From Fringepedia - The FRINGE wiki
- Introduction
Welcome To Westfield is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of FRINGE. It first aired on 10 February, 2012. After responding to a commercial aviation disaster in rural Vermont, Peter, Olivia and Walter wander into a nearby town that doesn't seem to have any way to leave. The general population is either dead or deranged and the Fringe investigators have to fight their way to sanctuary before the area is 'erased'. Peter's role on the Task Force gains Olivia's approval.
Synopsis
- Prologue
In her apartment, Olivia and Peter share a moment of tender intimacy in the early morning light. She tells him she loves him... Peter tells her likewise -- Olivia's cell phone vibrates and she is pulled from the waking dream she was having. Peter is on the other end of the call and apologetic that he has called her so early. After slowly getting her bearings, Olivia returns to reality. Not a problem, how can she help him? Great. Peter and Walter have been working around-the-clock on developing the interface technology he needs to use to activate the Wave Sink Device on Liberty Island and return home. However - he needs to see her - he needs help with something.
In his lab,
Walter fusses over another side project. The tricky part with this experiment is to ensure optimal heat distribution in order to prevent the mixture from separating.
Olivia finds her way through the front door to
Peter's side. What is that smell? It definitely isn't the technology that they have been developing for the trans-universal bridge. Peter explains Walter's diversion. That smell is 'Hot Cinnamon Roll'. Walter has been mixing cinnamon liqueur with butter to develop a new "breakfast cocktail". Peter chokes down the latest test-batch and reels... ahh...
too much butter. Walter reaches a disparate conclusion - this cocktail needs
more butter. Olivia seems less interested than usual... she is tired, but okay. What did Peter need help with? Walter offers a summary of their recent efforts. The two Bishops have finished a biomechanical interface for the
machine on Liberty Island that is uniquely calibrated to react with Peter's genetic profile. It transcodes Peter's organic, neural impulses into command directives. Peter places his hand on the sensor plate of the interface device and it
responds by enclosing his forearm with multiple contact appendages, much the way it did back in his original timeline. What they haven't figured out yet is how the interface device will tell the trans-universal contraption to return Peter to his desired destination. The first thing they do need is to gain access to Liberty Island so they can test the prototype on the machine itself. This is where Olivia is needed, if she doesn't mind: They need her to approach
Broyles and get his authorization. She does not mind. Olivia will see what she can do.
In a
rural southern part of Vermont, a truck driver pilots his tractor-trailer rig through the night on an unlit, undivided two-lane backroad. Alert and singing along with the music on the CD he selected, the electronics in the vehicle suddenly seem to go haywire and short-out. All complex systems in the tractor cease to function and he has to coast to a stop. In front of the big-rig, a handful of passenger vehicles seem to have suffered the same fate. As he hops out of the cab, all of the loose metal objects inside levitate briefly, then fall to the ground. Clear of their vehicles, the group of strangers watch the night sky as a large commercial jet appears just over the treeline on the horizon. As it streaks-by a few hundred feet overhead, everyone senses that the low-flying aircraft is in serious trouble. A few seconds later, the ill-fated plane strikes the ground and erupts into a large fireball that certainly won't leave many, if any, survivors. Stunned and in silent awe of the horrific event, the focus returns to the
impromtu parking lot when all of the vehicles return to their prior 'healthy' state. Someone should probably call this in.
Approximately three hours after the 8:15 PM crash, Olivia and
Astrid Farnsworth join Task Force Chief Broyles on the rural backroad in Vermont. Astrid can't reach Walter on the video link he uses to answer science questions from the lab. Broyles tells them why they are investigating the crash of
Atlantic 591 after its' electrical and hydraulic systems failed. The NTSB investigators will be looking at the crash site, two miles to the south, but they
will be looking at the vehicles on this stretch of road. All of which inexplicably lost power at the time of the crash. Not only that... it seems that various objects were suspended in midair, somehow. Astrid is still struggling to get Walter on the line so he can hear all of this. Walter tells her to lower her voice - he is right there. It seemed like a nice day, so Walter decided to make the drive out to the incident scene with Peter. Peter denies any encouragement on his part: It was Walter's idea to tag-along. Eager to start his field work, Walter knowingly knocks a hubcap off of a car to demonstrate what he initially suspected. With everyone's attention, Walter tosses the metallic wheel covering toward the side of a pick-up truck - which promptly sticks like an attracted magnet. It seems the levitating effects the witnesses described were not a gravitational anomaly, but a brief increase in the area's electromagnetic force. That would explain the electrical system failure in all of the vehicles... and probably the crashed aircraft. Walter has no idea what caused this, however, the data recorder and wreckage from the aircraft may help isolate the cause. Broyles directs the team to collect what they need from the vehicles and has Astrid coordinate with the folks at the crash site to take custody of wreckage and bodies needed for their scientific study. Walter switches his focus... a road sign they passed says that there is delicious homemade pie nearby. Maybe he can catch a snack while the evidence is being collected. Who's hungry?
A few miles from the incident scene, Olivia drives into the small town of Westfield in search of rhubarb pie for Walter. They locate the diner advertising the pie Walter saw on the billboard and stop. Olivia wants to make a cell phone call but doesn't have reception. She heads-off on foot for
a nearby public pay phone while the Bishop men head into the diner to satisfy Walter's sweet tooth. Peter will pass on the tasty treat and only needs to use the restroom. Walter, on the other hand, will go for a cup of coffee and the largest slice of rhubarb pie that pie proprietor 'Big Willy' can muster. A cordial host, Willy is up for some friendly chit-chat. You guys are from Boston? Willy has an uncle near there. First time in Vermont? Walter is clueless on only his second excursion from the lab in the last three years. He's in Vermont? He hasn't driven much since he left the mental asylum. Willy sees the quirky goodness in Walter and declares his fondness for the senior scientist - the pie is his treat. Nearing the pay phone she spotted earlier, Olivia finds an abandoned vehicle stopped in the middle of the street with its' windows down and an open door. The pay phone doesn't work. In the restroom, Peter finishes his business and starts back to Walter at the counter... on the way, he diverts to a side room to investigate the faint groaning he just heard. At the counter, Willy seems a little disoriented. What would Walter like to order? Now Walter is a little disoriented. He just ordered a minute ago... rhubarb pie... Willy said it was on the house. Cordial
Willy has a full-fledged attitude swing in nothing-flat - free pie? Nobody steals from Willy! Intimidated by the sudden confrontation, Walter quietly concedes. Almost immediately, Mad Willy snaps out his "pie rage" and Cordial Willy is back on-duty. Peter finds the source of the pained suffering. Badly injured and bleeding profusely on the floor beneath a dead woman hanging from the ceiling,
Cliff Hayes needs immediate help. At the service counter, Willy serves Walter the slice of pie he requested... no problem. Then - problem - Willy snaps, grabs a large chefs' knife and tries to decapitate Walter with one huge swing of the arm. Walter lurches backwards to avoid the knife, then kicks at and grapples with his assailant. Peter hears the ruckus and dashes to intercept the deranged, knife wielding man. After tackling Willy and getting kicked away, Peter prepares for a final lunge by the crazed restaurateur. Before any severe damage is inflicted on Peter... Olivia shoots the madman in the back from the doorway. A quick check by Walter
confirms that what he thought he saw is true... Willy has two pupils in one eye. The trio quickly rallies around Cliff Hayes. The puncture in his arm just missed a vital artery and the loss of blood is extensive. Olivia returns with the news that there is another dead body behind the counter. What is wrong with this place? Deserted. No phones. Serial killer at the pie joint. Walter is worried about Cliff. They need to find some way to treat his injury before it kills him - and the nearest hospital is twenty miles away. They better load-up the SUV and get moving.
In the car, headed
for the outskirts of Westfield, Cliff isn't getting any healthier as Walter tends to him in the back seat. Cliff is concerned: They can't leave Westfield. Peter is watching the road as Olivia races to the distant hospital... they just passed signage welcoming them to Westfield. That's confusing... they must have gotten turned around somehow. Sticking to the main road should solve the confusion. Okay. They just passed the sign that says they are leaving town. And here comes another sign - what the hell? -
'Welcome To Westfield'. Cliff repeats himself... it's not that they can't leave town, it's - they CAN'T leave town. Walter understates the issue - it seems they are trapped.
In the middle of the night, the team finds, and
enters the Sheriff's office looking for anything they can use to save Cliff Hayes' life. Completely blacked-out inside, they have to make do with flashlights, resourcefulness and ingenuity. Cliff needs blood soon, so Walter has Peter search for a first-aid kit. Walter can share his O-Negative blood with Cliff if they can find a medical kit that has I.V. paraphernalia. No phones here either - Olivia wonders if this is connected to the fiasco of trying to drive out of town. Walter doesn't have a quick answer - he is more focused on saving Cliff at the moment. Peter
returns with the equipment Walter needs for a transfusion. Once the
blood starts flowing, Cliff finds the energy to vehemently warn the trio... they are not safe in this town, everyone is crazy. The madness started three nights earlier when Cliff's sister shot her long-time husband in the head - claiming he was an intruder that she had never seen before. Seemingly schizophrenic and delusional, she recalled people she'd never met... things she'd never done... children she didn't have. It was as if she was having someone else's memories. And it wasn't just her - almost everyone in town was suffering from similar psychosis. Not everyone succumbed immediately. Many took hours, or a day, before confusion, tremors and paranoia turned them violent. Only a handful of citizens were unaffected. Those folks have locked themselves in at the High School, but food is scarce so Cliff left to gather what he could. Cliff worries most about his wife and daughter, to them the situation seems hopeless - maybe the presence of the FBI will change that. Olivia is thinking 'bigger picture': Contacting Broyles should be a priority. Peter found some law enforcement radios in the building, but they won't work unless he gets to higher ground and finds a power source to boost the radio's effectiveness. Cliff has a potential solution... the emergency generator at the High School may solve the limitation with the radios. Still in 'problem-solving mode', Olivia wonders if the nearby military facility is responsible for this Fringe event... something like Edina
(Johari Window). Walter doesn't recall Edina, so Olivia recounts the unique case for him. Now Peter is concerned. Olivia just shared memories of a case that Peter experienced in his timeline, not in hers. Odd but explainable, Olivia must have read it in one of Peter's summary documents about his timeline. With the morning sun, the group prepares to escort Cliff Hayes to the High School and to join the unaffected folks that have sanctuary there. Peter prepares for the worst and 'cowboys-up' with a shotgun and plenty of ammo. Because of the potential danger, Walter wants a weapon as well. Not ready to let Walter off of his short leash, Peter allows Walter something less lethal than a pistol. How about pepper-spray? Maximizing self-protection is a good thing, so Olivia gives Cliff a pistol, and some basic protocols to use it.
Outside the Sheriff's office, as the four quickly head for the SUV, a catatonic man wanders from a neaby alley. Olivia hops into the driver's seat to get the car started while Peter pumps the shotgun
and places himself
between the group and the threat - a moaning male citizen covered in blood and carrying the mangled doll of a young child. Walter encourages Olivia to abandon the car when it won't start. The same excessive electromagnetism that caused the vehicles to lose power last night is probably preventing her from driving now. Time to go on-foot... there is no way to know when the E-M spike will fade. On the walk to the High School, Cliff asks Walter about Peter - same last name? Some physical resemblance? He's your son, isn't he? Walter supposes - in a fashion, you could say that. Peter tends to Olivia along the way. Her arm won't stop shaking and she has been getting dizzy. As she explains her symptons, Olivia has a complete episode - slurring unintelligably and woozy, she staggers back a step. Now Olivia is scared - it felt like somebody else was in her body... is the same thing that made most of Westfield deranged now happening to her?
The group makes it's way
to the home of the
Coolidge High Killer Bees and
gains access to the interior from Brian. Worried for the security of the survivors, Brian hesitantly allows Cliff to enter with his FBI escort - three people from the Federal government. Three? They've been trapped for days, the town is destroyed, everyone is going crazy, and the U.S. Government only sends three people? As diplomatic as ever, Olivia gets Brian focused on the first order of business... they need to
work together - starting now. Help will come, but they shouldn't count on it solving the unsafe situation they currently face. As they move into the interior of the building, Cliff's wife and daughter rush out to see him. They were sure the worst had happened to him. With the good news that Cliff is alright comes the bad news, Teresa is showing the same signs of mental disarray as the others did in the previous three days. Walter would like to see her. Peter has a word with Olivia about her condition - they need to tell Walter if she feels she is under the influence that has struck Westfield.
Walter finds Teresa confined in the biology lab and conducts a quick medical exam. Teresa appears to be emotionally stable, but the fact that she has a
second set of lower teeth implies otherwise. He will need a blood sample to help sort through her unique characteristics. Perhaps the cells in Teresa's body are replicating exponentially from some sort of
rapid mitosis. Originally coherent, Teresa lapses into a separate set of memories. Her husband should be home soon and she needs to start supper. Not possible - her husband died years ago. Teresa returns to the present... is this a joke? Her husband is dead... then a relapse - she needs to get his dinner prepared. Peter returns from his errand. There is way too much electromagnetic interference, and the radios won't work. Not even twice the power the school's emergency generators provide would get them in contact with the outside world. Olivia tells Peter about Walter's findings and he encourages her to get her blood checked along with Teresa. Olivia takes the advice and lets Walter draw blood. Walter discounts her symptoms - he has known her since childhood and what she is feeling is probably just the empathy she has with those that are suffering around her. Walter gets to work while Peter and Olivia have a private chat. She thinks Walter is doing so much better, emotionally, since Peter has arrived. Curious about the unspoken details of Peter's relationship with the Olivia from his timeline, this Olivia wants to know more. Peter admits that
this Walter is not unlike the one that he knew previously, and the other Olivia, she was driven, stubborn and hated losing. But more importantly, the Olivia he knew saw the best in people, even when they don't see it in themselves. Oh - and she was gorgeous too. No doubt. When Peter was with her, he always felt like he had a place to call home. They even had a ritual date night on Friday's - order in some good Italian food and watch campy horror films. Olivia knows the restaurant, but has never had their food. Cliff's wife screams with panic down the hall and everyone rushes to find Teresa dead on the floor, after taking her own life. What if this happens to the remaining "sane" people? Olivia wants solidarity. Everyone will be okay - they just need to figure out what's happening and find out a way out of town. Cliff frets over a decision he made a few months ago - not taking a teaching job 400 miles away because of his loyalty to his hometown, Westfield. If he had... his family would be safe now. Walter needs to see Olivia and Peter immediately in the Biology Lab where he is working - and of course he fulfills every young adult's fantasy by hailing them over the loudspeaker for all to hear.
Once the trio
convenes in the lab, Walter shares his finding: Teresa's blood has 92 chromosomes - or twice the genetic material that any normal human would have. Essentially, the universes are merging and Westfield is the cross-section between the two. The citizens appear to be going crazy because they are being flooded with years of experiences and memories from their counterparts in alternate universe Vermont. Peter worries that Olivia is
doomed as well... wait, Walter neglected to mention that Olivia's blood work was fine - she has a normal amount of chromosones -- Olivia is perfectly fine. Walter's best guess is that Cliff and the others in the school are fine too. They probably don't have counterparts in the alternate Westfield. Olivia makes the connection... in the other universe, Cliff and his family probably did make the move from Westfield to take a distant teaching position. The question remains - how is this happening, the energy required would be enormous. Peter has an idea - Amphilicite, the powerful ore sought by
David Jones. But why? To what end? Walter postulates that what they have experienced so far is just the beginning. The entire school begins to shake and Cliff Hayes gathers the science team to follow him to the roof. Once they have gathered topside, a clear view of the town makes it apparent - Phase Two has begun as
prominent structures simply evaporate into nothingness.
Back inside Coolidge High, the dwindling populace of Westfield grows ever more concerned as the violent tremors continue to rock their sturdy sanctuary. Concerned more than anyone, Walter has no idea what to do – the merging towns are creating such an excess of mass and energy that the fundamental forces of physics are out of balance and destroying everything. One possible solution is to the neutralize the event with an off-setting amount of force.
Another potential solution is to find the exact point at the center of the colliding energy masses – like the eye of a hurricane, it should be relatively calm as the vectored energy around it cancels itself out. It could be the only place in Westfield that isn’t obliterated. Olivia starts looking for transportation while the Bishops start trying to locate the eye of the merging universes. Cliff and Brian get to work on Olivia’s task – finding a ride for the group. Transportation needs to be of the older variety... back when complex electronics and fuel-injection wouldn’t kill a vehicle after significant E-M exposure. Brian thinks he can find a ride. Peter and Walter get busy plotting points on the local area map. Using the coordinates from the failed trip in and through the merging universes the night before, combined with Cliff’s knowledge of damage from the start of the event, simple geometry points them to an intersection about four miles from the school.
Peter leads Olivia and the
group out into the bleak, windy morning to start the journey to what should be the safest spot in a town that is consuming itself. Brian took his task seriously and pulls-up in front of the group driving a good old-fashioned yellow diesel school bus. Olivia shows Brian their destination – he knows the area, there is a bike shop there on the corner of Quimby and Cyprus. The outside environmental conditions are intimidating, but things inside the bus get worse when a deranged citizen with two faces comes out of hiding in the back of the bus. Peter grapples with the hideously deformed man, while Olivia draws her weapon and waits for a clear shot. Walter doesn’t hesitate to shoot and save Peter from injury. The pepper-spray Walter was issued did come in handy after all. With pepper-spray in all three eyes and a smack in the throat from the butt of Peter’s shotgun, the deranged Westfielder is unceremoniously dispatched from the back exit of the bus. It’s time to get moving.
The bus ride stops short of the intended destination when the group encounters a heavy power pole blocking the road. Everyone
vacates the bus to make the rest of the trip on foot. The frequent heavy tremors and the high winds are going to make that a real feat to accomplish.. Brian leads the way into the bicycle shop with his shotgun ready on-point, while Peter covers the rear of the gaggle with his shotgun. Walter takes a second to study the
surroundings before stepping inside to safety. He thinks Peter was correct – that they are in the precise center of the merging Westfields. The group takes shelter in the interior of the business just as windows start to break and the intensity of the energy outside accelerates. Once the devastation subsides, the few survivors left in Westfield step to the front of the shop to see what terrible fate they narrowly avoided... the desolate moonscape that is now Westfield, Vermont.
Scraped clean of nearly all signs of man and nature, access to the two remaining buildings in the center of Westfield is fairly straight-forward. The Hook-and-Ladder fire truck has no problem driving right up the corner of Cyprus and Quimby Road. Other support vehicles have quickly reached the locale as well.
Phillip Broyles fills the science team in on what they have learned so far. There were no additional survivors. Bad as that is, it gets worse. It appears that Westfield was targeted. Search teams have located several devices placed around the area that use unfamiliar technology, and they had traces of amphilicite. It seems that
David Jones is behind this devastation... and he has only used a small portion of the amphilicite ore that he has stockpiled. Why? Why flatten a small rural town? Before leaving, Olivia takes a minute to chat with Cliff Hayes. He is still a bit stunned – how did his home, and everything he has ever known, just disappear. Cliff guesses (correctly) that Olivia probably couldn’t tell him – even if she did know the answer. Trying to relieve some of Cliff’s worries, Olivia shares that the government will be helping with temporary housing in the interim.
Cliff Hayes finds his silver-lining in this storm cloud: He and his family have each other - no matter what happens,
they'll get through this rough patch together.
Later that evening, back in Walter’s Lab, meal preparation is underway as Peter prepares to leave for the night.
Walter wasn’t expecting Peter to leave so soon. The meal he is preparing is crêpes - for two. Appreciative of the thought and offer, Peter has business he needs to attend to and can’t stay. A rain-check for
breakfast would be great though. Good enough – breakfast it is... promise, and then right back to work on testing the interface prototype.
Peter finds his way to Olivia’s apartment, concerned that she might still be suffering the symptoms she displayed in Westfield. With ponytail in-place and cocktail in hand, Olivia claims to be fine – with no sensation of a second set of memories and experiences, whatsoever. Peter is invited in and offered a libation by his colleague from work - something smells fantastic. Olivia reminds Peter that it is Friday after all... you know, ritual night with Italian food from Damiano’s. Peter is caught off-guard when Olivia turns around with his drink, then steps right in and plants a big ol’ girlfriend kiss square on his lips. Whoa. Timeout sister.
Quotes
| • "She gave me something that I hadn't had since... really since my Mom died. She gave me... a place to call home... a place I'd want to call home." - Peter (to Olivia, explaining the intimate bond he shared with the Olivia from his timeline)
|
| • "They're probably just psychosomatic -- these things you're feeling. You were always very empathetic, even as a child. That's why you're such a great investigator -- you ability to empathize with the victims." - Walter (to Olivia, trying to playdown the concerns she has over her unstable mental state.)
|
Trivia
- General
- Cultural Reference
- Brigadoon. Walter compares Westfield to the fictional Brigadoon of literature and stage. The mysterious village appears for only one day every one hundred years - and no one can ever leave Brigadoon.
- The Wizard of Oz. Olivia is shown the prototype interface device in the lab and remarks that all Peter has to do is 'click his heels' and 'think of home'. Peter catches the metaphor and retorts that 'clicking his heels' (using an interface device) is how he landed on her doorstep (his Oz) in the first place.
|
| | The sign for Quimby Ale outside of the liquor store (Making Angels) foreshadows the critical importance of the bicycle shop on the corner of Cyprus and Quimby Road as the geometric center of the Amphilicite Attack by David Jones on Westfield, Vermont
|
• Crazy Dreams by Conway Twitty - 
• Epistrophy by John Coltrane & Thelonious Monk -
• Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles - • California Stars by Billy Bragg & Wilco -
|
1) Do not answer the questions here.
2) Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer.
|
- Why is Olivia having flashes of Peter's timeline and remembering cases that he worked and she didn't?
- Are the Cortexiphan shots Olivia received responsible for the flood of experiences and memories she is processing from Peter's timeline?
- Is Olivia's persona from Peter's original timeline replacing the persona of this timelines' Olivia?
- Is Walter's assumption correct that the two Westfields from this timeline merged?
- Is the Westfield from Peter's original timeline part of the merging?
