Fringe teaser scrambles the message

Fox has released a teaser for the April 20th episode of its science-fiction detective serial Fringe, which seems somewhat odd.

Usually, simple episode teasers are not really worth bringing up, as they are mostly spoilers for an episode we know we’ll be seeing in just a few days. However, this one is sure to leave a lot of fans scratching their collective heads.

The short video, titled April 20th is the Nineteenth, seems to suggest a particularly strange plot for the upcoming episode. Though it’s mostly unclear at this point, the clip may be hinting at some dystopian Orwellian society.

It may only be a 20 second spot, but there is a lot here to absorb. The logo at the beginning is from the Ministry of Science, albeit with some unintelligible writing across the top. The prominent symbol is one I don’t think we’ve seen before, and the non-english text may look like nonsense to the casual observer, but there is definitely some imagery, including the side-ways suit and tie at the end, which suggests the costume of the Observers, so perhaps this is a glimpse into their world.

The voice-over is difficult to hear, but it seems to be saying “native on native killing cannot stand. Not on my watch.” I don’t recognize the voice.

Finally, the teaser was released as ‘Teaser #1’, so we can guess that we’ll likely be getting at least one more, which might explain why it’s out a week early.

So far, this season of Fringe has been very interesting, answering a lot more questions than I expected, and taking the ‘wrong timeline’ story in a strange and morally ambiguous direction. It’s left me unsure how to feel about the characters decisions, and that’s a rare thing. I’m lkooking forward to seeing how this season ends, and I’m hoping that it’s not the last of the show.

Fringe airs on Fox Friday nights. The episode which is referenced in the teaser, Letters of Transit, airs on April 20th, 2012. Past episodes can be found on Amazon Instant video.