Fringe, S5 Ep4 – The Bullet That Saved The World

Oy.  I should have known better than to ask for more action and danger after last week’s “The Recordist.”  This one is quite the doozy – a turning point, as the Twitter hashtag campaign rightly labeled it.  It’s also a tear-jerker, so have your tissues handy.

“See, honey, your grandfather once shot me in the head in order to save the world.”  Gooood times.

I was honestly expecting more to do with the episode’s titular bullet, which of course is the one that was once fired into Olivia’s head.  Of course, Olivia wouldn’t have the time to really tell its story, though.  Sigh.  Still, definitely a great moment between her and Etta.  And another tantalizing hint at what young Etta’s life was like.  I also really enjoyed the episode-framing theme of the bullet necklace representing love.

I wonder how much of the Broyles storyline they intended to be a red herring about who dies this week.  I definitely was expecting it to be him – although of course I’m glad he’s sticking around a while longer ! Broyles is The Man, as I believe I’ve said before.  Best Boss Ever.  The acting in the scene where he reunites with our team was just excellent.

It was also great to see the whole Bishop family being awesome as they recovered Walter’s blueprints.  The return of the creepy face-sealing-ness was something I did not see coming.  Also, I just about choked when Widmark called it barbaric.  Ha.  But those scenes reminded me of the good old days of Alias when all the Bristows were awesome together.

Yeah, I cried. RIP, Henrietta Bishop.

Of course, the main scene I must talk about is Etta’s final scene.  I really, really didn’t want Peter and Olivia to have to suffer another horrible loss like this, but it wasn’t totally surprising since I knew Georgina Haig was only starring in a few episodes this season.  But they all got to say their farewells, to some extent, and Olivia got to have her doubts about how much she loved her daughter erased.  And Etta took out a lot of Observers and Loyalists… although naturally not Widmark.  I kind of hope it’s Walter who eventually kills him, actually.

I wonder if decoding the formula (BTW, loved Walter’s comment that it was “Greek to him,” except that he reads Greek) will be the new goal.  I honestly can’t remember how many tapes they were supposed to find.  Anyway, at least the lab is still safe for their use.  And at least it’s full of old Fringe cases, which is awesome.

What about you? Will you miss Etta, or did you prefer the old team anyway? Any idea what this grand plan will end up being? Also, is it just me or was Peter’s escape through the tunnels at the beginning of the episode weird enough that something about it should be important later?