PopSyndicate.com

Tonight’s Pattern: Hand, Leaf, Flower, Smoke, Apple, and Frog.

Julian Sanchez of Ars Technica has figured out the key to the above “patterns”. This week’s pattern spells out WALTER. See the Below Key! Keep for future episodes!

This is probably my least favorite episode of the season. I was really looking forward to watching Fringe for 6 weeks in a row, but this episode disappointed me a little with its very procedural tone and slower pace. To be fair, I did like it, but it didn’t blow my socks off like that last episode where Walter finds his typewriter wrote the ZFT manifesto. That just blew my mind. On the flip side, I did enjoy the connection that Olivia had with the unnamed boy in this episode. It showed a softer more maternal side of her that we really haven’t seen. I liked how they juxtaposed the scenes with the kid and her niece/home life. It made for a softer, nicer Fringe. I’m not sure I like that though. What do you think?

Who is this boy or may I ask what is he? How does a boy (or maybe not) survive in a tunnel that has been enclosed for 70 years? 70 years? So the episode opens on some construction workers getting ready to demolish an old building when one of them senses that they didn’t finish the sweep of the place. He was right, they find a sealed off tunnel where there sits in a corner a very pale and odd looking little boy. When I first saw him, he seemed like he was rabid. Is that what happens when you eat rodents? Insects? Gross. You know what I think; he looks like a mini-observer doesn’t he? Mini-me! We will just have to see huh?

Cut to Olivia’s eye. Yes, her eye literally. I really enjoyed the cinematography of this episode. It seemed very personal and knowing. I liked how they used her family scenes to show why she might have a connection with the unnamed boy (which will now be referred to as mini-observer!). She seems happy outside of work now and it seems to be due to her sister and niece staying with her. Then, we find out they might actually stay in Boston because they are looking for an apartment. I wonder how all this ties into the Fringe story. Is there some big reveal around the corner about her sister? Her niece? That would be cool!

Back at the office, we learn our mystery of the week. He is called the artist. Why would he be called that? It turns out that he faxes the police every time that he picks a victim and transforms them into some type of work of art displayed around town. Unfortunately, his victims are dead and their appearance is altered in some way. So who is this artist and why does he do it? Well, we get to meet him right off the bat in a Laundromat where he picks his first victim. He talks to her and she blows him off only to see he is in a wheel chair. She feels bad and helps him put his laundry in his van. That is when he doses her, does some mangling and puts her in a park in a pretty dress. He gets rid of her piercings and tattoos and dies her hair black. She does look pretty, but dead.

At Boston children’s hospital they know he must have survived on very little food and water, low oxygen levels, and without sun. He is having trouble breathing because there is too much oxygen in the air, so Walter tries to put him on low oxygen and eventually acclimate him to regular oxygen amounts. Which of course works and shows Walter just knows everything about everything. Right?  That man is awesome! I love it when he just knows things and other people are dumbfounded that he actually is right. Also, the boy’s hearing isn’t good because we actually get to hear Olivia and the other police through his ears. Very muted! But he knows what they are talking about and he stops Olivia before she leaves. He writes down “Sam Gilmore.” Who is Sam Gilmore and how does he know that name? Is he a telepath? Empath?

It turns out that Sam Gilmore is the victim that was found with the black hair earlier in the episode. So how does this kid know her? Olivia tries to show the kid’s picture to her friends and family but they don’t know him. That is when they find out there will be another victim and Olivia thinks that the kid might be able to help. She asks him to write again, so he writes down a street address. It is 547 Marlborough. That is where Olivia and Charlie go but they can’t find the artist. They walk right past his van because they don’t know what they are looking for. Too bad. The one ends up in front of St. Katherine’s enveloped in candles. Why is this guy enhancing these girls’ looks? Doing them a favor?

Back at the Hospital they are visited by social services who want to take the kid away. The boy gets upset but Olivia calms him down. It was like he could understand what they were saying outside his room. Walter also thinks the boy must have grown up down there because he doesn’t have digestive bacteria. He looks 10, but he could be significantly older. Is he really a mini-observer? Could be! But how does he know who this killer is? Also, the guy from social services is definitely not from social services. I could tell that by the kid’s reaction to him and his mysterious glances. Also, the call to someone confirmed that he had found “another one.” Another what? Another Observer?

At Walter and Peter’s hotel, Olivia tells Walter the boy was right about the street address. That is where they were sent to look for the second victim. She wants to take the boy to Walter’s lab to see if they can communicate with him. Since this is doable with a Walter contraption, Olivia convinces the boy to come with her and to trust her. On the way out, Olivia notices the boy made her an arrow out of the yellow M&MS. Peculiar huh? So on to Walter’s lab they go. In the lab, Walter says they can use the neural stimulator (the one used in an earlier episode) but there is opposition to torturing a child! Walter explains that he can modify the stimulator so they don’t have to drill into the boy’s head. With that said, Peter wonders why that wasn’t suggested when it was used before. I would like to know too!

Oh no, dancing Walter Alert! That is when Walter dancing to Al Green makes the child smile. He is just trying to lure him into wearing the neural stimulator and not being afraid. Who knew that Walter could be so good with children? And what and how are we going to find out about this child and his mind? Does he feel other people’s emotions? Is he a telepath? How does he connect to these murders? Hopefully this device will help out! I would like to take this moment to say: Did you see that? Shout out to my generation with a little GI Joe action figure! He was the Great American Hero! That made me happy to see that! Sorry, back to the story…

While this is going on, Olivia finds out there was animal blood under the second victim’s fingernails. Animal blood? While she is on the phone, Peter has an “ah-ha” moment and says that meat-packing plants use industrial grade plastic that would have cow DNA on them.  He must be using plastic from a meat-packing plant right? As she is running out, Boyles shows up at the lab with the social worker. I told you! He isn’t a social worker. He is in a special division of the CIA that will take the boy for testing. Boyles says it is out of his hands, but Olivia manages to wrangle another day out of Mr. Michaels so the boy can help in the investigation.

So Olivia runs off to investigate the meat-packing plants, while Walter, Astrid and Peter figure out what the boy’s mind is saying. They finally find a voice but then… the boy starts to freeze and they stop the test. What did they do to make that reaction? And wouldn’t it be a coincidence that when Olivia goes into the refrigerated plant across town, the second the boy starts to freeze? I figured it out early on in the episode this but it just solidified it for me. So what is the boy’s connection to the murders? It is simple. He trusts Olivia so he has connected with her emotionally. That is why he knows about the murder investigation and wants to help her out. He also must be in tune to the killer’s emotions as well because he can tell where the killer is through his emotions. I knew he was an empath from the second that guy felt something was wrong at the very beginning. But I didn’t want to spoil it for you!

But, back at the Plant Olivia finds out that the manager sold some plastic to a man earlier that week. He remembers what the man looks like and the team gets a sketch to work with. They set up a road block at the next location the boy gives them, an intersection. The artist has already picked up his next victim, an old lady he helps with her groceries. He is transporting her when Olivia and Charlie stop to question him and look in his van. Low and behold, there is a yellow air freshener in his van that looks like the arrow the boy had made for Olivia. It has to be him right? He takes off in his van, crashes it and then runs with Olivia in pursuit. Charlie gets to the back of the van and saves the third victim.  Unfortunately, in self-defense Olivia stabs the artist and he looks pretty much dead. So now we won’t know why he did what he did. I guess we will never know.

After all of this, Olivia goes to the hospital and talks to the kid’s pediatrician. We don’t know what happened in that talk but the doctor comes to the lab to take the boy away. She knows where he can be safe. So, the boy leaves with the woman, peacefully, like he knows he is going to be ok. Is this the last we will see of our mini-observer?  I’m just glad those government people didn’t get their hands on “another one.” How generic and “scientific” sounding. Maybe the kid will grow up and actually begin talking and become an actual good part of society. Or become an observer? Hm. That is when the boy passes the actual observer on the street and their eyes connect. He MUST be one of them! Those looks are priceless!

Finally, at FBI headquarters, Mr. Michaels comes to ask Boyles why the boy wasn’t at the hospital or with the team. Boyles says that they lost the boy and he escaped, but they don’t know where he is at this point. Boyles explains that there is a lot we don’t understand about this boy and have no idea why this would happen. I kept thinking “Touche” Mr. Michaels! And isn’t that the truth? What do we really know about this boy? All we know is he is an empath and survived for years alone. That is it.

I’m glad that there was a happy ending for our mini-observer. He gets to be free from the CIA and maybe develop into another observer. That leads me to think though; there must be more than one observer right? If they found “another one” and there is that older one walking around, there has to be more than we think. What does that mean? What are their functions? Why are they at important events like Walter and Peter almost dying when Peter was young? Or at the site where that weird capsule shows up in an earlier episode? They are always lurking. Why? I had another strange thought, what if Peter is an observer but was raised as Walter’s son instead? I doubt it but it could explain his “medical issues” alluded to in earlier episodes.  That would be fun now wouldn’t it? I guess he would have to be an empath like the child and have no hair right?

Next week looks like it is back to the thrills and chills that Fringe is known for. The trailer for next week was actually more exciting than the whole of this episode! I can’t wait! On another note, TVGUIDE.COM has announced that it is possible that Leonard Nemoy (Spock on Star Trek) might be William Bell in the season finale, with a multi-episode arc in season two.  NO, I say! Don’t get me wrong, that would be cool, but I was hoping William Bell was Nina or Walter or someone we have met already!  I guess we will have to wait and see.

3