Fringe Observiews 5.09 Black Blotter ~ Fringe Television - Fan Site for the FOX TV Series Fringe

Fringe Observiews 5.09 Black Blotter

      Email Post       12/20/2012 11:59:00 PM      

Welcome to the Observiews for Season 5 of Fringe. I call them Observiews because they are more visual observations than deep thinking reviews, if that makes sense.
Screen caps from this episode are taken from fringefiles.com. Dialog is from fringepedia.net.

All observations are mine and therefore could be totally off the wall and/or wrong. I have not read or looked at any recaps or reviews. I could also have missed a few things, oh well…

We can play the "finding the Observer game" this week. Have you found him? Here he is...



Glyphs spelled: GUILT
As in Peter feeling guilty that he abandoned Olivia. As in Walter feeling guilty because of trying to safe Peter in the first place.

"Twas the night of Fringe Friday
and all are asleep
with bedrooms divided by curtains
Astrid hears a beep"
Looks like Astrid is sharing the room with Walter being divided by a curtain.
On Walter's night stand is the Statue Of Liberty - in bronze.
We've seen it before in 4.05 Novation.
Astrid goes and investigates, finding the radio giving off a signal.
Walter is sitting in his chair. He's... tripping... Gene is still watching over him.
WALTER: "Hello Astrid. Your hair... it's beautiful."
3.04 Do Shapeshifters Dream Of Electric Sheep
WALTER: "Oh, in the right light, your hair looks like strands of lemon diamonds."
WALTER: "Its memories, Astrid. Everything it knows. Who it was working for. If there were others. You look shocked."
ASTRID: "You just called me Astrid. You never get my name right."
WALTER: "Must be the LSD."

Well at least Peter and Olivia get their own room. What, separate beds? 
Peter still can't sleep and is having headaches. I wondered if he will feel some side effects from having the tech in his head. So his brain is going back to normal then, right?

OLIVIA: "Can I get you something?"
PETER: "No. I got everything I need right here."
Awww!
But then Astrid comes in, dang it, I was hoping for some of this, snicker. 

Astrid informs them that the radio is transmitting and that it will be difficult to get anything out of Walter because he dropped acid. He's also hearing Carmen, the opera by Georges Bizet.
Walter has a new friend. In the credits she is listed as Pixie but let's call her Tinker Bell shall we. I'll tell you later why. I loved Walter's interaction with her. 

I loved this part. 
PETER: "Walter. Walter? Walter? Are you tripping?"
As Peter asks the question, Walter is being distracted by... Carla Warren.
WALTER: "Most definitely."
Walter explains to Peter that his old dead lab assistant is here to haunt him. We'll get back to Carla later. Peter just wants him to concentrate for a moment and listen to the transmission, to see if he recognizes it.

But Walter is distracted by Tinker Bell again.
PETER: "Okay, Walter, if they're right and Donald did send you a message, it makes sense that he'd expect you to know it."
WALTER: "Right. Makes sense. Why send me a message I can't understand?"
Just loved how John Noble played that. 
All Walter can come up with is that the message is in "A minor".
Maybe it is because it is 2 am but Walter manages to give Olivia another face balm. 
We've had musical references before
1.08 The Equation
PETER: "Music is a mathematical language. Chords have numerical values and their notes - 1/4s 1/8s 1/16s - they're all just fraction variables."
Ben's musical piece was the equivalent to Dashell's equation. 
In 3.08 Entrada the harmonic rods were resonating in "E minor". 
In 4.20 Worlds Apart Walter establishes the frequencies and musical keys of each universe and the one David Robert Jones was trying to create. Our universe vibrates at 261.6 hertz (key of "C"). The alternate universe vibrates at 392 hertz (key of "G") and the universe Jones tried to create has the frequency of 329.6 hertz (key of "E")
Is is relevant? I don't know. It's just something that stood out. 

Peter asks Walter what kind of acid he took.

WALTER: "Black Blotter. I found some hidden in the storeroom."
PETER: "Why?"
WALTER: "Because it was an excellent batch."
In 2.19 Brown Betty Walter was smoking "Brown Betty". 
Black Blotter - Brown Betty, it all starts with a "B". Hm. 

Walter dropped acid because he desperately wants to remember the plan to defeat the Observers. He feels he is running out of time. And...

WALTER: "Nina and I made an arrangement... She promised that when I finished the plan to defeat the Observers, she would help me remove the pieces of brain that they put back in."
Peter thinks that is not a good idea. Walter is afraid that the "former" Walter will take over and he can't allow that. This Walter doesn't want to lose any of them.

PETER: "You won't, Walter. I'm right here. We're all right here together."
Walter is hallucination baking something in his easy bake oven.
He had used that before in 4.21 Brave New World Part 1 when he was baking the note from St. Claire's entry log. 
Astrid, Peter and Olivia look on.
Just love how Peter and Olivia have the same pose. They do that a lot, actually. One of my favorite examples is from 2.10 Grey Matters
Anyway, Walter needs to go off by himself for a bit. Tinker Bell comes to visit again bringing him a match.
WALTER: "Thank you, my Dear."
He also hears "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donavan. I also found this.
Walter is lighting a candle. I loved the rainbow haze over his face, a glimpse into his mind. 
As Walter walks through the lab he hallucinates seeing him crossing over and Nina is trying to stop him.
This of course happened for us in 2.15 Peter
And as if this wasn't enough hallucinating now Tinker Bell is facing off with her alternate.
Walter is still hallucinating. He sits down to watch a tape. A conversation that is actually happening right behind him.
Look, Walter is watching FRINGE!!!!! Love it. Good choice Walter, even if you are tripping.
Anil has come over to help locate where the signal is coming from.

CARLA WARREN: "Do you know that there's something hidden in this lab?"

With Anil's help a location for the signal was found.
Creepy!

Olivia and Peter are on their way.
Olivia is taking the lead again. That is good to see. Yep, even driving. I'm guessing though that Peter is not feeling that great being sleep deprived and having headaches. 

Peter is gazing at Olivia. Awww!
OLIVIA: "What?"
PETER: "You amaze me. After everything I’ve put you through, I did the very thing I promised you I wouldn't do, I left you again. I'm more than a little embarrassed, you know?"
OLIVIA: "Peter, you don't have to say anything."
PETER: "No, I do. I don't deserve you. I'm just so lucky, so incredibly lucky to have you."
And then something for my shipper's heart. YES!!!
And because we know it won't last long, here is another one. 
Okay, so I want to make a few interjections. 
First. Olivia has her arms behind her. She hasn't done that since 3.14 6B
And then there is this. 5.03 The Recordist
HENRIETTA BISHOP: "You know, I used to imagine this - - going on a mission with you. You have no idea how many battles we won together."
OLIVIA: "You know, it's a lot to live up to."
HENRIETTA BISHOP: "No, you're... even more than I imagined."
I wonder if Olivia thought about that conversation with her daughter. 

Sure enough, Olivia isn't really done kissing Peter but she turns and sees an old van.
Peter finds a dead body. It's an Observer.
Peter? Peter, don't even think about it. 
Remember what you just told Olivia. 
Good boy. Just leave it there. 

Olivia finds two more bodies, another Observer and a Loyalist. Olivia guess that they have been dead for about 15 years. There is also a dead person in the van. Peter thinks it's Donald.
Despite all of them being the dead, the signal is still being transmitted. Peter goes off for more investigation. Olivia turns the body over to look for more clues. Olivia is grossed out.
Peter finds the relay station from where the signal is boosted.
Olivia finds the guy's wallet and is shocked.
OLIVIA: "The body behind the wheel, it isn't Donald. It's Sam Weiss."
I kind of can imagine that this is what might be going through her head. 
Olivia calls Astrid to find out if Walter knows Sam Weiss. He doesn't. Astrid asks as well who he is. Olivia informs them that he is someone (pretty significant to Olivia) her and Peter knew from the other timeline.
Astrid also asks the question that we have been wondering - if Sam Weiss could be Donald. Let me re-phrase that: Don't we all think that "Donald" is someone we know under a different name?
Olivia says she doesn't think so because from what she saw on the video tapes, Sam's description doesn't match Donald's.

Back at the lab Walter is hallucinating again. Carla wants Walter to find something.

CARLA WARREN: "Okay, she won't see you now. You're still cold, Walter. Colder."
WALTER: "This is absurd. I haven't got time for infantile games. Just tell me what it is you have me looking for."
Really Walter? And tripping when you are running out of time isn't? LOL

CARLA WARREN: "Your secrets."
WALTER: "I have no idea what you're talking about. And I can't begin to guess."
CARLA WARREN: "Can't? That word was never in the vocabulary of the Walter Bishop I knew. He once told me, here is no god in this lab but me." (I'll get back to 2.15 Peter later)
WALTER: "He is not me. Tell her, Nina."
NINA: "He's right."
Those must have been some really good drugs because now Nina is in the picture as well. 

Carla is trying to talk Walter into leaving the lab, to share everything he knows with the Observers. Walter is fighting that suggestions as Astrid is just looking on, ignoring him. Walter promised Peter he wouldn't leave.
Walter is running towards his bedroom. On the wall is a poster of Violet Sedan Chair, Walter's favorite band.
We've seen this also in 4.05 Novation
CARLA WARREN: "Warmer. You're burning up. And I know how that feels."
WALTER: "I don't understand. What is this?"
Walter finds a journal.
NINA: "No, put it back, Walter."
So is Nina good? 
CARLA WARREN: "It's your life's work, the work I came to burn the night that I died."
1.01 Pilot
BROYLES: "It says the guy has been at St. Claire's for 17 Years."
OLIVIA: "I saw that. An assistant was killed in his lab. Rumors about Dr. Bishop using humans as guinea pigs. He was charged with manslaughter, but was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial."
1.12 The No-Brainer
OLIVIA: "This could provide closure for your father. He's had to live with the death of this woman. He was put away because of it."
So now we know what happened when the fire broke out. Carla set it herself, wanting to destroy Walter's work and in the process died. So basically Walter went to St. Claire's for nothing, if we leave the crazy experiments off to the side. 

WALTER: "Perhaps just a peek."
Tinker Bell advises him not to but he just shoos her off.
Have I mentioned before that I absolutely admire John Noble. Brilliant actor. Will miss this character very much. 

So Walter takes a peek.
I thought back to 2.19 Brown Betty where the fictional Walter had a notebook of his inventions as well. 
Walter finds himself sitting in a cab, looking at the notebook. 
WALTER: "Oh. This is my matter displacement invention for removing food from cans. I was going to render the can opener obsolete." snicker!
WALTER: "Oh. And my design for the combustible engine powered by potatoes."
In 3.16 Os, Walter was also tripping and he went through Bell's office and found a few things. 
WALTER: "I have spent the last two hours in Belly's old office. I found the most amazing things. Animal ESP, morality detector, viral dreaming, powdered water, some of our best ideas."
WALTER: "What's Black Umbrella? Is that in here? What is Black Umbrella? Why is it in my head?"
When I looked up "Black Umbrella" this is what I found and this. Any other suggestions? 

Then, a waiter comes offering more drugs. Loved it!

WAITER: "Would you care for a top off, sir? I have Purple Microdot, or would you like to stick with the Black Blotter?"
WALTER: "I don't mind if I do"
WALTER: "Ah, when I crossed universes to save Peter, this is when I first realized how I could do it."
We've seen him cross over with this device in 2.15 Peter. And we've also seen this device in 4.08 Back To Where You've Never Been. Peter and Lincoln used it to cross over to the other side. 
Will this device come back into play at the end? Just theorizing, I don't know anything. 

CARLA WARREN: "And do you remember anything else? When you were going to create your own universe and start from scratch?"
4.22 Brave New World Part 2
WILLIAM BELL: "Walter, this was all your idea. Peter died -- twice. You hated God. "What kind of God would cause so much suffering?" That's what you said. So much pain. You decided to create a universe that would operate by your rules."
Walter is fighting that notion. He is not that man anymore. He then realizes that he is in front of an Observer precinct in Manhattan. Carla tricked him to leave the lab. And now he feels guilty because he promised Peter he wouldn't leave the lab alone jeopardizing everyone and everything.

CARLA WARREN: "You're in denial. You've been him longer than you've been you. Why else do you think I'm here? I'm just like this journal. I represent all of the things that you're trying to keep buried."
How many more secrets does Walter have? 

WALTER: "I wanted to cry for you. I'm different now."
1.12 The No-Brainer
JESSICA WARREN: "I want to see you because... you were the last person to see my daughter alive, and...I've always wanted to ask... Was there anything else I could know? Anything,anything else...you could tell me about my daughter."
WALTER: "She was... a wonderful girl. What I remember... is her smile. She had a wonderful smile... I'll tell you everything I remember about our time together."
During the scene in the cab Walter hears "The Pusher" by Steppenwolf.

WALTER: "I've made a terrible mistake. I've risked everything. I've put everybody in jeopardy. I must find my way home."
 Dorothy anyone? 

An Observer is approaching the cab.
Uh-oh! And just as the door opens Astrid appears.
That scene was my first "NOoooo - phew" moment. I'm glad the trip to Manhattan was just a hallucination and that Walter is actually with Astrid. 

The team is on their way, renting a boat. The tech from Anil helped them find the origin point of the signal. As Astrid and Walter walk out to the docks they are being "observed".
The signal comes from there...
Emerald City anyone? It actually took me a while to realize that Walter is the only one seeing this. And he even answers "Wizard of Oz"ish. 
WALTER: "Oh my."
So here is my second "NOoooo - phew" moment. 
A boat with Loyalists approaches.
I totally freaked out. I should have just trusted Peter and Olivia to have it under control. 

Peter is stopped by one of Loyalists who's asking him where they're going.

PETER: "Yeah, we're just going down to visit my uncle. He lives out on Thimble Island."
So that's why I called the fairy Tinker Bell.

Anyway, Peter is asked to show papers which of course they don't have. Instead he pulls his gun.
And then we get some Bishop and Dunham action.
The last one gets killed off by Olivia and they are scott free. Phew!
While this is going on, Astrid and Walter run to the boat.
WALTER: "Why are these mice shooting at us?"
Any idea what he was referring to?

When they arrived at the island and I was looking at that scenery...
I thought of Reiden Lake. 
On the island Walter sees Carla again and as they reach the point where the signal is coming from they are met with hostility.
Richard has been the keeper of the signal and... the child observer.
Olivia takes charge and tries to reason with Richard.
OLIVIA: "We're here because of a man named Donald. You know him? He left a radio for us, and this morning it started transmitting a signal that led us here."
Richard won't have any of it.
RICHARD: "Donald said the person he left the radio for would know the code. If you are who you say you are, tell me the password. Tell me the password."
And if you thought Walter's trip so far was weird, wait till you see this. 
A homage to Monty Python and Terry Guilliam
Shall we leave? LOL
Walter gets picked up and placed onto Gene.
Would this be considered grazing day? (4.17 Everything In Its Right Place)
Then there is the frog from the dock, Toto and a sea horse. 
And here the fairy has wings that remind me of the butterfly glyph.
 So do the frog and seahorse also represent glyphs?

"Follow the yellow brick road"
We've seen the yellow brick road before in Fringe
2.14 Jacksonville
And earlier I mentioned Violet Sedan Chair, Walter's favorite band. The cover of the "Seven Suns" album also has a yellow brick road on it. 

I'm not even going to try to decipher all the places Walter flies by in this segment except I recognized Mt. Rushmore

During this whole scene we hear "The Happy Wanderer" by Frank Weir.
Then Walter walks towards a tree on a hill guarded by a knight. The knight has a key which Walter takes. The knight awakes and opens his visor.
This must be the Walter our Walter fears of becoming. But with the help of the frog...
our Walter is able to hold on to the key. Then Walter's entourage gets stomped on and dies.
I was thinking back to 5.05 An Origin Story where the captured Observer talks about the ant colony. 
CAPTURED OBSERVER: "I think of you as I would an ant colony as I pass by it. I don't care about the workings of the colony, why one ant is mad at another or why one ant would kill another or not. To me, it is insignificant. And like an ant colony, you are oblivious to your limitations. You think the black over your head is dark skies... when it is really our shoe."
Then Walter unlocks the tree and finds babies.
Hidden among the babies is a black umbrella. That phrase was in Walter's head earlier.
WALTER: "Hmm. Ah! Huh? Ah. Mm. Mm-hmm. Hmm. Huh? Aah! Black Umbrella. It's Black Umbrella. That's the password. Black Umbrella."
Tinker Bell is very pleased with Walter.

Richard was explaining how him and his wife got involved, helping the resistance however they could. Eight months after the invasion Donald showed up with the child observer.
Eight is Olivia's number. You can read more on Olivia's number here

CAROLYN: "Well before he left, he gave us this. We had to turn it on every five days at the same time, so it could broadcast a coded message. If you were still alive, you would get the message and come for the boy."
So, that's why the transmitter didn't work after they found it in the pocket universe


CAROLYN: "He doesn't speak. He hasn't aged a day since he came to live with us. We call him Michael."
... as in this Michael? 
Throughout this conversation I had the impression Olivia was trying to establish a connection with Michael. 
Then it was time to say good-bye. 
When he wiped the tear off from Carolyn's face that broke my heart. Olivia seemed touched as well. 
I wonder if Olivia thought back to when she first met the child observer in 1.15 Inner Child and she had to say good-bye to him. 

Back at the lab, Olivia brings Michael hot cocoa.
OLIVIA: "I had a daughter, and when she was little, she loved hot cocoa. She used to say, that of all the hot cocoa in the world, mine was her favorite."
Aw! Michael gladly takes a sip.
OLIVIA; "Do you know me? Do you remember me?"
Michael acknowledges.
Olivia seems very happy about this.
I guess I'll ask my question here. What will be Michael's role in the plan. Who is he really?

And then Peter asks the question that I would ask as well.
PETER: "But he met us in a different time line. How could he possibly remember you?"
OLIVIA: "Observers experience time differently. Maybe he does too."
Peter almost looks puzzles at that answer.
So of course my P/O shipper's heart has to chime in. Peter is wearing the ring. Where is Olivia's?

Looks like Walter is having a final trip from the drugs or he is coming around. Here are a few of the flashback moments to 2.15 Peter.
ELIZABETH BISHOP: "God, I just can't bear it when you're not here."
CARLA WARREN: "Walter, you're trying to create a wormhole into another universe? No, Walter, I won't let you do it. Walter! No! Walter, there has to be a line somewhere. There has to be a line we can't cross... I am become death, Destroyer of Worlds... We both know the amount of energy required to create a portal will forever ruin both universes. For the sake of one life, you will destroy the world. Some things are not ours to tamper with. Some things are God's."
Walter's silhouette can be seen in the cabinet doors. Is it his other self?
Walter then decides to burn the journal.
 But Carla says it's too late because he remembers all the things he's capable of.
As Walter looks down, the bowl is empty. Was the journal just part of his hallucination?

When Walter looks up he is standing opposite himself. Oh he almost looks like Walternate. 
I was thinking back to 1.08 The Equation where Walter went back to St. Claire's to see Dashiell and he had to spend the night there. 
And then it is all over. 
Can't wait to find out how everything they have collected so far fits together. 

What a trip!

REMINISCING ABOUT THE PAST!
Fringe characters deserve a slot. Let's get nostalgic, shall we. Again these are just a few.
Warning: going to add some gross moments in there as well.

The Good (in no particular order)
The Bad (in no particular order)
The Ugly (gross moments)
And yes I have Bell on there twice because I don't trust him, in any version.
Who and what made it on your lists?

5 Comments:

milktruck said...

There was also a silhouette of Toto on the wall in the lab when Walter is going in to find the journal!

milktruck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
cortexifan said...

@ milktruck
Great catch!

realged13 said...

I have a feeling that the child observer is September.

Lccf said...

" Let me re-phrase that: Don't we all think that "Donald" is someone we know under a different name? " Most probably ! Someone whose (code)name starts with an S and ends with an R, maybe ? ( We've only seen the back of the guy's head, so we wouldn't suspect someone who's always appeared bald, right ? )
Comparing Walter's final vision and "The Equation" one : my thoughts exactly ! I remember thinking "Oh, so THAT was what the other Walter in Saint-Claire was !"
Good job, as always !

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