(Contains plot spoilers)
Episode 18 “The Consultant” finally gives us a little more insight into David Robert Jones and his hold over poor old Broyles from the parallel universe. A few episodes ago I pondered about Broyles having his hand forced in betraying his team and this episode finally confirms it! Yay!
The Fringe case for this week involved three people who are mysteriously killed at the same time as their doppelgangers in the parallel universe, with the three people in our universe being thrown into the air whilst in the office, but the three in the parallel universe were all involved in a plane crash!!!! So this week the two Fringe teams join forces with Walter taking a trip on his own to the other side.
Fauxlivia is still mourning the loss of Captain Lee and at his funeral, vows to capture those responsible, whilst Broyles stands by listening on.Lincolnhas stayed true to his word and has stayed on the other side to help Fauxlivia in terms of a friend, but also on the investigative team.
During his time on the other side, Walter talks to Broyles and apologises for the problems he has caused since his initial crossing all those years ago to get Peter as a child. But when Broyles asks Walter if he would have made the same choices again, Walter confesses that now that he has gotten to know his son over the past few months, he would do it again without a doubt.
Walter really was on form this week, telling Fauxlivia that he wanted to bring her a casserole as people in mourning must eat (!!!!), but he wasn’t allowed to do such a thing when crossing universes. However, he was allowed to bring across a hand he severed from one of the victims on our universe!!!! Brilliant!! He deduces from his little experiment, that when comparing the two hands together, they are in tune with the same frequencies, but they shouldn’t be as they are from two different timelines. Therefore, his assumption is that the two frequencies have somehow been synchronized, which would explain why the actions surrounding the victims involved in the plane crash would have been replicated in our universe! Walter’s theory is confirmed when it happens again after a report is made that a woman has somehow drowned whilst shopping in a supermarket, and in our universe, the same woman died after the taxi she was in plunged into the river. As Peter investigates in our universe, he finds a mysterious briefcase under the driver’s seat in the taxi, which turns out to be a device filled with amphilocite, the mineral that David Robert Jones was previously drilling for! Walter believes that Jones is attempting to synchronize the two universes, which will clearly have devastating effects.
The Fringe team in the parallel universe are convinced that there must be a mole in the Fringe division and Fauxlivia asks Broyles if she can investigate, which he reluctantly agrees!! However, after coming up with nothing when doing some digging, Fauxlivia starts to get distressed. After inviting Walter to stay with her at her apartment (with Walter assuring her that he would not sleep naked!!!), Walter gives her the idea that Broyles could be the mole. Fauxlivia decides to pay Nina Sharpe a visit, who is now in custody and previously in the episode would not cooperate when asked questions about the mole. Olivia tricks Nina and pretends that they have Broyles in custody to see what her reaction might be. Nina confirms Walter’s suggestion, but says that Broyles is merely a pawn in David Robert Jones master plan!!!! Busted!!! However, Fauxlivia has no idea that Broyles has had his hand forced as Jones has been supplying life saving medication for his son, and making Broyles betray his team.
Meanwhile, Jones gives Broyles a device that he wants planted in the machine room which would connect both universes. But Broyles’ conscience gets the better of him and gives himself up to the team when they track him down in the bridge room. Fauxlivia and the team are astonished to find him so easily but quickly find out that parallel Broyles had already contacted Broyles from our universe and had confessed all that has happened with Jones. When Walter realises what has happened and the involvement of Broyles’ son, Walter asks Fauxlivia to give him some slack. After all, he was only trying to save someone he loved dearly, something Walter is all too familiar with.
Wow, what an episode, and great to see the story on Broyles finally unravel!! It was lovely to see the softer side of Broyles (which we all knew was in there somewhere) and to see the affection between him and his son. So, what will this mean now that he hasn’t carried out Jones’ orders? Will there be devastating consequences for Broyles’ son, and will Jones retaliate with glorious anger that his plans have been disrupted!!! Will Fauxlivia ever forgive Broyles as she will ultimately believe that he is responsible for Captain Lee’s death!
I don’t know about you, but I’m much preferring the parallel universe this season, and Anna Torv as Fauxlivia has really grown on me. Almost to the point where I’m starting to prefer her to our Olivia. I think maybe the soppiness of the Peter/Olivia storyline has maybe worn us out a little, and it’s great to see a little more fun and punchy scripts return to Fringe. Another highlight to the show was the two Astrid’s working together as well!! They’re just so cute!!! Plus, I’m loving the relationship between Walter and Fauxlivia since he accepted her deception from the previous series. And who could forget Walter sitting in Fauxlivia’s satin dressing gown as he gave her advice on the mole!!!! Let’s hope his legs were crossed!!
In the run up to the finale, I expect we’ll be seeing a great deal more of David Robert Jones, and to say I’m a little excited is a total understatement. Jones is such a refreshing villain and I’m sure his devastating plans will be even more drastic than we’re expecting!! Roll on the next episode……
By Kirsty Wavish
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