I love mysteries, there’s nothing like a good detective story, except maybe a JJ. Abrams production. Which is why I was interested to see how many of my previously posted “Top 12 Fringe Mysteries” would be answered by the end of the first season. For a more detailed recap on which mysteries I thought were the most pressing back in February 2009 (after the “Ability” episode), travel here.
Here’s a look at the resolution status of those 12 mysteries:
- The Blue Lights. To my mind these were pretty much answered when they appeared as Olivia ‘travelled’ to an alternate universe in the elevator scene of There’s More Than One Of Everything. I realise that not everyone will agree, but in my opinion the blue lights denote inter-reality travel (and other forms of travel, such as teleportation). ANSWERED
- Massive Dynamic: Good or Bad. This question has yet to be answered, although we’ve been given a lot more information in their role. One reveal is that (despite what Nina says) they have links with ZFT, although they are not associated with Jones’ rebel alliance. UNANSWERED
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With one episode to go of Fringe’s first season, I decided to produce a highly speculative line-up of the sides at play and the players on each side. In usual play-on-words style, I’m calling it the A to ZFT of the Fringe Inter-Reality War (although don’t expect it to be in alphabetical order, that’s not how we roll in the alterverse). Please note that the following is purely speculative, spoiler-free and in the name of fun guess-work (with a bit of reasoning thrown in):
FRINGE DIVISION
Phillip Broyles – Has fairly close ties with Nina Sharp and Massive Dynamic but I don’t believe he is on the books of ZFT. The main question mark that I have over Broyles is that he sent Olivia to the storage facility in the Pilot. The same facility where her lover and partner John Scott effectively met his end. It was this that really kick-started Olivia’s involvement in the Pattern (at least from our perspective). A ‘dying’ John Scott even made a point of suggesting that Broyles had an ulterior motive for sending her to Steig’s den. Maybe Broyles just has faith in Olivia and her ability to find solutions, or maybe he’s in deeper than we think — clearly he knows more than he lets on, as his frequent rendezvous (see booty call) with Nina indicate. For now though, I’ll say that he’s Fringe Division and has Olivia’s back.
Agent Olivia Dunham – A Cortexiphan kid, perhaps one of the very best. Her whole life has unknowingly been influenced by those childhood trials. Her skills of perception and foresight may actually be the result of these trials and everything she thought was her own might be something that someone did to her. But not just anyone — William Bell and Walter Bishop. I get the sense that she is a commodity for several factions – not just MD, ZFT or Fringe Division..but also David Jones and even the Observers. For now she just wants to save people and discover the truth about her origins. In later seasons I suspect her perspective might shift..and with it, the battle.
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Here’s the FringeBloggers clues and eastereggs for 1.19 “The Road Not Taken“.
What Don’t We Do?
Massive Dynamic visual reference. Not hard to spot, although kind of ironic seeing as Susan Pratt was to spend her last moments on a bus covered in a Massive Dynamic ad.
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Here is my FringeBloggers review for episode 1.18 “Midnight”.
The Good
- Loved the fallen scientists discussion about redemption and the soul! That’s right up my alley, I love when they go to those places, the show really thrives when it takes an introspective look at science and faith, and an individuals role in the construct we call the
world multiverse.
- Broyles & Dunham. Did I ever say how much I LOVE these two? Well, I love em’ to pieces! They didn’t have many scenes together in this episode but what they did have was positive – character development, warmth, trust and direction. They’ve come so far since the Pilot — Broyles has ditched that loser Harris in favor of his No. 1 agent who has earned his trust. While Olivia has warmed up to her boss and allowed him to see her light and shade. They are a fantastic pair in my book, and I can’t wait for more “B-Olivia” moments. Also, I can’t forget to give credit where’s it’s due — the writers began to address the issue of Broyles lacking back-story by letting us know he’s divorced with kids..and that he spends his nights off socialising at trendy joints. Wow Broyles, you may very well have more swagger than I thought! Great to see him out of that stiff suit for a change. Shame about his divorce, of course, but it was a nice way to further bridge his story with Olivia’s home life.
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One of my favourite things about Bad Robot shows are the mysteries, the aspects that provide extras layers and greater depth to the stories that we see play out. With 14 episodes of Fringe’s first season already observed, and a hiatus to deal with, I thought I’d compile my ‘top 12′ (top 10′s are so yesterday) Fringe mysteries so far:
1. The Blue Lights. I’ve long been of the opinion that the blue lights are ‘indicators’ of observation from unseen worlds; signs of other dimensions (realities) existing in the world of the show. The “Ability” nearly, ever so nearly, confirmed that theory. Whilst the existence of other worlds has been confirmed, I’d still like for my blue light theory to be given similar treatment. To my mind it makes sense – they’re certainly not just “styling” as has been claimed, they are there for a reason. Are the they the glints from otherworldly telescopes? Do they represent the visual ‘change’ in an experiment (The Pattern) caused by that observation? Or, are the blue lights the signs of intrusion between worlds..like a higher dimensional object pushing through into our 3 dimensional world? After all, what would a higher dimensional object look like to our limited perspective?
2. Are Massive Dynamic the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly? Ah, the ‘big bad’ – even their name suggests as much. But are Massive Dynamic actually the Prometheus figures in all of this, self appointed guardian angels of mankind? Or are they the tricksters – a group of hellions run by the “devil” himself? Story-arc entities usually unravel into many shades of gray, as Lost fans have discovered with “The Others” and the “Dharma Initiative”. That said, Massive Dynamic’s history with the Cortexiphan kids, and William Bell’s relationship with Walter has certainly shaped the future of our central characters. But is that for altruistic reasons or for self interested reasons?
We may not get the definitive answer to this question until the final season of the series, so perhaps a more immediate question would be whether Massive Dynamic’s COO Nina Sharp is on the same page as it’s owner, William Bell. Or, perhaps they’re more closely aligned than we could possibly imagine..
3. Peter’s Origins? I’m of the opinion that Peter may be a Cortexiphan Kid, but he could also be a by-product of a fathers anguish at not producing the ‘perfect son’. We know that Walter used to hook Peter up to car batteries as a kid (a fact not lost me, and as much as I love Walter, that is some sick parenting right there). But we also know that he was prepared to break the laws of time and space to ‘reach back’ and find a cure for Peter’s life threatening illness. Who knows, maybe he was successful?
Peter has had an eventful childhood – but who is he, where did he come from? Many fans have suggested that Peter is a clone of his father, or that he is his father (yeah, work that one out!). The former has never sat well with me, partly because I think it’s too obvious. Bad Robot don’t normally do ‘obvious’ when it comes to the major story elements. I can buy the idea that Peter is a hybrid and that he underwent severe ‘testing’ as a child, but even Walter wouldn’t clone himself..would he? I guess cloning could explain their mental link which was illustrated best in “The Arrival”. If it has to be outlandish, I’d say that Peter could be from one of these Multiverse worlds..which could make him a ‘counterpart’, rather than a clone. This possibility could also recontextualize his relationship with The Observer.
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How apt that the conflict should not centre around the stereo-typical little green men with four fingers and toes, but with beings much likes ourselves, who’s realities have taken different paths based on the law of averages – the brightness of their stars, and the force of their gravity, and so on. This multiversal conflict not only takes us through the looking glass, but it gives us a chance to reflect on similar conflicts within our own reality – surely a metaphor for what is to come.
Our history is littered with conquests and and wars over territory, belief systems and possessions. So much so that you can imagine that the only thing to bring us together would be a war against beings from an ‘unseen’ universe. But what is this multiverse battle over – God, gold or glory? Do the beings from these other worlds seek to purge us, like the mythological Zeus, or do they seek harmonic convergence? Are we at fault for the advancement of our science..or did we steal it from them in the first place (I’m looking at you, Massive Dynamic!)?
Usually, such ‘earthly’ conflicts result in one side extinguishing the other – or at least, having rule over the other. It should perhaps be noted that the Conquistadors victory over the Aztec and Inca Empires, was partly due to disease, which spread faster than any army. The Aztec’s and Inca’s weren’t used to European diseases and so they succumbed to the viral of the opposition very quickly – interesting considering the recent trio of viral-centric Fringe episodes.
Many ancient tribes and groups have been wiped from our earth, several now hang in the balance. Essentially, this is the prophecy that the ZFT manuscript warns of — an “us or them” rally cry.
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Episode 1.14 “The Ability” was so jammed-packed with action and mythology that I think a lot of us have missed out on some of the more subtle references deployed in the episode. One such gem is The Land of Laughs book reference. It’s a reference which I’ve used to brain-dump some of my thoughts on the episode, and which ultimately gives me a new candidate for the ZFT author. Read on to towards the end to find out who.
The Land of Laughs is a fantasy novel by Jonathan Carroll about the blurring of realities:
The book concerns a schoolteacher who is researching the life of one of his favorite children’s book authors. He is warmly, and unexpectedly, greeted by the author’s adult daughter. All seems well until a dog begins talking to him, as the line between the author’s fantasy world and the reality of the schoolteacher’s life blurs. – Wikipedia
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Here’s our clues and easteregg round up for episode 1.13 “The Transformation”.
Flight 718
718 was the ‘next episode clue’ planted in the previous episode for this episode, “The Transformation”. 718 can be seen on the wall behind Walter, in “No Brainer”, when our heroes visit the car dealership (see inset above). 718 is also the number of the doomed flight at the centre of the ‘pattern event’ in this episode, “Transformation”.
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Something that has intrigued me throughout the series so far, has been how the various groups and individuals link together. In many ways, the relationships between the characters and factions form a pattern of their own. Episode 1.13 gave us one of the most insightful offerings yet as to the overarching character connections.
Want to know what connects the Evelina Mendoza, Marshall Bowman, Daniel Hicks and John Scott? Continue after the jump for some musings.
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