I think of all the episodes, I have watched the Pilot the most. So there wasn’t as many things to post about it as I thought there would be. Here are some things that I did notice about 101 - “Pilot”.
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"Pilot"
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What did we miss?
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- I think the biggest thing that I noticed in the Pilot was the odd blinking lamp above John and Olivia’s head while they looked in the dumpster. Then we see it again, after the explosion, as Olivia lays on the ground. The reason I think it might be important is that there seems to be a pattern in the blinking. Is it perhaps Morse Code? Can anyone confirm this? Here is the video clip…
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- A nice bit of continuity between 101 and 113 was the motel sign. In 113 you see it in Olivia’s dream sequence reflected in the window of the motel, the same motel her and John are in during the Pilot.
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John and Olivia's motel
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- I also found some new fumbles, but I will save those for the fumble roundup later in the summer.
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What theories were overlooked?
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- When Olivia is at Massive Dynamic, Nina says something very curious to her. “I would say this to my own daughter…“ This quote seems intentionally put there. Is there perhaps a storyline that we have yet to be let in on? There is a lot of clone symbolism and clues in the show, but we have yet to see any episodes about it. Is it possible that Olivia is a clone? Maybe of a daughter that Nina lost. What do we really know about Olivia’s past? Could she be adopted and not even know it? Or there is always artificial insemination. If that were the case, her parents wouldn’t even be aware of it. My problem with this theory is…Why would Nina clone a daughter, and then not be an active part of her life? I don’t know…just a theory.
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What makes sense now that didn’t before?
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- Upon seeing Peter for the first time, Walter says…“I thought you’d be fatter.” What seemed then, like the rantings of a crazy man, is now so clear to us. This was one of the first clues to Peter not being the same Peter that Walter knew as a child.
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-During Olivia and Peter’s conversation on the plane, Olivia starts listing some of the Fringe science areas that Walter dabbled in so many years ago. It’s interesting to look back at what has been covered in season 1 and what we still have to look forward to in upcoming seasons.
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- mind control - Nick Lane, in a way.
- teleportation - Well that one’s obvious.
- astral projection - Should be interesting.
- Invisibility - This one I’m looking forward to seeing.
- genetic mutation - We’ve seen lots of that.
- re-animation - We’ve seen a bit of this, but not full out re-animation.
- fertility… - What’s the end of this sentence?
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How have the characters developed?
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- Although all of the characters have developed from the Pilot to the finale, I think the relationship between Peter and Walter has come the furthest. Peter’s attitude toward his father was nothing less than hostile in the Pilot episode, but we have seen some touching moments between the two of them since then. I look forward to seeing this relationship grow even more next season.
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What questions were never answered?
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- At the asylum, the orderly places a key in the door to where Walter is being held. There is a series of numbers and letters on it that appeared to be a clue of some kind. As far as I know, the importance of this clue has never been revealed.
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Mysterious key.
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- During Olivia’s dream sequence, there is an image of a skeleton, partially submerged in water, that keeps flashing on the screen. I don’t think this body has been discovered yet. Maybe next season?
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Mysterious skeleton.
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- When Walter rushes to Peter and checks his eyes, he says “Pupils are good. They’re good.”. Was this just more insight to alter-Peter or was it something else? There has been other references to Peter’s eyes, and to eyes in general throughout the season. Maybe there’s something we haven’t learned yet. Theories?
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- It was discovered that if you play Steig’s audio tape backwards, there was a hidden message…
The patient has no tracheal deviation
Bruises on chest and abdomen
Don’t flood the canal… get a C-Spine, Chest, and Head CT
Pupils?
Um… round?
The importance of this message has never been revealed. Anyone have a theory?
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What tie was Broyles wearing?
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Three ties in 101
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Tune in Saturday, June 6 for “Looking back at 102 - ‘Same Old Story’”.
June 2nd, at 2:16 am
I am wondering if they put the MOTEL in the “reading” position instead of the obvious reverse position that would be natural in a reflection so we could read ZFT
June 2nd, at 3:51 am
wow. I never even noticed it said zft on it…or that it should be backwards because its a reflection.
June 2nd, at 4:36 am
I’ve also wondered about the whole streetlight blinking and if it were some sort of pattern. It seemed like they went out of their way to focus on it and all for it to be insignificant, but if there is some message in it, I have no idea what it is!
My problem with the whole theory about Olivia being a clone is Rachel, her sister. How would Rachel fit in to that whole theory? It seems random, though I know not impossible or unheard of, for a couple to adopt a child, then have their own child later. And they seem too similar in appearance for it to seem possible that they came from separate parents. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up being wrong about this one…
I’d never noticed the skeleton image in Olivia’s dream — that’s somewhat creepy and I’m curious what the significance is. I’m also very curious as to what the significance was of the various locations where Olivia appeared in her dream state — a graveyard, a bedroom, and some desert like landscape. I wonder if those locations have some sort of meaning or purpose behind them. I also think it’s significant that she saw her uncle’s kayak. It seems like a random object to show up in a dream reality. Could her uncle somehow have ties to the Pattern?
Thanks for the review and for pointing out so many interesting things! I look forward to seeing what you find for future episodes.
June 2nd, at 11:04 am
@ 3bagsful & ariannejean: The motel sign was originally backwards in the reflection, I flipped it for the purpose of better viewing. Also, it was the next episode clue for 114.
@ mlj102: I’m not sure how, but I missed an entire paragraph about unanswered questions from Olivia’s dream sequence. Thanks for covering my butt. Also there was a junkyard in her dream.
As for Rachel, I thought about that, that’s why I mentioned artificial insemination. It’s a way out there theory, but there must be a clone somewhere, they just hint at it so much.
June 2nd, at 3:28 pm
I always thought the skeleton was one of the gooified passengers on the flight.
June 2nd, at 3:29 pm
Oh, regarding the junkyard: the preview from the next season shows scenes set in a junkyard.
June 2nd, at 4:38 pm
In the scene where Peter realizes that Liv was bluffing on the FBI file he said, “I could’ve stayed in Iraq.” And she replied with something like, “There was a car bomb in Kurkusk(sp?) this morning, maybe you owe me.”
This seemingly throw-away line has always made me think that the bomb was aimed at Peter.
June 2nd, at 8:29 pm
@ Scully
I’m glad I was able to help fill in the blanks of the things you forgot to add.
I definitely agree that cloning has to be a factor somewhere in the series — it just makes sense. But for whatever reason I just don’t think Olivia is a clone. The pieces just don’t seem to fit together for me. But I could definitely see someone else being a clone…
@ p3sident
I guess it’s definitely a possibility that the skeleton could be from the plane crash — good catch.
I agree that the comment about the bomb in Iraq sounds like it could certainly have been intended for Peter. It sounds like there are a lot of people after Peter, so I wouldn’t put it past any of his enemies.
One other thing that I noticed that probably means nothing, but I thought I’d point out:
I’m very curious about Peter’s past. I wonder what happened to his mother. Given that Peter was the only “next of kin” that they knew about, it would imply that she has died, right? I wonder how that happened. Also, when Olivia tells him how Walter may be the only way to save someone she loves who might die, Peter comments that “we all care about someone who’s dying” Again, this is another comment that could simply mean nothing, but at the same time, it makes me wonder if there is someone in Peter’s life who he cares about who is dying (or if there was someone in his life who he cared about who has died, like maybe his mother?). Peter also says later when talking to Olivia that he’s not a gambler, but that a couple of years ago, he sort of went crazy — I wonder what prompted that. I wonder what it is that caused him to start down the path that he was on when we are introduced to him in the pilot, because it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing he’s happy about or proud of.
Anyway, sorry for my random ramblings… maybe there’s something significant in all of that.
June 4th, at 4:23 am
yea i’m pretty sure that is morse code because there is a pattern and if u notice it won’t repeat i’m currently learing morse code so i’ll try to see if it says anything
June 6th, at 12:43 pm
I’m pretty sure that particular skeleton is reflected in the front of Olivia’s hazmat suit when she’s looking around Flight 627 so I believe pr3sidentspence is right– it’s a gooified passenger. Also the Zeno on the kayak ties into his posts on quantum mechanics.
A couple more odd things to catalogue: among the many hairless lab animals in the storage unit, one has hair and bright blue eyes (like in Midnight). There are pink hyacinths (remember the flowers from the Cure?)on the nurse’s desk behind Olivia when she brings in John’s change of clothes.
June 6th, at 10:10 pm
Nice catch on the hyacinths, Mic!
One of (the most famous of?) Zeno’s paradoxes is the arrow that constantly get’s 1/2 the distance to its target so never quite gets there. I think JJ might be poking us there, saying, “You might be getting close to the understanding things, but you’ll never quite get it all.”
June 8th, at 1:48 am
@pr3s– Thanks and yeah, I think you might be right about Zeno and JJ. What a power trip to keep us chasing our tails…
October 31st, at 3:23 am
The blinking light above the dumpster: the light itself means nothing that I’ve been able to determine. However, the sound emitting from it is that of the Fibonacci Sequence (1,2,3,5) and it appears again moments later when Olivia is slammed against one of the containers.
One of Fringe’s great mysteries… solved.