Fringe "The Ghost Network" (2008)

Another attack on a mode of transportation, this time a bus, brings the investigative team another case of Pattern-related activity and delves deeper into Dr. Bishop's work prior to his being committed. The people on the bus are killed via some kind of gaseous attack which renders them immobile in an amber-like material and suffocates them to death. This attack however is merely to cover up a theft of one of the passenger's book bag in order to retrieve something she had in her possession. It seems strange that such a public attack would be staged for a simple robbery. Perhaps it was meant to cover up that she was the victim, but there certainly could have been a less attention-grabbing way to have done it.

Perhaps the toxin used fits in with the Pattern, but the fringe science actually explored in-depth for this episode was psychic ability, or rather the new scientific explanation for it that Walter is all to eager to explain. During his prime experimenting days, Walter was responsible for surgically implanting receivers in unwitting student test subjects to exploit the spectrum of sound waves that emanate from every human as a means of secret communication. Unfortunately for Roy McComb (Zak Orth) his implants are tapping into communications of the group Agent Scott was working for and he thinks he has been receiving horrific visions of the future.

In a weird way Peter is more upset about this one unsuspecting man being manipulated by Walter's experiments than all the deaths that have come before. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the loss of life from the first two episodes had more to do with others taking advantage of and abusing Walter's earlier work but here the blame rests squarely on his father's shoulders. Roy has practically been driven mad by the images his mind receives that he is forced to draw in order to eradicate them from his subconscious. It's horrible to imagine the feeling of an unknown force penetrating a person's mind and essentially taking it over with frightening images that are next to impossible to forget. The fact that Roy has been receiving Pattern communications and all the horrors associated with those incidents makes it even more disturbing. This albeit small incident really hits home about the implications and dangerous ramifications of Walter's work and it sets Peter off in a way Walter wasn't even expecting. It's hard to imagine what this seemingly benign, kooky old man was and still is capable of and it surrounds his character with an aura of menace that is still palpable beneath his seemingly non-threatening exterior.

There are the quiet moments though such as their trip to the diner for breakfast where it is discovered that Walter has devised his own special brand of self-medicating cocktail that includes all anti-psychotics. John Noble continues to impress and amuse and Walter Bishop is easily the most interesting character of the bunch. Not to say that the seeds aren't being planted elsewhere with Peter and Olivia. Peter discovers a man has been tailing him and photographing his every move. Hopefully the future will provide a further glimpse into why he needs to be constantly on the move. There's also a sweet scene where a grand piano has been added to the Harvard basement lab, so that Peter's playing can soothe Walter's addled mind. This laboratory now has quite the eclectic collection of various odds and ends and a piano is a fine addition to the mix.

This episode didn't seem to pack the same punch as last week's and more time is spent rather laying the framework for the characters. Olivia starts the episode with Agent Scott's funeral and still seething with the anger of his betrayal. It doesn't look like this plot thread will diminish any time soon since the end of the episode has the not-so-dead Agent Scott connected to some machine in a secret lab at Massive Dynamic. The dance also continues with Nina Sharp and how much of a role her company is playing in these recent events attributed to the Pattern. It appears Massive Dynamic has the right tool for every job with each event linking back to work currently being done at the highly advanced corporation. It also seems Broyles may be linked to them as well, as he gives the mysterious disc to Nina at the end of the episode. Only time will tell if more is given than more and more questions and the characters can firmly establish themselves as the best possible team for these investigations.

Favorite moment: Just when it's possible that Olivia may just be overplaying her anger at her former lover and his treason, which she brings up at every possible moment, Agent Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo) manages to successfully defuse the awkward situation by confessing that John also said he loved him. A quick little aside, but it's able to put a smile on Olivia's face (must she always be so sour?) and more importantly the audience's. Charlie hasn't been given much to do so far in the series but maybe he'll grow a little more and bring a light touch to Olivia's uber-stern façade.