Five-Twenty-Ten

Fringe Five-Twenty-Ten
Season 5, Episode 7
Air date	November 16, 2012
Written by	Graham Roland
Directed by	Eagle Egilsson
← previous Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There	next → The Human Kind
Cast | Transcript

"Five-Twenty-Ten" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of Fringe.

Synopsis

As the fight for the future intensifies, a member of the Fringe team orchestrates a Fringe event of his own.

Plot

Peter, recently having injected one of the Observers' devices in his own body, comes to understand the precognitive abilities that the devices give their owners, but has left him with other side-effects, like insomnia. He works with Anil of the human resistance to try to replace one of their briefcases with an identical one containing a bomb. The initial attempt fails as Peter fails to account for all variables, but his second attempt is a success; later, when this Observer meets with others, the bomb that contains a bio-agent kills them (later revealed as the same one used in the show's pilot episode).

Meanwhile, Walter retrieves another tape from the ambered part of the lab. The video instructs the viewer to obtain two of the Observers' "beacons" (as seen in "The Arrival"), which help to fix a point in space and time. The video goes on to point to two stored at Kelvin Industries, where Walter and his former partner William Bell worked previously; the storage area would require Bell's hand print, which explains why Walter had cut off William's hand when they were previously released from the amber (as seen in "Letters of Transit").

Walter, Olivia, and Astrid go to the facility to find the entrances blocked by rubble; as traditional means to remove the rubble would be difficult to acquire, the three decide to go to Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) for help. After a tearful reunion, Nina promises to help them with an Observer device that can sublimate the rubble quickly, though the effect will quickly attract Observer forces to the area. As her aide instructs Olivia and Astrid on the device, she has a heartfelt discussion with Walter. Walter believes that the pieces of brain re-implanted by Etta has caused him to revert to the ruthless man he had been before, but hopes that Peter will help support him. When Nina asks him about William Bell's feelings for her, he asserts that Bell never loved anyone; Nina is stunned by this revelation, and expresses she fears Walter has reverted to his old self. Meanwhile, Olivia expresses concern that she had once lost Peter before after the initial Observer invasion, and fears losing him again.

As Peter rejoins them remaining coy about his activities, the device successfully clears the rubble. Inside, they access Bell's laboratory, and find a combination safe. Walter believes he knows the combination, but struggles to remember it, while Olivia insists time is short. Instead, Peter informs Walter he has plenty of time to recall the combination; Walter is able to come up with it, but when they open the safe, there are no beacons, only a strange device, and to Walter's surprise, a photo of Nina. Believing the effort was all for naught, they are about to leave when Peter uses the device to bring the two beacons to the surface. Peter confidently exits the building despite Olivia's insistence that the Observers could be waiting for them. However, Peter proves to be correct; he instructs the others to return to the lab while he deals with another matter.

Walter returns to Nina, showing her the photos, and apologizing for his earlier behavior; he asks her to consider helping him remove the pieces of brain as to re-revert to his kinder self. Olivia returns to Etta's safe-house to find Peter there, in front of several boards, filled with dates, times, and photos of Observers. She discovers Peter has implanted the Observer's device, had used it to switch the briefcases as to kill the Observer in charge of security such that they would not be detected at Kelvin Industries, and has plans for the same for Captain Windmark, the lead Observer. Worried, she leaves him to plan, while he discovers that he is starting to lose his hair. Walter, alone with the assembled components from the tape, contemplates to himself listening to David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World".

Notable Quotes

Walter: Belly, you monster!
Peter: What is it, Walter?
Walter: My Bowie... he stole it. It's not enough that he institutionalized me, betrayed our friendship, but he pilfered my record collection as well!

Peter: It's logical for us to split.

Walter: I'm scared, Nina. Every day that goes by, I feel him more and more. I'm losing myself. I'm becoming the man I was and just like before, everyone that I care about will be driven away and will suffer because of me.

Notes

• Walter used the combination 52010 to get into the Jacksonville Daycare in "Jacksonville."
• 5/20/10 was the airdate of the season two finale.
• Nina Sharp returns. She lends one of her 'Ministry of Science' (formerly Massive Dynamic) staff to help the team convert mass into gas, to erode blocks of cement blocking the entrance where two beacons are stored.
• Peter's Observer behaviour and abilities become more apparent. He begins to observe more thoroughly, his head movements and facial expressions become more Observer-like, and he begins to speak like one.
• The Cypher for "Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There" spelled out 'split', in this episode Peter says to Olivia, "It's logical for us to split." Showing his logic is starting to override his emotions.
• Peter's hair begins to fall out.
• Blair Brown (Nina Sharp) is credited as Special Appearance by.

Featured Music

• "The Man Who Sold The World" by David Bowie

Cypher

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