Brave New World (Part 2)
Season 4, Episode 22

Brave New World (Part 2)

SYNOPSIS

In this episode, the Fringe team learns that Walter Bishop's old colleague, William Bell, has been in control of David Robert Jones' actions to collapse both universes in an attempt to create a new universe under his own control, and the Fringe team must make sacrifices to put an end to Bell's plans.

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

THE GLYPHS

This episode's glyphs spell:

P-U-R-G-E

Walter stated that the events of this two-part season finale essentially purged all remaining Cortexiphan from Olivia's system.

Glyph symbol P Glyph symbol U Glyph symbol R Glyph symbol G Glyph symbol E
Glyph symbol P
Glyph symbol U
Glyph symbol R
Glyph symbol G
Glyph symbol E


THE OBSERVER

The Observer is featured in this episode.

Observer Timestamp: 11:18

EPISODE CLUES

Previous Episode Clue

Signage saying "Eden" on the exterior of Bell's waterfront warehouse in 'Brave New World (Part 1)' foreshadows his mission to create a new, pristine universe with new creatures in 'Brave New World (Part 2)'.

Previous episode clue Timestamp: 38:41

Next Episode Clue

Unknown

Next episode clue Timestamp: Unknown

ITEMS OF INTEREST

  • Bell recited a verse from "The Lake Isle of Innisfree".
  • Cortexiphan levels in Olivia's body are now almost negligible because of their intense utilization in this episode.
  • Walter called Astrid 'Astrid'.
  • Olivia is pregnant.
  • The name of Bell's ocean-going cargo vessel, 'Talos', was a Greek god of myth that was more creative, and a better inventor, than his uncle, the god Daedalus.

VIDEOS

Featurettes
Interviews
Commentary
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WALTER'S FOOD

Asked an orderly if she was carrying lemon Jell-O (they were urine samples), ate a Red Vine, and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Walter's Food: Lemon Jell-O? Timestamp: 38:31 Lemon Jell-O?
Walter's Food: Red Vine Timestamp: 39:26 Red Vine
Walter's Food: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich Timestamp: 42:06 Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

NOTABLE QUOTES

Walter:
"Why, William? Why would you do this? What can you possibly hope to gain by destroying both universes?"
William Bell:
"Walter, this was all your idea! Peter died, twice. You hated god. 'What kind of god would cause so much suffering?', that's what you said. So much pain. You decided to create a universe that would operate by your rules. And then, when you realized that you were smart enough to do it, you got scared. You asked me to cut out a portion of your brain."

EPISODE CONNECTIONS

Callbacks (12 earlier episodes)
  • Peter questions Jessica Holt in "Brave New World (Part 2)" despite her being dead, like Walter and Nina questioned a dead John Scott in "Pilot".
  • Conrad Moreau, arrested for the illegal sale at the end of "The Transformation", is a reference to the science-fiction novel The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells from the late 1800s. In it, a man named Moreau created an island community of human-animal hybrids and showed the repercussions of man playing God. William Bell's goal in "Brave New World (Part 2)" was to be the creator of a new universe of animal hybrids, including the porcupine creatures from "The Transformation".
  • Connection: Cards from Jones's box of tests S1E14 Timestamp: 28:13
    Connection: Stasis runes S4E22 Timestamp: 04:51
    Patterns drawn on cards from David Robert Jones's box of tests for Olivia in "Ability" bear a resemblance to the stasis runes used in "Brave New World (Part 2)". Very little is known about either.
  • Connection: Snakehead creature S4E22 Timestamp: 30:31
    The ship at the end of "Brave New World (Part 2)" showed the creatures from "Snakehead".
  • William Bell (in "Brave New World (Part 2)"):
    "Walter, this was all your idea. Peter died -- twice. You hated God. 'What kind of God would cause so much suffering?' That's what you said. So much pain. You decided to create a universe that would operate by your rules. And then, when you realized that you were smart enough to do it, you got scared. You asked me to cut out a portion of your brain."

    William Bell removed pieces of Walter's brain at Walter's request as seen in flashbacks in "Grey Matters".

  • William Bell (in "Brave New World (Part 2)"):
    "God made us in his image. If that is so, if we are capable of being gods, then it is our destiny to do so."

    Walter made a similar comment in "Peter".

    Walter (in "Peter"):
    "There's only room for one God in this lab, and it's not yours."
  • Connection: Olivia's skin healing itself S2E19 Timestamp: 22:17
    The intense amount of Cortexiphan coursing through Olivia in "Brave New World (Part 2)" was able to heal her mortal wound. This was foreshadowed in "Brown Betty" when Olivia was sliced by the same weapon that killed Rachel, yet instead of dying Olivia's skin started to heal itself.
  • Connection: Broyles and Van Horn S4E22 Timestamp: 37:18
    Senator Van Horn, who died in "Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?", was still alive in the altered timeline and talked to Broyles in "Brave New World (Part 2)".
  • Connection: Olivia shot S3E22 Timestamp: 29:38
    Connection: Olivia shot S4E22 Timestamp: 32:33
    Walter shot Olivia in the head in "Brave new World (Part 2)" like Walternate did in the possible future in "The Day We Died".
  • Connection: Walter shooting Olivia S4E22 Timestamp: 32:24
    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."

    Walter shot Olivia in the head in "Brave New World (Part 2)" in order to stop her being used as a power source for Bell's new world.

  • September got shot by Jessica Holt in "Brave New World (Part 2)" and then went back in time to "Back to Where You've Never Been" to deliver his message to Olivia, bleeding out from the gunshot in his seat in the opera house.
  • Connection: Etta clutching her necklace S4E19 Timestamp: 04:47
    Etta clutched her necklace, a bullet, when she saw Walter for the first time and when talking about her parents in "Letters of Transit". This is the bullet Walter shot at Olivia in "Brave New World (Part 2)".
  • Astrid (to Walter in "Letters of Transit"):
    "William Bell, you just left him there?"
    Walter:
    "You remember what he did to Olivia. Even you can't be that compassionate."

    Bell tried to use Olivia's powers to create a new universe in "Brave New World (Part 2)".

  • William Bell (to David Robert Jones in "Brave New World (Part 1)"):
    "The art of chess, the art, is knowing when a piece is most valuable, and then, in that very moment, being willing to sacrifice it."

    Walter sacrificed Olivia, the most valuable piece in the game, in order to save the world in "Brave New World (Part 2)".

Setups & payoffs (2 later episodes)

Spoilers for future episodes below

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