The next episode in our rewatch sees us revisit episode 9 of season one, entitled “The Dreamscape”. We’ve decided to rename this streamlined retrospective Tanks for the Memories because, well..ain’t it obvious?
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1.09 The Dreamscape
Synopsis: A Massive Dynamic employee is so convinced he is being attacked by butterflies that he jumps out of a window to escape them, and the team is called in to investigate. Although Olivia’s unexplained interaction with Agent Scott leads to breaks in the case, she is so desperate to rid her consciousness of him that she demands to go back in the tank. Meanwhile, the gig is up for Peter when a former friend – and some current foes – find out he’s back in Boston.
General Thoughts: An episode which mirrored the pilot in several ways, but going into this rewatch I was doubtful that I’d extract much juice from it a second time around. I was wrong, there’s juice to be had from The Dreamscape.
Below the jump I post my new observations and perspectives, explore the unresolved mysteries, highlight the mysteries closed by information gained in this episode and cap it off with my final thoughts on this episode retrospective.
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In part 1 of The Observer Theory, I offered my thoughts on why the Observer watches certain events (usually ‘pattern-events’ and Olivia’s reactions to those events). In a nutshell, I believe that the Observer is changing reality. I would advise reading the whole theory to fully grasp what I am trying to suggest.
In part 2 of The Observer Theory, sub-titled “Dimensional”, I aim to explain the phenomenon of the Blue Lights (which have appeared at various stages in the show), whilst continuing the overall ‘Observer Theory’.
In my opinion, the blue lights are the effects of observation from another dimension or Universe (possibly a parallel Universe). For arguments sake, I will use the word ‘dimension’, but in truth the you may decide that the word ‘Universe’ is a better fit.
So, we know that the Observer is watching pattern events, which are basically ‘experiments’. We also know that in Quantum Mechanics, the act of observing changes reality. But in the absence of foresight, what indicators are there to suggest that a reality has been observed..and therefore changed? In my opinion the blue lights are these ‘indicators’ – they are they like the indicators of the double slit experiment, or perhaps the outcome of the Uncertainty Principle, which could give us an indication of the size of these ‘dimensions’ relative to our perception:
So, I believe that the Observer is not necessarily from another time (although do believe that to be possible), but moreover, he is from another dimension..or universe. I am not talking about aliens here, I am talking about a world (possibly multiple) that exist within our own world. Invisible dimensions which are just out of our conscious perspective – dimensions which may be tiny (as the above video illustrates), but in actual fact are just as large as our own.
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It’s been a long time, but like Aaliyah we couldn’t forget you – here’s our easteregg and clues round-up for Fringe episode 1.10 “Safe”:
Caught On Camera
The Observer appears very early on in the episode – the first scene, in fact. He can be seen on the security monitor, seemingly observing the area surrounding the bank that Loeb and his men were raiding. You can chalk this one down as a ‘Pattern-event’ appearance.
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For the first time in what must surely be an age, Walter Bishop looked to faith to help facilitate the successful chariot of an exploration. If fringe science has a prophet, then it would surely be Walter. A man who literally speaks of the divinity of science, a man who has turned doubters and disbelievers (Olivia and Peter) into products of his work, examples of the possible.
It is not yet known how religious Walter was, but his reciting of Exodus from memory suggests that he was once a man of faith. What happened to alter Walter’s path is also unknown, but one senses that he still has appreciation for a higher power, even if he can’t quite conform to the idea. At the end of The Dreamscape he was seen tightly holding onto the Bible, with several pages bookmarked for future reference. It’s too early to know the ramifications of this, but it could be an indication that Walter will begin to question his religion of science by the end of this journey. Indeed, It will be interesting to see what, if any, statement on faith ”Fringe” will offer by the time this is all over. If they do, It will also be interesting to see were the “heavenly, yet earthly” Observer fits into Walter’s view on science, faith and religion.
The various road maps in Walter’s religious background is one of the most intriguing aspects yet really to scratch the surface.
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Fringie of the week time. Poll closes before tonights episode.
1.09 The Dreamscape - Fringie of the Week
- Walter Bishop (29%, 9 Votes)
- Olivia Dunham (23%, 7 Votes)
- Peter Bishop (19%, 6 Votes)
- Nina Sharp (10%, 3 Votes)
- John Scott (10%, 3 Votes)
- Mark Young (6%, 2 Votes)
- The Observer (3%, 1 Votes)
- Tess Amaral (0%, 0 Votes)
- Charlie Francis (0%, 0 Votes)
- Phillip Broyles (0%, 0 Votes)
- Astrid Farnsworth (0%, 0 Votes)
- George Morales (0%, 0 Votes)
- Michael Kelly (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 31
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Our easteregg and clues round up for 1.09 “The Dreamscape”.
Too Young to Die
The scene of Mark Young falling to his death was awesome, but like most things it’s been done before. This “Watchmen” comparison visually looks like the closest parallel. “Who will watch the Watchmen?!” Heck, “Who will watch Massive Dynamic”? As we posited a few weeks back.
Blue Bell
Nothing major here, but after Mark Young falls to his death we can see that the Massive Dynamic central office is situated on Bell Plaza. Aww, Bellie has a street named in his honour. Also, take note of the blue light-effect.
Massive Observer
The Observer made it nine appearances out of nine, as he observed the soon to be hallucinating Mark Young. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that September managed to get inside the Massive Dynamic building, apparently unnoticed. Could it be that not everyone can observe the Observers presence? Sure, he’s been caught on candid camera, but a snap shot and real-time observation are two different mediums. Perhaps the viewers and Olivia are special in that we can see him when others cant. Yeah, we’re special.
As an aside, it’s worth pointing out that this surely isn’t Michael Cerveris. I’d guess that they’ve drafted in two look-alikeies to portray the Observer for the past two episodes.
Lost in Fringe
Bad Robot tip their hat to their other legendary TV show, “Lost”,with this nice little easteregg of an Oceanic Airlines ticket belonging to Mark Young. In case you don’t know (and you really should), Oceanic Airlines is the ill-fated (or destined?) airliner which crashed our Losties onto the Island.
Some people have suggested that this signifies a Lost/Fringe cross-over, with Phillip Broyles and Matthew Abbadon being the same person. Dream on! As much as I love both shows, it’s not gonna happen. Lost is on ABC and Fringe is on Fox. This isn’t Nina and Broyles – they’ll be no quid pro quo. It’s simply JJ. Abrams and co giving a shout out to one of their other productions, just like they did for “Alias” a couple of weeks back with the “Page 47″ and the “Mr. Jones” /Mr Smith” references.
Fear not Lost and Fringe fans, we’ll still get to fangasm when both shows air within 24 hours of one another starting Jan 20. Sweetness.
Whatever The Casey May Be
In Mark Jones journal, the name “Dr. Peretti” is written. If you recall, one of the gravestones in “The Arrival” bore the name “Casey Peretti”. Coincidence? I think not. Even more interesting is the fact that Casey Peretti is buried on the same plot as Robert Bishop, who is possibly Walter’s father.
Anyway, the point is that we should be aware that the name Peretti means something.
Staggering Connections
Mark Young’s journal again: The words “Monarch” (which Olivia later deciphered as being George Morales phone number) is written in a very similar ‘staggered’ pattern as those which we observed in The Equation and The Arrival. See here if you don’t know what I’m referring to.
What does it mean? Frack knows, but it’s a pattern and it has now been observed, just in case it holds meaning for future episodes.
Finding Zeno
As Olivia’s laptop starts up, the word ZenoFX Multimedia (and ZenFX) pop up on the screen. Obviously this refers to a piece of software on Olivia’s computer. However, if you remember, “Zeno” is one of the oldest and most debated of all the Fringe clues. It was first seen on the kayak in Olivia’s dream-state (along with the aleph, blue flashes and green and red dots). I doubt that this is a coincidence as this is the 2nd appearance of the word Zeno.
As for what it means, well it could related to “ZFT” (the cell referenced in “Mr. Jones” and in this episode by George Morales). It should also be mentioned that Massive Dynamic have their own “Zeno”. With all that in mind, I’d venture to guess that Zeno has something to do with time-travel.
Napoleon Dynamite
Whilst Olivia runs search returns for “Monarchy”, one of the browsers opens up information on “L’Empereur” (referring to Napoleon’s ‘monarchy’). There’s also a 1989 turn-based strategy game called L’Empereur. This may be of interest to those who speculate that on some level Fringe might actually be a game.
Red? Meet Red
During Olivia’s “Monarchy” search, a nice comparison emerged between two strong red-headed and charismatic women of power. Elizabeth I and Nina Sharp. There’s no denying the obvious parallels, and more can be interpreted with the fact that both Elizabeth and Nina are known for their close association with two men named William (Cecil and Bell, respectively).
We could perhaps go the whole tilt and suggest that it’s Nina Sharp and not William Bell who is the real power house down at Massive Dynamic. “Who does she do?..Who doesn’t she do..”
Blue Dreams
The blue flashes have been absent for a few episodes but they came back in force during Olivia’s dream state. Anyone still thinking that they are only for styling needs to re-think that opinion.
MSSDYN
Mark Young’s business card. Clearly Massive Dynamic want you to call them. Go on, give them a bell. You might also want to email Mark using m.young@massivedynamic.com (inset).
Burn After Reading
Someone asked me to include this. Clearly they’ve never seen the word “burn” on a bin before.
Double J Vision
Some people think that JJ made a cameo in this episode. I hope it isn’t him, Fringe is already twisty enough without the puppetmaster fracking with our heads even more!
Thanks to the Fringe-Forum community for some of the images used in this round-up.
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![](http://cdn.fringebloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/1dreamscape.jpg "1.09 \\"The Dreamscape\\" Review")
The Good
- The opening sequence. Visually and artistically stunning.
- The strong and deliberate overarching mythos
- Olivia’s dream sequence. Conceptually beautiful and re-establishes some delicious possibilities.
- The “Man of science, Man of faith” overtones with Walter and his Bible. I hope to see more spirituality incorporated into Fringe to balance the all of the science and technology. It was also interesting to see Walter shun the opportunity to put Olivia back into the tank. Remember, this is from a man who loves nothing more than to experiment on himself or others.
- The return of Nina and Massive Dynamic. Nina always brings something extra to the party and this episode was no different.
- The introduction of the “smokescreen” suggestion was a good move as it allows Olivia and the viewers to re-evaluate the nature of the Pattern. It’s a bit like the ‘freewill vs destiny’ debate on LOST, only corporate instead of spiritual.
- The music – gorgeous in places. Not quite up to LOST standards just yet but it’s getting there.
The Bad
- The “Peter/Tess” story wasn’t very interesting and seemed somewhat out of sync with the rest of the episode. I can appreciate the need to expand the character back-stories but I care less about Peter’s back-story in this episode than when he rumbled the photographer at the beginning of “The Arrival”. I hope this Tess/Mob back-story is going somewhere but I’m pretty dialed out at the moment.
- As I’m writing this I literally forget her name. No, seriously. Anyway, Astrid – she had a few more lines in this episode but she’s not a key component of the story. For a JJ. Abrams show this is surprising, just look at the first season of LOST – an enormous ensemble yet every single one of those muthas were integral to the story. Don’t get it twisted, we like Jasika Nicole, we just hope there’s more to Astrid than just being ‘there’.
- Whilst the mythological elements are melding with sweetness, it’s a shame that there isn’t greater continuity between the characters from episode to episode. An example – in The Equation Walter was traumatised from his return to St. Claire’s. In this episode it’s as if that never happened. Whilst I give kudos for actually showing that his request for his own room came to something (he’s now in 112), the show could benefit from tighter integration (aka, make it more serialized).
- Walter’s “erection” comment. I know the man is insane and crude, but they pushed the Walter-button too far in that moment. It had me cringing for the first time in the series and the joke went down like a lead balloon (so to speak). I don’t want them to sanitize the show, far from it, but something about that gag just didn’t feel right. Perhaps it’s just the thought of a not so young gentleman having feelings downstairs *hurls*. Poor Astrid, will she recover from the shock!? Tune in next week!
- Lacked some of the ebb and flow of previous weeks.
- I worked something out this week. We don’t do the best foot-chases in Fringe. Take a look at LOST. That Keamy v Ben/Kate foot-chase in the season 4 finale was how to do a foot-chase. Either Olivia is chasing someone into the heart of darkness by herself or Charlie contributes nothing to the end result of said foot-chase. Remember Ziegler? Rogue? Ostler? This is probably a harsh complaint considering I love this show, but foot-chases should be exciting, adrenaline pumping events. OK, enough on the foot-chase.
- Olivia’s return to the tank – not enough bra and panties! Walter has a great figure, why not show it off?
Overall this was a good episode, no question. The main gripe is that it had less exceptional moments/attributes than the previous 3 or 4 episodes, so this is testimony to Bad Robot and their usual bar-raising standards. This was an episode which moved things along and set up some nice little questions for the fan community to speculate over. Rating: 7/10
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![](http://cdn.fringebloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/fbdream.jpg "Fringe 1.09 \\"THE DREAMSCAPE\\" - Scifi Vs Reality")
Popular Mechanics take a look at the science presented in “The Dreamscape” and ask whether it’s possible to scare yourself to death, and whether it’s possible to strategically access recessed memories from the brain.
Is it possible for someone to scare himself to death?
Mark Young, an employee at the mysterious, possibly evil, corporation Massive Dynamic, is so convinced he is being attacked by butterflies that he jumps out of a window to escape them, and the team is called in to investigate this bizarre tragedy. The butterflies were a hallucination, but the cuts Young suffered from them were very real.Mad scientist Walter Bishop concludes that Young suffered from psychosomatic effects, which is the ability of the mind to cause actual physical changes in the body. This “mind over matter” philosophy is the same thing responsible for a person getting goose bumps when they are frightened, he claims. In this case, the wounds originated internally and pierced their way through the body tissue.
“Hallucinations have varying levels of reality to a patient,” says Dr. Mark Milstein, a neurologist and assistant professor of neurology at a major New York City hospital. “Some know that what they are seeing or hearing is not really present. Some believe so deeply in their hallucinations that they may act against them, yelling at imagined people, or even trying to attack them.”
Dr. Milstein explains that hallucinations, the perception of sensory information without actual external stimulus, can be as simple as hearing someone when you are alone or smelling apple pie cooking in an empty house.
But to be cut by one’s imagination, as Young was by the butterflies, isn’t possible in reality. The only way for that to ring true in modern science is if Young was cutting at his own skin without realizing it. “If a patient believed that he was being assaulted—by insects, for example—he might end up harming himself to stop the ‘assault,’ ” Dr. Milstein says.
As with most of the victims in Fringe, Young’s bloodstream was exposed to a compound that caused the hallucination; in this case, the compound came from a toad. Dr. Milstein doesn’t list this as a candidate for typical drugs at play in such scenarios. Instead, he says that several sedatives, anesthetic medications and even some treatments for Parkinson’s disease can bring about hallucinations.
“Interestingly, LSD, an illicit drug most historically described to cause hallucinations, actually more prominently causes sensory delusions,” Dr. Milstein says, explaining that these delusions are merely a result of normal sensory perceptions being altered or distorted.
Can you strategically access recessed memories from the brain?
When Dunham first went into the “sensory deprivation” tank nine episodes ago, she got inside the head of Agent Scott. Little did she know that Scott’s memories also got inside her head—and stayed there. Walter Bishop mentioned that the visions (and hallucinations, as it were) Dunham has been having could last for years unless she used a form of repressed memory therapy to bring those foreign memories to the surface and release them from her subconscious.According to Dr. Milstein (the real neurologist), the memory in question here isn’t one of the typical subtypes of memory. There is immediate memory, which is the amount of information a person may retain for just a few seconds, such as a phone number. There’s working memory, like doing a math problem in your head, and recent memory, such as remembering what you ate for dinner the previous night.
Then there is remote memory. “This is your permanent memory,” Dr. Milstein explains. “What was your childhood address? What is your father’s birthday?”
None of these, however, explain repressed memories of another person. Recalling such memories, such as what Scott was doing while Dunham went to the bathroom on their first date, is impossible, but even if Scott’s memories somehow miraculously became Dunham’s repressed memories, other methods might work better than a tank filled with water.
“There is data that hypnosis may help uncover ‘forgotten’ memories,” Dr. Milstein says. “Additionally, application of a sedative, such as sodium amytal, may create a dissociative state that helps release repressed memories.” This particular sedative, Dr. Milstein explains, is often labeled “truth serum” by science-fiction and thriller authors.
“However, both of these techniques require a skilled practitioner,” Dr. Milstein says. “And in both situations, patients can become very confident about distorted or even ‘false’ memories.”
Luckily, Agent Dunham’s recovered memories led her in the right direction in her investigation, but in reality, her visions likely mean that she is suffering from the same symptoms as Mark Young: hallucinations.
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