for war. And they've been passing the information via courier right under our noses.
An episode we initially believed had nothing to do with the grand mythology fell under our noses for 55 minutes, only when Gordon explains his grand plan do we really care about the episode.
Then the end of this season's third episode, 'The Plateau, we see a man in a room very similar to an interrogation room, our Olivia talking to Milo's sister:
OLIVIA: The drugs have been in his system too long, so the doctors weren't able to reverse the affects. According to the doctors, the patterns that he sees are too complex to put into words. His thoughts now can only be interpreted by a machine.
MADELINE STANFIELD: So... so the machine is talking to him?
OLIVIA: Madeline, your brother... he no longer thinks in terms that you or I would be able to comprehend. I'm sorry.
MILO STANFIELD: Is equal value of six. Six is the solution. What is a solution? Derives a gradient of 'Y'. Evaluate a 'Y4' and proceed. Isolate discontinuities and recalibrate. There's a forty-two percent chance that the King will take the Queen.
I know it's a long shot, but in a series so involved in patterns and science, I wouldn't put it past the writers to follow a similar structure, much like one season after we see Newton reborn, we see him decease, one season after we see the Mercury for the first time, we are given another dose, one season after we see Bell substantially for the first time, we see Walter in charge of Bell's legacy for the first time.
Don't forget how Olivia centric 'A New Day in a New Town' was, it was all about finding out if our Olivia would survive. Sound familiar. :P
Whether I'm barking up the wrong tree or not, most of the fun of a show like this is throwing out some crazy theories, like we did with LOST, most wrong but still incredibly fun at the time. So please, throw at me some theories and ideas that I can write about and get people speculating.
I figured this unusual take was a good way to get people having some friendly discussions.
So as I wait for episode five, in terms of predicting what could be next to come, I probably would be focusing on this:
YOUNG PETER: Dad, what's wrong? (screams)
Follow the Pattern.
Adam
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:)
ReplyDeleteJust making sure.
This was a great read, and it almost supplemented my lack of Fringe for the week. Thanks for this insightful post.
I meant as in he hasn't really shown up for anything of any significance yet :P
ReplyDeleteHe does pop up in all the episodes briefly.
That was brilliant. I loved the continuity checks you threw in there. BTW, when you said "Observer-lite" did you mean an upfront meeting with the Observer or just that an observer is not present in any of the episodes? (Cause the latter option isn't true lol I've seen one in 3 of the 4 episodes so far, and he's supposedly in all episodes at some point...)
ReplyDeleteActually, it really could come from Charlie--he is still a friend of Olivia, and he seems to suspect that she really is Our Olivia. Maybe he'll have some sort of sympathy for her?
ReplyDeleteOh you guys are on fire with the matching of season 1 and season 2 episodes. I seriously dont think it can be a coincidence. Given the amount of thought the writers put into every episode there has to be something to this theory. I think you are 'bang on' with the comment about episode 3.05 possibly heading down the track of reiterating "you're gonna be fine." It may not come from Scarlie though....it may come from Peter seeing as he is now "talking" to Olivia at opportune moments.
ReplyDeleteOne thing i do now for sure is that Fringe is the most AWESOME show on tv...ever!
Tell me about it.
ReplyDeleteStupid Baseball taking up Fringe time :P
I like what you pointed out here. Here are a couple more I thought of:
ReplyDeleteWe first saw William Bell in the Season 1 finale. We saw William Bell for (possibly) the last time in the Season 2 finale.
Olivia first learned about her enhanced abilities due to the Cortexiphan Trials in Season 1 episode 14. In Season 2 episode 14, Olivia went back to Jacksonville and was again treated with Cortexiphan in order to reawaken her abilities.
It could all be just a coincidence in timing, but it's still neat to consider.
As for episode 5, I agree that that scene in Dream Logic with young Peter was powerful and significant... but since episode 5 this season is going to be an over there episode, I would suggest we focus more on a part of Dream Logic that had more to do with Olivia.
The secondary story of that whole episode was all about Olivia coming to terms with Charlie's death. So I would suggest that a more appropriate thing to focus on going into this next new episode would be "You're gonna be fine." That was Charlie's way of reassuring Olivia that things would work out. Even after his death that message was somehow conveyed to her. And I think that message applies to Olivia's current situation where she's trapped over there. Perhaps we'll see her receive a similar message of encouragement and comfort?
Darthlocke: Really nice linking Adam! --The only theories I keep coming up with is that there has to be an third universe and I speculate it is a future universe that has gone back in time to try and change something in the current universes we are viewing. For all we know, one of the current universes could eventually be creating the other, trying to wipe the other timeline out???!! ---I also think that each episode has been building on 'the evolution of the observers' and then also this taunting of the origin and specific mechanics of 'the weapon'.
ReplyDeleteI agree that shapeshifters have proven to have to be humanized and I for see it as a problem for the alternate universe which may be why the Observers will eventually be created as it is much harder for them to "defect" from their agenda.
"I also think that each episode has been building on 'the evolution of the observers' ... shapeshifters have proven to have to be humanized ... which may be why the Observers will eventually be created as it is much harder for them to "defect" from their agenda." Copied From: http://www.spoilertv.com/2010/10/fringe-some-pattern-thoughts.html#ixzz13LUQMU3P
ReplyDeleteGood point, Facebook. The alt universe scientists evidently worked to create emotion-free calculating mega minds like Milo in "The Plateau". Maybe they already know the shape shifters have become too fond of the other side? Newton never had that problem since he couldn't get attached to any of his neighbors in the frozen head farm. Walternate is the only human he ever showed any fondness toward. Consider August from Ep. 2.08, however. Was he evolving further or regressing when he developed the emotional connection to Christine? Will we see another Observer-centric episode soon? I can't wait!
You may be right, Wilson.It may indeed be Charlie. The preview for 3.05 has Peter giving Olivia a message but Charlie may also give her one to. I have just spent the day re-watching season 1 episodes 3,4 and 5 (for the 20th time) and i can now see so many parallels with season 3 that it is freakin me out. In episode 1.05 Olivia says to John "you're not real" Olivia has and continues to say this to Peter at the moment. In the early eps of season 1 Olivia sees John in her head....season 3 she sees Peter. Towards the end of 1.05- "Power Hungry" - Joseph Megar (probably not the correct spelling) says to Olivia "I want to go home"...he repeats that several times. Olivia is standing over him saying "im afraid you cant do that" Parallels, parallels, parallels. This is why Fringe is so awesome! These writers are BRILLIANT!!!
ReplyDelete