The Mad Science of Fringe: When Mythology Overwhelms Plot

Last night, Fringe delivered a rare combination of boring and myth-heavy, which was particularly disappointing after such a spurt of great episodes in the over there/over here back-and-forth. But "6955 Kh" might cement my theory that the contrast of the alt-world lends itself to more inherently interesting stories. (All three alt-world episodes have been great, compared to just one on our side.) On the bright side, at least a huge chunk of exposition is out of the way?

Scenario: In a plot line that was spectacularly dropped/reoriented about 20 minutes into the episode, a recording of a stream of numbers carries a secondary pulse which wipes listeners' memories. So when a chat room moderator gets too close to solving the code, someone activates the pulse for the memory wipe.

Plausibility: 5 of 10. We've touched already this season on the implausibility of radio waves wrecking your brain, but since this episode didn't get into the nitty-gritty, neither will I. Having the pulse carried over radio waves makes sense, but it doesn't matter so much, because our heroes move from deciphering what's wiping minds to deciphering code, getting swiftly to the less obligatory part of the episode, which is ...

Scenario: The code correlates to numbers on the First People's calendar, Bolivia and Peter learn at Markham's Used Books, where Bolivia slips up a little in accounting for Olivia's memory. When deciphered, the code gives coordinates for where pieces of Walternate's doomsday device are buried.

Plausibility: 4 of 10. I really like the idea of the ancient, high-technology civilization having artifacts buried among the universes, which would be compiled into a great, big mechanism for creation and destruction. (Actually, the device, whatever it is, might be an interesting component to Walternate's theory of balance and imbalance vs. good and evil.) What's really implausible here is that everything should happen so fast! There are the numbers, then the pulse, then the shapeshifter who wants to protect the numbers with the pulse, then almost completely by chance we learn about the First People, who seem to be central to Walternate's dirty scheme! And the really odd thing was that despite that speed, until the last 10 minutes when Bolivia and Co. dug up the first of the artifacts, this was a pretty intensely boring, expository episode.

Scenario: Walter discourages Peter from looking into the doomsday device, warning: "If you end up breaking the universe, this time it's on your head!"

Plausibility: 8 of 10. Poor addled Walter seems like he'd be the first to toy with some ancient and perilous technology. But then, since he's torn a hole in the world -- a hole through which Walternate intends to creep and destroy Walter's universe for good -- his reticence in this case jibes.

Am I alone in this? Or did you suffer for this episode's poor pacing, too? Air your grievances (or adulation) below!