4x03: Alone in the World
Jan. 27th, 2015 11:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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This episode features a killing sentient fungus, which Walter posits is a new, rapidly evolving life-form. Inexplicably, it has become psychically bonded to a lonely young boy, who wandered into its tunnel habitat. The plot reminds me of two old X-Files episodes, "Schizogeny," with its murderous old orchard trees, and "Fire Walker," the season two episode with the deadly, exploding fungal spores. The Fringe science being done here isn't scientific in the least. By the end, I was half-expecting Agent Mulder to show up, flashlight in hand, protesting the extermination of the new life form. "We need to study it, Broyles!"
The only memorable scene comes at the very end when Walter Bishop confesses to Olivia that he's been having hallucinations. She counters by showing him a drawing of Peter, who has been making appearances in her dreams.
WALTER: Who is he?
OLIVIA: I don't know. I've been running facial recognition through inter-agency databases, including Interpol, but nothing's shown up.
WALTER: (motivated) A shared vision like this... He must be real! And if he's real... We have to find him.
Don't worry, you will.

Writer: David Fury
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Originally aired: October 7, 2011
Synopsis: When Sentient Fungus Attacks! Also, Walter continues to be plagued with what he thinks are hallucinations, but which are in actuality visions of Peter Bishop, bleeding through into this timeline.
Most Memorable B-Movie Quote:
BROYLES: I just got word from one of our teams. The fungus has reached a subway platform in Midtown. We can't contain this thing. We have to move on it now.
OLIVIA: You gave Walter two hours. There's still time.
BROYLES: I'm sorry, but you know as well as I do we can't sacrifice countless other lives to save one boy.
Am I the only one who started laughing at this?
Links:
Transcript
The A.V. Club
The Fungus Among Us Entertainment Weekly.
The Non-Science of Fringe: Alone in the World - Weak Interactions.
A Sense of Isolation by Sarah Stegall. Her website is back!
Fanfiction:
Distant Early Warning by kerithwyn.
Please leave other suggestions in the comments.
The only memorable scene comes at the very end when Walter Bishop confesses to Olivia that he's been having hallucinations. She counters by showing him a drawing of Peter, who has been making appearances in her dreams.
WALTER: Who is he?
OLIVIA: I don't know. I've been running facial recognition through inter-agency databases, including Interpol, but nothing's shown up.
WALTER: (motivated) A shared vision like this... He must be real! And if he's real... We have to find him.
Don't worry, you will.

Writer: David Fury
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Originally aired: October 7, 2011
Synopsis: When Sentient Fungus Attacks! Also, Walter continues to be plagued with what he thinks are hallucinations, but which are in actuality visions of Peter Bishop, bleeding through into this timeline.
Most Memorable B-Movie Quote:
BROYLES: I just got word from one of our teams. The fungus has reached a subway platform in Midtown. We can't contain this thing. We have to move on it now.
OLIVIA: You gave Walter two hours. There's still time.
BROYLES: I'm sorry, but you know as well as I do we can't sacrifice countless other lives to save one boy.
Am I the only one who started laughing at this?
Links:
Transcript
The A.V. Club
The Fungus Among Us Entertainment Weekly.
The Non-Science of Fringe: Alone in the World - Weak Interactions.
A Sense of Isolation by Sarah Stegall. Her website is back!
Fanfiction:
Distant Early Warning by kerithwyn.
Please leave other suggestions in the comments.