"Bad Dreams" | |
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Fringe episode | |
A suicidal Nick Lane is influencing the thoughts of those around him to jump off the building, while Olivia tries to calm him down.
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Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 17 |
Directed by | Akiva Goldsman |
Written by | Akiva Goldsman |
Production code | 3T7666 |
Original air date | April 21, 2009 |
Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Bad Dreams" is the 17th episode of the first season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. It was written and directed by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, his first writing credit for a television show. In the episode, Olivia dreams she is causing people to either kill others or themselves, which leads her to meet Nick Lane, a man from her past that leads Olivia to discover their shared history as test subjects in a series of childhood drug trials.
The episode first aired on April 21, 2009 in the United States on Fox to more than 9.89 million viewers. It received generally positive reviews, with many critics praising the beginning dream sequence, the climax atop the building, and the final scene with Walter and the old footage of Olivia. Critics also enjoyed the further revelations about Olivia's background; the subject would later have an entire episode devoted to it in the third season.
Olivia (Anna Torv) dreams that she pushes a woman in front of a subway train at Grand Central Terminal, but assumes it was just in her head. In the morning however, the news reports that the woman killed herself with the train. Walter (John Noble) puts forth various theories, such as astral projection, while Peter (Joshua Jackson) thinks it was still just a dream. Olivia is unconvinced, and goes with the Fringe team to investigate. An NYPD officer (April Grace) escorts them to the crime scene, and Peter sees a red balloon floating and begins to believe her, as Olivia had described the balloon to him previously.