Fringe has often used the X-Files episode formula, but this one seemed more like Star Trek: The Next Generation. Just imagine that the isolated outpost was another planet instead of a hidden camp. The only other major difference was that the crew arrived in a Ford van instead of a starship.
Walter gave the coordinates as 49º 20’ 2”N, 79º 12’ 32” W. When Olivia recited the coordinates back, she changed the 49 to a 41. That was good, since 49 was incorrect. That would have sent our team to Canada instead of Pennsylvania. This seems like a production mistake. Even with the distortion on the tape, it is very clear that Walter said 49 and he did say Pennsylvania. I know I’m supposed to #trustthetapes, but in this case, I cannot.
On the tape, there was a blackboard behind Walter with a diagram showing how the “Energy Source” worked. It showed the chemical symbols for titanium, iron and manganese, linked in a circular process. Also, you can see “18 kg / 40 lbs”, which an approximate conversion of kilograms to pounds.
The coordinates lead to a spot in northern Pennsylvania, which we can see on Google Maps. It’s just southwest of the Allegheny National Forest. I would have thought that that part of Pennsylvania would have more deciduous trees, but on the show, it looked coniferous. Google says that the coordinates are located in Leeper, Pennsylvania, which would make our archivists with the skin disease members of a “Leeper colony” instead of a leper colony!
The red rocks were kept in an old gold mine. Perhaps there are gold mines in Pennsylvania, but the area is better known for coal mines. I wish they had made it a coal mine; it would have been more believable. This episode loses points on geography, botany and geology.
Episodes 5.01 and 5.02 both featured a song. There were no songs in this episode.
We finally learned the fate of Gene the cow, still trapped in amber in Walter’s lab.
All of the cars in 2036 are old; there is not a Prius in sight. Maybe the extra pollution is part of the Observers’ terraforming plan! Speaking of the atmosphere, the news report in the archive cites record low oxygen levels. The red universe also suffered from low oxygen levels.
The radio call sign was Kilo Alpha 42. Significance? Beats me.
One of the missing people on the posters outside Donovan’s restaurant was named Amber. Get it? Amber?
The early days of the Observer invasion must have been very strange. There were disintegrated buildings, explosions and thousands of missing and displaced people, but there were still electric power, internet news, and restaurants where you could get good apple pie. Also, you can see from the archived news reports that the Fringe team came out of the shadows and was publicly known or was at least known to the archivists. You can see Olivia, Peter and Broyles in the news photos.
Both an apple pie and an apple pill were mentioned in the episode. Apples are of course one of the classic Fringe symbols. This also showed how terrible 2036 is. Food has been reduced to efficient, flavorless, joyless pills, just like on The Jetsons. Maybe when this is all over, we can at least get some real milk from Gene.
One of the best parts of this episode is the boy River’s DIY comic books about the exploits of the Fringe Division. We catch a few glimpses of the books in the show, but the better view is from the promotional video.
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