Fringe - Season 5 Episode 4 - The Bullet That Saved The World - Recap and Review

With an episode title like that, it’s clear that this is a vital episode. Up till this point, the Observers have been “two steps ahead” of everything the Resistance does, but we are slowly discovering the cracks of the Observers' system and the weaknesses within their superior powers in this week’s episode “The Bullet That Saved The World”. What if, in order to outwit the Observers, it was about being “Two steps behind?” and utilizing old school philosophies (and some tech) that the Observers fail to comprehend? And there’s a big reveal as to who’s helping out the Fringe Division and their evasion and infiltration plans!

Find out whom in this week’s recap and review of Fringe.

What a momentous episode. From feelings of peril, joy, grief to enlightenment… did I really just experience that entire spectrum within an hour? I struggle to even form a cohesive train of thought as I reflect on what I just watched.

The Art of Mind-Shielding

Peter (Joshua Jackson) is at an antique store in hopes to find a gift for Etta (Georgina Haig) when an observer pops out and answers his question before he asks for it, holding the exact necklace he wants. He proceeds to reads his mind but only detects a mess of thoughts, one of which was baseball, something he has no idea about. Peter gives his best shot to distract his mind and protect Henrietta but the Observer is quick to sense his insolence and calls the loyalists outside to detain him.

Mind-shielding. There’s apparently an art to it, as the supposed master of it, Etta would say. Now we’ve seen what the wrong way to do it can result in and we get a reminder of just that as the Observers continue their pursuit of Fringe Division and interrogate a Loyalist of interest who failed a security check up in suspicion that he’s an undercover plant. Pupils bleeding, severe convulsions…the whole shebang, and the Observers still end up reading what they need as they discover that the Fringe Division has been visiting the Harvard lab.

But for Etta? That won’t ever be a problem as she reassures that she’s found a way for to combine a mélange of random thoughts without them appearing forced and promises that she’ll teach Peter.

A Long Lost Friend

Broyles! (Lance Reddick) Ah, how we’ve all missed your stoic and prudent face. It is revealed that he is now the head of the Loyalists Security Division. With his exceptional poker face, it is additionally unsurprising that he has underlying alliances with the Resistance. Windmark, knowing that Broyles has prior connections with Fringe Division, consults him about the purpose of Peter’s necklace, which in his mind is just a manipulation of metals and ponders why Peter would risk his life for something so unexceptional. Broyles offers his signature blunt one-liners “You wear it”, and…. Come on, you’ve got to love him for that.

Penn Station

Penn Station has been mentioned as a significant key to unlocking the mystery of the tapes since the premiere but their plans have consistently been thwarted. Brainstorming on diversions to distract the Observers at the checkpoint of the train station, Walter (John Noble) takes them to the underground laboratory that is stocked with documents and evidence of fringe events, including canned monsters and a collection of unique gadgets. How we never knew of this for four seasons is enigmatic, but nonetheless, Walter has proved case after case that he is aware of the importance of preparing extra resources for worst-case scenarios.

Broyles executes a brilliant plan of communicating with Etta through text messages and informs her that the Observers are now going to seize the laboratory. Although it appears silly to use something as traceable as a mobile phone - in a world where Observers don’t understand baseball or necklaces, Broyles identified that they’d find it impossible to decipher text language. Or at least that’s what I think! Olivia (Anna Torv) quickly sets a plan to escape, leaving the Loyalists to only find what they believe to be just “an ambered lab”.

Captain Windmark is shocked when he comes to the realization that someone has outsmarted him and his team, and a shimmer of his weakness begins to surface, even behind those murderous eyes. He gathers that someone is succeeding in blocking information from him and looks to identify other potential suspects.

Walter drives up to a security checkpoint, and assumes the role of a lost wander looking for directions. As an Observer steps in to cut his shtick, Walter sprays them with a “sense-sealing” spray, a device that they dug out that causes the Loyalists to lose their capability to speak and see. Peter and Walter head to the basement and retrieve a map of physics equations, frankly another piece of the puzzle that Walter cannot seem to figure out. Olivia and Etta, takes one for the team as they refreshingly take the offensive and attack all the incoming loyalists with the spray in a classic Fringe-grotesque scene.

Reunion and Revelations

When they find a temporary shelter, Broyles makes a surprise meeting to witness the return of his team. Broyles professes his secret relationship with Etta after discovering her five years ago and making a plan to look after her because he saw too much of a resemblance to Olivia. Under the precarious circumstances, his presence is oddly calm and collected, and he owes that to Etta, who was the one responsible in teaching him how to block his mind successfully. Broyles gifts them with up-to-date weaponry, but an Observer quickly discovers them after a loyalist had placed a tracker on their escape vehicle. The team rush to hide their connection with Broyles and give Broyles the plan as it may be safer in his hands.

What Is Love? (Oh Baby Don't Hurt Me....)

The Observers are now seconds behind their every move and they corner the team into a warehouse. Windmark ambushes Etta and she fails to respond quickly enough to his attack. However, out of all things that he could have asked as he locks her tightly at his grasp, he funnily enough questions her about her necklace. Etta appears to purposely surrender and reveals that it was love that protected her, in hopes that the profound feelings will confuse Windmark. Windmark unfortunately was not moved and Etta is shot. Peter and Olivia are distraught when they see her, but in her final words, she persuades them that they have to let go of her because she will only become a burden. She willing sacrifices herself and sets up a bomb. The most profound moment of this episode came as the Observers assumed that they would finally catch the team with the certainty that they’d go back for her, but they were sorely mistaken as their lack of personal experience with love leaves them with a shallow and one-dimensional view of its value. Love encompasses a lot of emotional spheres and true love is not complete without acceptance of adversity. Olivia, Peter and Walter demonstrate that love is much more than a physical connection but revolves around trust, belief and hope.

And with that, the Observers walked right into the trap of Etta’s bomb. But wait. Windmark wasn’t one of them…but he knows he’s got some work to do. The roles have changed. He’s the one that’s now ‘behind’ for being too ‘ahead’ and overly presumptuous.

Fans are most likely devastated that a character we have come to love and appreciate has just been killed off within a story span of 4 episodes! As much as I was extremely shocked it even happened, it demonstrated a very important point, shining a light on a potential passage that the Fringe Division could take to outwit the Observers. The Observers have very limited capacity of understanding and making sense to human feelings and is less instinctive on emotions, and if there was ever a time to be emotional, this is it.