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Believe - 1.05 White Noise - Review - Exposing The Truth

Apr 8, 2014

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Believe's fifth episode was directed by showrunner Jonas Pate and written by Dave Erickson. Dave Erickson should be noted for his work on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, as he served as consulting and co-executive producer and penned 17 episodes!

"White Noise" continues on from Bo and Tate leaving Manhattan with Winter where again we see Bo and Tate get new living accommodations and where the characters featured in the story of the week more directly tie into the larger picture due to a surprise leak on Roman Skouras end. Also questions are raised with the stakes becoming higher about exposing the world to either Skouras' program and/or Bo Adams.

I was glad to see things from previous episodes begin to take shape. Ben and Taryn made for a much better story this week, because of the fact that Ben is being fed information to write a story on his blog about the secret Government funded "Project Orchestra", but also because of the way both Bo and Tate responded to Taryn, and how again that seems to reflect on Nina Adams and what Tate and Bo don't yet know. (And interesting to see drawings like the one's in the opening theme also seen in this episode)

Zoe being the one to feed Ben the info was definitely a good twist and I liked how it juxtaposed Tate getting in contact with the people he believed set him up for murder. In "Origin" I did wonder about Zoe's relationship with Roman Skouras, because she came off to me being somewhat motherly of Bo and seems to still be the case, as she continues to press Roman on his choice to not only send another dangerous agent named Hayden out to find Ben, but also sending the seemingly indifferent Joshua, who's abilities have been gaining, out into the field where Bo could of easily been harmed. 

It might be easy to assume that Zoe's motives were to shut down Project Orchestra ultimately to protect Bo and maybe some of the others, but I can't help thinking that there could be something contradictory or even dubious about Zoe's motives, as this would expose not just Project Orchestra or The U.S. Government, but also Bo, which is not only against Roman's prerogative, but also Winter's, who encouraged Ben to wait until the time is right before exposing Bo to world. It makes it seem like Zoe could create her own organization. I also find myself wondering if we could see Taryn and Ben sooner rather than later. The thought crossed my mind that maybe she or her baby could of been special too?

Through out the episode we saw Bo continue to also push her beliefs and force her way with the vending machine, Tate, and now Channing along with the climatic scene with Joshua nearly killing Ben at the train station, but my favorite scenes were actually the final scenes, as Bo was able to deeply reflect on what she did to Joshua, (even though she saved Ben) which resulted in freeing Tate from his ankle bracelet and ultimately his responsibility to her...

The episode title is also an interesting title when not only does it directly refer to Joshua being able to pic up the frequency/signal of other people, such as Bo, or that Ben thought the train station would provide him a way to hide in plane site, but also because White Noise can relate to various kinds of patterns related in signal models which could be seen as an analogy to having various kinds of kinetic abilities, including being able to see chain reactions and possible outcomes of events. White Noise is also the name of an 1985 post modern novel by Don DiLillo that is told in parts and in which DiLillo constructs and bridges them all together through tones and themes of a contemporary America. There is also a 2005 supernatural thriller loosley based on the novel that explores hearing voices on audio recordings coming from "the other side". 

One of the things I think the series still has going for it, besides likable characters now starting to get more fleshed out, is that there are so many characters and groups of characters all coming from different perspectives and/or beliefs, which keeps the plot threads open to bring in and out all of those characters at different times and with potential to do so in unexpected ways down the line, (much like Person of Interest) but where I think it continues to be a bit weak is in it's straightforwardness. I think it would do the show some good to add a small flavor of mystery that actually feels mysterious. However I found this episode in particular much more promising in telling a bigger story and using the secondary characters in good outside the box ways, compared to previous characters in previous episodes. Ben and Taryn made things feel more personalized for the majority of the main characters.

Bad Robot Factor:
Each week after my review I will bring this section relating to many things Bad Robot in relationship to the episode, as I feel certain Bad Robot often makes a point to reference themselves with similar characters, subject matter, riffs, easter eggs, aesthetics, contrasting situations, & occasionally shared pop cultural references. So this section is to explore the possibility of those things, which may provide some and insight speculation and at the very least food for thought and/or trivia. I also think it's just fun to be able to reminisce!

You Know, I Always Thought of Myself As A Pacifist...


In this weeks episode I was reminded of many things William "Will" Tippin from Alias. At the beginning of the first season Will, working as a journalist for a local newspaper, keeps getting phone calls and information sent from sources in relation to his need to get to the bottom of his friend Sydney Bristow's fiance's death. One source is Sydney's father Jack, who's a double agent for the CIA and a terrorist organization masquerading to it's own lower agents as the CIA, but is really SD-6, a section of the Alliance of Twelve. Jack is trying to mislead and threaten Will to save his life and get him off of SD-6's path. Someone else was also feeding Will information, which nearly got him killed on a trip to Paris when freelancer Julian Sark believes Will has information about The Circumference. Will was also trying to help someone else who wrongfully imprisoned by trying to expose SD-6.

Ben and Tate both shared aspects with Tippin in this episode with Tate making elicit phone calls to the people he believes have set him up for murder and with Ben writing a story that could cost him his life.

Trivai: In Alias Will Tippin also has a assistant and love interest named Jenny. Jenny is played by actress Sarah Shahi, whom is a pretty deadly assassin named Samantha Shaw currently apart of "Team Machine" on Person of Interest.

Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore
 Actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben) also guest starred on a season one episode of Fringe, "Power Hungry", as character Joseph Meegar. Meegar responded to an add in the newspaper that claimed they could help people by reaching their full potential. Through an experiment he gained an electromagnetic ability that allowed him to be linked to electricity, but Meegar was both emotionally and physically unstable, possibly due to the experiment and became a great danger to his family and others. He accidentally killed his mother. Additionally Walter Bishop found a way to track Meegar by using the frequency of Meegar taken off of a cassette tape found in his (and his mother's) apartment in which he then electromagnetically charged the frequency signature to the beaks of carrier pigeons, which flew to his location. In Believe's Pilot episode, Bo was able to control pigeons through the frequency of the pitch of her scream!

Roads Not Taken: (Schrodinger's Cat/Many World's Interpretation Theory/Casimir Effect)
Given that Bad Robot likes to explore the possibility of whom anyone could or could not be through differences in circumstances and life choices, do they often play with multiple time lines and/or multiple universe to show potential variation in identity. Star Trek and Fringe are where one can more directly see this empirical concept explored, where in LOST it is more of a hidden idea.



Curiously Bo comments at the train station not only what she believes or sees as what needs to come to pass, again providing the audience with predetermination, destinty, or fate, but for the first time she also tells Ben and Taryn the possibility of an alternate course in which results in Taryn's and Ben's child not being born, should they separate at this time.





Drawing The Unknown
Bo's drawings, which was suggested that it could be Nina Adams, may come to show another ability of either revealing the truth and people she doesn't yet know over time and/or may then also predict the future. This may be a similar to trait to Fringe's Olivia Dunham. In the episode "Subject 13" a flashback to her time as a child in 1985, there is a real quick shot of a drawing of man that we later discover exists in Olivia's head-space as, 'The man whose going to kill her'. Fans did not get the follow through until the end of the next season, which initially features another version of Olivia in another time line (until the previous Olivia's memories are given to her). It turns out to be a new version of William Bell. This possible reference and episode title reference makes me wonder if Bo will be able to talk to Nina from the beyond or through time?

Looking at the picture though it almost looks like a depiction of an ancient fictionalized or mythological person in the wilderness and where the white and black fish circling each other is reminiscent to the Ying-Yang symbol and thus could represent "balance", the circle of life, and/or birth. The Zodiac sign Pisces is also symbolized with two encircling fish. I still think that we could get into a bigger history of a kinetic race of people.




So what did you think of "White Noise"? Do you think we could see Ben and Taryn sooner rather than later? Do you think Tate will try and resolve his own problems now that he is free? Do you think Zoe will take off on her own before she get's discovered? Do you think she has Bo's best interest in mind or is she also dangerous to Bo? Do you think Joshua will recover quickly?  Let us know in the comments below


About the Author - Darthlocke4
Laura Becker (Darthlocke 4) is a long time commentator, TV addict, and aspiring writer participating with other fans on SpoilerTV. She writes reviews and analytic type articles. Some of her other interests include philosophy, cultural anthropology, reading, drawing, and working with animals, as she grew up and continues to work on her family's horse farm.

13 comments:

  1. Zoe and Best interest of Bo. Um no never. She may think so but nope, how dumb of her to try and expose truth that would lead others to die.
    who be ben and taryn... sry again didn't read everything.
    I feel like Most of Tate's problems from the past might be resolved next week, unless they were part of some deeper plot by Orcresta to keep him away from Bo. And I'm glad Bo is not far behind in his quest for the truth.
    Joshua could recover, or just be put in some recovery room, while the boss decides to use some other new pupils or whatever he calls his experiments.

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  2. Ben is the blogger who Zoe is giving the information to so that Ben can get to write the most important story of his life, as it would change the world and Taryn is his love interest and mother of his yet to be born child. They are the characters featured apart of "the story of the week".

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  3. Now I remember.
    Yes them, I feel like no we will not see them sooner, more like later or later just in "mention" that they are writing various other good stories all in the background.
    If it was me writing the show, by season finale and season 2 onwards, I would occasionally have some newspaper reading scene with main cast or in with the general public where the views see the back end side of the paper a person is reading and you see a story written by Ben and Taryn. Something like that, where you know that they are indeed doing what Bo saw they were fated to do.

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  4. Well actually they were not fated to do anything that we know of except to be together allegedly for the sake of baby (and presumably why Bo interfered with Joshua), but more over it's Winter who asked Ben if he would wait till the right time to publish Bo's story --with the idea being that this would be towards the end of the series. When Believe was first announced I recall reading a tadbit about how we would have to wait "7" years for Bo to become of age and when she should be "exposed" to the worked. So far we know this is Winter's belief, but we do not know if the series will follow on their original description of actually waiting 7 yrs and/or why exactly Winter believes this is. (Is he kinetic with similar abilities and we just don't know it or is there a prophecy specifically about Bo?)

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  5. I felt like Bo mention something like they have to be together, and that they would write together. That or I just assumed, I might re watch.
    Also the 7 years wait time to reveal is interesting. I assume one aspect of why 7 years, is when that time passes Bo would be near the age of a young adult being able to make good decision that she personally would like things to play out. Tho the Bo is already making good decision in respect to the people's lives that she interferes and nudges in the right direction.
    Another reason why 7 might be kind of like the writers saying we can go up to 7 years we have a plan in which we could do that. But I think if it ever was going to go that long, they would have to change the way the show works right now or use time skips, I think they should just use time skips. Because right now I assume its only been a week or two in the 5 episodes so far. Time is moving slowly.
    It would be interesting if Winter was a kinetic(is that what we are calling them) who wants to lead the next generation in the right direction which he most probably could not in his life. But I think this is like a 2% chance that this is likely.

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  6. Didn't Stanley (the turtle) get blown up in the car at the gas station a
    few episodes back? I distinctly remember Bo screaming for him as they
    drove off, followed by a huge explosion. How is it that he's back and
    unscathed without any explanation now?

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  7. As a matter of fact the turtle was in Bo's backpack which she had with her! So there you have it!

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  8. So why did she scream for him while they were driving away?

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  9. She didn't scream for him. If you watch it carefully you'll see she was just scared and she actually didn't scream at all...

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  10. I got behind with these last 2 episodes but finally got caught up now! :) Too many things going on and lot's of shows to watch.

    I still like Believe. I felt these last 2 episodes have been much better and that the show is getting some suspense to the storyline at last. Now with Zoe being the "leak" to Roman's organization, I think things will get real interesting. In fact, I think he already knows it is her with that scene at the end where he tells her that when he finds the mole, he will have no mercy. Yikes!! He is finally acting like the mad scientist that I want him to be. LOL

    Love the scene where Channing shows up to help and she whips out her baton to fight!! Great memories of Ben from LOST..:) One thing that this show could use a little more of is some funny moments between the cast members since at times it seems to be constant peril.

    I also think there is something to the scene at the end where we see Winter hanging up that last picture of Bo's on the wall. It looks to me that each picture is making some sort of bigger picture that reveals a mystery of either Bo's life or something else to come. Could be that mystery thing this show seems to be missing.

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  11. You're right about Roman knowing about Zoe (she was probably caught on cctv too), so we'll see what happens. Also agree about Winter he definitely hides sth and he has an agenda of his one!Good or bad we don't know yet, but he's as stubborn as Roman is.

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  12. I also think there is something to the scene at the end where we see Winter hanging up that last picture of Bo's on the wall. It looks to me that each picture is making some sort of bigger picture that reveals a mystery of either Bo's life or something else to come. Could be that mystery thing this show seems to be missing.


    Great thinking! I'm sure you're right about that. Pieces of a tapestry tends to be a Bad Robot MO, so that's perfect idea!!! :)


    I think most likely Roman knows it's Zoe too, but I don't feel like I know him well enough or his relationship with Zoe to know how he may go about it! But I could see it ending bad for her, if she doesn't get out soon!


    Good call with Channing being a little like Ben there!


    Thanks for stopping by with your thoughts on the episode!

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  13. Thanks Darth :) I really enjoy your reviews and have been trying to keep up with Believe. I have it set to DVR on Sunday's but always forget to watch until later. I've been watching the Cosmos series on FOX instead.

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