Entrada (Fringe)
Encyclopedia
"Entrada" is the eighth episode of the third season
of the American science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
, and the 51st episode overall. The third season spent much of its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes, and "Entrada" was the first of the season to have time evenly divided between both. In the episode, Olivia
and her doppelganger "Fauxlivia" attempt to journey back to their respective universes.
The episode first aired on December 2, 2010 in the United States to an estimated 5.13 million viewers. It premiered to positive reviews, and has been selected for "best episode" lists by various television critics.
, Olivia Dunham
(Anna Torv
) was able to cross over back to her universe long enough to warn Peter Bishop
(Joshua Jackson
) she is trapped in the parallel universe
. After receiving the message, Peter tests the Olivia from the other dimension, "Fauxlivia", by telling her the Greek
phrase Einai kalytero anthropo apo ton patera toy (roughly, "May he be a better person than his father"), which Olivia told Peter in the "New Day in the Old Town
". When Fauxlivia fails to recognize the phrase, Peter confirms his suspicions. Realizing she has been exposed, Fauxlivia forces Peter to inject himself with a paralyzing agent. She then goes to a typewriter
store in the Bronx
to contact the parallel universe to request an extraction.
After Peter recovers, the Fringe team starts a search for Fauxlivia. However, Walter Bishop
(John Noble
) is distressed that he has no idea how to find Fauxlivia and no idea how to bring Olivia back. However, Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole
) discovers Fauxlivia brought Walter Malasada
s from a bakery in the Bronx. Peter, Walter, Farnsworth and Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick
) search the nearby area, Peter finds the typewriter store and the team finds the typewriter used to contact the other universe (a "quantum entanglement
" device). There, the team realizes that Fauxlivia is going to a train station in Newark
for a 4:00 PM pick-up.
Meanwhile, in the parallel universe, "Walternate" (Noble) plans on using Olivia's body in order for her alternate self to return home, as it would require a person of Olivia's mass to complete the transfer. However, Walternate arranges for Olivia's brain to be removed for further study on how to traverse universes safely. Before she is to start the operation, Olivia receives a visit from Colonel Broyles (the alternate universe's counterpart to her FBI supervisor), who is still grateful to Olivia for helping his son. Olivia convinces him that her universe is not at war with theirs; the troubles started not from any hostile action, but only as an accidental side-effect of Walter's initial crossing to save Peter. Broyles later talks with his wife and then returns to Liberty Island to save Olivia. Together, the two reach the immersion tank that Olivia used earlier, but find it empty. As a back-up plan, the two travel to Walternate's long abandoned lab at Harvard to use the sensory deprivation tank. Broyles reveals there is a GPS tracker in him, but manages to buy Olivia enough time to successfully return back to her universe.
As this transpires, Fauxlivia meets with a shapeshifter
at the station to inject her with resonating rods. By that time, Broyles and Peter arrive at the station. To ensure her escape, Fauxlivia holds a hostage. However, Peter realizes the hostage is the shapeshifter when the hostage is unable to state the name of "her" nearby daughter. Peter shoots the shapeshifter in the head, killing it, and Fauxlivia is arrested. Later, the team learns that their own Olivia has returned. However, Fauxlivia still manages to escape back to her universe, leaving behind the mutilated body of the alternate counterpart of Broyles to make up for her mass. While Peter and Olivia reunite at a hospital, the typewriter store owner trades a man a piece of the doomsday device
in exchange for the restoration of his paralyzed legs.
s website to celebrate the airing of "Entrada". Pinkner explained that the trailer idea did not come from his production team, but rather was produced by a Fox division called Special Ops, who came up with the idea in order to platform Fringe to the audience in a way they had not seen before.
"Entrada" was written by executive producers Jeff Pinkner
and J. H. Wyman. Filmmaker Brad Anderson directed the episode, shooting it in September 2010 on New Westminster's Front Street in Vancouver
. Pinkner and Wyman revealed in a conference call interview that the episode was the "culmination of a lot of things that [they] had been working on for quite a while". Though they loved all of their episodes, the two stated that "Entrada" was a particular favorite of theirs, with Pinker elaborating that "if the only episode of Fringe you ever tune into watch is this one, sure, it’s going to take you five minutes to catch up, but you will feel what’s going on, and you will understand the relationships...[It's] a great entry point".
As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan in collaboration with Science Olympiad
for grade school children, focusing on the science seen in "Entrada", with the intention of having "students learn about scientific intuition and how it can facilitate the scientific method of collecting data through experimentation and observation in order to formulate and test a hypothesis."
, with a total of 6.87 million viewers with a 2.6 rating among viewers 18–49.
Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly
commented the episode "closed a Fringe chapter in bringing Olivia back, while opening up all sorts of fresh new possibilities for the future. Both Olivias are changed women with new amounts of information about their opposing universes, and thus will be able to influence their Walters in how to proceed henceforth. The series can resume plot threads that have been given scant attention in recent weeks, such as Walter’s takeover of Massive Dynamic, and what I’m hoping will be an increased presence by Nina Sharp, whose role in the interuniverse machinations is ripe for exploration".
Writing for SFScope
, Sarah Stegall praised Reddick's performance as both Colonel Broyles, and Torv's "tour-de-force" performance as Olivia and her doppelganger. She also noted how strong of a show Fringe has evolved into, lauding the producers' decision to focus on the show's "strongest and most innovative plot": the parallel universe. Stegall expressed hope that Fauxlivia's experiences in the prime universe would lead her to challenge Walternate's more militant actions to destroy it. Stegall further recognized the episode's editing, as "a complicated story like this one could have been endlessly confusing, with multiple versions of the same character, two extremely similar universes, and plot points reaching back to the first season. Yet the writing and direction kept it all sorted out, without resorting to voice-overs, flashbacks, or other lame expository devices. This is classy, tight writing, and my hat's off to the entire team". Television Without Pity graded the episode an A+, while The A.V. Club
gave it an A-. It topped several "best episode of 2010" lists, including Den of Geek, and Give Me My Remote.
", "Marionette
", and "Bloodline
" for consideration in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
. She failed to receive a nomination. John Noble also submitted "Entrada", along with "The Firefly
" and "The Day We Died
", for consideration in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category, but did not receive a nomination.
Fringe (season 3)
The third season of the American science fiction television series Fringe premiered on Fox on September 23, 2010, and concluded on May 6, 2011, consisting of 22 episodes. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros...
of the American science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
, and the 51st episode overall. The third season spent much of its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes, and "Entrada" was the first of the season to have time evenly divided between both. In the episode, Olivia
Olivia Dunham
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv....
and her doppelganger "Fauxlivia" attempt to journey back to their respective universes.
The episode first aired on December 2, 2010 in the United States to an estimated 5.13 million viewers. It premiered to positive reviews, and has been selected for "best episode" lists by various television critics.
Plot
At the end of the previous episodeThe Abducted
"The Abducted" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The third season spent much of its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes, and "The Abducted" was set in the latter...
, Olivia Dunham
Olivia Dunham
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv....
(Anna Torv
Anna Torv
Anna Torv is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.-Early life:...
) was able to cross over back to her universe long enough to warn Peter Bishop
Peter Bishop
Peter Bishop is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson.-Fictional character biography:...
(Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
) she is trapped in the parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
. After receiving the message, Peter tests the Olivia from the other dimension, "Fauxlivia", by telling her the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
phrase Einai kalytero anthropo apo ton patera toy (roughly, "May he be a better person than his father"), which Olivia told Peter in the "New Day in the Old Town
A New Day in the Old Town
"A New Day in the Old Town" is the season premiere and first episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 21st episode overall. It was written by co-creator J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, with Goldsman also directing...
". When Fauxlivia fails to recognize the phrase, Peter confirms his suspicions. Realizing she has been exposed, Fauxlivia forces Peter to inject himself with a paralyzing agent. She then goes to a typewriter
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
store in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
to contact the parallel universe to request an extraction.
After Peter recovers, the Fringe team starts a search for Fauxlivia. However, Walter Bishop
Walter Bishop (Fringe)
Walter Bishop, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by John Noble. Noble also plays Walter's counterpart in the show's parallel universe, who is referred to in the show as Walternate.-Arc:...
(John Noble
John Noble
John Noble is an Australian film and television actor, and theater director of more than 80 plays. He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia and is currently starring as scientist Walter Bishop in the J. J. Abrams television series Fringe.He made occasional appearances on the...
) is distressed that he has no idea how to find Fauxlivia and no idea how to bring Olivia back. However, Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole is an American actress and illustrator from Birmingham, Alabama. She is most famous for portraying the character of Astrid Farnsworth in the TV series Fringe....
) discovers Fauxlivia brought Walter Malasada
Malasada
A malasada is a Portuguese confection. They were first made by inhabitants of Madeira Island. Malasadas are made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar. A popular variation is where they are hand dropped into the oil and people have to guess...
s from a bakery in the Bronx. Peter, Walter, Farnsworth and Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor and musician born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Lost. He now has a prominent role in Fringe...
) search the nearby area, Peter finds the typewriter store and the team finds the typewriter used to contact the other universe (a "quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement occurs when electrons, molecules even as large as "buckyballs", photons, etc., interact physically and then become separated; the type of interaction is such that each resulting member of a pair is properly described by the same quantum mechanical description , which is...
" device). There, the team realizes that Fauxlivia is going to a train station in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
for a 4:00 PM pick-up.
Meanwhile, in the parallel universe, "Walternate" (Noble) plans on using Olivia's body in order for her alternate self to return home, as it would require a person of Olivia's mass to complete the transfer. However, Walternate arranges for Olivia's brain to be removed for further study on how to traverse universes safely. Before she is to start the operation, Olivia receives a visit from Colonel Broyles (the alternate universe's counterpart to her FBI supervisor), who is still grateful to Olivia for helping his son. Olivia convinces him that her universe is not at war with theirs; the troubles started not from any hostile action, but only as an accidental side-effect of Walter's initial crossing to save Peter. Broyles later talks with his wife and then returns to Liberty Island to save Olivia. Together, the two reach the immersion tank that Olivia used earlier, but find it empty. As a back-up plan, the two travel to Walternate's long abandoned lab at Harvard to use the sensory deprivation tank. Broyles reveals there is a GPS tracker in him, but manages to buy Olivia enough time to successfully return back to her universe.
As this transpires, Fauxlivia meets with a shapeshifter
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
at the station to inject her with resonating rods. By that time, Broyles and Peter arrive at the station. To ensure her escape, Fauxlivia holds a hostage. However, Peter realizes the hostage is the shapeshifter when the hostage is unable to state the name of "her" nearby daughter. Peter shoots the shapeshifter in the head, killing it, and Fauxlivia is arrested. Later, the team learns that their own Olivia has returned. However, Fauxlivia still manages to escape back to her universe, leaving behind the mutilated body of the alternate counterpart of Broyles to make up for her mass. While Peter and Olivia reunite at a hospital, the typewriter store owner trades a man a piece of the doomsday device
Doomsday device
A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction — usually a weapon, or collection of weapons — which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly the Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing "doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth...
in exchange for the restoration of his paralyzed legs.
Production
In a departure from previous Fringe trailers, Fox created and premiered a "grandiose movie-style" trailer at Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s website to celebrate the airing of "Entrada". Pinkner explained that the trailer idea did not come from his production team, but rather was produced by a Fox division called Special Ops, who came up with the idea in order to platform Fringe to the audience in a way they had not seen before.
"Entrada" was written by executive producers Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
and J. H. Wyman. Filmmaker Brad Anderson directed the episode, shooting it in September 2010 on New Westminster's Front Street in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. Pinkner and Wyman revealed in a conference call interview that the episode was the "culmination of a lot of things that [they] had been working on for quite a while". Though they loved all of their episodes, the two stated that "Entrada" was a particular favorite of theirs, with Pinker elaborating that "if the only episode of Fringe you ever tune into watch is this one, sure, it’s going to take you five minutes to catch up, but you will feel what’s going on, and you will understand the relationships...[It's] a great entry point".
As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan in collaboration with Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals...
for grade school children, focusing on the science seen in "Entrada", with the intention of having "students learn about scientific intuition and how it can facilitate the scientific method of collecting data through experimentation and observation in order to formulate and test a hypothesis."
Ratings
"Entrada" was watched by an estimated 5.13 million viewers in the United States, with a 3.2/5 share among all households and a 1.8/5 share among viewers 18–49. The episode was seen by an additional 1.7 million on timeshifted viewings after seven-day DVRDigital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
, with a total of 6.87 million viewers with a 2.6 rating among viewers 18–49.
Reviews
The episode has received almost unanimously positive reviews. James Poniewozik of Time Magazine wrote, "While it may not have been the high point that the emotional "Peter" from earlier this year was, "Entrada" was a pretty excellent action-focused episode, in which the dimensional swap between Fauxlivia and Realivia came to a head. In the process, it demonstrated that Fringe's writers have made a compelling world out of Over There in a relative few episodes—and it was another example of what a strong series Fringe has become since its committed fully to its clash-of-the-universes storyline...All in all, a satisfying hour and a good demonstration of how Fringe—one of the most improved shows of the past season or so—has grown into one of TV's most entertaining dramas".Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
commented the episode "closed a Fringe chapter in bringing Olivia back, while opening up all sorts of fresh new possibilities for the future. Both Olivias are changed women with new amounts of information about their opposing universes, and thus will be able to influence their Walters in how to proceed henceforth. The series can resume plot threads that have been given scant attention in recent weeks, such as Walter’s takeover of Massive Dynamic, and what I’m hoping will be an increased presence by Nina Sharp, whose role in the interuniverse machinations is ripe for exploration".
Writing for SFScope
SFScope
SFScope is an online trade journal devoted to entertainment news concerning speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It was founded by Ian Randal Strock in early 2007....
, Sarah Stegall praised Reddick's performance as both Colonel Broyles, and Torv's "tour-de-force" performance as Olivia and her doppelganger. She also noted how strong of a show Fringe has evolved into, lauding the producers' decision to focus on the show's "strongest and most innovative plot": the parallel universe. Stegall expressed hope that Fauxlivia's experiences in the prime universe would lead her to challenge Walternate's more militant actions to destroy it. Stegall further recognized the episode's editing, as "a complicated story like this one could have been endlessly confusing, with multiple versions of the same character, two extremely similar universes, and plot points reaching back to the first season. Yet the writing and direction kept it all sorted out, without resorting to voice-overs, flashbacks, or other lame expository devices. This is classy, tight writing, and my hat's off to the entire team". Television Without Pity graded the episode an A+, while The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave it an A-. It topped several "best episode of 2010" lists, including Den of Geek, and Give Me My Remote.
Awards and nomination
Anna Torv submitted "Entrada", along with the season three episodes "OliviaOlivia (Fringe)
"Olivia" is the first episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode was written by executive producers J. H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner, and was directed by Joe Chappelle. The third season spent its time alternating between the prime and...
", "Marionette
Marionette (Fringe)
"Marionette" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker, and directed by Joe Chappelle...
", and "Bloodline
Bloodline (Fringe)
"Bloodline" is the 18th episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 61st episode overall.-Plot:...
" for consideration in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2010 until May 31, 2011, was held on September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Fox televised the ceremony within the United States. Actress Jane Lynch hosted...
. She failed to receive a nomination. John Noble also submitted "Entrada", along with "The Firefly
The Firefly (Fringe)
"The Firefly" is the 10th episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 53rd episode overall. The episode centers on a chain of events created by Walter crossing over into the parallel universe in 1985 that has had subtle but significant effects...
" and "The Day We Died
The Day We Died
"The Day We Died" is the third season finale of the Fox science fiction drama television series Fringe. It is the season's 22nd episode and the series' 65th episode overall. The finale follows the aftermath of Peter entering and activating the doomsday device...
", for consideration in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category, but did not receive a nomination.
External links
- "Entrada" at FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...