Josh Jackson of Paste Magazine disliked the " deus ex machina " aspects that " neatly solved the puzzles of the first two episodes " , and also criticized perceived " plot contrivances " like how the serial murderer immediately began aging once interrupted from killing his last victim . Despite these flaws , Jackson said he would tune in next week because he would " rather have a show err on the side of unbelievable than unremarkable , and I 'm interested to see if Abrams has any more tricks up his sleeve " . Erin Fox of TV Guide also liked " The Same Old Story " better than the pilot because she thought that it " had really cool special effects , awesome Walter @-@ isms , and actual chemistry forming between Olivia and Peter " , and " we also got to delve more into the connections between Walter , Nina Sharp , Massive Dynamic and the government and the experiments they conducted before Walter was institutionalized " .