Brave New World (Part 2)
Olivia and Peter return to Walter's laboratory, finding both him and Astrid missing. As they try to discover their whereabouts, Olivia receives a call from Jessica, believing that someone is following her. They are unaware that September has arrived at Jessica's house, but finds himself stuck to a "stasis rune" written into the floor preventing him from moving; by the time Olivia and Peter arrive, Jessica and a section of the floor with the rune have gone missing.Broyles reports that Astrid has been taken to a local hospital and is faring well. She is worried for Walter's safety, warning them of Bell's presence, and directing them to the warehouse. There, they find September still stuck on the piece of floor, and Jessica holding him at gunpoint. She reveals she is working for Bell, purposely endangered by the nanites to attract Fringe and the Observers' attention. She attempts to kill September with a typical gun, but September is able to catch the bullets in his hand. Jessica was aware of the Observers' reflexes, and then uses a specially designed gun that fires quicker than September can react, and the bullet strikes him in the chest. When she tries to fire again, Olivia is able to psychokinetically catch and repel the bullets back into Jessica, killing her.
Peter is able to release September from the rune. Olivia recognizes the wound from the time September appeared to her at the opera house and told her that in every future he witnessed, Olivia would die (as seen in Back to Where You've Never Been). September reveals that, to him, this conversation has not yet happened, and departs to investigate why he would say that to Olivia.
Peter races Jessica's body back to Walter's lab, and with Nina's help and resources from Massive Dynamic, connects Jessica's brain to equipment to briefly give her consciousness to determine Bell's location. Her answers are vague and cryptic but reveal that Bell is on a boat, and seeking a power source to collapse the two universes. Olivia goes to grip Jessica, shorting out power in the laboratory. Nina realizes that Olivia is Bell's power source; Jones' activities have been to invigorate Olivia's Cortexiphan powers to trigger the collapse of the two universes. Nina is able to use Olivia's electromagnetic readings to locate Bell's ship. The Fringe team sets off for Bell's boat on helicopters as initial signs of the final collapse begin to occur around the world.
Meanwhile, aboard his boat, Bell has shown Walter his vision for the new universe, using the creatures stowed aboard it to populate his ideal world. Bell reveals that he was set on to this path by Walter in the past after Walter had lost both Peters and desired to play God himself. Walter rejected the idea then, asking Bell to remove pieces of his brain to quell the idea, but Bell continued to follow on Walter's vision, culminating in the current events.
The Fringe team approaches where Bell's freighter appears to be, but find that it has already become in sync with the other universe and is only observable by Peter. Olivia is able to use her Cortexiphan abilities to cross over with Peter onto the freighter in mid-jump from the helicopter. They raid the cabin where Bell and Walter are. Peter attempts to stop Bell, but Bell asserts that the process is irreversible due to Olivia's powers. Walter then turns to Olivia and shoots her in the head with a handgun, completely disrupting the collapse. His plan ruined, Bell rings a bell and fades away as Walter hesitates to shoot him. Walter races to extract the bullet from Olivia, recognizing that the Cortexiphan should be able to regenerate the tissue and allow her to live.
Bell's freighter and biological experiments are stored away, and the US Government grants Broyles' request for a funding increase, as well as a promotion to General. Olivia makes a full recovery, though Walter suspects that her Cortexiphan powers will be stunted by the process. As she and Peter hug, she also reveals that she is pregnant with their child. Sometime later, as Walter prepares a snack in his lab, September appears before him, telling him, "We have to warn the others. They are coming," referring to hostile Observers from the future (as seen in Letters of Transit).
Tropes:
- Boom, Headshot!: Walter shoots Olivia in the head to stop her powers from destroying the universes.
- Call-Back: Like Bell, Walter is also able to sacrifice a bishop when needed.
- Continuity Nod: One of the tanks in the hold of Bell's ship has a lamprey creature from "Snakehead" in it.
- Pretty Little Headshots: Olivia's entry wound is a small hole right between her eyebrows. The bullet gets trapped inside so there's no exit wound.
- Prophecy Twist: As September said, Olivia must die in every possible future. However, she doesn't have to stay dead...
- We Can Rule Together: William Bell conceived his plan based on Walter's theories and is only too happy to let his best friend watch his victory. Walter, who had Bell remove parts of his brain when he realized the implications, is not willing to let it happen.
