Fringe 1.14 “Ability” Recap

Walter wakes Jones up. He sees Walter and is star struck by the meeting. Walter is not so thrilled that his transporter has been used by Jones as he took it apart for a reason. Olivia tries to convince Jones that she has passed the test so he will give her information about the location of the bomb. As she stares intently at the light box and does her best Uri Geller impersonation, complete with breath holding and hair tossing. One by one, the reprogrammed lights wink out. Jones gives Olivia the location of the bomb and she calls it in. The evacuation begins.

Charlie, Liv and Peter head to the 47th floor, where the bomb squad has been unable to defuse the device. Jones has attached multiple wires to the same kind of light bright doohickey! I guess Olivia really wishes she tried a little harder with the other one now! With three minutes left, Liv calls Jones. He is not surprised to hear from her, although he sounds something like Hannibal Lecter. ‘Hello, Clarice … I mean you.’Olivia tells him that if she dies he will loose he as a recruit, willing or unwilling as that may be. Jones tells her that he has something she doesn’t have — faith.

So, with less than a minute left, Olivia once again stares at the not so twinkling lights. Peter, who initially told her she was nuts and on her own, returns to her side and watches as one by one the lights go dark. With 2 seconds left, the last light blinks out. Peter and I both want to know how she did that — so does Olivia for that matter! Maybe there is something to this Cortexiphan stuff. Or maybe Jones just set the lights to randomly twinkle out. It is easier for Olivia to believe the latter than to face the possibility that she might actually be more a part of the Pattern than she would like to be. Jones seems much relived to hear that Olivia was successful as they wheel him out to Boston General for medical treatment.

Astrid tells Walter that she is very impressed that he actually created a transporting device — even though using it kills you. Walter is confused. It doesn’t kill you, Walter says, but it does do something unthinkable. Like maybe turn you into an inside out pig-lizard? Olivia goes to Boston General and as she is walking in, everyone else is running out. Uh oh.

On entering Jones’hospital room, Olivia finds an empty bed and a HUGE hole in wall. They are not exactly on the ground floor either! On the far wall, written in similar script to the symbols found in the text box are the words, ‘You Passed.’Olivia appears slightly stunned, which for a Fringe agent is saying something. Meanwhile, Walter continues to read the ZFT manuscript. For the first time, we are actually able to see the text. Every ‘Y’is superscripted from the rest of the type. While it appears that Walter is perplexed by the content of the pages, he is actually focused on the type.

Nina Sharp calls a melancholy looking Olivia and tells her that there was another trial of the Cortexiphan, at an army base in Jacksonville, Florida. Once again, that stunned look crosses Olivia’s face. Walter digs into a closet and takes out an old fashioned, ribbon typewriter. He loads a page and types a single word — A B I L I T. When he types the Y it is superscripted above the rest. While Walter looks scared to death, we are left to presume that Walter himself is the author of the manuscript!

What Works with the Characters: Until now, the most easily identified person with unique abilities on this show is obviously Walter. The man is so incredibly intelligent that he has found a way to build a Star Trek like transporter device that moves through not only space but time as well. Walter’s brilliance is not really news to anyone who watches this show, or reads this recap, but the eclectic nature in which his character is presented makes this ability all the more stunning. Given Walter’s unique brain and Peter’s ability to navigate his way through the soft underbelly of the seedy side of life, the viewer gets the impression that there is not much they can’t accomplish together. Even Astrid’s ability to work with a certifiable professor in a lab that has seen everything from cows to liquid brains provides a unique piece to her character. I am not sure that they teach that kind of mental flexibility in Comp- Sci class.