FRINGE Recap: The Bullet That Saved The World

Peter risks life and limb for a necklace, or at least it seems that way. He’s actually in a seedy part of town stealing gas from an abandoned vehicle, but takes the opportunity to make a side trip to a pawn shop and replace Etta’s necklace. An Observer is hanging out in this particular shop, though, and Peter gets nervous when he starts reading him and questioning about the blonde girl. Peter  makes a hasty exit, but the Observer senses something isn’t right and orders some troops to stop him.  Peter makes a valiant effort to fight them off, but when next we see him he is waking up in parts unknown with a curious kid standing over him. He shrugs it all off and heads back to the lab. Luckily he still has the necklace, it would have sucked if he had taken that beating for nothing.

The Fringe crew now needs to find where Walter left more of his hidden treasures. He has a sudden epiphany about where he would have hidden something valuable…in the train station. He used to go to New York with his mother a lot when he was a child, and he was afraid of a Soviet invasion at the time. He found a safe place to hide his comics at the station, as those were his most valuable possessions. Of course, this is Walter, so it makes absolute sense. The only problem now is that there are a significant number of Loyalists and Observers that watch over the station. They won’t be easy to get past, so the team will need weapons. Luckily, that’s not a problem. Walter has a lab under the lab, where he keeps specimens from just about every fringe event they have ever investigated. He didn’t trust the government to keep such things safe.

Back at the Fringe division, Broyles is watching via camera as one of his team members is interrogated by Lord Voldemort. Or maybe he’s just an Observer, but he really looks like Lord Voldemort. He tortures the guy and asks questions about the resistance. He uncovers a thought about a resistance leader named Dove, and this line of questioning appears to make Broyles uneasy. Voldemort also learns about the lab, that the Fringe team has been using it.  This is information he can use.

Olivia and Etta talk about the bullet that saved the world, and have some nice mother-daughter bonding time. Etta has been wearing the bullet since she was a teenager and went to their old house to look around. The place had been looted, but she found it in the ruins of Olivia’s old jewelry box. The bonding session is abruptly ended when they learn the lab has been compromised. Olivia has an idea that gets them out safely, they re-amber the lab, making the enemy think it was a false lead and the lab was untouched.

After having foiled the Observers at the lab, the team moves on to the station where they retrieve Walter’s hidden papers. They use an item from a long ago fringe case to aid them in their quest, a protein that causes scar tissue  over the entire face. The victims eventually suffocate because their nostrils and mouth are sealed. It’s gruesome, but it works. After a bit of scuffling, they make their getaway and finally get a look at the item they risked their lives to retrieve. It’s plans of some sort, with lots of equations, but they don’t make any sense to Walter. He doesn’t recognize them. While the team is in this hidden, remote locale, Broyles shows up. He has been working with the resistance…with Etta. He met her several years ago and had her transferred to his team. She got him involved with  the resistance. He has brought them an anti-matter device, basically a big bomb. It will destroy anything in a considerable distance, so they need to make sure when they activate it they are going to be far away before it detonates. His reunion with his old team cut short when an Observer appears. No one noticed that a tracker was placed on their car at the station.  Broyles shoots the Observer, then makes a getaway before anyone else can find him with the fugitives.

The team takes off on foot, their car now useless to them. They don’t get far, an abandoned warehouse. Once inside, they split up into two teams, but Etta loses track of Walter in the confusion. As her attention focuses on finding Walter, she is a beat late in noticing Winmark has materialized behind her. He knocks her around, and has the upper hand. As he moves in closer, he notices the necklace and realizes Peter got it for her. He’s curious why he would have done something so dangerous for such a useless thing. For once, he’s able to read Etta, he sees the images of her as a child and he realizes Peter did it for love. They struggle, and Etta tries to stab him, but he is ultimately the victor. He shoots Etta, and leaves her there while he searches for the others. Peter and Olivia hear the shot and race to find their daughter. They locate her, but she tells them it’s too late The device is activated, and they must get away while they can. Etta seems to be fading, and when it appears she is gone Peter and Walter both sob openly while Olivia just looks helpless. Olivia takes the necklace from her daughter’s hand, and the three of them flee before the explosion.

Winmark and his men go back to the spot where he left Etta. Peter loves her, so he’s certain they won’t leave her behind. They are surprised to find Etta still very much alone.  Winmark notices the necklace is gone, and moves closer to inspect. When he reaches out to touch her jacket, he sees the timer on the explosive device. We then see him some distance from the building, having transported himself away just in the nick of time. As he stands there watching buildings in the distance disappearing, we shift elsewhere and see Olivia, Peter, and Walter doing the same. Only, for them, it’s much more than the loss of buildings, it‘s the loss of someone they love.  Olivia quietly walks away, knowing they must keep moving. Walter tries to encourage Peter to do the same, telling him that she’s gone, it‘s over. Peter doesn’t move, though, he just keeps staring at the now missing building where they left their dying daughter.

Fringe airs Friday’s at 9/8c on Fox.