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- Introduction .pdf version
Letters Of Transit is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of FRINGE. It first aired on 20 April, 2012. The saga leaps ahead to 2036, where rogue agents from a marginalized Fringe Division recover most of the original Science Team after two decades encased in Amber. The Observers have most of the native population subjugated, oppressed and repressed as an inferior culture... but there is new hope.
- Preamble
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They came from the future.
At first, they only watched.
Arriving at key moments in human history.
We called them 'OBSERVERS'
But in 2015 they stopped watching...
and seized control.
Citizen uprisings proved bloody and futile.
Those who survived became known as 'Natives'.
In an attempt to show their allegiance,
some Native factions became 'Loyalists'
and were marked by the OBSERVERS.
The original FRINGE TEAM fought the invasion,
but was quickly defeated.
FRINGE DIVISION was allowed to continue
at a reduced capacity, but only to
police the Natives.
The resistance was quickly overcome
...or so they thought.
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Synopsis
- Prologue
In a dark
Boston alley, a young Fringe agent walks through a graffiti-lined neighborhood on her way to the private, after-hours Epicenter Club. The doorman recognizes Henrietta Bishop and lets her through the locked security gate. Inside, Henrietta wanders
around the well-appointed, modernistic venue looking for the man she came to meet - a man with hair on his head. Nearby, the man she came to meet takes exception when one of the Observers the club caters to starts to man-handle one of the female escorts he manages. Kitty has other things scheduled and Rick won't accept the social diversion this particular Observer has in mind. Acting privileged and spoiled, the neo-Observer is punched hard in the gut by Rick for his arrogance. Before any more violence occurs, two uniformed Loyalists restrain Rick so the senior Observer can have a word with him. Captain Windmark approaches and Rick takes the opportunity to spit in his arrogant face. Very displeased with Rick's overt hostility and disrespect, Windmark focuses on Rick's mind and begins to inflict physical damage with his thoughts. Bleeding from the ears, Rick is only seconds away from having his thoughts wiped away permanently when Henrietta interrupts the assault. Rick drops to the ground and Agent Bishop immediately goes into apology mode with the overbearing Windmark. Sorry. We don't the need the extra paperwork that goes along with punishing this guy... do we? Her ploy works and Rick gains his freedom from the club. Windmark senses nothing deceptive from Bishop - her thoughts do not betray her actions. Outside, Henrietta escorts Rick back to his vehicle - he has something for her that she has been seeking for some time. She checks-out what he brought her - and yes - it is very important. In fact, there are two more where that came from. Before Rick can tell her where he found his cargo, a Loyalist sniper fires a single round and drops Rick in his tracks, then runs-off. Henrietta needs to clear the area ASAP and grabs the van keys to get out of the dark backstreets. Once she gets to relative safety, but still covered with Rick, the young Fringe agent returns to her precious cargo - the Amber encased body of Doctor Walter Bishop.
In the Boston Federal Building, Agent
Henrietta Bishop marches from the elevator looking to find one fellow Agent in particular. On the opposite side of the 'well-worn' Situation
Room, Henrietta finds her target -
Simon Foster. Foster is talking to two subordinate agents and softly issuing some very discreet orders... cut down the dead Resistance Fighters that Loyalists have hung outside of one of Boston's historic
'destination hotels', and make sure the others don't get too brave in the aftermath. The men move off and Foster steps over to greet his subordinate - where the Hell have you been? Henrietta needs to talk to Simon, but not here. Publicly chastised by the boss, both of their tones change once they are out of earshot of co-workers. Privately he was worried, she's late. After an elevator ride to the bottom floor, they find solitude in the large interior lobby. Henrietta explains why she is errant... Rick. A Loyalist killed him. Simon is concerned for her judgment. It doesn't matter if she is with law enforcement, or not, dealing in 'Black Market' technology could make her a target too. Henrietta clarifies the circumstances. Civilian contact Rick was not running illegal technology in this case, Rick was satisfying an open order she placed with him way back when. An order she neglected to cancel - find out any information he can on the missing Fringe team. Foster is not pleased and more than a little frustrated. Bishop really needs to get over her fixation on this one issue... the original Fringe team isn't missing! They died two decades ago. Henrietta stands toe-to-toe with her good friend. Not true. The missing Fringe team is encased in Amber... she knows this because she has one of them in the lab.
Henrietta leads Foster to the Ambered
Walter Bishop she has stashed in one of the quieter parts of the building. Simon is genuinely amazed at what he is seeing. Henrietta was right all along. She points-out to Simon the device in Walter's hand. It appears the Doctor may have triggered his own encapsulation. What was so terrible twenty
years ago that would bring someone to Amber themselves? Henrietta figures that once they liberate Walter from his prison, he should be able to tell them what Rick never had time to... where the rest of the Ambered Fringe team is located.
Upstairs in his office,
Phillip Broyles gets an unannounced visit from the senior Observer at the Epicenter Club from the previous night.
Captain Windmark saunters in to the office, removes his hat and places it on Broyles' desk, then parks his menacing self in a comfortable chair. After a nip of water from his boot flask, Windmark states his business - the deal with Rick's murder, as much as that personally pleases him, needs to be handled. Native-on-Native killing will not be tolerated on his watch in this era, there have already been four similar incidents this month. Broyles is familiar with the events of the previous night, but there aren't currently any leads in the case. The smarmy and unctous bureaucrat can't wait to wield his authority in the matter... bite my hand and I will put you down Agent Broyles. Handle this affair, or I will - and I don't think you will like my methods. Haggard from years of professional intimidation, Broyles gets the message loud and clear, then fires a shot of his own across the bow of the SS Windmark... what did you do centuries from now to land yourself such a nasty assignment back here in 2036? Windmark likes Broyles and has a smile and
some humor before leaving - why?.. he likes animals.
Back in his 'unofficial lab', Agent Foster starts to work on extracting Walter from his golden stasis chamber. It won't be easy - the Amber that encases Walter is the good stuff... it can't be undone simply by converting it back to a non-solid state. A quick test confirms that. For a brief moment, Foster manages to convert a small sample to gas. Of course it immediately resolidifies and encases the tip of his index finger. In no pain, the only adverse impact on Simon is the utter delight the faux pas gives Henrietta. Encasement in this advanced Amber means Walter won't be able to emerge from it quickly enough before it recaptures him again. They need to find a way to dislodge Walter extremely quickly. There may be something in the Impound lock-up that may help.
Henrietta heads off to Impound with the correct paperwork she needs to see if she can liberate the piece of tech that might help free Walter. The creepy clerk there doesn't hesitate to name drop that he has Loyalist friends in Manhattan and that Simon is considered an untrustworty Fringe agent in that circle. His lax attitude and action toward the Resistance is notable. Henrietta is not intimidated by the smarmy clerk.. just give her the old Level-2 tech she needs and she'll be on her way.
Back in his lab,
after Henrietta returns, Simon demonstrates what the older technology that she retrieved for him can do. The handheld wand she has, no bigger than the size a large flashlight, easily blasts all of the paperwork and other items from a nearby table. The facist forces deployed by the invading baldmen used the blaster for non-lethal crowd control -- before they decided it was just easier to use live rounds. After attaching a couple of electronic buffers to the base of Walter's encasement, the two agents prepare to liberate Doctor Bishop. Simon will hit the switch that temporarily converts the Amber to a gaseous state, while Henrietta simultaneously fires the crowd-blaster to shove Walter clear of the gas before it reforms. The plan works, but sends Walter careening across the room and onto the floor in a heap. Simon quickly syringes a drug into Walter's arm that will help with the transition back to a breathing state. Introductions are made as the groggy scientist gains awareness. Twenty years in Amber has not changed much -- Walter is, as always, famished.
Once Walter regains
a certain level of composure, Simon attempts to fill him in on the status quo. A little bit of coaxing with red licorice doesn't seem to hurt much, either. Henrietta tells Walter what they have heard about him over the decades... that he had a way to defeat the Observer corps, but couldn't put his plan into action because of the amber event that trapped him and the science team. She puts a small handheld device on the table and activates the
holographic blueprint of a device he allegedly devised. Simon assumes that the blueprint is for some kind of a 'Beacon'. Walter is more pre-occupied with his snack treat than the critical debriefing he is receiving from the Fringe agents - something seems off - Walter is more like a precocious pre-schooler than a preeminent physicist. After a while, the agents convince Walter to undergo a thorough scan to see if they can determine a physical cause for his emotional regression. Simon needs Walter to hold still, but Walter believes that he is being addressed by Peter. Henrietta returns to the control room with a heavy-duty fuse to operate the MRI scanner. Once the scan begins, it becomes obvious... Walter's
neuropathways have degraded, maybe as result of his proximity to the blast horizon of the Amber. Walter has brain damage and it doesn't appear there is any immediate way to repair it.
Henrietta pays a visit to the
Ministry of Science in
Brooklyn, looking for a solution to the Walter issue. In a waiting area, an Observer sitting nearby seemingly reads her unreadable mind and tells her the person she is waiting for will be here shortly.
Nina Sharp rolls out of her office in her wheelchair and gruffly greets the patient Fringe agent. Henrietta confronts Nina with a viable cover-story appropriate to the situation... the stuff Fringe Division needs is now six months overdue. Nina plays along so anyone within earshot can hear - Fringe Division is last in the pecking order when it comes to acquiring needed technology. Being lunchtime, the two women use the midday break to rally outside of the building and discuss the real reason Henrietta dropped-by.
Outside, the two move across the plaza toward the East River. Nina apologizes for the gruff demeanor. She can't hide her thoughts from the Observers the way Henrietta can, so she has to play the role fully. Has there been any progress with the blueprints they have for Walter's anti-Observer device. Some. They have
Walter. Nina turns and sees the man she has known for more than 60 years. Waiting patiently with Simon, Walter's condition hasn't changed. He doesn't even recall where the rest of the science team was Ambered. The four
gather for a chat. Walter doesn't remember Nina at all, and wanders over to the river as soon as his attention span shifts. Foster wants to know if there is anything Nina can do to help restore proper brain function to Walter. Getting Walter functional and finding the science team so they can save the world from the invaders is a great risk and the potential for great consequence. She can't help Walter herself, but he might recover some if they can implant the brain tissue that was surgically removed and stored at
Massive Dynamic. He had brain tissue deliberately removed? Yes - and William Bell handled the procedure himself. Walter did not like the person he was becoming. Henrietta asks if Nina can bring it out to them. She cannot. The tissue is stored in a locked vault at the old Massive Dynamic building... across the river in Manhattan - Observer territory. No easy task getting in, or out.
While Simon and Henrietta get busy on the paperwork they need for access to Manhattan, Nina looks after Walter, staying on the esplanade next to the East River for the rest of her lunch break. Walter tinkers with her defective robotic limb while Nina talks on the phone with her one good hand. Simon is on the other end of the call and will be back soon to retrieve Walter. More fascinated with her arm than her conversation, Walter ends his annoyance with good news... her arm is repaired. Nina is delighted with the impromptu tune-up. Walter drifts again - a trip to the Circus would be nice.
After the Fringe agents gather Walter from Nina outside of her office in Brooklyn, they make their way to the rail station for the quick, high-speed train ride into the heart of Manhattan. Once there they disembark and head for the terminal
exit and the short trip to the old Massive Dynamic building. Walter is feeling peckish and craves a snack. When an Observer turns from the vending kiosk, Walter snaps and loudly calls him a monster - not a good idea in a public venue full of Observers, loyalists and their security forces. Immediately, a Loyalist Officer intercepts the trio with demands to see the paperwork they will need to continue their mission. Simon didn't have time to generate a complete cover-story, but he did have time to get some quick paperwork done that identifies Walter as a Fringe Division prisoner. When challenged, Henrietta and Simon use smiles and good manners to ingratiate themselves with the security mongrel. No. Walter is not a prisoner. But he is Henrietta's grandfather. The 'real' truth is that Walter is a bit crazy and today is the anniversary of the death of his wife. They want to take him to her grave, but this is a last minute thing and they didn't have time to go through proper channels. We're sorry. The arrogant Loyalist enforcer dips into what little humanity he has left and allows the Fringe Agents to continue on. Next time - he promises he won't be so nice.
The trio heads for the exit as Walter manages to shoplift a snack treat to hold him over.
← After making it to Midtown Manhattan through the throng of bald men infesting the area, Simon uses the security passcode given to him by Nina to enter the now abandoned Massive Dynamic Headquarters through its' shipping dock. Inside, as they make their way through the parking garage toward the heart of the building, Walter gets the eerie sense he has been here before. Of course he has - but his misfiring brain still won't let him remember. Nearly clear of the garage structure, none of the three notice the toe-high laser that activates security alerts at Fringe Division Operations in Boston. Underfunded and undermanned, Fringe Division is still diligent in what few duties it has remaining - so Broyles gets immediate word about the intrusion in New York City. That means the first order of busy is a phone call. Get Captain Windmark on the line.
Inside Massive Dynamic, Simon finds the cryovault containing Walter's missing brain tissue and recovers it using the passcode he was given. He has Henrietta concoct a mixture of
saline and
polysorbate 80 to saturate the tissue before reintroducing the tissue into Walter. He also has Walter take some
Diazepam pills that will put him into a deep sleep for a short while during the procedure. Simon adds some neurotrophin proteins to the tissue - allowing Walter's brain to absorb the missing components of his mind in a matter of minutes and regenerate the surgically removed tissue as if it were never removed. Walter passes out quickly and the two Fringe agents sit and talk while they wait to see if the procedure worked. Simon thinks back to 2015 to the time of The Purge, when the Observer invasion arrived. He was in college and and watched on television as major cities were culled of any resistance they encountered. That is the night his parents were killed - the night he committed to the Resistance effort. Henrietta doesn't have the luxury of remembering her parents - she was only four years-old at the time and can't even picture her parents face anymore. Walter rolls out of his chair and onto his feet. Focused and aware, he wants to know what year it is. The agents reintroduce themselves and return his holographic blueprint to him, with the bad news - the invasion forces still control the planet. In the parking garage below, a team of Loyalist enforcers begin their search for the intruders identified by Fringe Division security. The neo-Observer leading the squad isn't concerned with capturing anyone - his order is to shoot first, they will handle appropriate protocol after the fact.
Unaware that the building below them is being searched floor-by-floor, Simon has few questions for Walter, noe that he is lucid. Can Walter build the device in his holographic blueprint? Walter thinks back to his longtime with alliance with one
Observer, his codename was September
and he wasn't bad - he even tried to help as the invasion began. The reason 2015 Earth was co-opted was because 2609 Earth had ecologically destoyed the environment. The air and water were toxic and travelling back in time to a healthier planet was the only option. And yes - Walter believes he can build the device that will defeat the invading forces - but it may take some time to build. Henrietta tosses-up the next inquiry. Does he remember where he was Ambered? She'd like to recover the others that were with him. Walter briefly thinks he recognizes Henrietta, but the ding of the elevator arriving on their floor immediately ends the thought. They are supposedly alone. Time to flee and Walter knows a quick exit from the lab - a hidden passageway behind the back wall of the vault. As the assault team finds the recently occupied vault, Walter and company hurry to a stairwell that may lead to escape. Walter stumbles but recovers to his feet quickly issuing orders to the nearby stairwell. His escort dashes ahead, then realizes Walter has not followed. Walter slips into an adjacent lab with his own personal errand - resistance at any opportunity. When the agents return to find Walter, he is slipping an anti-matter container into a large detonator on the lab bench. Time to go. After a quick dash down the stairwell to relative safety, the trio clears the abandoned corporate building and reemerges in a nearby plaza a block or so away. Inside the building, the Loyalist security squad finds the lab and the device Walter has left for them. Seconds later, the anti-matter device erases Massive Dynamic from the Manhattan skyline, along with the troops that were hot on their trail. The pedestrian Observers around the plaza take note of the unscheduled demolition with little alarm. Time to move. Walter remembers where his science team was encased in Amber. It's not too far away.
In an old storage area filled with archaic office equipment and an ancient
typewriter, the two Fringe agents wait for Walter in front of the Ambered
science team from decades earlier. Simon is curious about the strange (familiar) look Henrietta garnered from Walter back at
Massive Dynamic. She doesn't know - Bishop still does seem a little strange. The equipment to dislodge the Ambered team is about ready for use.
Back at Fringe Division in the Boston Federal Building, Division Chief Broyles takes a video call from the Loyalist security officer that intercepted Agent Foster when he was infiltrating Manhattan at the rail station. The Loyalist lackey tells Broyles about the two people Foster had with him and the alleged familial status between Henrietta and Walter. The upshot security man wants to kick the whole affair upstairs to his boss, but Broyles insists he will handle it. Foster is a Fringe agent - and Fringe will police its' own. After the call, Broyles tells his man in Ops what he wants... activate the subcutaneous radio tracker implanted in Simon Foster and assemble a team to go after him.
Down in the secret chamber where most of the science team is still encased in Amber, Walter looks at, and admires, the homemade tech that Simon has created. The augmentation buffers he holds needs to be placed on either side of the person being extracted from the Amber - down by the feet. Simon
is hopeful that Walter will turn the tide in the war against the invaders. The Resistance effort needs new blood like Walter to inspire the cause. Walter is snippy - for now, he just wants his people out of the Amber. Henrietta handles the control head for the buffers while Simon positions himself to 'blast' the first person clear of the Amber with the crowd control wand. Boom!
Astrid Farnsworth pops out of the Amber into Walter's arms. Henrietta quickly injects her with a cardio-pulmonary drug to stabilze her breathing following the transition from stasis. Walter is delighted that she could join the living - even though he botches her first name one more time. As good as it is to see Astrid, things may be more difficult on the next extraction - the wand Simon has been using is scorched... he can't blast the last member of the team out of the gaseous Amber.
Two men remain embedded in the Amber. One was close to Astrid, but further down the line, a second man, William Bell is not a top priority. Astrid checks him out and Walter joins her. The look of derision on Walter's face is demonstrative. He only has one command for Astrid - shhh! - as he pulls a laser scalpel out for use.
As Henrietta and Simon work quickly to extract the next person, the augmentation buffers start behaving poorly. They keep switching between a functional and non-functional status. With the blaster still inoperative, chances are slim that they can extract the next person. Simon approaches the buffers
and they don't seem to be improving. Why? There is no electro-magnetic interference down where they are to hamper the buffers. Then he realizes, the Fringe Division tracking device implanted in his arm has been activated. 'He' is causing the interference. Time is precious and sirens are approaching - they need to make the extraction before anyone can isolate his signal.
Simon decides to make an incredible sacrifice - without the blaster - he will physically push
Peter Bishop to safety... before the gaseous Amber can solidify again.
← Just a few minutes after the latest extraction, Broyles leads his Fringe team into the catacombs where most of his old science team has resided for the past two decades. Before him stands one of his lead agents - Simon Foster - embedded
in the Amber where Peter Bishop stood for twenty years. Speechless,
Phillip Broyles looks around the dusty storage area and finds a fresh, partially-consumed, red licorice stick.
On a high speed rail trip clear of 'Observer-town', Astrid has a critical tone for Walter's hasty retreat - you just left William Bell behind in the Amber? Walter has no compassion for Bell, particularly after what he did to Olivia. Besides, they don't really need Bell anyway... now that Walter has removed the Amber-encased right hand of Bell. Astrid is stunned. In the back of the train, Henrietta studies the landscape as it zooms by, reflecting on the loss of her close friend Simon. Peter joins her with the promise that they will do whatever they can to recover Simon from his situation. Henrietta turns and studies Peter's face much like she did with Walter. Something is familiar to her - does he somehow know her? Peter can't imagine why he would since he has been trapped for two decades. Then it hits him - Henrietta?!?! She smiles and gets teary-eyed... of course they know one another -- Hi Dad.
Quotes
| • "They weren't all bad, you know. One of them even tried to help us. He was called September. What happened to him was... well, unexpected. He told me that, in the year 2609 A.D., they finally ruined the planet. They poisoned it -- the air, the water. And when it was fundamentally uninhabitable, then they traveled back through time, and took our planet from us." - Walter (to Henriettta and Simon, pivotal knowledge that explains the invasion strategy)
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| • "I think you're just what we've been waiting for-- someone to show people that we don't just... have to accept our fate... that we can fight back, that we can use our will and our imagination to make a better world, a better life." - Simon Foster (to Walter, hopeful the impact the 90 year-old scientist will have on the global resistance movement)
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Trivia
- General
- Generic and fictional, Letters Of Transit are credentials, uniquely-issued by an occupying force, that allow the bearer unhampered passage through a contested region or warzone.
- Observer Sighting. September appears to be out of the loop in this specific future, but was referenced as providing key information to Walter when his society was attempting to purge this universe. The occupation force of Observer's seems to have adopted Manhattan as one of it's enclaves on the North American continent. Basically, you can't swing a dead resistance fighter without hitting an Observer.
- Cultural References
- Star Wars. Walter blurts the phrase "these aren't the 'droids you're looking for" in his post Amber stupor. The line is from the iconic movie from the original Star Wars trilogy, 'A New Hope', and spoken by the sage senior Obi-Wan. The subtext of the episode suggests that Walter is the New Hope for the universe, though Peter may fill the bill in that respect.
- The Prisoner. Walter, in defiance of authority declares - 'I am not a number, I am a free man!' - a well-known line from the cult-classic TV series, The Prisoner, from 1967
- Blade Runner. The preamble mimics the classic cult movie, including background music and red highlighting of key words.
- Production Notes
- This is only the second episode that Anna Torv has failed to appear in
- A new opening splash for the futuristic episode depicts the mood and concern for mankind's future
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| | The security shack on one of the Liberty Island piers (The Consultant) indicates that it is the checkpoint for mooring slips 20 thru 36, a subtle reference to the year (2036) that Astrid, Walter and Peter gain freedom after decades encased in Amber
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- Dolami by Sebastian
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1) Do not answer the questions here.
2) Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer.
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- Did the Observers invade both of the universes they were monitoring, or just this one?
- What did Windmark do in his era that landed him the "crap detail" known as 21st Century Earth?
- What does Walter hope to accomplish with the Amber-encased hand of William Bell he removed?
- Why was the science team encased in Amber?
- Why is William Bell encased in Amber with the science team?
- Is the status of the universe(s) in 2036 a by-product of Jones' manipulation of mankind's future in 2012 (Season 4)?
- Is the status of the universe(s) in 2036 a by-product of Peter establishing the trans-universal bridge on Liberty Island in 2011 (The Day We Died)?
- Is the status of the universe(s) in 2036 a by-product of The Observer's intervention in Peter's and/or Olivia's ultimate destiny?
- Is Henrietta close with Nina because Olivia was close with Nina (foster mom) in the 80s-90?
- Why does Henrietta Bishop wear a spent bullet on a necklace?
- What did William Bell do to Olivia, decades earlier, to distance Walter from their longtime friendship?
- Why was Olivia not encased in Amber with the others?
- What "unexpected event" happened to September before Walter was Ambered?
- What is the Walter-designed 'Beacon' device (holographic blueprint) designed to accomplish?
- Doe it operate like The Beacon that was used to trap and hold September?
- Is Henrietta Bishop able to hide her thoughts from the Observers because of genetically inherited Cortexiphan abilities?
- If her ability is not inherited, was she subjected to Cortexiphan testing?
