Concentrate and Ask Again



Season 3, Episode 12
Aired: February 4th, 2011
Written By: Graham Roland, Matthew Pitts
Directed By: Dennis Smith

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Resources: IMDb | Wikipedia | Transcript
Listen: The Fringe Podcast
Concentrate and Ask Again

The Glyphs



This episode's glyphs spell: H-A-T-C-H

Glyph symbol HGlyph symbol AGlyph symbol TGlyph symbol CGlyph symbol H
Glyph symbol H
Glyph symbol A
Glyph symbol T
Glyph symbol C
Glyph symbol H

The Observer



The Observer can be seen at the fundraiser where Olivia and Simon Phillips are undercover.

Observer

Timestamp: 36:55

Episode Clues



Previous Episode Clue

A blue recycle bin in 'Reciprocity' in the alleyway where Peter kills a fleeing shapeshifter is labeled with a "Powder Blue" sticker, foreshadowing the blue powder bioweapon used in 'Concentrate and Ask Again'.

Previous episode clue

Timestamp: 28:05


Next Episode Clue

The passing VW Beetle and Walter's focus on it in 'Concentrate And Ask Again' foreshadows Dr. Armand Silva's use of beetles in 'Immortality'.

Next episode clue

Timestamp: 19:29

Items of Interest



  • Sam Weiss's ancestors wrote the First People book.
  • When Nina looks in Bell's storage room for his copy of the First People book the camera pans by a copy of 'Dr. Spock's Baby and Childcare'. (Image 1)
  • Sam told Nina that the fate of the universes depends on which Olivia is chosen by Peter.
Item of interest: Bell's 'Dr. Spock' book
Image 1: Bell's 'Dr. Spock' book
Timestamp: 01:30

Fringe Division Case File




U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
121 105th Street • Washington, DC 20735
Phone: (202) 555-2100 • Fax: (202) 555-2101
E-mail: washington.fbi@fbi.com

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE #312-2411


FRINGE EVENT: DNA bone pathogen

CLASSIFIED CASE CONNECTION(S): Project Jellyfish weapons project

AGENTS ASSIGNED: Dunham

SUPERVISING AGENT: Broyles

FILE ARCHIVED BY: Emiliano Estevarena

WITNESSES/CONTACTS: Aaron Downey (suspect; deceased), Sara Downey, Simon Phillips, Agent Edwards, Dillon (suspect; deceased), Vannoy (suspect; deceased)

LOCATION: INtREPUS, Boston, MA; Quincy, MA; Washington, VT; Canopy One Corp; Pembroke, MA

VICTIM(S): Dr. Warren Blake, Madison Downey (deceased), 3 Canopy One employees, Congressman Jim Thorn


CASE REPORT SUMMARY:

Dr. Warren Blake, a scientist in the INtREPUS R&D department, was found dead without a single bone left in his body. The victim's state didn't match the effects of any known biological or chemical weapon, but he had ingested a blue substance disseminated by a small doll sent in the mail with the birthday note "From Madison."
 Former Marine Aaron Downey sent the package from Chelsea two days earlier. His ex-wife explained that Downey had left the Marines to do private contract work overseas for a couple years. When he got home, they wanted to start a family. She got pregnant, but seven months into the pregnancy, she miscarried. Downey was diagnosed with a DNA pathogen that he had passed to the child, so she had no skeleton. Downey was convinced that it was because of a weapons project he had been exposed to by Dr. Blake. With the help of Cortexiphan subject Simon Phillips, agents determined that Downey and two other soldiers had teamed up and stolen canisters of the pathogen for revenge. The next target was Congressman Jim Thorn, but Agent Dunham killed the other two suspects.

Walter's Food



Walter had a bucket of fried chicken, ate a sandwich and a slushie, thought about bacon and a dash of cinnamon, and ate a Red Vine.
Connection: Fried chicken
Fried chicken
Timestamp: 09:38
Connection: Sandwich and a slushie
Sandwich and a slushie
Timestamp: 18:20
Connection: Red Vine
Red Vine
Timestamp: 27:49

Notable Quotes



SAM WEISS: "Okay. What I can tell you is this... That device can either be used as a tool of creation or as a weapon of destruction. Depends on your point of view. And Peter Bishop is uniquely tuned to operate it. Whatever frequency Peter's vibrating at will determine how the machine reacts."
NINA SHARP: "And what determines Peter's frequency?"
SAM: "Depends on his state of mind, which, in turn, will depend on who he ends up with. Olivia from here or Olivia from over there. Whichever one he chooses, it'll be her universe that survives."
NINA: "So in that case, there's no cause for concern. He'll choose our Olivia."
SAM: "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Connection Chart


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

Episode Connections



S2E14 - Jacksonville

  • WALTER in 'Jacksonville': "Five... twenty... ten... I always use the same combination, though I can't remember the significance."
      The combination to Bell's safe in 'Concentrate and Ask Again' was 0-5-2-0-1-0. This was the combination Walter used to access the daycare center in 'Jacksonville'.
  • WALTER in 'Jacksonville': "When Belly and I first tried to generate a stable door between universes, our first test subject was a car -- Belly's old Monte Carlo -- and it did not go well."
      Nina found a toy Monte Carlo in Bell's safe in 'Concentrate and Ask Again'.
Connection: Toy Monte Carlo from Bell's safe
Toy Monte Carlo from Bell's safe
S3E12 - Concentrate and Ask Again
Timestamp: 02:02


Spoilers for future episodes below!




S3E16 - Os

  • Nina encouraged Peter in his relationship with Olivia in 'Os' because she knew his relationship choices would affect the outcome of the war between universes based on what Sam Weiss told her in 'Concentrate and Ask Again'.
Divider


S3E20 - 6:02 AM EST

  • NINA SHARP to Olivia in '6:02 AM EST': "It wasn't supposed to be this way. I was told on good authority that if you and Peter were together it would all work out."
      Sam Weiss told her that in 'Concentrate and Ask Again'.
Divider


S5E04 - The Bullet that Saved the World

  • The blue powder dispersal doll from 'Concentrate and Ask Again' was seen in Walter's storage vault in 'The Bullet that Saved the World'.
Connection: Blue powder dispersal doll
Blue powder dispersal doll
S5E04 - The Bullet That Saved the World
Timestamp: 13:18
Divider


S5E07 - Five-Twenty-Ten

  • The combination to Bell's safe in 'Concentrate and Ask Again' was 0-5-2-0-1-0, the same combination used in 'Five-Twenty-Ten'.
Connection: Bell's safe
Bell's safe
S3E12 - Concentrate and Ask Again
Timestamp: 01:51