Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11
Peter, Walter, and Astrid, after being recovered by Etta (Letters of Transit), begin to adjust to the Observer-controlled world of 2036. Walter notes that he and September had created a plan prior to the Observers' takeover, but September had fragmented Walter's memory to protect the information. After the Observers' arrival, Walter sent Olivia to retrieve a device to help restore these memories, but she disappeared. In the present, they trace Olivia's path, finding a nearby patch of amber, but with several human-sized chunks removed. Etta explains there are "amber gypsies", who cut and sell trapped humans on the black market. They track down Olivia's piece of amber to Edward Markham, who had been in love with Olivia since the first time he saw her.While they are retrieving the amber, the Observers, alerted by the black market dealer, arrive. Though they safely escape with Olivia, Walter is captured and taken to a secure Observer facility, where Captain Windmark arrives to interrogate him. Windmark starts violently probing Walter's mind. He taunts Walter with the fact that there is no music in this future, that nothing will grow from the scorched earth. On continued probing, Windmark discovers the fragmented memories and attempts to obtain the memories by any means possible.
Olivia is freed from the amber, and has a tearful reunion with Peter while meeting her adult daughter for the first time. As they talk, it is revealed that Peter, Olivia, and young Etta were enjoying a picnic in a park on the day of the Observers' invasion, and Etta went missing in the confusion. Subsequently, Peter and Olivia had separated; Peter continuing to search for Etta, and Olivia joining Walter in fighting the Observers. Etta takes them to a hidden facility where human resistance members have found the device that Olivia had been trying to locate, the Transilience Thought-Unifier Model-11, which is capable of restoring Walter's thoughts, though they believe the device to be non-functional. While there, they are able to track Walter's capture to a secured Observer facility. Etta uses her Fringe credentials to break into the facility and recover Walter. Afterwards, Windmark connects Etta to images of a young girl from Walter's mind.
Once safe, Walter finds that the Unifier device activates to his touch, but when they try to use it, it fails to find any memories; Etta suspects that the memories were destroyed, and the plan is lost for good. A despondent Walter tries to sleep but is distracted by reflections from outside, which he traces to a makeshift sculpture made of broken CDs. In a bag nearby he finds an undamaged CD and plays it on a car's stereo; he cries as it plays Yazoo's "Only You", the first music he's heard since awakening in 2036. As he mulls emotionally, he spies a single dandelion, growing from the rubble, and cries to himself.
TROPES
- Abhorrent Admirer: Markham bought Olivia's Amber because he loved her, and gradually grows obsessed with being the Prince Charming who will wake her up.
- Gotta Catch Them All: Walter and September have come up with a complicated, multi-step plan for defeating the Observers that involves hunting down bits and pieces of hidden tech and instruction videos, setting up the bulk of the season's plots.
- Psychic Nosebleed: Walter gets one as he is attacked by Windmark.
- Resistance Is Futile: The Observer at Markham's apartment uses this exact phrase. Etta's heard it before and isn't impressed.
