FRINGE Recap: The Recordist

The hunt for all of Walter’s betamax recordings continues, and the crew gathers to view the latest one. It’s tape 3, and they haven’t seen 1 and 2 yet, but they are troopers and continue anyway. The Walter on the tape gives them coordinates, and they are off to the an undeveloped location to find whatever it is they are looking for. Well, all except Astrid, who stays behind to try and decipher the rest of the instructions on the tape and maybe learn what it is that they are looking for. That would surely help.

No sooner do they arrive at the site and start investigating than they are taken prisoner by some locals who could benefit a great deal from some skin care solutions. That are covered in what appears to be some type of fungus. Walter warns the others not to touch their captors, as it might be communicable. Their captors release their hold on them once a historian named Massey recognizes Walter. He’s anxious to take Walter to his office and show him the things he has recorded. Someone else came to this area right after the invasion, looking for rocks on Walter‘s behalf. He was taken into custody by the Invaders. Massey’s young son River, a bona fide Fringe Division fanboy, shows the others his self designed Fringe comic books and seeks autographs while his father is busy debriefing Walter. Astrid interrupts the impromptu Comic Con with news that they need to be looking for a mine. Massey tells them there is one, an old gold mine, and directs them to it.

Not long after entering the mine, they find the remains of the king of the skin fungus people. Walter deduces that it’s some type of calcification rather than a fungus as he first believed. He thinks the source must be in the mine, the closer someone gets to it the faster the effects overtake them. Unbeknownst to the team, evil observer Winmark has been tipped off where they are and is sending a team to retrieve them at that very moment. Luckily, he’s not the only one with tipsters…one of his Loyalists tips off Etta’s team that Winmark knows where they are, and he in turn tips off Etta that they are on their way. No one can keep a secret in 2036.

Peter and Olivia have a chance to talk while they are waiting around. She’s having a hard time with being a hero in so many eyes. Peter thinks she was strong in the aftermath of Etta’s disappearance, Etta admires her and seems to have an idealized image of her. Even the little boy River thought her a hero. She thinks they all had it wrong. She wasn’t brave in the aftermath of Etta’s disappearance, she went on with her work because she was afraid to face the reality of what she thought Etta‘s fate to be. She felt like what happened was her punishment because she didn’t appreciate motherhood as much as she should have, she thought she was meant for more. Peter alleviates her fears. He knows how much she loved their little girl, he watched them together all the time. Olivia seems to take some solace in his words, and they move on.

The team returns to Massey’s camp. They need to build a special suit to protect them so that they can go deep into the mine to get to whatever it is they are trying to get. They need copper. It’s a very difficult to obtain commodity, and Massey isn’t eager to help them at first. They don’t even know what they are looking for and their very presence is putting them all in danger. His son’s disappointment in his lack of bravery gets to him, and he agrees to make contact with some dangerous characters on their behalf. He tells the group that he has arranged for them to meet with these shady characters, but he’s sorry that he can’t go with them. Peter and Olivia leave on their own to get to them, a little surprised that Massey wouldn’t go with them.

It turns out Massey was sending them on a wild goose chase. He did contact someone about copper, but they didn’t have any. He sent Peter and Olivia out to a meeting didn’t exist, so that no one would notice him trying to sneak into the mine himself to get what they need for their plan, apparently some type of crystals. Being so close to the source, though, speeds his calcification, and it kills him just as it did the other man the team found in the mine. He did manage to get what they wanted, however.

The team takes their crystals and makes a hasty getaway, knowing that Winmark’s people are closing in on them, Etta has already spotted them on the road. When the Loyalists close in on their van, however, they find a man they don’t know driving it. He tells them he found it on the side of the road. The Fringe team is otherwise occupied and far away, hotwiring an old station wagon and getting back to following the trail Walter left for them. For now, they are a step ahead of their pursuers, and they won this round.

Fringe airs Friday’s at 9/8c on Fox.