The Equation
Encyclopedia
"The Equation" is the eighth episode of the first season
of the American science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
. The episode followed the Fringe team's investigation into a kidnapping of a young musical prodigy
who had become obsessed with finishing one piece of music.
The episode was written by J. R. Orci and David H. Goodman, and was directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton
. It first aired in the United States on November 18, 2008, garnering an estimated 9.175 million viewers. Critical reception to the episode was mixed, though most critics were generally positive.
), is highlighted by a sequence of flashing lights which causes the boy's father to be hypnotized into a suggestive state and upon 'waking up' does not have any memory of what happened while hypnotized. Similar cases have ended with the victim being returned, but left insane from the trauma of the incident. As they investigate, they discover that each case dealt with a genius of some sort working on an unfinished equation. To discover the child's whereabouts, Olivia encourages Walter to return to St. Claire's Hospital and speak with his old bunkmate, Dashiell Kim (Randall Duk Kim
) a former mathematician who disappeared under similar circumstances. The visit does not go well, and Walter is held by the hospital administrator, who remains unconvinced of Walter's sanity. Walter manages to coerce his bunk mate into giving up a vague idea of his whereabouts, which Olivia and Peter use to find the boy once they arrange for Walter's release. However, the kidnapper, Joanne Ostler (Gillian Jacobs
), escapes with the completed formula, which she gives to Mitchell Loeb (Chance Kelly), who calibrates a frequency generator in such a way to allow him to pass through solid matter.
, her first and only credit for the series to date.
Actor John Noble
explained the episode in a November 2008 interview, "The next episode, which goes on next week, we see Walter from a different angle, very vulnerable. He goes back to the asylum again, and we see the very, very fearful man return for a while. Although he does have some wonderful moments earlier in the episode, when he goes back inside he turns into this incredibly fearful, stuttering fellow that we saw when we first met him. It's a very interesting journey we see Walter go through."
's fifth ranked show for the week.
columnist Alyse Wax called it a "pretty good episode", and believed it to be "far more enjoyable than last week's
", as it lacked that episode's "conspiracy nonsense" and John Scott storyline. However, Wax continued that "The Equation" "seemed rather pedestrian" because "nothing too freaky" happened, and wished that Walter and Peter had been used more. IGN
's Travis Fickett rated "The Equation" 7.5/10, called it a "solid episode" despite a few perceived plotholes. He liked Walter and Peter's actions in the asylum, and concluded "At this point, whether a solid single episode is enough to keep you watching Fringe likely has to do with your overall patience with the series and whatever its ultimate goals might be." Jane Boursaw of AOL TV
considered Walter's return to the asylum "heartbreaking". Erin Dougherty of Cinema Blend
called it the best episode since "The Same Old Story
" since it contained "suspense and drama and a minimal amount of conspiracy theories", making her feel "seriously giddy". While still calling it "entertaining", she disliked Walter seeing himself in the asylum, believing it "was really strange and didn’t go with the flow of the story". A.V. Club writer Noel Murray graded the episode with a B+, explaining that he believed it to be mainly an original story; what kept him from promoting it to the "elusive 'A' level–something no Fringe episode has yet done for me" was the ending, which was like "like something out of dozens of mediocre cop shows". Despite this, Murray found it and the asylum storyline to be "compelling".
Conversely, UGO Networks was critical of the episode, writing "Fringe continues to wobble in story quality. Last night's episode was a perfectly good way to waste an hour, but far off the track of last week's episodes. The episode featured some plot conveniences that were a bit hard to swallow".
Fringe (Season 1)
The first season of the American science fiction television series Fringe commenced airing on September 9, 2008, and concluded on May 12, 2009. The season contained 21 episodes, although only 20 of them aired as part of the first season...
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...
. The episode followed the Fringe team's investigation into a kidnapping of a young musical prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
who had become obsessed with finishing one piece of music.
The episode was written by J. R. Orci and David H. Goodman, and was directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Gwyneth Horder-Payton is an American film and television director.Since the late 1980s, she worked as an assistant director on a number of notable films namely Pacific Heights, The Doors, Raising Cain, I Love Trouble, Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco and number of other films.She made her...
. It first aired in the United States on November 18, 2008, garnering an estimated 9.175 million viewers. Critical reception to the episode was mixed, though most critics were generally positive.
Plot
The abduction of a young musician, Ben Stockton (Charlie TahanCharlie Tahan
Charles "Charlie" Tahan is an American child actor.Tahan was born and raised in Glen Rock, New Jersey. His sister is actress Daisy Tahan, and he has an older brother named Willie as well. Tahan portrayed Ethan in I Am Legend, appeared in Burning Bright, and co-starred with Zac Efron in the 2010...
), is highlighted by a sequence of flashing lights which causes the boy's father to be hypnotized into a suggestive state and upon 'waking up' does not have any memory of what happened while hypnotized. Similar cases have ended with the victim being returned, but left insane from the trauma of the incident. As they investigate, they discover that each case dealt with a genius of some sort working on an unfinished equation. To discover the child's whereabouts, Olivia encourages Walter to return to St. Claire's Hospital and speak with his old bunkmate, Dashiell Kim (Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim is a Korean-American stage, television and film actor. Kim was also the artistic director and mainstay lead actor at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which he founded with Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright...
) a former mathematician who disappeared under similar circumstances. The visit does not go well, and Walter is held by the hospital administrator, who remains unconvinced of Walter's sanity. Walter manages to coerce his bunk mate into giving up a vague idea of his whereabouts, which Olivia and Peter use to find the boy once they arrange for Walter's release. However, the kidnapper, Joanne Ostler (Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs is an American film, theatre and television actress, best known for her role as Britta Perry on the NBC comedy series Community.-Personal life:...
), escapes with the completed formula, which she gives to Mitchell Loeb (Chance Kelly), who calibrates a frequency generator in such a way to allow him to pass through solid matter.
Production
"The Equation" was written by supervising producer J. R. Orci and co-executive producer David H. Goodman, and was directed by filmmaker Gwyneth Horder-PaytonGwyneth Horder-Payton
Gwyneth Horder-Payton is an American film and television director.Since the late 1980s, she worked as an assistant director on a number of notable films namely Pacific Heights, The Doors, Raising Cain, I Love Trouble, Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco and number of other films.She made her...
, her first and only credit for the series to date.
Actor 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...
explained the episode in a November 2008 interview, "The next episode, which goes on next week, we see Walter from a different angle, very vulnerable. He goes back to the asylum again, and we see the very, very fearful man return for a while. Although he does have some wonderful moments earlier in the episode, when he goes back inside he turns into this incredibly fearful, stuttering fellow that we saw when we first met him. It's a very interesting journey we see Walter go through."
Ratings
On its initial broadcast in the United States, the episode was watched by an estimated 9.175 million viewers, earning a 5.6/8 ratings share among all households. Fringe was the Fox networkFox Broadcasting Company
Fox 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...
's fifth ranked show for the week.
Reviews
FearnetFEARnet
Fearnet is a cable channel, website and Video on Demand television service owned by Horror Entertainment LLC, a joint venture between Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Entertainment...
columnist Alyse Wax called it a "pretty good episode", and believed it to be "far more enjoyable than last week's
In Which We Meet Mr. Jones
"In Which We Meet Mr. Jones" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode was written by J. J. Abrams and Jeff Pinkner, and directed by Brad Anderson...
", as it lacked that episode's "conspiracy nonsense" and John Scott storyline. However, Wax continued that "The Equation" "seemed rather pedestrian" because "nothing too freaky" happened, and wished that Walter and Peter had been used more. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Travis Fickett rated "The Equation" 7.5/10, called it a "solid episode" despite a few perceived plotholes. He liked Walter and Peter's actions in the asylum, and concluded "At this point, whether a solid single episode is enough to keep you watching Fringe likely has to do with your overall patience with the series and whatever its ultimate goals might be." Jane Boursaw of AOL TV
AOL TV
AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display , and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV....
considered Walter's return to the asylum "heartbreaking". Erin Dougherty of Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend is a website founded and run by Josh Tyler dedicated to news and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films, movie projects, Television Shows, and a newly founded Music section which covers album reviews, band interviews and daily news from the industry. It combines gossip from...
called it the best episode since "The Same Old Story
The Same Old Story
Josh Jackson of Paste Magazine disliked the "deus ex machina" aspects that "neatly solved the puzzles of the first two episodes", and also criticized perceived "plot contrivances" like how the serial murderer immediately began aging once interrupted from killing his last victim...
" since it contained "suspense and drama and a minimal amount of conspiracy theories", making her feel "seriously giddy". While still calling it "entertaining", she disliked Walter seeing himself in the asylum, believing it "was really strange and didn’t go with the flow of the story". A.V. Club writer Noel Murray graded the episode with a B+, explaining that he believed it to be mainly an original story; what kept him from promoting it to the "elusive 'A' level–something no Fringe episode has yet done for me" was the ending, which was like "like something out of dozens of mediocre cop shows". Despite this, Murray found it and the asylum storyline to be "compelling".
Conversely, UGO Networks was critical of the episode, writing "Fringe continues to wobble in story quality. Last night's episode was a perfectly good way to waste an hour, but far off the track of last week's episodes. The episode featured some plot conveniences that were a bit hard to swallow".
External links
- "The Equation" 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...