The episode revolved around a series of 'Number Radio Channels' which are basically when some numbers are repeated at random times, from an unknown source and with seemingly no meaning. In the Fringe Universe this has been going for years, Massive Dynamic with some records of the numbers, but as fringe 'pop up character' and bookstore owner Edward Markham stated, he believes the numbers may have been repeating from even before the radio was created. This felt like such a LOST shoutout, but with a different angle. It's not the first time I've been left wondering where numbers on a radio come from. Unlike LOST though, and one of Fringe's advantages over it's big brother, is that they gave us a lot more about these numbers in the episode they were discovered.
To me the coolest part of this episode was how they take a seemingly un-mythos 'story of the week' and then weave it into a huge mythology episode. A similar example was season two's 'Fracture', when the General told how he was after The Observers. For twenty minutes of 6995kHz it was a story of the week, then it was a story of the week with the mythology, 'The First People', then it was a story of the week, with the mythology and with Shape-Shifters and Bolivia...
OBSERVER ALERT:
...trying to hide the codes. One query I do have, but maybe it's just me being stupid, is that if Kevin Weisman's Shape-Shifter was trying to hide the numbers from the various people at the start, why then was Bolivia okay that they had found out the explanation of the numbers by the end? In a way it seems that the Shape-Shifter had to hide the code in order to get Peter and Walter to uncover it themselves. It all seems to be building towards getting Peter on their side when he's built this machine, and I believe Walternate and Bolivia perhaps feel he will be more invested if he uncovers the meaning of the numbers himself.
Was we now know the numbers are is co-ordinates to various locations around the globe, where under the ground are parts of the machine which Peter has been seen to be able to control. These pieces were put there by 'The First People' who are believed to have existed before the dinosaurs. Are these people 'The Observers'? Time-Travellers? People from the Alt-verse? It seems most likely the latter seeing as Walternate is aware of the numbers. However, who is transmitting the numbers at the moment is unclear.
Some cool parts of the episode is that we got a lot of Astrid, in fact, she was given the 'House-Moment-Of-Realisation' today, working out the codes form co-ordinates, and I have to say her 'Over Here' character is so much more stronger than the 'Over There' version.
Also, Nina finally was given something to do this season, and I thought Blair Brown did a great job, a moment of suspicion of Olivia not standing up against Walter, then her reasoning to get Walter to help his son uncover the truth of the machine. It felt like a logical thing for Nina to say, and it motivated Walter's change. And to have them smoking pot on the Harvard campus, so awesome!
My main negative, although I understand the lack of time in forty minutes is that we never found out what happened to the characters who got amnesia, could they have been cured. It left me feeling a bit sad that the woman wouldn't recognise her baby, and the Chinese man and the Lighthouse controller never showed up again after the credits.
Also, I do think, as mentioned before, it was slightly unclear why Walternate and Bolivia were trying to cover up the numbers and then get Peter to find them, and if the reasoning I gave before is correct, then it wasn't made clear enough.
One cool thing I read on Frigepedia, so credit to whoever, is that the 'The First People' was written by Seamus Wiles, which is an anagram for the 'Yoda' of the show thus far, Samuel Weiss. We haven't been to the bowling alley for a while, not surprising considering Olivia's in another universe, but his name keeps cropping up in the strangest of places. When our Olivia is back, she may want to avoid another game of Clue! (Cluedo! for everyone outside the USA :P)
Also, loved Bolivia's speech to Peter in the tent waiting for the machine part to be found, she asked him:
"If you knew that only one of our worlds could survive and if it was up to you, and you alone, to defend your side... You'd have no choice, right? I mean, you would have to do what you had to do. No matter the cost to protect... our world."
It was brilliantly written by the writers, as it could lean either way, is Bolivia showing doubts over which side is in the right, or is she cunningly trying to get Peter to follow her (Bolivia) to the other side when the truth is revealed. She seems to be trying dang hard to get him to fall for her :P
But I loved more Peter's response:
"There are billions of innocent people over there, just like here... people with jobs, families, lives. I got to believe there's another way. And whatever my part in all of this is... I got to believe there's another way. There's always hope, right?"
Peter may be clueless to Bolivia's deception, but he still has his heart in the right place. Let's hope he means it!
Also, the ending, so cool, the shift in Universes highlighted by the 'Statue of Liberty' colour change, and we see Olivia, now understanding she is on the wrong side being told by Alt-Brandon (Seriously, what happened to our Brandon, an episode which is is being paid and he still doesn't show up in our universe!!) telling her she's not needed. Ergo, she's in trouble, 'a lose end' as Peter so rightly implies. There's gonna be a hunt next week, it's gonna be good. Mouth is salivating already at the thought.
So despite it's flaws, it gave me more goose-bumps that at any point this season, I was on the edge of my seat as the crane was winching up, it rocked both my socks off. For me, the best so far in season three. I'll be back next week then folks...
9.5/10
Adam
http://twitter.com/#!/AdDHarris
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