FRINGE: Fracture

After a seemingly un-Pattern related episode last week, “Fracture” brings us back into the thick of things.

Fringe Science – The Cliff Notes Version
A Philadelphia police officer receives a mysterious call, instructing him to walk into Suburban Station and meet a man in a trench coat. He takes the briefcase from the man and walks away. Seconds later, he explodes.

As the team investigates, they learn that while serving time in Iraq, the police officer had been exposed to a harmful chemical weapon. He was one of only a handful of soldiers who survived, thanks to a classified experimental military project, code named Tin Man. Tin Man involved daily injections of a serum into the body. The serum was able to counter the effects of the synthetic neurotoxin, but it had a harmful side effect. When exposed to radio waves at a particular frequency, it caused the body’s tissue to crystallize and then explode. Project Tin Man was discontinued because of it.

Colonel Raymond Gordon, who had been a part of Tin Man, became a rogue agent. Colonel Gordon believes that there are others among us, making observations and gathering data about our advancements in science that they will later use to exterminate us. To prevent these observers from receiving their data (via the briefcases), Gordon was using the four soldiers who had been saved by Tin Man as unwitting suicide bombers. The team apprehends him before he can carry out a second attack in DC. They do not, however, get to the man who had been carrying the second briefcase and we see him successfully deliver it to the Observer! As the voice-over of Colonel Gordon describes what is in the briefcase, something that will “destroy us all”, the Observer opens the briefcase and pulls out several pictures of Walter!!!!

Lucky Strikes Therapy
Olivia continues to meet with Sam Weiss. She can’t even tie her shoes or pick up a cup of coffee, yet she is toting a gun! The headaches that Sam predicted have started and she has a severe attack, where she sees flashes of the elevator ride she took when she met William Bell. Olivia is frustrated with Sam and his methods…so frustrated that she ends up putting her gun to his head and demanding that he tells her what he knows and how he is supposed to help her. As he glances in the direction of her cane, which she suddenly no longer seems to need, it becomes apparent that whatever he is doing has worked.

Missing in Action
No action this week from Bad!Charlie, Nina, or Agent Jessup. We also haven’t seen much of Olivia’s sister or niece this season but the nice interactions between Peter/Walter Walter/Olivia and Walter/Astrid have given off a family vibe. Most importantly, three episodes in, we haven’t yet had another appearance by William Bell – how long will it be before Olivia starts to remember their conversation??!!

Favorite Moments

• The exploding watermelon/Astrid complaining to Walter about his experiments with fruit.

• Peter and Walter’s apartment search. These two are really starting to get along…just waiting for the bomb to drop…

Let the Speculation Begin

• Who are the men in the trench coats?

• How did Colonel Gordon find out about the briefcases/the Observer(s?)?

• Who is behind the war that is coming?

For all you code crackers – tonight’s word was BURIAL.

Thoughts on tonight’s episode? Is everyone following along at home?

Gretchen is a stay-at-home mom of two awesome little girls who has the good fortune of being married to a husband who is completely cool with her slightly out of control television addiction. During her precious few sleeping hours, Gretchen frequently finds herself ridding the world of pesky vampires and demons, as well as taking down fake secret branches of the CIA.