What Lies Below
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Introduction
| What Lies Below | |
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| Season | 2 |
| Episode | 13 |
| Air Date | January 21, 2010 |
| Written by | Jeff Vlaming |
| Directed by | Deran Sarafian |
| Starring | Main Characters |
| Guest Cast | Geoff Pierson as Arnold McFadden Demore Barnes as Bill Hubert Conrad Coates as Vincent Ames Natassia Malthe as Linda (Reception) David Richmond-Peck as Detective Kassel Nicolas Von Zill as Radjan Vandenkemp Jason Bax as CDC Suit Brendan Beiser as Steve Chris Casillan as Science Center Worker Peter Grasso as HazMat Trucker Megan Leitch as Elaine Kristian Haas as Mike (Courier) Denise Jones as Teacher Tracy McMahon as Female Uniform Kennedy Montano as Small Child Robert Parent as Police Officer Alan Wong as Karl |
| Previous Episode | Johari Window |
| Next Episode | The Bishop Revival |
| Transcript | |
| Additional Images | |
What Lies Below is the thirteenth episode of the second season of FRINGE. It first aired on January 21, 2010. A man enters an office in Boston, becomes disoriented, collapses and his veins erupt and spray blood everywhere. Olivia and Peter arrive and discover that a lethal virus – with ties to something very valuable – is spreading. The CDC moves to quarantine the building and eradicate the pathogens, trapping Peter and Olivia with the exposed office employees. Walter, Broyles and Astrid frantically search for a solution to the life-threatening circumstances.
Synopsis
Prologue
Boston, Massachusetts
A young fellow who appears to be somewhat rebellious enters Vitas Petrol. He grabs an elevator with a foreign man, soon realizing that he does not look well. The man begins to bleed from his nose, then wanders around the lobby until he faints. Several employees attend to him quickly to resuscitate him, but with no success. After he is declared dead, he suddenly shakes and his veins appear to protrude out of his skin. Moments later, a mist of blood erupts from his mouth.
ACT I
ACT II
ACT III
ACT IV
When it is discovered that the core-sample Vandenkemp had stolen came from 10 miles below Earth's surface, Walter estimates the virus to be 75,000 years old, and to be responsible for the eradication of the ice-age mammals. Having extracted a clean sample, Walter is able to prepare a toxicity screen to separate those infected with the virus from the healthy population. Olivia, among others, test negative for the virus. Meanwhile, CDC Field Director McFadden seeks authorization for level-6 containment: eradication of infected individuals. Peter, through slight-of-hand, rigs the toxicity screen so that the result is negative for the virus. He nearly escapes quarantine, though at the last minute, the military guards at the front door notice that Peter's nose is bleeding, and force him back into the building.
ACT V
ACT VI
Quotes
- "Quickly, get your pajamas off and-- Come on, let's go!" Walter to a CDC technician
- "I can't let Peter die again." - Walter to Astrid about his son
- "Some things are meant to be left alone." - Walter to Astrid, inquiring about Peter being "dead"
Trivia
General
- The Observer passes in the background when CDC Field Director McFadden asks a subordinate to call the State Department to get approval for a "Level-6 Eradication".
- Anagram. Spoken reference, and written signage, indicates the target for this virus outbreak/attack as the Boston office of Vitas Petrol... which morphs into Viral Test Op. (operation)
- Crowd Pleaser. Broyles summons a truck full of Fentanyl to calm the infected personnel within the building. Fentanyl is 100 times more effective as Morphine, and is suspected as the deterrent used during the Moscow hostage terrorist attack.
Production Notes
Continuity Errors
Recurring Themes
- High Fall Onto Vehicle. Like victims in The Dreamscape and Bad Dreams, receptionist Linda plummets from a tall building and squarely impacts the roof of an automobile.
Cultural References
- Forbidden Planet. The 1956 science-fiction classic movie is featured as Peter watches, and waits to escape the building. Robby The Robot discusses diamonds and rubies, from deep below the surface of the planet... a direct reference (to the movie factoid) that there once existed a far superior race, now extinct, that left a huge subterranean industrial and scientific complex miles below the planet's surface - - - well in-line with the plotline of this episode.
Episode References
- Olivia doesn't want to bother her sister, Rachel, with her current situation because Rachel is having a hard time coping with Olivia's near-death. (A New Day In The Old Town).
Glyphs
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Unanswered Questions
| Theories about these unanswered questions should be placed and read at What Lies Below/Theories |
| Unanswered questions |
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- Where is the Solum Oil Corporation based out of?
- Why was Solum Oil Corporation extracting soil samples at 10 miles depth at the "Pioneer Valley Project" in Massachusetts?
- Was Solum Oil Corporation deliberately trying to retrieve a deadly virus during their deep drilling project?
- How was the liberated soil sample going to benefit the competition, Vitas Petrol?
- Was Vandenkemp's viral death a deliberate attack on the Vitas Petrol office?
- Was Vandenkemp aware that he was infected before entering the enclosed elevator?
- The pathogen manifests itself (blood sputum) when it feels contained (enclosed/restrained) - are there any other conditions that trigger this symptom?
- Does Astrid believe Walter when he suggested that Peter had died at some point in the past?
- When the infected spew a fine mist of vaporized blood in their death spasm, is that the only method of transferring the pathogen?
- Why is the CDC Field Director seeking approval for "Level-Six" eradication (in Boston) from the State Department - when that governmental organization only coordinates activities beyond the borders of the nation?
| Episodes
| Season 2: • A New Day In The Old Town • Night Of Desirable Objects • Fracture • Momentum Deferred • Dream Logic • Earthling • Of Human Action • August • Snakehead • Grey Matters • Unearthed • Johari Window • What Lies Below • The Bishop Revival • Jacksonville • Ῥeter Season 1: • Pilot • The Same Old Story • The Ghost Network • The Arrival • Power Hungry • The Cure • In Which We Meet Mr. Jones • The Equation • The Dreamscape • Safe • Bound • The No-Brainer • The Transformation • Ability • Inner Child • Unleashed • Bad Dreams • Midnight • The Road Not Taken • There's More Than One of Everything |
