1.04 'The Arrival' Clues + Easteregg Round-Up | FRINGE BLOGGERS - Blog Fansite for FOX Show FRINGE from JJ. ABRAMS

1.04 ‘The Arrival’ Clues + Easteregg Round-Up

By FringeBlogger • October 6, 2008

Here’s our round-up of the clues and eastereggs from episode 1.04 “The Arrival”.

UNLOCK YOUR HIDDEN..

In the opening scene there is a poster plastered on a signpost (A, B). Partially (and intentionally) obscured by the location titles the poster says: “UNLOCK YOUR HIDDEN POTENTIAL”, followed by what appears to be “BETTER HEADING” (certainly the letters HEA can be seen) and a phone number with some of the digits hidden from view. Each episode so far has contained subtle clues for the next episode, this would appear to be the clue for episode 5, which airs on October 14.

THE ‘OTHER’ PATTERN

In the pilot episode we saw a colored pattern (green, green, green, red) on the kayak in Olivia’s dream state (C). This same pattern was seen in two different places in The Arrival - first it was on the (bottom left)interface of The Observer’s binoculars (A) and again on the hat of John Mosely AKA ‘Rouge’ (B). These occurrences seem to link Olivia (or her uncle) to the company/peoples that both The Observer and Rouge represent. Since The Observer and Rouge appear to be on opposing sides, it’s been speculated that they are also from opposing ‘times’. The Zeno kayak had a heavy time-travel connotation, so perhaps The Observer and Rouge are from different time-lines? The Observer’s items (gun, hat etc) appear to be from the early 1900’s, yet in other ways he seems very futuristic (the effect of his gun and his mannerisms being an example of this. Whilst Rouge is apparently from our time (according to his crime report), yet his beam gun and thought-extractor has a futuristic effect.

MYSERIOUS WRITINGS

The Observer’s writings have been speculated to be Korean, Hebrew and Sanskrit by fans and waitresses alike, but in actual fact they appear to be a made-up language for the purpose of the show. It’s been noted on Fringe-Forum.com that the symbols are not repeated throughout the text.

We get two different views of the writings, one from The Observers point of view (A) and the other from the waitresses point of view (B). The text appears different in each point of view, this is either a continuity error, or it might carry hidden meaning.

MASSIVE HIGH

Massive Dynamic may have been absent from the episode, but in actual fact they weren’t. A Massive Dynamic sign can be seen on the crane at the construction site where the cylinder arrived from. This is another example in a long line of examples of Massive Dynamic owning everything - “What do we do?..what don’t we do”. It could also be speculated that Massive Dynamic were also expecting the cylinder to arrive and arranged for the area to be excavated, at the expense of a few construction worker lives.

BLU(E) RAY

Throughout the series we’ve noticed the fleeting appearance of a blue light - it was very prominent in The Arrival. It was seen when The Observer announced the arrival of the cylinder, during the Rouge-attack sequence and several other scenes.

A blue light can also be seen on the cylinder as the team are inspecting it.

The very first occurrences of this blue light were seen in the opening title credits of the pilot when the words “OBSERVERS ARE HERE” briefly appears, and when Olivia’s uncles kayak appears during her ‘dream state’ with John Scott.

The main constant in all of these ‘blue light’ appearances seems to be The Observer - or in the case of the title credits, the reference to ‘observers are here’ - and Olivia. We detect a time-travel theme, particularly if the ZENO kayak is representative of Massive Dynamic’s PEARL system. More on the blue light at Fringe-Forum.com

CYNICS TO BELIEVERS

The name S.E. Kramer can be seen on the warehouse where the cylinder was initially being kept. This is a shout-out to Popular Mechanics writer and Fringe cynic S.E. Kramer, who attempted to debunk the science portrayed in the second episode. The Fringe creators have a sweet sense of humor.

WHERE’S WALDO?

The various photos of The Observer - It took Broyles team 1 year to spot him, yet Olivia did it in only 3 weeks. Further evidence of her connection to ‘The Pattern’? It’s worth speculating whether or not these sightings are of the same ‘Observer’, or many - after all, “Observers (plural) Are Here”

GRAVE CONNECTIONS

Robert Bishop, August 21, 1912 - December 11, 1944. It’s difficult to know who Robert was, but Grandfather of Peter, father of Walter could be a good bet. Rouge makes an interesting comment to Peter before he begin digging - “It’s a shame you never got to meet him”. Does this mean that Rouge, however, DID meet him - further evidence that Rouge is from a different time?.

The other gravesstones are diffiuclt to make-out, but they appear to be: S. Miloz Nski, 1868-1917 - H. Ilozynski 1879-1995 - S.U. Miloz Nski 1805-1969. We’re not 100% sure if we’ve got these dates correct, as it would mean that some of these people lived very very very long lives! Casey Peretti, 1902-1990 (a possible shout-out to the TV show As The World Turns). The middle-right gravestone is extremely difficult to read, but we’ve included it for reference (for a clearer image, see here).

OLD BLUE..GREEN..SILVER EYES

In episode 2 - The Same Old Story, Walter says that most male new borns have blue eyes, in this screen-capture of Peter from The Arrival, he appears to have green eyes (A). Is this down to the lighting or did they change the color of his eyes in post production, and if so, why..

In Peter and Walter’s final scene of The Arrival, Walter’s eyes develop a strange silver glint (B) (near the end of the scene). Again, is this the lighting playing tricks, or did they add this in post production, and to what ends? It worth noting that so far throughout the series, there has been A LOT of hints and allusions to the eyes, so these occurrences must surely mean something?

FRINGE ITEMS

Some of the items belonging to The Observer and Rouge: The Observers binoculars, modern interface yet dated external aesthetics (A). The cylinder - described by Walter as having perfect dimensions (B). The Observers dated time-piece (C), which is actually a real-life Majestron brand (D) pocket watch. Rouge’s nose-plugs of persuasion (E, F) which were used to read Peter’s (and subsequently, Walter’s) thoughts - a very crude instrument, yet once again it’s futuristic in it’s effect. Rouge’s beam-blast gun (G) (futuristic in appearance and effect) and The Observer’s gun (E) (traditional in appearance yet futuristic in effect).

Thanks to that source of all things Fringe, Fringe-Forum.com, for several of the screencaps/clues used in this post.