1x08: The Equation
Apr. 25th, 2014 08:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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fringe_rewatchIt was a dark and stormy night...
"The Equation" is worth watching because of John Noble's stunning performance as Walter Bishop at his most vulnerable. And that's about all I have to say about this episode, except that I found the villain's willingness to abduct and torture a young child so repugnant that when she died at the hands of her co-conspirator I barely blinked.
Writer: J.R. Orci, David H. Goodman
Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Originally aired: 18 Nov 2008
Synopsis: When a young musical prodigy is abducted by a woman using a device with green and red blinking lights, it triggers a Fringe investigation because of its resemblance to a number of previous abductions over the past ten years. Conveniently, Walter Bishop makes a connection to an inmate he knew from St. Claire's Hospital. At Olivia's suggestion, Walter agrees to interview his old friend to try to get information that would lead them to the kidnapped child.
Most Memorable Quote:
PETER: The best lie—the one that's easiest to remember with consistency—is the one that's based on the truth.
Links:
Transcript
Polite Dissent
Fringe's Mad Scientist: The Mind of Walter Bishop
A.V. Club recap
Fanfiction:
I'm so late getting this up that I haven't even looked. Please leave your suggestions/recs/self-recs/links to newly written post-eps in the comments.
"The Equation" is worth watching because of John Noble's stunning performance as Walter Bishop at his most vulnerable. And that's about all I have to say about this episode, except that I found the villain's willingness to abduct and torture a young child so repugnant that when she died at the hands of her co-conspirator I barely blinked.
Writer: J.R. Orci, David H. Goodman
Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Originally aired: 18 Nov 2008
Synopsis: When a young musical prodigy is abducted by a woman using a device with green and red blinking lights, it triggers a Fringe investigation because of its resemblance to a number of previous abductions over the past ten years. Conveniently, Walter Bishop makes a connection to an inmate he knew from St. Claire's Hospital. At Olivia's suggestion, Walter agrees to interview his old friend to try to get information that would lead them to the kidnapped child.
Most Memorable Quote:
PETER: The best lie—the one that's easiest to remember with consistency—is the one that's based on the truth.
Links:
Transcript
Polite Dissent
Fringe's Mad Scientist: The Mind of Walter Bishop
A.V. Club recap
Fanfiction:
I'm so late getting this up that I haven't even looked. Please leave your suggestions/recs/self-recs/links to newly written post-eps in the comments.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-29 06:22 pm (UTC)I always like the music = math trope. But it's another missed opportunity for Astrid, what with her BA in music and all. (Favorite throwaway bit: Peter and Astrid sharing headphones in the lab.)
Walter moment of note: looking at the picture of Dashiell's work and only seeing the equation, not the dead body.
The highlight of this episode is, of course, Walter's bravery in going back to the asylum and facing his demons. Cue recurring wails of "Where the hell is John Noble's Emmy." I love that he sees Walternate in his delirium, the bogeyman/mirror of all his fears.
Peter's protectiveness is a really lovely character note, such a significant evolution from his attitude in the Pilot.
Dr. Sumner is clearly positioned as the antagonist/obstacle, but I don't find his conditions unreasonable based on what he knows and witnesses. The mental health of my patients is my primary concern and subjecting them to open-ended interrogations by FBI agents is hardly prudent therapy. ... It is clear that exposing him to the pressures of criminal investigations while indulging his fantastical pseudo-scientific notions has exacerbated the worst features of his mental illness. -- what else is he supposed to think? He's not privy to the secrets of Fringe Division. He's wrong, but not out of malice.
Okay, so the equation powers the walk-through-walls device. Cool.