Fringe Episode 5.04: The Bullet That Saved The World

Let's play Simon!

Wow! What an episode. We got plenty of action and a farewell look at old Fringe cases in Walter's lab. And sadly, the unexpected death of Etta.

Etta’s death came too early. She’s really only been on the series for a few episodes and was just starting to grow as a character and respond to Olivia and Peter’s influence. And then bam, she’s dead. I would have recommended saving her death for later in the season. If the issue was having the actress around, they could have sent her off on some mission or had her captured or something and then have her show up at the end to nobly save everyone. As it was, it was simply jarring, but not meaningful. But still a great episode.

Random notes:

• The shop Peter walked into was the called the Thrifty Lion. The establishment’s logo looks like The Lion of Judah.

• While in the shop, Peter checked out the Simon game and says he played it as a kid. This is notable since part of his childhood was spent in the alternate universe – and what is now an alternate timeline in that universe. Note that he didn’t remember watching Sesame Street as a kid because for him it didn’t exist.

• The Simon game is a neat little metaphor, with blue, red, amber, green, constantly changing. It’s like trying to keep track the Fringe universes of seasons one through four! Also, the Simon game could refer to poor Simon Foster, who was first ambered and then decapitated by the Observers. Is the Simon game a clue that he’s coming back?

• There were card suits visible in the shop. Later, Peter said that the Observer pulled thoughts from his head like cards from a deck.

• The number on the door to Walter’s lab was 8316.1.

• It was great fun to see all of the artifacts from all of the old Fringe cases in Walter’s secret stash. But, remember the timeline has been altered. For the rest of the world, adult Peter did not exist until season four, so all of our favorite cases may not have happened or may have happened differently than we saw. That sort of bugs me.

• One of the things in the Walter-Cave is a toy police car. What was that from? I can’t place it. But remember that toy car from William Bell’s personal effects after the original Bell was declared dead? He had a copy of Doctor Spock’s book (Get it? Spock!) and a toy car. So, at one point, William Bell had a child. Whatever happened to him? I say they should bring the younger Bell on the show and they should get Zachary Quinto to play him. Then the circle would be complete.

• One of the items in storage is a dead porcupine person. I’ve always wondered what happened to all the Fringe monsters that didn’t get killed. The menagerie from Bell’s ark would have been secured and the tracking devices in the human shapeshifters got them all caught. Where did they all go?

• Walter recounted going to Manhattan several times when he was young, via Newark. That means Walter Bishop lived in New Jersey when he was a kid. As a native of New Jersey, I declare that to be awesome. After five years there are still revelations to revel in.

• The graffiti under the bridge said Manifest Destiny. The graffiti behind Broyles said ND. North Dakota, maybe?

• It was very strange to see Walter take a tactical role in this episode’s raid on the train station. The version of Walter at the beginning of season four would not even leave the lab. Now, he’s driving the Fringemobile (an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser) and killing people.

• Painted on one of the buildings was the name G & R Jacoe Chemical Co. That is apparently a real building in British Columbia, which has also shown up on other shows, namely Eureka and Sanctuary.

• There were other logos on walls. One was for a company called James and one looked like two hands holding something up.

• The loyalists are supposed to look like Nazis. As I mentioned before, I’m from New Jersey, so they look like New Jersey state troopers to me.

• The battle at the end was foreshadowed in the comic book in the previous episode, The Recordist. They also revealed that Walter had a comic book collection when he was a boy.

• Although I didn’t notice it at the time, there was a Dove sign on a wall at the end of The Recordist. In this episode they revealed “The Dove” to be Broyles.

• My brilliant wife brought up an excellent point. If the training to block being read by Observers takes a year to complete, how was Broyles able to conceal being trained and being part of the resistance during his training?

• Walter called Peter “son” at the end. That does not happen very often.

Comic Book Images from The Recordist

The Recordist featured some wonderful comic books made by the boy River at the archivist colony in Pennsylvania. We only got a few glimpses of them in the show, but they were featured in a cool promotional video for the episode. The video was mostly in negative color and I wanted to see the pictures in black and white. So I took some screen captures, inverted them and then converted them to black and white. Enjoy!

The Recordist - Apple Pies, Apple Pills and Assorted Notes

The Recordist was the third episode of Fringe’s fifth and final season. This episode was not as strong as the previous two, but there were still lots of noteworthy things going on.

• Fringe has often used the X-Files episode formula, but this one seemed more like Star Trek: The Next Generation. Just imagine that the isolated outpost was another planet instead of a hidden camp. The only other major difference was that the crew arrived in a Ford van instead of a starship.
• Walter gave the coordinates as 49º 20’ 2”N, 79º 12’ 32” W. When Olivia recited the coordinates back, she changed the 49 to a 41. That was good, since 49 was incorrect. That would have sent our team to Canada instead of Pennsylvania. This seems like a production mistake. Even with the distortion on the tape, it is very clear that Walter said 49 and he did say Pennsylvania. I know I’m supposed to #trustthetapes, but in this case, I cannot.
• On the tape, there was a blackboard behind Walter with a diagram showing how the “Energy Source” worked. It showed the chemical symbols for titanium, iron and manganese, linked in a circular process. Also, you can see “18 kg / 40 lbs”, which an approximate conversion of kilograms to pounds.
• The coordinates lead to a spot in northern Pennsylvania, which we can see on Google Maps. It’s just southwest of the Allegheny National Forest. I would have thought that that part of Pennsylvania would have more deciduous trees, but on the show, it looked coniferous. Google says that the coordinates are located in Leeper, Pennsylvania, which would make our archivists with the skin disease members of a “Leeper colony” instead of a leper colony!
• The red rocks were kept in an old gold mine. Perhaps there are gold mines in Pennsylvania, but the area is better known for coal mines. I wish they had made it a coal mine; it would have been more believable. This episode loses points on geography, botany and geology.
• Episodes 5.01 and 5.02 both featured a song. There were no songs in this episode.
• We finally learned the fate of Gene the cow, still trapped in amber in Walter’s lab.
• All of the cars in 2036 are old; there is not a Prius in sight. Maybe the extra pollution is part of the Observers’ terraforming plan! Speaking of the atmosphere, the news report in the archive cites record low oxygen levels. The red universe also suffered from low oxygen levels.
• The radio call sign was Kilo Alpha 42. Significance? Beats me.
• One of the missing people on the posters outside Donovan’s restaurant was named Amber. Get it? Amber?
• The early days of the Observer invasion must have been very strange. There were disintegrated buildings, explosions and thousands of missing and displaced people, but there were still electric power, internet news, and restaurants where you could get good apple pie. Also, you can see from the archived news reports that the Fringe team came out of the shadows and was publicly known or was at least known to the archivists. You can see Olivia, Peter and Broyles in the news photos.
• Both an apple pie and an apple pill were mentioned in the episode. Apples are of course one of the classic Fringe symbols. This also showed how terrible 2036 is. Food has been reduced to efficient, flavorless, joyless pills, just like on The Jetsons. Maybe when this is all over, we can at least get some real milk from Gene.
• One of the best parts of this episode is the boy River’s DIY comic books about the exploits of the Fringe Division. We catch a few glimpses of the books in the show, but the better view is from the promotional video.

• The comic shows the team fighting with what appear to be Observers in gas masks. Based on the promo, the next episode will be very gas masky.

In Absentia - Secret Passages, Secret Messages, and Yahtzee

Some notes from Fringe episode 5.02, In Absentia:

• The artwork in the kitchen looks like two teapots.

• There is a dragon drawn on the column in the steam tunnel.

• Walter left some Grape Vines in the lab trapped in amber. I suppose if they could ever be removed, they would still be edible.

• Loyalist Gael Manfretti gives his address as 143 Dunstable Street, which is a real place in Boston. At least the street is. Here is what Google street view shows us. It's a real street, but I can't find a house marked 143.

• Etta tortures captured loyalist Gael Manfretti with an "angel device". Recall from Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11, there was a neon angel in the black market.

• The entry code is 010567. Seems like a date, January 5th, 1967. I don't know the signifigance of that.

• The song in the background of Walter's betamax tape is Nights in White Satin from the Days of Future Passed album by the Moody Blues.

Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11 - Hidden Messages, Notes and Random Thoughts

They Are Here

Here are some quick notes from episode 5.01, Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11.

• Astrid's Scrabble words include GALIUM and HOPE.

• There is an alarm clock in the graffiti. Might be something or might be nothing. Bells maybe?

• The names of two businesses in the city streets can be made out: Steele's Public House and Chester Market & Deli. Relevant or random? We'll see.

• There was a neon angel above the black market. UPDATE: Aha! This was foreshadowing. There is an "angel device" in the following episode, "In Absentia".

• The robotic dog in the black market looked a lot like Muffit II from the original 1979 Battlestar Galactica. Just sayin'.

• Walter mentions to the Japanese woman in the market that he fell in love in Japan and almost got married. Could that be the blue universe counterpart of Reiko, Walternate's girlfriend from the alternate universe?

• Walter wrote science fiction? I can't wait to read that!

• The observer at the door tells our heroes that resistance is futile, which is not the first Star Trek reference in Fringe.

• When the cops approach the getaway van in the alley, the letters EAN LUC GOD can be seen on a sign in the background. That's a reference to film director Jean-Luc Godard. I assume he's included becasue he directed Alphaville, which also featured an urban dystopia.

• The license plate number on the van was 8752104.

• When Olivia is freed from the amber, there are framed butterflies in the room. Butterflies are a recurring image in Fringe.

• Having come back only yesterday, Walter looks out from the window above and spots a CD causing the reflection on the wall above his bed. He plays the the CD in the taxi and the song is Only You by Yaz. I hope they make eighties music a recurring theme this season. Because that would just be cool.

• The taxi has a seahorse figurine. Seahorses are a recurring image in Fringe.