The Equation 

A young musical genius is kidnapped and Walter recalls a patient at St Clair's who might have been kidnapped by the same people and forced to try and figure out the solution to an equation.

Director:

Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Writers:

J.J. Abrams (created by), Alex Kurtzman (created by)

Stars:

Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Torv	...	Olivia Dunham
Joshua Jackson	...	Peter Bishop
Lance Reddick	...	Phillip Broyles
Kirk Acevedo	...	Charlie Francis
Blair Brown	...	Nina Sharp (credit only)
Jasika Nicole	...	Astrid Farnsworth
Mark Valley	...	John Scott (credit only)
John Noble	...	Dr. Walter Bishop
William Sadler	...	Dr. Sumner
Randall Duk Kim	...	Dashiell Kim
Gillian Jacobs	...	Joanne Ostler
Charlie Tahan	...	Ben Stockton
Adam Grupper	...	Andrew Stockton
Chance Kelly	...	Mitchell Loeb
Kate Hodge	...	Abby Stockton

Storyline

On a rainy night, Ben, a boy who became a music prodigy after coming out of a coma, is kidnapped after his father is put in a hypnogenic state using a red, blue and green lights. Walter proves this really happened when he puts Peter in the same state in the lab. The abduction is just one in a series of kidnappings of people who are geniuses in their fields. After they are brought back, the people go insane and commit terrible acts. In the lab Walter and Peter find a connection between Ben and an old colleague of Walter, at Saint Claire's, who was also kidnapped. In order to save the kid, now Walter needs to go back to Saint Claire's and speak with the old colleague.

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Plot Keywords:

dead woman | dead woman with eyes open | dead woman on floor | shot in the chest | woman shot | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

John Hancock Tower - 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot,Warner Bros. Television,Fringe Element Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

47 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The glyphs in this episode spell "Taken".

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Quotes

[to Joanne Ostler]
Mitchell Loeb: Look around your house, your office, your kitchen... Numbers make everything work.

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Soundtracks

End Title Theme (Composed by Michael Giacchino)
(uncredited)
Written by Michael Giacchino

User Reviews

One of the Best and Most Mysterious Episodes

While driving home in a rainy night with his son Ben, Andrew Stockton stops his car to help a woman to call the tow truck. He decides to inspect the engine and when he opens the hood, he sees red and green lights blinking on the engine. He enters in a hypnotic trance and awakes with the tow truck driver, finding that Ben was kidnapped. Agent Dunham learns that a couple of talented men have been abducted in the past and returned completely insane and the boy is a musical genius. Dr. Walter Bishop recalls that the inmate Dashiell Kim in Saint Claire had had the same bad experience and killed his beloved wife later. Olivia tries to visit Dashell, but Dr. Sumner does not allow her to go since she is a stranger to him. But he accepts that Dr. Bishop meets Dashiell. Will the scientist accept to return to Saint Claire to save the boy?

"The Equation" is one of the best and most mysterious episodes of "Fringe". Unfortunately it is not disclosed the big picture of the scheme. Indeed the conclusion is deceptive. John Noble has another excellent performance. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "The Equation"