Fringe
Fringe

Episode Report Card
Daniel: B | 1059 USERS: B-
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I Got a Machine and I Took Over the World in One Weekend

Nearby is a Native American war hammer, but before he can get all smashy smashy, Olivia feels the electricity building in the air. At the last second, she shoves Sam clear as lightning slashes through the room, destroying the skylight and several of the display cases. And now the alarm is going, and Olivia wants to go shut off the alarm and she tells Sam to grab the key, so he smashes the case and picks up the stone tablet.

Out in the hall, the alarm has sent the security fencing rattling towards the floor, and Olivia tries to stop it with the nearby breaker panel, but it was short-circuited by the lightning. It's too far for them to make it on time, so Sam grabs a piece of debris and rolls it down the hall so that it hits a massive urn that tips over and rolls under the gate, stopping it from descending. Olivia's not too frantic that she can't be impressed by that little display, but Sam shrugs it off: "I work in a bowling alley," he says. Yeah, is that bowling alley designed by Rube Goldberg? Because if it isn't, I'm not sure that applies.

Anyway, outside Sam uses a hammer to split open the stone tablet to find the key, which is actually a small metallic rod encased inside. She wants to know how to use it, but Sam has no clue. "I told you, the instructions are incomplete," he says. Jesus, it's only your family's life's works. Olivia fiddles with the box and the key until the key clangs magnetically to the underside of the box, and it unfolds open itself. Inside is a scroll. Great. Is that the map to get to the key that opens another box that contains a key card?

Sam unrolls the scroll. More arcane scribbling, but the drawing on it, a woman with her head bowed and eyes closed, is unmistakably Olivia. At least her eyes aren't on fire.

Commercial break, and then we're back at the lab, where Walter is studying the diagram, theorizing that if it's a companion to the other picture, then it means that she and Peter both have a connection to the machine. Sam's no help: "All I know is the original manuscript is very clear on this point. The lockbox contains the crowbar."

So Walter's got it sussed out: Olivia's got the ability to turn off the force field long enough for Peter to get inside. Oh, and also that "Crowbar" would make a pretty bad-ass nickname, I think. Anyway, Olivia has no idea how she's supposed to get in anyway, so Walter turns to the drawing. He notices that there are waves behind Olivia's head on the right side of the page, and similar waves around the machine on the left side of the page, so he rolls the scroll back up, picture on the outside this time, revealing the answer. It's kind of like a reverse Mad fold-in. Olivia's incredulous, and Sam's all, "Telekinesis!" and Olivia says, "I can't." And Walter has to remind her that she in fact can and has done it in the past. I mean, it's kind of bullshit to have to say, "Remember that time you defused a bomb with your mind?" But it's arguably worse for Olivia to insist that she can't do it when she's done it before. What she means is that it was different, but Walter's only willing to concede that it was less advanced. But there is one snag: "Since it's the machine on the other side that's turned on, that's the machine you'll have to interact with," he says. Olivia's aghast at the implication that she might need to cross over, but that's not the case. He says the same part of her mind that allows her to cross over contains her telekinesis ability, so they should be able to work together in combination. "Control the machine over there from over here," says Sam. Now you're on the trolley!

Fringe

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