3x10 The Firefly

[wikiaddicted723]

 There are a number of things that are well executed for this episode, even if the case-of-the-week seems a bit inconsequential when we take in to account the scale of the things that have come before it in the season. This episode, if a bit heavy handed at times, is as resonant with Walter and his character arc as Marionette was to Olivia.

 

It focuses on the sacrifices Walter will have to make by the end of the season, the same sacrifices he refused to make 25 years ago, which have cost innumerable lives both over here and over there. Walter is presented with a direct consequence of his actions on a human scale: Roscoe Joyce, his hero, lost his only son because Walter couldn't let go of his. And sure, it was impossible for Walter to foresee this specific event taking place (he's not like the observers), but the whole point is that this one death is only a minuscule fraction of the damage Walter has caused, and yet, it has had enormous emotional impact for a number of people.

 

It is also interesting to note that here, again, it is Peter who pays for Walter's mistakes by drinking his father's poisoned milk, treating us to a small scale version of the events that will happen when Peter inevitably enters the machine. 

 

Also, because I can't not mention it: this episode does a great job of not ignoring the development of Olivia's emotional state as it regards the trauma she has experienced. Additionally, it gives Peter the qualities that kept me rooting for him even after the doppelganger debacle: patient and considerate of Olivia's feelings, while at the same time admitting he fucked up, and actively trying to fix it (which reveals a number of things about his outlook on life that are important for later seasons: in case of fuck-up, patch with duct tape and keep going. Apply WD40 if stiff. Very Engineer-like of him ;)

 

 

Writer: Joel Wyman, Jeff Pinkner 

Director: Charles Beeson

Originally aired: 21 January 2011

Synopsis

The Observer contacts Walter to help him correct a mistake he believes he made decades ago. Walter befriends musical icon Roscoe Joyce, a keyboardist for Walter's favorite band, Violet Sedan Chair. Walter learns why they disbanded and realizes that their lives overlap in strange and unexpected ways.

 

Most Memorable Quote

 

OBSERVER: There are things that I know. But there are things that I do not. Various possible futures are happening simultaneously. I can tell you all of them, but I cannot tell you which one of them will come to pass. Because every action causes ripples, consequences both obvious and... unforeseen. For instance... after I pulled you and Peter from the icy lake, later that summer, Peter caught a firefly. I could not have known he would do that or that because he did a young girl three miles away would not. And so later that night, she would continue looking, trying to find another one. I could not have known that when she did not come home, her father would go out looking for her, driving in the rain, so that when the traffic light turned red, his truck skidded through the intersection at Harvard Yard, killing a pedestrian.

WALTER: Did that happen?

OBSERVER: You and I have interfered with the natural course of events. We have upset the balance in ways I could not have predicted. Which is why now I need your help.

 

[aaaaaand, because I'm nothing if not predictable]

 

PETER: She asked me what my favorite book was. I understand that she was probably just trying to gather information on me, but... I also know that I'm not the easiest guy to get to know. (heart-felt) It's always been easier for me to... keep people at arm's length... which is actually something that I think we have in common. The book wasn't meant for her. It was meant for the Olivia Dunham that I've spent the last couple years of my life with. Because I wanted you to read it. You're the person I wanted to share it with.

OLIVIA: (saddened) You know, I feel like Rip Van Winkle. Everything is different. Even you opening up to me is different. And this book is just a reminder of all the things that I missed, conversations we didn't have...

 

Links

Transcript

IGN

AV Club

Polite Dissent

Pop Culture Nexus

 

Fanfiction

 

Consequences both Obvious and Unforeseen, by Dixie. There are a lot more, but I can't recall or find them in this particular instance. Please add them to the comments if you can.