Yet Rivers kin were anything but small, in size or spirit.
Now, they had to find them.
Fortunately, one of them was in the lab, encased in the amber mass.
Credit: Liane Hentscher/Fox
Astrid wielded the Laser(disc) Beam like a heavy metal guitarist strumming an axe.
Walter watched and belittled her technique… then took all the credit for her success.
So it goes with the little people.
Alas, the tape wasnt the first in the sequence it was the third.
Still: It was a place to start.
This recurring motif canonlymean that the last tape will be found…at a jam band concert in Colorado.
Or maybe… Eastern Canada?
Thats a location in Western Quebec, i.e., Eastern Canada.
(I went beaver hunting in Eastern Canada in the 70s.
Of course, in those days, beaver hunting meant something else entirely.
Walter Bishop, A Short Story About Love.)
But Olivia heard something different: 41 degrees, 20 minutes, 2 seconds.
(Etta: Are you sure?
Peter: Shes sure.)
And if so: What does this mean?
It stars Raymond Massey, and the name of The Recordist was… Edwin Massey.
in the bowels of the Observer-occupied Science Building.
I dig the idea of our rebels heroes working right under The Invaders noses.
Its very Bane-in-The Dark Knight Rises.Still: Anyone else find this kinda hard to swallow?
To Pennsylvania, and The Bark People.
Walter, Olivia, Peter and Etta met Edwin, the leader of this righteous colony.
Edwin also told the quartet that the Fringe team was regarded as heroes.
He showed the team their press clippings recaps of various episodes.
You have a healthy lore about you, Edwin said.
(I was disappointed by the lack of hyperlinks and pop culture references.)
And then there was the colorful fan fiction.
Which is to say:Underground Comix!
(A winkyFireflyreference, perhaps?)
(BTW: The Loyalists wear… brown coats.
AndFireflyloyalists are known as…Browncoats.)
The cover of one comic featured an ominous gas mask.
There was a page that featured Walter looking mad scientist glam, with rock star Flyshades and cybernetic gloves.
River, trembling, asked his marvelous muses for their Hancocks.
Peter ate it up, albeit humbly; he was touched.
Youre my hero, said the younger Bishop.
Youve given me a nice strong jaw line.
Olivia was unnerved by her daughters adoration.
Thats a lot to live up to, she said.
Etta told her not to sweat it.
After all: Mom had alreadysurpassedexpectations.
So when we lost her, Olivia said, I felt like that was my punishment.
My punishment for feeling too conflicted to appreciate her when we had her.
He believed Olivia wasnt giving herself enough credit, that she was better and braver than she knew.
Olivia, Peter said, I saw how you were with our little girl.
Iknowhow much you loved her.
Im not telling you to forget it.
But the past is the past.
Dont let it get in the way of this.
I dont know why its happening, but our family got a second chance.
And Im going to take it.
But enough with this feelings crap.
What the hell did Videotape Walter want them to find in Northern Pennsylvania?
And how did Bark People get so… barky?
They had no theory for it.
And in a way, it was useful.
It kept them together and it kept outsiders (and Invaders) away.
Walter initially wondered if fungus was to blame.
(Another episode that to my mad eyes functioned as an allegory forFringesrelationship with its fans.)
(More on that in a minute.)
Oh, and you die, too.
(Kudos for underappreciated Astrids A/V R/X for cracking that riddle.)
The stuff was 14 KG/40 lbs.
of crimson rock, a crystalized quartz.
(In an episode with superhero allusions, I thought:Red Kryptonite?)
Said stuff was needed to provide energy for … something.
(See: Other still-to-be-found videotapes, exact number TBD.)
Does the solution to the problem of The Observers lie in the over there world?
He called himself Donald.
He had come to claim some rocks and to meet with a scientist friend from Boston, presumably Walter.
We saw a fleeting glimpse of the report that Edwins grandfather wrote: His appearance was very simple.
He seemed to be in his late 30s with medium height and dark hair.
He introduced himself as Donald and said he meant no harm.
We saw two pictures of Donald from behind, so we didnt see his face.
Walter was utterly baffled by this story.
Edwins answer struck me as equally strange.
The logic sounded like a paradox effect before cause.
(See: My ramblings about The Great Smoky Dragon in last weeks recap.)
!We know itwasntSeptember.
Yet Edwin wasnt eager to do business with scary Ivan and his dangerous clan.
He fearfully vetoed the idea, and hero-hungry River was disappointed by his dads cowardice.
Edwin clarified his feelings during a heart-to-heart with Peter: Im not afraid to die.
I just dont know how to say goodbye to my son.
Peter had heard this same angst just hours earlier, from the woman he loved.
He put a comforting hand on Edwins shoulder.
A blessing of understanding.
He rallied and rose to the challenge of the moment.
Edwin: Theres a time for recording history and a time to make it.
We dont have a lot of opportunities here to make it.
Protecting you means making sure theres a world out there to thrive in.
River claimed to understand.
Edwin said he was wrong.When you have kids of your own, son, then youll understand.
Edwin pretended to turn chicken again.
He gave Peter and Olivia directions… but the directions led to nowhere.
Peter figured it out.
There was no meeting with Scary Ivan.
They needed their world-saving stones, and they needed them ASAP.
He sacrificed his life so that River and the world had a shot at a better future.
Score one for the little people.
Now this is more like it!
