Welcome to the rewatch for episode 16 of Fringe season 1 – “Unleashed”. Join us as we level-up for a spot of Dungeons & Dragons with Walter and his demons.
We have renamed this episode: That Which We Create.
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1.16 Unleashed
Synopsis: As animal rights activists ransack a laboratory, they get more than they bargained for when one of the caged “animals” unleashes a ferocious appetite. Leaving grotesquely mutilated dead bodies in its wake, the scientific engineered beast – with the body of a lion, claws of an eagle, fangs of a viper, skin of a rhinoceros and tail of a serpent – attacks Charlie. With Charlie’s life on the line, Walter must come face-to-face with both his past and the beast.
Below the jump I share my new observations and perspectives, and take a quick look at the unresolved and closed mysteries from “Unleashed”.
Continue reading..
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Congratulations to Walter Bishop (and John Noble) for winning the 1.16 “Unleashed” Fringie of the Week, with 39% of the total vote. This victory gains Walter parity with Peter at the top of the S1 leader board.
With only 3 episodes of the season remaining, Olivia will have to win all 3 if she is to stand a chance of taking the season 1 ‘best character’ crown.
Here’s the overall leader board going into the last 3 episodes:
- Peter Bishop/Walter Bishop (6 wins each)
- Olivia Dunham (4 wins)
- The Observer/Meegar’s Mom/ The Child (1 win each)
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This first edition of “In From The Fringe” features an article from that beast of a site — LA Times. Unlike myself, it seems that Andrew Hanson was head over heels with this episode. To his credit, he does pick-up on some of the nuances of the episode:
“What’s wrong?”
That’s such a perfect line. Peter calls Olivia at night and she instantly thinks something horrible has happened. After this long dealing with bizarre cases, of course they would be used to it. Expecting it, even.
The characters in “Fringe” are getting into their groove, and it really seems like the people who put the show together are getting into their groove.
Peter wasn’t even calling Olivia. He was calling her sister. Guess we know what Rachel was doing up so late in the last episode. I knew that would become something important. Seriously. It was one of my Bits and Pieces last week. Though this is way cooler than anything I would have expected. Peter has a life outside Walter’s lab. After the single mother. Smooth.
Then the monster sequence of “Unleashed” was better than most horror films I’ve seen lately. The kids breaking into the animal testing facility, the car flipping in the forest — everything built to the gravity of what they released. And they cleverly didn’t show the lizardwaspbatthingie in a way that built the tension and probably save a ton of cash.
I watched the credits to prove my theory and, yep, written by J.R. Orci and Zach Whedon, the pair behind “The Transformation.” Remember that episode about the kinda-werewolf guys? Yeah, that was a good one.
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Here’s our Clues and Eastereggs round-up for episode 1.16 “Unleashed”.
Who Blue They Would Die?
After an episode absence, the blue lights reappeared in magnificent glory. The mysterious flashes can fleetingly be seen after the monster flips the activists car off the road. I guess this was a semi-Pattern-event, since it delved into Walter’s past. But don’t forget the blue lights have also appeared during other stand-alone episodes, such as “The No Brainer”, where they were VERY prevalent. What does this mean, you ask? It means that we are yet to understand the full nature of these strange occurrences — although I have a few ideas. 
The complete list of this seasons blue flashes are listed here.
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The latest episode of The Fringe Podcast is now available for download. In another excellent podcast, The Fringe Podcast team recap and discuss episode 1.16 “Unleashed”. They also delve into the science involved in the episode and feature listener feedback.
Head on over to The Fringe Podcast to download or listen to the episode!
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A friend of mine, who I recently inducted into the world of “Fringe”, asked me to explain the “Pattern” to her. I contemplated giving an answer involving conspiracies, strange events, scientific endeavour and corporate might. But I decided to provide a more concise opinion:
“The Pattern is Hell, and some just like it hot”
“Think back 20 years – imagine yourself then, imagining yourself now – 20 years into the future. In your wildest imagination, could you ever think you’d be here?” – (Walter Bishop, “Safe”)
My case in point — “Unleashed”. Not the most patternesque of episodes, but one which reached back into the extensive back catalogue of Walter’s past explorations, and indeed, exploitations. Today, our mad scientist looks into the eyes of a monster he ‘could’ have created, but unlike John Locke, what he saw was far from “beautiful” — instead, he saw his own beastly reflection.
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It’s time to vote for your favourite character performance from episode 1.16 — “Unleashed”!
Did Olivia leave you feeling optimistic? Maybe Peter left you primed? Perhaps Walter had you whooping? Or did Astrid leave you feeling Astronomical? So many Fringies, and just 5 days to vote for your favourite from ep.1.16!
*Note: Several of you have contacted us saying that you’ve been having trouble voting using the sidebar polls — we’ve discovered that this is due to a conflict with the poll widget and our current theme. So, we’re going to try out this new poll system instead. There’s no difference, except that everyone should now be able to cast their votes via the sidebar as well as the post!
*This poll will close Tuesday 21 April
Here are the standings prior to the “Unleashed” results:
- Peter Bishop (6 wins)
- Walter Bishop (5 wins)
- Olivia Dunham (4 wins)
- The Observer/Meegar’s Mom/ The Child (1 win each)
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Walter Bishop has shared his thoughts on the latest beastly goings-on in Boston (click above image to make big). Here are some of my observations on his explorations:
- Walter reflects on his past work (“Radical Transgenics”) and says that he sees himself “through a glass darkly” – looking at the works of his past self, removed from the (somewhat) redemptive scientist we see today.
- He talks to this past self, who speaks back — represented by the upper case type. His past self (or “Alter-Walter”) berates Walter for feeling a sense of remorse for ‘their’ past creations. He argues that man has a right, nay, a purpose in “playing God”.
- Walter blames himself and acknowledges the intent with which his hand played in creating the beasts. He quotes Nietzsche — “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you”. A poignant quote warning of the drive to gain power (or perfection) at the expense of the self.
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