Fringe: "Subject 13" - 2/25 on FOX - Grading & Discussion

[Hyperspace05]

Excellent is my grade. Although perhaps it is inflated by the more mediocre preceding episodes.

Great performances of all - especially the child Olivia actress.

And the whole Betamax segment where Walter was trying to get an emotional reaction was wonderful.

 

[Iconian]

I also thought it was excellent. Not a lot of action in the ep, but many questions answered in a satisfying way, imo. Oh man, Peter's mom brought so much depth to this episode and the actress is so hot. :P

Yeah, the kids did a good job too, especially little Olive. Lol, she was the one who tipped off Walternate about Peter(nate)'s whereabouts. Nice twist.

I think it's great how all these plots and characters who seemed to be complete strangers at first are becoming more and more interconnected.

I hope Olivia unlocks her full abilities before the show is over. Maybe when she meets her abusive stepfather once again and incinerates him.

 

[watermelony2k]

BSG game

God, I actually remember that. I'm old....:sad:

Interesting, I thought that too but thought it was just me.

Did they film this episode in 3D? It almost looks like the camera is cross-eyed.

Believe it or not that crossed my mind as well! It's probably just meant to cause a feeling of disorientation, I'm not sure but it almost seems to be getting stronger.

I think it's to give it that 80's television grit.

 

[Checkmate]

- How did the Alt. Walter figure out where his son went.

In both universes, Walter has the super power of "making giant leaps of illogical guesses but believing that they're right" which is a secondary offshoot of the power of "plot."

Walternate seems a little girl all but materialize in front of him, having apparently gotten past all of his security, crying about being abused, telling him that he was right that she did jump universes, and throw down a coloring book where she drew herself standing in some tulips (which likely don't exist in that area in his universe) with a boy named Peter before spontaneously disappearing before his very eyes.

So that probably helped, too.

 

[Borgminister]

Fantastic episode. Hoping for a renewal.

 

[dru]

Not a bad episode. The child actress paying Olive did an excellent job. I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one wondering about the image quality. I eventually "got" that it was deliberate but it was very weird to start with.

the 80s credits listed these subjects: personal computing, cloning, nanotechnology, dna profiling, cold fusion; invisibility, genetic engineering, laser surgery; stealth technology, in vitro fertilization, virtual reality

 

[Trippy]

I'm giving it an excellent, but not as strong as "Peter" excellence, but still damn good. Fringe doesn't disappoint.

 

[Samurai8472]

the 80s credits listed these subjects: personal computing, cloning, nanotechnology, dna profiling, cold fusion; invisibility, genetic engineering, laser surgery; stealth technology, in vitro fertilization, virtual reality

From the 2nd season 80's episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjua7n0n2SM

 

[Aragorn]

I like how they have the VCR tracking lines at the start of the 80s credits.

 

[Hyperspace05]

I like how they have the VCR tracking lines at the start of the 80s credits.

Ha! Good catch - I never noticed that!

 

[hadd001]

I loved the fact that Oliva's appearance in Walternates office is what really started the whole "war". Excellent episode!

 

[Worf2DS9]

BSG game

God, I actually remember that. I'm old....:sad:

Did they film this episode in 3D? It almost looks like the camera is cross-eyed.

Believe it or not that crossed my mind as well! It's probably just meant to cause a feeling of disorientation, I'm not sure but it almost seems to be getting stronger.

I think it's to give it that 80's television grit.

If true, I think in this instance the creators went a bit too far in trying to give the episode an 80s "feel". The fuzzy/blurry picture just annoyed the hell out of me and brought the visual quality of the ep down, IMO. Other than that, very good ep indeed.

 

[Forbin]

Gotta say, though she was a good actor, the little girl looks NOTHING like Anna Torv.

 

[sojourner]

So, where was fauxlivia during these events?

The Bishop Dynamics building seemd to be the same as the children's lab in Jacksonville, FL. Does that mean that in Walternate's universe Kennedy Space Center was built in Jacksonville? (He could see the shuttle out of his window)

The children look to be between 10 and 12 yrs of age. Based on the video game (Joust) and the Battlestar Galactica board game the time frame for the episode seems to be 1982 to 1985. So this would seem to make Peter and Olivia 35 on the low end and 40 on the high end.

 

[Taran'atar]

So, where was fauxlivia during these events?

Olivia's and Fauxlivia's earlier lives seem quite divergent. It is very possible that her mother never married the alternate version of Olivia's stepfather, which would mean Fauxlivia never lived on the army base in Jacksonville.

The Bishop Dynamics building seemd to be the same as the children's lab in Jacksonville, FL. Does that mean that in Walternate's universe Kennedy Space Center was built in Jacksonville? (He could see the shuttle out of his window)

The children look to be between 10 and 12 yrs of age. Based on the video game (Joust) and the Battlestar Galactica board game the time frame for the episode seems to be 1982 to 1985. So this would seem to make Peter and Olivia 35 on the low end and 40 on the high end.

Peter was born in 1978 as shown on the headstone in the season one finale. This episode takes place in 1985 (a few months after the 'Peter' episode of season two). I believe there was an April date somewhere in this episode. I just checked, in 'Ability' Olivia stated that she was 3 in 1981, so she is about Peters age. So the child actors were a few years older than the characters, but that is nothing new, right?

 

[Checkmate]

It's even easier to explain than that.

Walternate never had the desire or insight to work on Cortaxiphan (or however you spell it), thus he didn't need children to experiment on. Nevermind that he was building the foundation of that universe's Massive Dynamics there, while Walter was just using it as a laboratory.

What it does explain is why she was chosen for the Fringe Division on that side, and why Walternate is so relatively close to her.

 

[OsmiumJohnnycake]

didn't the battlestar galactica game come out in 1978? that confused me. the toystore felt more like random late 70s - mid 80s mixed together.

 

[Forbin]

[So the child actors were a few years older than the characters, but that is nothing new, right?

I always think of a Fame episode where a teacher referred to Nia Peeples' character as "no ordinary 16-year-old." I remember turning to my wife and saying "yeah, since she's 25!"

 

[LitmusDragon]

Why does everything look so fuzzy?

Interesting, I thought that too but thought it was just me.

Me too, there was definitely something wrong with the feed in my area. The odd thing is it was only in certain shots but it was very noticeable!

I voted Average. It was a good episode but I dislike the ret-conn angle. You'd think that Peter and Olivia would remember this extremely significant moment of their youth when they met again as adults ... oh well.

edit:
Oh, perhaps the fuzziness was intentional- if so I think they overdid it! It was really hard to look at.

I'm also not sure how I feel about Olivia being the impetus that led to Walternate's obsession with "the other side".

 

[Icemizer]

The '80's fuzzy picture I could have lived without but I enjoyed the rest of the episode. I hated Joust with a passion glad Peter went for the old DC-3 plane. So the alternate universe can build a space shuttle but still likes to use blimps, I find that funny.