The Plateau



Season 3, Episode 03
Aired: October 7th, 2010
Written By: Alison Schapker, Monica Owusu-Breen
Directed By: Brad Anderson

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Resources: IMDb | Wikipedia | Transcript
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The Plateau

The Glyphs



This episode's glyphs spell: B-R-E-A-C-H

Running through an area of compromised air quality without taking extra oxygen was a breach of protocol that saved Olivia's life.

Glyph symbol BGlyph symbol RGlyph symbol EGlyph symbol AGlyph symbol CGlyph symbol H
Glyph symbol B
Glyph symbol R
Glyph symbol E
Glyph symbol A
Glyph symbol C
Glyph symbol H

The Observer



The Observer can be seen on the bridge over the second accident caused by Milo as Olivia searches for him.

Observer

Timestamp: 17:35

Episode Clues



Previous Episode Clue

Graffiti on a door in 'The Box' reads "The Pen is Mightier", foreshadowing Milo Stanfield using pens to initiate chain reactions in 'The Plateau.'

Previous episode clue

Timestamp: 17:57


Next Episode Clue

A sign for "Van Horn's Tavern" in 'The Plateau' foreshadows Senator Van Horn's secret and involvement in 'Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?'.

Next episode clue

Timestamp: 18:04

Fringe Division Case File



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
FRINGE DIVISION


FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE #303-10710

FRINGE EVENT: Murders by a drug-study patient who could create complex pattern probabilities

AGENTS ASSIGNED: Lee, Dunham, Francis, Farnsworth

SUPERVISING AGENT: Broyles

FILE ARCHIVED BY: Laurene Cujko, Jim Cujko

WITNESSES/CONTACTS: Madeline Stanfield (guardian), Milo Stanfield (murderer), Dr. Levin

LOCATION: Hoboken, NJ; East 85th and York, NYC; Oyster Bay, Long Island; Patricia Hotel

VICTIM(S): Cole Arnett, Jillian Foster, Jeffrey Mayer


CASE REPORT SUMMARY:

On two mornings in a row, a Liberty Metro bus in Hoboken ran a red light and killed two pedestrians. Onlookers deemed the coincidence a statistical anomaly, but when Agent Lee found a rare ballpoint pen on a mailbox, it allowed the agents to piece together the possibility of an intentional chain reaction. Despite Agent Farnsworth's certainty that 120 variables in a dynamic system of differential equations made it impossible to be intentional, she was proved wrong when a third similar bus accident was reported. The agents found that the victims all had a connection to Gregston Electric, a subsidiary of the Ivon Medical Group, which worked with Bryant Hospital. At Bryant, Ivon ran a drug trial for "nootropics" to help low-IQ patients increase their intelligence to function independently. Patient Milo Stanfield's intelligence increased exponentially over five months, and when it was time to be regressed back to his natural state, he murdered the three technicians who would administer the reversal. In trying to apprehend suspect Stanfield, Agent Dunham shot the suspect in the leg but broke a blinking Auburn Diamond protocol (compromised air quality) and was reprimanded.

The Redverse



  • They had an Aruba War, presumably instead of a Vietnam War.
  • Pens are rare.
  • The 'United States Postal Service' is called 'U.S. Mail Service' and has a slightly different logo.
  • There are places where the air quality is so bad that people need oxygen masks.
  • They still have smallpox outbreaks.
  • Avocados are hard to come by.
  • A bus has an ad for Rappaport's Toy Bazaar which closed down in the Blueverse in 1981.
Redverse: Aruba War vet
Aruba War vet
Timestamp: 00:56
Redverse: U.S. Mail Service
U.S. Mail Service
Timestamp: 02:20
Redverse: Air quality/oxygen sign
Air quality/oxygen sign
Timestamp: 35:24
Redverse: Rappaport's Toy Bazaar ad
Rappaport's Toy Bazaar ad
Timestamp: 16:41

Notable Quotes



WALTERNATE: "We have discovered some ways to cross over but each comes with its dangerous consequences. But she, she can cross without harm."

Connection Chart


A visualization of all the ways this episode connects to other episodes. Scroll down to see the actual connections.

Episode Connections



S1E03 - The Ghost Network

  • A bus at the second crime scene in 'The Plateau' has an ad on the side that says "Ambered", a reference to the ambered bus in 'The Ghost Network'.
Connection: Bus ad
Bus ad
S3E03 - The Plateau
Timestamp: 16:56
Divider


S1E04 - The Arrival

  • In 'The Plateau' Milo is able to predict what people will say and do just like the Observer does in 'The Arrival'.


Spoilers for future episodes below!




S5E07 - Five-Twenty-Ten

  • Peter ran possible futures in 'Five-Twenty-Ten' to try to coerce the Observers to be where he wanted them to be just like Milo Stanfield did to his doctors in 'The Plateau'.
Connection: Milo running futures
Milo running futures
S3E03 - The Plateau
Timestamp: 33:08
Connection: Peter running futures
Peter running futures
S5E07 - Five-Twenty-Ten
Timestamp: 01:50