The Dreamscape

Season 1, Episode 9, Aired
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Episode Summary

A Massive Dynamic employee leaps to his death after hallucinating a butterfly attack. Agent Scott proves useful in investigating the case, but a frustrated Olivia wants to remove him from her consciousness once and for all. Meanwhile, Peter deals with some enemies from his past.
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Fan Episode Reviews (17)

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  • Back in the tank.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By becksdakex, Sep 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode is a little different from the ones before it, the Fringe group doesn't have to work around the clock to save someone which is a nice change.
    The story is about Massive Dynamic, how big and bad is it, is it behind all the bad stuff that's been happening lately and is the "pattern" only a cover? Olivia tries to get information from her old boyfriends memories and goes back into the tank. She is also frustrated and begs Walter to help her remove his memories afterwards, she wants to be free from him, tired of him showing up. Walter says no and we get to see a different responsible side of him which is rare and a bit out of character. Meanwhile Peter is off on his own, dealing with the past that has finally caught up to him. Not so interesting...
    The most memorable scenes: Olivia goes into John's memories and finds herself on their first date and somehow connects with him, creepy. Olivia confronts Nina at Massive Dynamic.
    Good episode, nice entertainment!
    moreless

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    0 0

  • More Questions than Answers.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By saleblanc, Aug 21, 2010 Report Abuse
    Olivia feeling like she going nuts, that's kinda understandable knowing what's been going on with her. Peter had a piece of his past return in Tess. In tonight's episode deal's with toad toxins. Walter does sometimes sound like a mad scientist who says the most inappropriate things at times. He just so makes this show. Olivia keeps finding things out about John and getting more confused. He's definitely not the man she thought. Massive Dynamic is back in the middle of all of this as expected. It keeps coming back to them. Olivia's proven that she won't stop until she finds the answers she seeks. I just hope it it doesn't cost her to much.moreless

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    3 0

  • If you thought the show was too formulaic, well, watch this episode.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By JBentham, Aug 21, 2010 Report Abuse
    I'm surprised at the negative criticism this episode gets saying that it has more questions than answers.

    Before that, the same people complained about it being too episodic and formulaic. guys, there WILL be more questions if you want an over arcing storyline...

    Anyhow, fantastic episode. Def one of the best efforts of the show so far. Loved everything, the beginning with the awesome music and fall, the dream scene, Peter's mystery, Olivia confronting Nina, the creepy ending...

    There's really nothing else I could ask for. This is pretty much it - Fringe dealing with Fringe science and conspiracies . . .moreless

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    6 2

  • Butterflies and hurricanes

    8.0
    "Great"
    By entil2001, Aug 21, 2010 Report Abuse
    The irony of this episode is that its main revelation is something that most fans have probably already assumed. As such, the impact of the episode might have been lost completely as a result.

    That revelation is the contention that Massive Dynamic is not only profiting off the results of the experiments collectively known as The Pattern, but that they are directly behind those experiments. It's certainly not a new thought, since it's a fairly obvious supposition, but the characters weren't quite there yet. This brings Agent Dunham to the same suspicions as much of the audience.

    Yet I can't help but notice that this is such an obvious connection. Is this a case of writers underestimating the intelligence of its audience, or exploiting it? If it's easy to assume that Massive Dynamic is behind The Pattern, this early in the season, wouldn't it be a good candidate for a red herring? I have the feeling that this episode is meant to lull the audience into a false sense of security.

    I think the more important plot point is Agent Dunham's growing instability. She's becoming obsessive to the point of self-destruction. When Walter Bishop is the one telling you you're going too far, it's time to step back and rethink your boundaries. What this is really saying about Olivia, of course, is that she's normalizing what is on the fringe of normality.

    And because it's on the fringe, it's not necessarily within the grasp of Walter Bishop, either. Olivia hasn't figured out yet (despite all the mounting evidence) that Walter can speak resolutely about anything. He's constantly sure about things that are dead wrong. Why assume that he knows the full spectrum of what is and what can be on the frontier of human experience? The frightening thing is that Olivia is crossing into regions of consciousness well outside of Walter's ability to conceive. Sooner or later, that gap is going to be costly (which therefore makes it meaningful).

    Another subplot involves Peter. Peter wasn't happy about coming back to Boston, and now we know the reason. It's not hard to see how Peter's unsavory associations might complicate investigations and lives in the future. For now, Peter just gets the ball rolling. It's not as interesting as Olivia's mental escapades or the revelations about Massive Dynamic, but like so many other items in the episode, it points to revelations to come.moreless

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    4 0

  • what a great episode, i really enjoy the show

    10
    "Perfect"
    By altaleh, Aug 21, 2010 Report Abuse
    the effects at the beginning of the episode was amazing, the slow motion while the man falling down after he get freaked out from the butterfly!!
    and now the story of every character start to take place, like in this episode what happened with Peter Bishop and that his story will start to take place as we saw at the end of the episode.
    I just want to know if john Scott is still alive or hes dead!! i mean Olivia keep seeing things from his memory and sometimes himself!!!
    but the sure thing that all what is happening is because of the company "Massive Dynamic"!!
    in general this was a very amazing episode and i hope the show will continue this way.moreless

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    3 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Trivia: The glyph for this episode is "VOICE." Edit
    • Olivia translates MONARCH into a phone number, but in Massachusetts phone numbers have 10 digits, as the area code must be dialed as well. Edit
    • Trivia: In the shot of Olivia and Charlie chasing Morales, there is a van with the Trevisanus Bro Estimators symbol on it. This is a clue toward the next episode, "Safe." Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Original International Air Dates: Sweden: November 27, 2008 on Kanal 5 United Kingdom: November 30, 2008 on Sky One Australia: December 15, 2008 on Nine Norway: March 1, 2009 on TVN Finland: March 2, 2009 on MTV3 Germany: May 18, 2009 on ProSieben Belgium: June 25, 2009 on RTBF2 France: July 8, 2009 on TF1 The Netherlands: November 1, 2009 on Net5 Poland: November 5, 2009 on TVN Slovakia: November 29, 2009 on Markiza Czech Republic: March 5, 2010 on Nova Cinema Edit
    • While investigating the death of the victim at his apartment, Olivia finds plane tickets to Omaha from the Oceanic airline company. This is a clear reference to JJ Abrams other popular work Lost. It was an Oceanic flight that crashed on the island giving the catalyst for the show. Edit
    • The episode began seven minutes later, at 9:07 Eastern. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Peter: Just your average multi-national corporation specializing in secret bio research and defense contracting. Massive Dynamic. Seems like such an innocent name for a corporation, don't you think? Edit
    • Walter: It's a shame I don't have a lab. I'd like to examine him. Peter: You do have a lab, Walter. Your lab at Harvard. Walter: Yes. I do, don't I? Edit
    • Charlie: Do you ever wonder how we survived as a species without drugs? Edit

  • Allusions

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