Welcome to Fringe Observations: the comprehensive Clues and Eastereggs Round-up for episode 13 of season 2 – “The Bishop Revival”.
Below the jump we dig deep to explore the various clues and eastereggs from the episode and try to figure out what it all means.
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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:
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OK, since most people seem to think that the Observer is the biggest Fringe mystery so far, how about an Observer theory?
I’ve been thinking back to his centric episode, the one that really introduced him to us — episode 1.04 “The Arrival“, and I think that there are some more clues that no-one seems to have really gone over in great detail. We all want to know why the Observer is watching every breath we take in the Fringeverse — perhaps the song that was playing in the diner as he scoffed down a raw meat roll with 11 jalapenos, on the side, can offer us some insight? That song is was “Crazy” by Willie Nelson, later covered by Patsy Cline.
The song describes the “state of bemusement at the singer’s own helpless love for the object of his affection”.
The “object of his affection”. That gets some bells ringing doesn’t it! Immediately I can think of THREE possible objects of the Observer’s affection, which might offer an alternative explanation to his presence in the show:
1. The Beacon (aka cylinder). Seeing as the beacon object arrived mere minutes after those Willie Nelson lyrics struck, it seems very likely that this is the object of the Observers affection..the thing that he loves..the object that has left him feeling so “lonely” and “blue” (oh yes, I’ll come to that later)?
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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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Thanks to the eagle eyes of Fringe-Forum member, cgranier, for this observation and possible easteregg. Moments before the plane crashes behind the soccer field in Scarsdale, a mysterious object can be seen falling from the right wing (credit):
MYSTERY OBJECT FALLS FROM THE PLANE
Is this a visual graphic oversight, or an intentional piece of object placement? The fact that the Observer was right by the incident initially swayed it for me. He was collecting a piece of the pattern. But that can’t be the case, can it? We’ve never seen him interact with another object that is not already on his person – the cylinder, for example. Which brings me to another point, which is probably best kept for another post!
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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.
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