Fringe: Snakehead


By Rhea Dee
This episode had giant worms. Giant parasitic worms that produced a wonder drug that was actually good for you– but they had to gestate in a human host, and would kill the host once they grew too big, so wonder drug or not, they were still bad. Also, they were disgusting. I mean, giant worms. Giant tape worm things. It reminded me of my Science of Food class where we learned about the different types of tapeworms you could get from eating bad food.

And yet, despite all the giant worm-ness and their disgusting natures, the real draw of this episode was the mini character study of Walter Bishop, a man usually confined to the lab and quirky, delightful jokes that usually reference his recreational drug use (man likes his homemade LSD).

Walter is an alluring character. His past with William Spock Bell, his time spent in an insane asylum, the fact that he stole Peter from an alternate universe all make for a pretty rich background. And yet despite all that, we usually just get lab!Walter, with some Peter (and Astrid) bonding moments thrown in. Now don’t get me wrong, I think lab!Walter is terrific. But it was just as terrific to see Walter out of his usual environment. Because in this episode, Walter is determined to show Peter that he can handle some things on his own.

Namely, so he can investigate local herbal and medicinal shops for clues related to the giant parasite worms. So he asks Peter for bus money and goes on his way. But Peter is in protective!Peter mode, so he asks Astrid to tail Walter on the sly so that Walter won’t run into any trouble on the way. And as marvelous as Astrid is, espionage is apparently not her strong suit (neither is lying) as Walter spots her tailing him.

Walter is beyond frustrated. He feels like he’s being stifled by Peter and that Peter doesn’t trust him on his own (which is actually a valid complaint). Walter wants to do things on his own, wants to prove that he can do things on his own (at one point he even says that he may even join a gym). Astrid is genuinely sympathetic with Walter’s frustrations, and decides to accompany Walter on his task as a friend instead of a supervisor. And all is going pretty well, until Walter accidently wanders off. Astrid can’t find him, so she heads back to the lab…only to be beat up by a bad guy who followed her from Chinatown so that he could steal the parasite Team Fringe had in their lab. Walter, lost in Chinatown, frantically uses his bus money trying to call Peter on a payphone. But Walter can only remember the numbers, not the sequence. He eventually wanders to the bus stop and tells his woes to a Chinese woman who can’t understand him. The woman takes sympathy on Walter and takes him back to her apartment where she helps Walter dial the numbers he knows until Peter finally answers. Peter is understandably frustrated with Walter, especially when he tells Walter that he put all the important phone numbers in his pocket, a fact Walter had forgotten. However, when Peter sees how upset Walter is, he quickly puts aside his anger.

But all is not well this time around. Because of Walter’s wandering, Astrid was physically hurt–a fact that disturbs Walter quite a bit. So at the end of the episode he wakes up Peter in the middle of the night to tell him that even though he’s been out of the asylum for a year, he still has quite a way to go before he can be completely independent. And because he’s forgetful of simple things like phone numbers in his pocket, he implanted a GPS device in his neck so that Peter can use a remote to locate him whenever. The solution is so delightfully Walter (and Peter’s reaction to it so hilariously Peter) that it’s hard not to love Walter for being responsible, albeit in his own peculiar way.

And that’s exactly what Walter is doing, being responsible. Walter’s desire to go out on his own was so drastic that he neglected to realize that he’s come to depend on Peter (and Astrid to an extent) for many things. And even though he may have failed in his first attempt to go out on his own, the fact that he acknowledged his shortcomings and made an effort to fix them shows that Walter is on his way to becoming more responsible and independent.

Last Thoughts: I really liked the touching scenes between Walter and Astrid in this episode. This ep was pretty Astrid heavy too, which made me really happy. And how hilarious was it when they showed her not very good hiding spot being those charms? And her really crappy excuse? I love Astrid.

Next Time On Fringe: Looks like Mr. Detached Head is back. And Walter gets kidnapped!

Rhea Dee spends her time collecting vintage junk, daydreaming about Eli Roth, and pondering the genius of John Carpenter soundtracks.  She really likes horror films.

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