The Last Sam Weiss
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| The Last Sam Weiss | |||
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| Season: | 3 | Episode: | 21 |
| Air Date: | 29 April 2011 | ||
| Written by: | Alison Schapker Monica Owusu-Breen | ||
| Directed by: | Tom Yatsko | ||
| Starring: | Main Characters | ||
| Guest Cast: | Kevin Corrigan as Sam Weiss Ryan McDonald as Brandon Fayette | ||
| Next: | The Day We Died | ||
| Previously: | 6:02 AM EST | ||
| Transcript — Additional Images | |||
- Introduction
The Last Sam Weiss is the twenty-first episode of the third season of FRINGE. It first aired on April 29, 2011. Olivia and Sam Weiss determine a new way to access the Wave Sink Device. A disoriented Peter slips out of the hospital and finds his way to Liberty Island. Casualties mount as anomalies take a devastating toll on the populace of the Northeastern United States.
Synopsis
Berkshire County Hospital, far western Massachusetts. Walter Bishop takes a quick nap in his son's hospital room while waiting for Peter Bishop to recover from the coma he suffered following their attempt to control the Wave Sink Device in a nearby airfield hangar. Walter is concerned and continues to check Peter's vital signs, in spite of the numerous monitors already tasked for that function. Astrid Farnsworth has been waiting with Walter at the hospital and tending to his cares, as well as checking with the staff on Peter's progress. The plan is to keep Peter sedated for at least another twelve hours. The fact that his vital signs are stable suggests that Peter should not suffer from any permanent damage. Walter isn't so sure - the immense amount of power he was exposed to could have disrupted his neural patterns and created memory deficits. Astrid adopts a more upbeat attitude and suggests they go for a walk. Better yet... the cafeteria has tapioca pudding. Walter, reluctant to leave Peter alone, cannot ignore the lure of tapioca pudding.On a two-lane highway near Holyoke in southwestern Massachusetts, a family of three drives in moderate traffic through the rural countryside. The teenage son sits in the backseat, listens to music on his headset, and watches as the odd weather begins to act up. He notices the hair on his forearm standing straight-up just as lightning strikes all around the traffic. The SUV in front of their car flips onto it's roof and slides to a stop. The violent electrical strikes appear to be generated from thin air, not storm clouds. They back the vehicle away through the stopped traffic and the father jogs up a hillside to the overpass they stopped short of. He looks out over the scores of vehicles stopped on the thoroughfare as electrical bolts repeatedly strike the roadway and nearby fields.
ACT I
In the remote hills of western Massachusetts, Olivia and Sam Weiss walk through the Massive Dynamic test facility housing the Wave Sink Device that has now been active since the previous morning. Sam is certain events were not supposed to unfold the way that they have. Olivia offers Walter's opinion - the machines from each universe are quantum entangled. This machine was triggered when the other one was activated. Sam doesn't understand how that can be... the machine was built for Peter: only he can activate it - and he is here in this universe. Sam performs a quick test. He throws his metallic pen at the device and watches as the device deflects it and buries the pen in a nearby piece of equipment like a fired arrow. The device must have been hot-wired on the other side and tricked into thinking Peter is already inside. That’s why it’s repelling everyone and everything that gets near it. The fact that Peter is not genuinely inside is leaving the machine frustrated - and that must be the cause of all the damage out in the world. It’s not a Doomsday Device, but it’s acting like one. Olivia wants to know how to stop it. The two find a workstation to use and Sam rolls out an ancient scroll he brought with him. He believes there is a way they can disarm the force field and let Peter enter the device safely. The First People books were based on the ancient manuscript he has... but the pages he brought with him were never published in the book. Sam leafs through the document and shows Olivia sketched images of a rectangular box and a wand-like key. The key is supposed to open the box. Inside the box is supposed to be a crowbar of some sort. That crowbar should pry the force field around the Wave Sink Device open long enough for Peter to get in. The ancient machine is supposed to be indestructible, so if Peter gets in, he should be safe. If Peter doesn't get in, and is rejected again... it may kill him.Back at the Berkshire County Hospital in Pittsfield, Walter walks back to Peter's room with a cafeteria tray loaded with snacks, with Astrid at his side. The hospital staff is busy trying to locate additional beds for the influx of burn victims they are receiving as a result of the freak lightning storms. Broyles finds the two of them in the hallway while he is busy on the phone trying to make contact with the Governor. He tells his team that spontaneous dry lightning is injuring people up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Walter is not surprised, what with all of the electro-static fluctuations in the atmosphere. Walter wants to return to Peter's bedside, but Astrid insists they need to return to his lab - they can't sit by and do nothing. They can return to Peter once the hospital calls to tell them he is awake. Walter doesn't see a need to go the lab... he is out of any ideas that might be helpful. He wants to spend any remaining time he may have with his son. Astrid won't hear of it - Olivia didn't just sit around, she is out there trying to find a solution. "God helps those who help themselves" Walter! Her phrase reminds him of Benjamin Franklin and inspires him - they can’t begin to neutralize the odd phenomena until they understand what it is. They need to get his kite.
Inside the Weiss family mausoleum at Saint Arthelais Cemetery, Sam explains a segment of his family's legacy to Olivia as they prepare to open a heavy stone sarcophagus and retrieve the item hidden there. Sam Weiss is not the first Sam Weiss. His forefathers were also Sam Weiss. The man in the stone coffin is Sam Weiss - six generations removed. He was the grandfather that uncovered an ancient manuscript while digging for mastodon bones, but didn't actual write The First People books. Another Sam Weiss wrote the books later, while still other Sam Weiss's before that spent their lives searching for the missing sections of the original ancient manuscript that was unearthed. Sam takes his mission in life seriously - the Wave Sink Device has the power to create and destroy worlds and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Olivia and Sam muscle the thick stone lid off of the coffin and Sam removes the heavy metal container that holds the crowbar they are after. Sam is reluctant to continue on their quest - the crowbar is only supposed to be used if something goes wrong with the machine... the timeline is all wrong - a cosmic hiccup that will course-correct on its own. 'Half-glass-empty' Olivia adds - or maybe both universes will be destroyed. Sam reflects on what he has learned from the generations before his - no one said anything about the other side turning on their machine first. Olivia makes his decision for him - she is the one with the gun... so move!
← On the lawn outside of his campus lab, Walter has his hands full with the modified kite he has affixed sensors to. Astrid worries for their safety as she monitors the test equipment from a nearby table while Walter struggles in the high wind, tempting the elves, sprites and blue jets to pay him a visit. He is fully insulated, but a lightning strike on the kite gets the test equipment on the table smoking. Another lightning strike, seconds after the first, sends Walter flying backwards to the ground. Astrid runs to help him up and unintentionally offers Walter the solution they were looking - the missing variable - repetition. They need to start looking at where the odd phenomenon have been repeating.
Back in his hospital room at the Berkshire County Hospital, Peter rests quietly while his monitors keep tab on his steadily improving vital signs. With no stimulus, other than the beeping of the monitors, his eyes open wide and he begins to remove the electrodes and sensors attached to him. Apparently not suffering from too much pain, he hops out of bed and checks the wardrobe for his personal effects, dresses and wanders into the hall, somewhat disoriented. A staff member answers a ringing phone and tells the caller to divert the inbound casualties to another hospital. She fails to notice the somewhat somber Peter and he wanders by undetected. Further down the hall he walks past bays full of busy staff and suffering citizens, before he is challenged by one of the caregivers. She asks if he is a patient, noticing the identification bracelet on his wrist. He doesn't know - he doesn't even remember his name. The nearby chaos continues and she needs to help save a life. Peter is ordered to stay where he is, she will come back for him. Peter looks around - he isn't staying there. He puts his jacket on and makes his way to the exit. As he leaves the hospital, he stops and stares at the town of Pittsfield. Lightning is striking everywhere as parts of the city billow smoke.
ACT II
Well clear of the hospital grounds, Peter wanders the busy urban center of Pittsfield. Tired of walking, he hails a cab and gets into the backseat... he needs a lift to 42nd and Lex. The cab driver turns to check out his new passenger. Is Peter feeling okay? Peter, still somewhat disoriented, says he is fine. The driver questions the request - a cab ride to New York is going to be very expensive. Peter thinks for a few seconds, remembers he has a wallet, then offers his credit card to let the driver verify it. 42nd and Lexington in New York City it is.
In Walter's Lab, Astrid returns to her workstation with a stack of papers from Massive Dynamic that have the latest raw data about the anomalies. Walter wants to transfer the data to clear overlays that highlight where there have been repeat lightning strikes. He also needs the seismic data, the radiation data and thermal information plotted on overlays... just then, they may be able to detect a pattern, if there is one. Once the two have all of the points plotted, they combine the overlays and see that the fringe events seem to be clustered around two separate foci with a rift forming on an axis between them, like they’re tugging at each other. One focal point is the remote test facility in Berkshire County, MA, the other is Liberty Island in New York Harbor - and Walter knows why, his counterpart, Secretary Bishop.
In his office at the Federal Building in Boston, SAIC Phillip Broyles is busy on the phone with concerns of mass panic when Walter waltzes in with an impromptu science demonstration to make a very serious point. Broyles cuts his call short while Walter places a clear lap tray on the desk and dumps iron filings on it. With Phillip's attention, Walter places two magnets beneath the tray, several inches apart, then taps the tray. The metal shavings move into distinct patterns around each magnet and form a unique pattern in the gap between the two magnetic sources. His point: The two Wave Sink Devices are acting just like the magnets - only they are spanning the gap between the two universes. The swath of events is occurring in the zone between the hangar where their machine was assembled, and at the other end on Liberty Island in the alternate universe, where the other device must be... Secretary Bishop's headquarters. There is no other answer, however, if they can move this universe's device from Western Massachusetts to Liberty Island, then the pace of destruction should stall. Broyles questions the logistics involved, not to mention the fact that the device will be parked just offshore of the most densely populated region of the nation. Walter is certain that if they do move the device, it will buy enough time to find a way to get Peter inside of the device... it is the only viable option they have, plus Astrid is already working on their transportation needs.
ACT III
In Walter's Lab, Olivia and Sam Weiss have delivered the crowbar scroll with her image. Walter studies it and suspects that both she and Peter are somehow connected to the Wave Sink Device. Olivia is baffled - why? Sam only knows what he was taught - she is the crowbar, therefore she has the ability to turn off the force field long enough to allow Peter to get inside. Period. But how? Walter exams the scroll closely, then sees that if he joins the two opposite sides of the parchment to form a cylinder, it modifies the image of Olivia. Her updated image suggests that she has the brain waves to telekinetically bend things with her mind. He reminds her that she has done something similar to that before - two years earlier when she defused a bomb with her mind (Ability). This time her effort will be more complicated. She will need to turn off the device in the opposite universe without crossing over... control the machine over there from over here. Olivia thinks that is ridiculous, even if it were possible. Walter wants to see if she is up to the task and asks her to try her telekinetic abilities on the quantum entangled Selectric 251 they recovered (Entrada) from the Antique Typeset. Making the opposing typewriter work is the perfect means of testing her ability before having to control the opposing Wave Sink Device. Walter encourages her to meditate and be patient, but Olivia displays no ability to influence the communication device. →In Peter's hospital room, a staff member finds an envelope on his empty bed, becomes alarmed and places a call. The envelope has the written message - 'I am going home'.
In one of the offices in Walter's lab, Olivia continues to try and muster her telekinetic skills. Walter checks in on her and she suggests Cortexiphan may help in the process. Walter disagrees. At this point, Cortexiphan may do more harm than good. He is certain she has the telekinetic ability... all she needs to do is harness it. Walter understands her frustration - he has felt unequal to, and incapable of, the tasks demanded of him. He will never be the man he once was, but now he embraces his shortcomings - it is what makes his mind special. If she could just see how extraordinary she is... there is no end to what he thinks she can do. Olivia wants to believe in herself, but believing doesn’t make it true. Astrid interrupts the pep talk - the hospital called and Peter is missing.
ACT IV
In New York City, a barge holding the Wave Sink Device is tugged downstream to the mouth of the Hudson River and closer to it's Liberty Island destination. A few miles away on Fourth Avenue, Peter Bishop has abandoned his taxi for a pedestrian search of the area. He attempts to ask a few people around him about a pawn shop he is looking for, but nobody will engage him in conversation. Finally, he gets a local gentlemen to give him some guidance... there may be a pawn shop one block over on Third Avenue. Peter finds his way to the shop, enters and looks around. The store owner stops his work to concentrate on a potential sale. Peter looks at a tray of expensive collector's coins in a display case and asks to see the tray. The owner brings the tray out for inspection - is Peter a collector? Sort of... when he was a kid (Peter). Peter sees what he wants - a silver half dollar, it has always brought him luck. In Walter's lab, Astrid gets off of the phone with bad news... if Peter was going home to Cambridge, he did not get there. The house has been searched and there is no sign of him. Walter assumes the worst - that Peter forgot their address because of the massive blow to his head and the electrical zap he got from the device. Astrid consoles Walter, even after he snaps at her in frustration. Olivia enters the lab with news. Peter used his credit card twice in the past two hours. First for an $800 taxi ride to Manhattan, then he spent $600 in a pawn shop once he got there. Walter wonders what Peter could possibly be looking for in New York?
After dark on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, Peter disembarks from a sightseeing ferry and walks past military sentries and toward the tourist crowd that is evacuating the popular National Monument. A Park Service security guard on duty notices that Peter is headed toward the attraction - the wrong direction, and stops him. Peter insists he has business on the island, he needs to show his father, Secretary of Defense Walter Bishop, something really important.
Back in Walter's Lab, the team sits around with Sam and waits for word about Peter. Broyles has joined them and is busy on the phone while Sam laments about interfering with the device. Olivia assures him that he did not have a choice in the matter. Broyles ends his phone call and shares the news that Peter was found on Liberty Island... alert and answering questions. Broyles needs Olivia and Walter to join him, they have a ride waiting at the heliport for the trip south. Sam is not invited though - official personnel only on this trip. Sam and Olivia part ways. Good luck to her and a thank you for him. After they have left, Sam stands outside looking over the evening skyline... lightning is everywhere and the Newton's Cradle at his side swings wildly.
After the flight to Liberty Island, Walter and Olivia rush to join Peter, who still seems disoriented about which universe he is in. He is just starting to realize that he has been a bit confused. Peter looks at his father and wants confirmation - there are two Walters, aren't there? Inside the complex, Walter administers a quick exam... checks Peter's pupil response and asks him some orientation questions about current events. Peter says that physically, he feels fine - and of course he recognizes Olivia. Pretty much the last thing he remembers before waking-up in the hospital was his attempt at accessing the Wave Sink Device. Plus, the sweater Walter is wearing strongly suggests that he is not the Secretary of Defense. Walter thinks Peter will be fine - his memory is returning and his confusion is going away. Walter looks at the silver fifty cent piece that Peter bought and asks where he got it. The building starts to shake and Walter leaves to join Broyles and evaluate the device. Broyles wants to know about the increasing pressure the machine is creating. Walter has no way to counter the sudden fluctuations the machine is experiencing -- as long as the machine is on -- there's nothing they can do. Olivia and Peter sit privately and talk. She was really worried about him. Peter wants to know about what they discovered, and how the drawing with her telekinetic abilities plays into the solution. Olivia is honest with him - she concentrated like she was asked to do - but nothing happened.Back in Walter's lab, Astrid works late, then hears the Selectric 251 in the other room start to type. She calls Olivia with the news - the machine keeps typing the same message... Be a better man than your father.
ACT V
In the compound on Liberty Island, Broyles marches through the area around the device and barks orders. The boat off the island leaves in five minutes. All non-essential personnel need to be on it - get out now! Walter coaches Olivia as she prepares to "pry open" the force field around the machine. Broyles joins them and asks Olivia if she knows what to do... she thinks she does. The tremors and micro quakes continue to grow exponentially around the device: A massive event is imminent and there may not be much time left before it happens. Olivia questions her telekinetic skills again - Walter won't hear of it, her image in the ancient drawing was no accident. Whoever drew the image knows, as he does - Olivia Dunham does not fail. Peter steps into the lane leading to the device, contemplates the situation for a few seconds, then asks Olivia if she is ready. Holding hands, they approach the device and stop. Olivia steps closer and concentrates on deactivating the defensive measures protecting the Wave Sink Device. The hum in the compound changes... the device is responding and, after a few seconds, the interface grips relax and open to allow access.
Almost immediately after Olivia seems to pry open the force field in this universe, the alternate universe facility on Liberty Island gets an unexpected response from the device in their lab. The monitors and sensors in front of Brandon Fayette become wildly erratic. There is something happening to the machine and Secretary Bishop needs to know about it.
Peter's eyes open quickly. He seems to be laying on his side and his vision is blurry. Shadowy figures scramble around in the dark, hazy distance. He groggily sits-up as the sound of mayhem fills the night air. The street is littered with burning debris as the chaos around him continues with a nearby explosion. Peter stands-up, unsure of his footing and hears the loudspeaker announcement - All civilians proceed to evacuation route immediately. Explosions continue along the street and Peter takes cover near a memorial plaque remembering those lost in September of 2001. The plaque was dedicated in September of 2021. Confused at what he just read, and still dazed from all of the chaos, Peter stands-up again and stares at the huge skyscraper that was designed to overlook New York Harbor from the One World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan - the Freedom Tower. A nearby Fringe Division member sees that Agent Bishop is exposed to the threat and runs up and tackles him to the ground just in time to save him from another explosion as it goes off. Peter looks at the man that just saved his life, sees his official insignia and wants to know where the hell he is. Peter is injured and a medic is called in.
Quotes
Trivia
- General
- The Observer follows on the sidewalk behind Peter after the expensive taxicab ride to New York.
- When Peter wakes up in the future, he has auburn-colored hair and is wearing a wedding band.
- Recurring Themes
- Peter's Note. Peter wrote the phrase "I am going home" on an envelope and left it on the hospital bed before he slipped-out. He wrote the same phrase on a piece of paper as a child and left it on his bed decades ago before he tried to break through the ice on Reiden Lake. (Subject 13)
Previously
| The lightning bolt bumper sticker on the left rear of the sheep ranchers truck (6:02 AM EST) foreshadows the widespread lightning attacks in this episode |
Music
• Riders On The Storm by The Doors
• Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen - whistled by Walter
Glyphs
| — Plot Relevant Questions — | Address theories about questions on The Last Sam Weiss/Theories Ask minor questions on the Talk Page |
|
1) Do not answer the questions here. |
- Did the alternate universe receive the message that Astrid received in Walter's lab on the Selectric 251?
- Was Elizabeth Bishop or William Bell responsible for the message ("Be a better man than your father") received by Astrid on the Selectric 251?
- Did Olivia telekinetically influence the Selectric 251 or the Wave Sink Device?
- If so, did Peter play a role in triggering Olivia's telekinetic ability?
- Did Peter's presence in the Wave Sink Device trigger a sympathetic response in the device in the alternate universe and lock them out of it?
- Did Peter physically time travel to the future?
- If so, is the future one of the two universes we know, or an additional third universe?
- If not, was it solely his conscience that travelled?
- If not, does he remain completely within the device and is simply being fed a vision of a potential future?
- Who wrote the ancient manuscript that Sam's grandfather discovered while digging for mastadon bones?
- How did the author of the manuscript know about Peter's role and Olivia's role regarding the Wave Sink Device?
- What did Peter intend to show Secretary Bishop when he travelled to Liberty Island?
- Sam Weiss
- Are any of Sam's forefathers still alive?
- Does Sam look exactly the same as his forefathers?
- How many Sam Weiss' have there been?






















