Fringe 5x02: In Absentia

The band is back together, except for Lincoln, who presumably grew old in the altverse, and Charlie, who is still dead. But, everyone else is back and raring to go. They just have no idea what they're going to do. All is not well in Fringeville, you see. Walter's brain is scrambled, so the plan to defeat the Observers is lost. Olivia is having nightmares about the invasion, and although they still care for each other, she and Peter have split up and are sleeping in separate beds.

Just like Lucy and Ricky.

It's subtle, but when she wakes up from her nightmare, and Peter is comforting her and telling her everything is all right, Olivia looks over at his bed; everything is not all right. There are two ways things can go when the man is sleeping on the proverbial couch: back to the bed, or out the door. In this case, things are complicated by what they're doing, so it's hard to say what'll happen. Olivia's complex, even for a woman, but she's also forgiving. Plus, as fugitives from another time, their options are rather limited.

At breakfast, Walter is trying out last week's Thought Unifier, in hopes that it'll be able to make some sense of the mush that is his mind. It's not working, though, so they need another option. Olivia suggests looking at Walter's lab, but Harvard's been taken over by the Observers, and is therefore inaccessible... Except to those who have done LSD.

Incidentally, that includes Peter and Olivia, as well as Walter.

Back in the 1970s, Walter used to hang out in Harvard's steam tunnels, doing acid with William Bell. Much of the exterior of the campus is disused and overgrown, so the team uses the tunnels to gain access to Walter's lab. They find it in pretty much the same condition he left it, which includes a camcorder encased in amber.

Red Vines preserved in amber. I smell a Jurassic Park sequel!

Walter thinks he was recording a message when he ambered the camera, so they need to get it out. Unfortunately, they're interrupted by a milquetoast guard from the future Gestapo. He proves to be an asset, however, because the power's out, and they need a laser to carve away the amber. While everyone else works, Etta tortures him for information with a device that causes premature aging. Olivia does not approve, so she plays the good cop for a few minutes while Etta's out of the room. It sort of works, but the guard sees that Olivia's soft and tries to con her in hopes that she'll help set him free before Etta kills him. He gives up his access codes, but every door has an ocular scanner, so Walter takes a look at his eye, then calls for a scalpel and a big spoon.

They're always doing things to people's eyes on this show.

Luckily for Gestapo guy, Walter's no barbarian, and he has an old jar of preserved pig eyes that he can use to trick the scanners. Peter and Etta use it to infiltrate the science building, which houses the power substation as well as secret Observer labs. They get the power back on, but not before Etta stumbles across the still-animated head of her old partner, Simon.

Special Guest Star: The CGI Head of Henry Ian Cusick

With the juice flowing, it's laser time. Astrid and Walter get to work cutting through the amber, while Etta preps the guard for a long walk into the desert where she can put two in the back of his head. Olivia tries to convince her not to kill him, but she's a hard ass and as stubborn as her mother, so guard boy wins a sedative and a free trip to the middle of nowhere. I guess they've decided to make Etta a hardcore badass 'ends justify the means' type. That's one way to go, but I really didn't get anything like that from her character in her two previous appearances. She actually seemed rather jovial, considering the circumstances. Having your friend's bodiless head blink at you would probably harden even the lightest of hearts, though.

That's a look I've seen far too many times.

But, all is not lost for baby Bishop or her captive. They both saw something in Olivia's eyes that convinced them to change their ways. Etta saw pity for the way the world is, and the guard saw her certainty that the resistance would be victorious. She cuts him loose, and he heads off to work as a double-agent for the resistance. The secret police are showing some diversity. Up until now, every one they've shown has been a clean-shaven thug, and most of them have enjoyed their head-busting authority just a little too much. This guy only took the job because he was tired of being scared. So, we have a reversal of roles: Etta's the skull-cracker, while the guard is the one who just wants to get on with his life. War makes monsters of us all. It's not a new idea, but it's still important to point it out every now and then.

Back at the lab, they've retrieved the tape, but it's not notes, it's a message from Walter. He's left portions of the plan hidden on video tapes that he's placed in various locations. So, now the gang has a plan: A plan to recover the plan. And that's a plan we can all get behind.

What I Liked
-Olivia and Peter's relationship shows some complexity. They could've just gone the easy route and had her ticked off at him again, but she's more sad than angry.
-Walter finally catches up with the dragon he's been chasing all these years. Druggie Walter is the best Walter.

He finally caught it.

What I Hated
-Etta says the world "is what it is". True enough, but not exactly an in-depth explanation.
-The tape is damaged. That's just unnecessary suspense, since they find out ten seconds later that it's fine. OH NO, IT MIGHT NOT WORK! Never mind, it's okay.
-Walter's message to the future doesn't actually say where the first tape is hidden. I'm sure they'll just gloss over that in the next episode because it's not really important, and would've broken the flow of what tape-Walter was saying, but it's still a pretty glaring plot hole.
-The video effects aren't integrated very well. It's easy to tell that the videos on the TV and on Etta's communication device were put in during post-production. I would've thought that integrating things like that would be second nature at this point.

Final Thoughts
Where are they getting their clothes? Did Etta run out to the store to buy underwear for her mom, dad, and grandfather? And, for that matter, why hasn't someone come and busted Etta's door down for missing work? It seems like having a Fringe agent go missing would be a pretty big deal.

Walter's eye is still messed up from the last episode. Why do they have to keep doing things to people's eyes on this show. I'm fine with all the blood and guts on CSI-type shows, but messing with eyes just weirds me out for some reason.

I like that they're referencing Walter's penchant for stashing things away and forgetting about them. I'm not sure how much of that actually took place in this timeline, but his hidden, disassembled matter transporter was a major portion of the first season. I look forward to watching the team cruise around in their van putting together whatever it is Walter's left behind.