Letters of Transit
Season 4, Episode 19

Letters of Transit

Aired April 20th, 2012 · Written by Akiva Goldsman, J. H. Wyman, Jeff Pinkner · Directed by Joe Chappelle

SYNOPSIS

This episode is set in 2036 where the Observers have taken control of human society. Two FBI agents fight to free their world of the Observers by finding the amber-encased bodies of the original Fringe team who they hope will have a plan to save humanity.

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

THE GLYPHS

THE OBSERVER

Observers are featured in this episode.

Observer 02:42

EPISODE CLUES

Previous Episode Clue

The security shack on one of the Liberty Island piers in 'The Consultant' says "CHECKPOINT 20-36", foreshadowing 'Letters of Transit' taking place in the year 2036.

Previous episode clue 13:16

Next Episode Clue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

  • This episode takes place in 2036.
  • Item of interest: Blade Runner
    The opening crawl is an homage to Blade Runner.
  • The opening scenes are a homage to the 1942 film Casablanca, which revolves around a nightclub owner, Rick, who obtains letters of transit in Nazi-occupied Morocco.
  • The Observers can read minds and wipe minds.
  • Walter ambered himself and his team in the lab on purpose.
  • Item of interest: Hot sauces 21:04
    The transit station has a food stall with Observer writing and images of chili peppers with many hot sauces available.
  • Walter's line "I am not a number! I am a free man!" is a reference to the 1967 British television series The Prisoner.
  • Etta was 4 the last time she saw her parents.
  • Walter was preparing a device to defeat the Observers before he was ambered.
  • Walter called Astrid 'Astro'.
  • Bell was trapped in amber with them.
  • Item of interest: William Bell's hand 41:08
    Walter cut out Bell's hand.

VIDEOS

Featurettes
Interviews
Advertisements

2036

  • "They came from the future. At first, they only watched. Arriving at key moments in human history. We called them Observers. But in 2015 they stopped watching... and seized control. Citizen uprisings proved bloody and futile. Those who survived became known as 'Natives.' In an attempt to show their allegiance, some Native factions became 'Loyalists' and were marked by the Observers. The original Fringe Team fought the invasion, but was quickly defeated. Fringe Division was allowed to continue at a reduced capacity, but only to police the Natives. The resistance was quickly overcome... or so they thought."
  • The Observers enforced a curfew to make Natives go to their homes.
  • 2036: Walter, Astrid, and Peter were ambered in the lab. 35:07
    Walter, Astrid, and Peter were ambered in the lab.
  • 2036: They eat 'coffee chews' instead of drinking coffee. 06:40
    They eat 'coffee chews' instead of drinking coffee.
  • The fate of the original Fringe team was a myth/legend. Simon: "The original Fringe team didn't vanish, they aren't missing, they died 20 years ago. They aren't coming back to save us from the Observers, they aren't in a desert, or Peru, or immortal."
  • 2036: Walter ambered himself on purpose. 05:39
    Walter ambered himself on purpose.
  • 2036: Central Park was almost completely destroyed. 22:48
    Central Park was almost completely destroyed.
  • The Observer invasion in 2015 was also known as 'The Purge'.
  • 2036: The Brooklyn Bridge was destroyed. 20:40
    The Brooklyn Bridge was destroyed.

WALTER'S FOOD

Walter asked Etta and Simon for something to eat, ate a piece of red licorice, asked Simon if he had Ring Dings, admired a snack stand, stole a pack of Sesame Snaps, and said he ate brains once ("It was sweeter than you'd think").
Walter's Food: Red licorice 14:24 Red licorice
Walter's Food: Sesame Snaps 22:46 Sesame Snaps

NAMES FOR ASTRID

Walter called Astrid 'Astro'.

NOTABLE QUOTES

Prologue:
"They came from the future. At first, they only watched. Arriving at key moments in human history. We called them Observers. But in 2015 they stopped watching... and seized control. Citizen uprisings proved bloody and futile. Those who survived became known as "Natives." In an attempt to show their allegiance, some Native factions became "Loyalists" and were marked by the Observers. The original Fringe Team fought the invasion, but was quickly defeated. Fringe Division was allowed to continue at a reduced capacity, but only to police the Natives. The resistance was quickly overcome... or so they thought."
Walter:
"They weren't all bad, you know. One of them even tried to help us. He was called September. What happened to him was... unexpected. He told me that in the year 2609 AD they finally ruined the planet. They poisoned it. The air, the water. And when it was fundamentally uninhabitable they traveled back through time and took our planet from us."

EPISODE CONNECTIONS

S1E01 — 1 connection (callback) S1E02 — 1 connection (callback) S1E19 — 1 connection (callback) S2E03 — 1 connection (callback) S2E08 — 1 connection (callback) S2E10 — 1 connection (callback) S3E05 — 1 connection (callback) S3E07 — 1 connection (callback) S4E08 — 1 connection (callback) S4E15 — 1 connection (callback) S4E22 — 2 connections (setup) S5E02 — 1 connection (setup) S5E07 — 2 connections (setup) ◀ EARLIER · CALLBACKS SETUPS · LATER ▶
Callbacks (10 earlier episodes)

S1E01 - Pilot

  • An Observer (in "Letters of Transit"):
    "Shoot first. I'll read them later."

    This is a reference to the ability to interrogate someone's mind after they have died, which both Walter and Nina mentioned in "Pilot".

    Nina (in "Pilot"):
    "How long has he been dead?"
    Medical Assistant:
    "Five hours."
    Nina:
    "Question him."

S1E02 - The Same Old Story

  • Connection: Hand in a jar S1E02 21:01
    Connection: Bell's hand in amber S4E19 41:08
    Walter's car in "The Same Old Story" has a severed hand in a jar, and Peter jokes "Friend of yours?". Walter eventually cuts William Bell's hand out of amber in "Letters of Transit".

S1E19 - The Road Not Taken

  • When Olivia and Peter tried to get information on the victim in "The Road Not Taken", Emmanuel Grayson said the coming war would be against the "Romulans, renegade Romulans from the future, here to change the timeline." They dismissed him as crazy, but the Observers did end up invading in such a way in "Letters of Transit".

S2E03 - Fracture

  • Connection: The Observers invaded S4E19 00:14
    Raymond Gordon (in "Fracture"):
    "They want to exterminate us. So they are 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."

    The Observers have invaded Earth in 2015 in "Letters of Transit".

S2E08 - August

  • August (about his binoculars in "August"):
    "They're from someplace far away."

    We later learn in "Letters of Transit" that the Observers and their tech are from the year 2609.

S2E10 - Grey Matters

  • Connection: Walter's brain pieces in Massive Dynamic S4E19 24:46
    In "Grey Matters" Walter's brain pieces were stored the heads of living people. In "Letters of Transit", in the altered timeline, they were stored in Massive Dynamic.

S3E05 - Amber 31422

  • People in amber are not actually dead and Matthew Rose may have been the first person rescued from within amber in "Amber 31422". Etta and Simon rescued Walter, Astrid, and Peter from amber in "Letters of Transit".

S3E07 - The Abducted

  • Connection: Casablanca S3E07 41:08
    The opening scenes of "Letters of Transit" reference Casablanca (a man named Rick owning an upscale nightclub). Peter and Fauxlivia watched Casablanca together in "The Abducted".

S4E08 - Back to Where You've Never Been

  • September (to Olivia in "Back to Where You've Never Been"):
    "I have come to tell you something, Olivia. I came to tell you I have looked at all possible futures and in every one the result is the same: you have to die."

    In "Letters of Transit", which takes place chronologically in the future, Olivia isn't present; only Peter, Astrid, and Walter are featured.

S4E15 - A Short Story About Love

  • September (in "A Short Story About Love"):
    "What I led you to is a Beacon. I needed you to activate it so I could find my way back."

    The Beacon helps Observers find our world. The Beacon's appearance in "The Arrival" may have been a test or preparation for the future Observer invasion as seen in "Letters of Transit".

Setups & payoffs (3 later episodes)

Spoilers for future episodes below

The connections from here on are to episodes that come after this one. Once you've watched them, these same connections appear unblurred on their own episode pages.

Your choice is remembered in this browser only and unblurs connections to episodes you've already seen — here and on every other episode page. It's the same setting as the gear in the menu bar, so you can change it from anywhere on the site.

S4E22 - Brave New World (Part 2)

S5E02 - In Absentia

S5E07 - Five-Twenty-Ten