Recap / Fringe S02 E15 "Jacksonville"

aka: Fringe S 02 E 15

Season 2, Episode 15:

Jacksonville

A localized earthquake in New York City damages only one building, killing nearly all inside. The Fringe team discovers that a second building appeared at the same location as the first, fusing the structure and people inside together. Walter realizes that the second building has been pulled from the alternate universe by Thomas Jerome Newton, using the technology that Walter and William Bell developed years ago. Walter warns that, because of conservation of mass, a building of similar mass will be taken from the prime universe to the alternate one sometime in the next few days.

While Massive Dynamic offers its computing resources to identify possible buildings of similar mass, Walter implores Olivia to recall her childhood Cortexiphan-induced ability to see objects from the alternate universe, believing she will be able to foresee which building will be affected and warn everyone in time. He takes her to the disused child-care facility in Jacksonville, Florida, where the Cortexiphan trials were performed. Walter first puts Olivia under heavy sedation, and she experiences meeting her younger, frightened self, but is still unable to trigger her ability. Olivia begins to remember the gruesome trials she experienced, including footage from one test where she exhibited pyrokinesis. As Walter's deadline nears, he realizes that Olivia is no longer frightened and thus she cannot engage her abilities, which were triggered by fear.

They return to New York City as small micro-quakes occur, indicating the onset of the event. Though a few buildings have been identified as possible targets, there are far too many to evacuate without starting a mass panic. Olivia, unable to help, goes off privately, but Peter follows and comforts her. Olivia soon recognizes she is frightened again, and races to a rooftop, seeing a building shimmer in the distance. The building, a hotel, is quickly identified from the list of candidates, and is evacuated in time, moments before being pulled into the alternate universe.

Agent Broyles provides a cover story of an unexpected controlled demolition to explain the disappearance of the hotel. Olivia later meets Peter at his house prior to them going out on a date, but when she arrives, she sees the same shimmer on Peter. Walter quietly asks Olivia not to tell Peter that he is from the other universe.

Tropes found in this episode:

• Almost Dead Guy: Ted Pratchett survives just long enough to provide evidence he's from another universe. His other head, which dies moments later, is less helpful.
• Almost Kiss: Happens between Peter and Olivia when he tries to comfort her about not being able to activate her abilites.
• Alternate Reality Episode: Or at least an Alternate Reality Opening Act. Clues that the first scene in the office building is from an alternate universe include:
  • The spelling of Manhatan in the 3D location signature.
  • The excitement about real coffee.
  • Blueprints for a New Pentagon Annex IV.
  • The fact that Ted Pratchett has a wedding ring.
  • Photo of the Twin Towers on the wall.
  • Micro-quakes in NYC.
• Anchored Ship: Olivia puts her feelings for Peter on hold once she finds out his secret, but the UST continues
• Artistic License – Medicine:
  • It is unclear why a peripheral IV injection in the right or left arm would make a difference in how quickly the drug works. In either case, the injection must go through the right heart, pulmonary circulation, and then left heart, before reaching the brain.
  • Olivia does not have any ECG leads on but we hear beeping which seem to indicate heart rate and see a monitor displaying cardiac telemetry.
  • The monitor shows Olivia's blood pressure as 55/37, which is certainly low enough to cause concern, but Walter does not seem upset. Of course, we never see a blood pressure measured so perhaps he knew this data was inaccurate. Even when Olivia is stressed, her blood pressure only went up to 78/50. It is not till she reaches a heart rate of 147 (her baseline heart rate was 70) that we get a normal blood pressure of 120/77.
  • The EEG consisted of about 7 electrodes along the hairline, unlike the 20 plus electrodes placed over the scalp in a real life EEG. However, this was a step up from most television EEGs as the electrodes were the small metal discs applied with an adhesive that are actually used for EEGs.
  • For unclear reasons, Walter only looks at one channel of EEG data. The recorded data shows only episodic negative potentials instead of the continuous polyphasic potentials one would expect from active neocortex.
• Body Horror: The two Ted Pratchetts get fused together when Over There's building collides with our universe's version. The results are disturbing enough to unsettle Astrid, who's seen some pretty nasty things as part of Fringe division.
• Cool Car: Double decker cars.
• Different World, Different Movies: Mammoth toy figures from the Ice Age movie which aired in 2002 are seen in the classroom that is supposed to have been locked up since 1985, suggesting these items were from the Alternate Universe and this movie occurred much earlier in the other universe's timeline.
• Equivalent Exchange:
  WALTER: The universe seeks balance. We sent a car over there, so a car of equal mass came back.
• Evil-Detecting Dog: Barking dogs.
• The Law of Conservation of Detail:
  WALTER: Five... twenty... ten... I always use the same combination, though I can't remember the significance.
  • Season two's finale aired on May 20, 2010.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Walter using the season finale's air date as his lock combination.
• Letting Her Hair Down: Olivia going out for drinks.
• Playing with Fire: Olive
• Psycho Serum: Cortexiphan
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Richard Nixon on a silver dollar.
• Shout-Out:
  • When Olivia is given Cortexiphan, she says she is Singin' in the Rain.
  • Olive is very reminiscent of Drew Barrymore in Firestarter.
• Squick: Astrid reaches her limit with Misters Pratchetts.
• Techno Babble:
  WALTER: Quantum tectonic event would be my guess.
  • Quantum refers to atomic or subatomic particles. Tectonic relates to the earth's crust.
• These Hands Have Killed: A literal example where Walter is wearing blood stained latex gloves while holding the phone may foreshadow Walter's guilt for the events causing the clash of the universes.
• Wham Shot: Olivia sees the alternate universe glimmer around Peter and realizes he is from the Other Side.
  WALTER: Please don't tell him.

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