Fracture
Season 2, Episode 03

Fracture

Aired October 1st, 2009 · Written by David Wilcox · Directed by Bryan Spicer

SYNOPSIS

This episode follows the Fringe team's investigation into a man who mysteriously hardens and then explodes, killing those around him. The case leads them to Iraq, a secret government project, and an AWOL colonel.

Synopsis provided by the Fandom Wiki, Fringepedia, and Wikipedia.

THE GLYPHS

This episode's glyphs spell:

B-U-R-I-A-L

The previous episode was about a boy whose genetic condition and subsequent treatment allowed him to escape from his burial casket.

Glyph symbol B Glyph symbol U Glyph symbol R Glyph symbol I Glyph symbol A Glyph symbol L
Glyph symbol B
Glyph symbol U
Glyph symbol R
Glyph symbol I
Glyph symbol A
Glyph symbol L


THE OBSERVER

The Observer receives and reviews photographs of Walter from a secretive courier at the end of the episode.

Observer 43:08

EPISODE CLUES

Previous Episode Clue

The two Canadian National locomotives in 'Night Of Desirable Objects' each bear the logo "CN". This foreshadowed the goal of "Project Tin Man" in 'Fracture', to combat the effects of Cyanogen, a nerve gas with a chemical formula of (CN)2, and alludes to the fact that the Cyanogen-related explosion occurred in a train station.

Previous episode clue 01:57

Next Episode Clue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

  • At the end of the episode he people in black coats passing briefcases genuinely did not know who Gordon's subjects were. They were working with the Observer.
  • Item of interest: Photos of Walter in the briefcase 43:14
    The briefcase contained photos of Walter.

VIDEOS

Featurettes
Behind the Scenes

JJ ABRAMS EASTER EGGS

  • Officer Gillespie had 47 needle marks between his toes. 47
47
J.J. Abrams projects tend to feature the number 47 in some way.

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
121 105th Street • Washington, DC 20735
Phone: (202) 555-2100 • Fax: (202) 555-2101
E-mail: washington.fbi@fbi.com

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE #203-10109

FRINGE EVENT: Human bombs via injected serum

CLASSIFIED CASE CONNECTION(S): Experimental military project—Project Tin Man

AGENTS ASSIGNED: Dunham, Francis

SUPERVISING AGENT: Broyles

FILE ARCHIVED BY: Jay Gettmann

WITNESSES/CONTACTS: Agent Tevez, Susan Gillespie (spouse), Colonel Raymond Gordon (suspect), Dr. Malik Yusef

LOCATION: Suburban Station, PA; Gillespie residence; Baghdad, Iraq; Federal Center Station, DC

VICTIM(S): Officer Daniel Gillespie (Philadelphia PD), Captain Diane Burgess

CASE REPORT SUMMARY:

A single explosive device was detonated at Suburban Station in Philadelphia. Eleven dead, twenty-eight wounded, but no signs of explosive residue at the scene or any forensic markers. Magnetic static wiped all images. A diamond-hard crystal found at the site led to the revelation that the bomb was Officer Daniel Gillespie.
 A Fringe team investigation found Officer Gillespie had been exposed to a synthetic neurotoxin developed under Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Officer Gillespie should have died in Iraq, but daily injections of a serum saved him. He was among two hundred soldiers treated and one of few to survive. The by-product of the transformative serum was that it caused a chemical reaction on his cellular level that both solidified the water in cells and then made it possible for radio waves at 331.6 megahertz to trigger a massive organic explosion. Colonel Raymond Gordon used the survivors for his own agenda. Joan Klump, Ross Cavanaugh, and two others were taken into protective custody. Captain Diane Burgess, another survivor, was engaged to create an incident in DC, but the Fringe team stopped her predetonation.

WALTER'S FOOD

Walter brewed himself an espresso, licked a piece of evidence, praised Busby's apple fritters, ate a sandwich, and experimented on a watermelon.
Walter's Food: Espresso 05:23 Espresso
Walter's Food: Evidence 07:31 Evidence
Walter's Food: Sandwich 19:57 Sandwich
Walter's Food: Watermelon 26:55 Watermelon

NOTABLE QUOTES

Raymond Gordon:
"...Meanwhile, we go through our lives unaware. The enemy is among us and nobody's doing anything about it. We don't have any idea the end is coming. So we had to take matters into our own hands. We had to send them a message."
Broyles:
"What was in the briefcase?"
Gordon:
"They told you I was crazy, didn't they? The Pentagon. They said I'd had a psychiatric break. I told them what I'm telling you. That they are here. Collecting data. Making observations. That's what's in the briefcase. They've been planning for war. And they've been passing the information via courier right under our noses."
Broyles:
"Who are 'they'?"
Gordon:
"We don't know who they are. But I can tell you what they want. They want to exterminate us. So they're studying us - our culture, our technology, our science - and they plan to use it against us. One way or another. We'll find out who they are. But by then, I suppose it won't really matter. Because whatever is in those cases is going to destroy us all."

EPISODE CONNECTIONS

S1E19 — 1 connection (callback) S4E19 — 1 connection (setup) S5E04 — 1 connection (setup) ◀ EARLIER · CALLBACKS SETUPS · LATER ▶
Callbacks (1 earlier episode)

S1E19 - The Road Not Taken

  • Connection: Officer Gillespie S2E03 02:39
    Walter (in "The Road Not Taken"):
    "Matter is just energy waiting to happen. The average adult at rest contains enough potential energy to explode with the force of five very large hydrogen bombs."

    Officer Gillespie exploded in such a way in "Fracture".

Setups & payoffs (2 later episodes)

Spoilers for future episodes below

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S4E19 - Letters of Transit

S5E04 - The Bullet that Saved the World