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| By Brian Saner Lamken |
We visited the Invaders' future headquarters in 2609 with Capt. Windmark.
We learned of the discovery in 2167 that sent humanity down the path of suppressing emotion in favor of clinical analysis, ultimately leading to the Invaders' subjugation of their ancestors in 2015.
And we revisited, from the perspective of 2036 and Season Five, the fateful moment in 1985 on Reiden Lake back when the Invaders were merely Observers, the plural was a singular, and the Observer who would come to be known as September rescued Walter Bishop and his son from another universe, saying, "The boy must live."
We also metaphorically revisited Olivia Dunham and Peter Bishop's day in the park with their daughter Etta in 2015, a memory that's virtually been a recurring cast member this season. It's always savvy of a show to let us know that it knows what we're thinking; having Olivia get overwhelmed by the prospect of potentially getting her daughter back — a "reboot" plot point that's been discussed among fans since Etta's demise — was no exception. My only concern is that such an overt mention of the possibility somehow makes it feel, by the rules of dramatic writing, less likely to happen.
I'm sure, by the way, that if you arithmetically manipulate 2609, 2167, 2036, 2015, and 1985 in the right fashion you can end up with 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42, 108, or 815. But Lost is so three years and one colossally disappointing sixth season ago. The number that caught my eye in "The Boy Must Live" was the one on the apartment door of Donald, the former September: 211. While I don't really expect the years to have hidden significance, 211 is a number that plugs neatly into the season/episode format, and much like young Michael, the Observer Boy, Anomaly XB-6783746, Fringe Episode 2.11 was an irregularity — filmed at the end of Season One, it aired on a special night during Season Two out of continuity with the show's ongoing plot. An intentional reference in status and episode title, "Unearthed", or total coincidence? I have no idea. I didn't actually see if "6783746" was a phone number when the previous episode aired, either, partly because the "XB" suggested a Go Go Gophers emoticon more than it did an area code.
There is much to consider in "The Boy Must Live" that is not as ridiculous as the preceding paragraph. I'll try to take it in roughly the order presented.
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