8. The Equation

Complete story — includes the ending

The abduction of a young musician, Ben Stockton ( Charlie Tahan ), is highlighted by a sequence of flashing lights which causes the boy's father to be hypnotized into a suggestive state. Upon 'waking up,' he has no memory of what happened while hypnotized. Similar cases have ended with the victim being returned, but left insane from the trauma of the incident. While investigating, they discover that each case dealt with a genius of some sort working on an unfinished equation. To discover the child's whereabouts, Olivia encourages Walter to return to St. Claire's Hospital and speak with his old bunkmate, Dashiell Kim ( Randall Duk Kim ) a former mathematician who disappeared under similar circumstances. The visit does not go well, and Walter is held by the hospital administrator, who remains unconvinced of Walter's sanity. Walter coerces his bunk mate into giving up a vague idea of his whereabouts, which Olivia and Peter use to find the boy once they arrange for Walter's release. However, the kidnapper, Joanne Ostler ( Gillian Jacobs ), escapes with the completed formula, which she gives to Mitchell Loeb (Chance Kelly), who calibrates a frequency generator in such a way to allow him to pass through solid matter.