Fringe (2008–2013): Season 1, Episode 4 - The Arrival - full transcript

A strange cylinder which is somehow connected to Walter and a man known as "the Observer" appears from the ground at a construction site.

(WILLIE NELSON'S "CRAZY"
PLAYING ON RADIO)

MAN: It's been, like,
three, four months now.

Can I get you some coffee?

Roast beef sandwich on a roll.

Meat, raw as possible.

Room-temperature water.

- No ice.
- Gotcha.

- Do you have jalapeños?
- I think he does.

Eleven of those, please. On the side.

Eleven. You got it.

(CRANE ENGINE REVVING)



(WORKERS CHATTERING)

WAITRESS:
What is that?

That language. Is that, like,
Korean or something?

- No.
- Good.

I had Asian Studies at CUNY.
Thought I really missed something.

(RUMBLING)

(DISHES SHATTERING)

(RUMBLING CONTINUES)

(WORKERS CHATTERING)

(DISHES SHATTERING)

(WORKERS SHOUTING)

MAN:
You, get out of there!

(RUMBLING CONTINUES)

(CROWD SCREAMING)



MAN:
Move, move!

(CROWD SHOUTING)

(CRANE CRASHES)

(CROWD SHOUTING)

MAN:
Hurry up.

(CROWD SHOUTING)

It has arrived.

Fringe
s1e04 The Arrival

WALTER:
And add 150 grams of sucrose.

Maintain at 70 degrees Fahrenheit...

...for 120 hours.

- Thirty milliliters at 80 degrees...
- What formula are you rattling off...

...at 3:00 in the morning?

(SIGHS)

Formula for root beer.

Root beer?

That's what's so important you couldn't
stop yourself from broadcasting?

I haven't had it for ages.

I... I thought I might make some
in the lab tomorrow.

Where are you going?

It occurs to me it might be easier
to sleep in the tub.

A root-beer float.

Delicious.

PETER: Next time,
would you please drain the tub?

Oh.

Yes, indeed.

PETER: I know how to get there.
AGENT: Slow down.

Her office is right up here.
I've been there before.

Sir, you don't have clearance
to walk unescorted.

- Peter.
- We need to talk.

Is that okay?
Do I have clearance to talk to her?

OLIVIA:
It's okay. I got it.

Come with me.

- Where is your father?
- Walter is at the hotel.

But your agents are standing guard.

Not that it matters,
the man is unconscious.

He was awake till 5 reciting the chemical
compositions of his favorite beverages...

...after he finished lecturing
on how I squandered...

...my above-average intellect
and my substantial education.

All while
he was standing there naked...

...because he prefers the breeze.

Your living arrangements are temporary.
We're finding you an apartment.

Olivia, don't bother.

I wanted to help. I felt bad. I still
feel bad about what happened to you.

But the truth is, you don't need me here.

- That isn't the truth.
- It is. Things are happening here.

Strange things that need investigating...

...that connect to the insane work
Walter was doing way back when.

But he's the one with the answers.
You need him. I'm just a babysitter.

Peter, you decipher what he says,
things other people can't even follow.

No, not anymore.

Anybody can do that.
There's nothing special about me.

You're his son.

That's not the only thing.

I don't do well staying in one place,
you know that.

This isn't the job for me.

- If you leave, so does he.
- Really?

If the federal government wants to get
Walter out of a mental institution...

- ...they can't without his son's consent?
- It's your father.

He's made it very clear...

...that if you leave, he won't cooperate
with our investigations.

(SCOFFS)

I don't believe it.

He would rather go back to St Claire's
than work here without you.

He's said that more than once.

Was he wearing clothes at the time?

Good morning. Hello.

Hello. Morning.

Morning.

Morning.

Yesterday there was an explosion
at a construction site in Brooklyn.

A crane collapsed.

Left three dead, two dozen injured.

The public was told it was
a gas-main explosion...

...which, technically, is the truth.

It's what caused the explosion
I want you to see.

We had it transported here
late last night.

We've got NSA and CDC
gathering data.

But, Dr. Bishop...

...I wanted you to see this
as soon as possible.

- What is it?
- It's why you're here.

- We don't know.
- It just fell from the sky?

It came from underground.

Blasted through an unused
subway tunnel into a gas main.

- Underground?
BROYLES: Came to rest on the surface...

...as if someone placed it there.

- Solid iridium.
- We think so, yes.

- Subsonic vibrations?
- At two megahertz, then at four.

- This is vibrating?
OLIVIA: Dr. Bishop...

...do you have an idea
what this may be?

An idea, yes.

Do you feel like sharing?

No. It's too early.

BROYLES: This isn't the first time
one of these has shown up.

1987, at Quantico.

Colonel Jacobson
was in charge of the investigation.

- Henry Jacobson?
- I spoke to him myself this morning.

He's expecting your visit.

Said he's looking forward
to seeing you again.

OLIVIA:
What do you wanna do?

What kind of man
would take off on you...

...the minute a can
of magic space soup appears out...

- Who says it came from space?
- It's a joke.

- Oh?
- Thank you for staying.

This is the last one, Olivia...

...and then I'm gone.

Okay.

We need to get this
back to the lab.

We can't risk transferring this
to the university.

- We'd rather...
- If you require my perspicacity...

...such as it exists, then there are
certain fundamental requirements...

...not the least of which is access
to my equipment, my lab.

JACOBSON:
Well, well, well.

I was hoping I'd have an excuse
to see you again.

It's good to see you.

(CHUCKLES)

It's been more than a year
since she died. It's still difficult.

I suppose it always will be.

Jessica took care of the house.

Hell, she, ha, ha.
She took care of everything.

I apologize for what has to be
horrible coffee.

No. It's delicious.

(CHUCKLES)

I, uh...

I know you lost someone too.

My condolences.
It's not easy losing a partner.

I know you and Agent Scott
were close.

What can you tell me
about Quantico, 1987?

Master Sergeant Stuart Malick.

He was at his post at the Marine base
on the night of June 22nd.

His job was to watch
the motion sensors.

Perimeter security, to ensure that
there was no breach at the base.

Except on that night,
the sensors went nuts.

What he found was this.

A metallic cylinder, 24 inches tall,
12 inches in diameter.

He assumed it fell from the sky, that
perhaps it was a piece of a satellite...

...except it wasn't. Stranger still...

...although it seemed to be
a solid piece of hard metal...

- ...it was vibrating.
- At two megahertz...

...then again at four.

There's another.

- Where is this one? Still at Quantico?
- I was called in to investigate.

We determined
it was transmitting something...

...a signal that we couldn't decode.

Forty-eight hours after we found it...

...there was an explosion
unlike anything I'd ever seen.

It went through the floor...

...to the basement below.

It exploded down.

And was gone.

I'll give you my files,
whatever you need.

But this was a weird one, Olivia.

And if it's happening again...

...as a friend, I'd ask you to stay
as far away from this thing as you can.

(CYLINDER HUMMING FAINTLY)

What exactly is this?

In time, my dear.

(TONE VIBRATING)

(CYLINDER HUMMING INTENSIFIES)

(DEVICE WHINING)

Hello, sir. Can I help you?

(GRUNTS)

AGENT (OVER RADIO): Code red! Code red!
we have a breach in Sector 8.

(MEN GRUNT)

(MEN GRUNT)

You.

Where is it?

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Agent Dunham.

(STATIC BUZZING OVER PHONE)

Hello?

Hello?

MAN (VOICE DISTORTED):
Olivia?

Hello?

- Olivia.
- John?

(LINE GOES DEAD)

(DIALS PHONE)

WOMAN: Dispatch.
- This is Agent Dunham, 71862279.

I need a call traced from my cell.

It just came in.

Please hold.

we have no record of any calls
in the last three hours.

- Oh.
- I'm sorry.

Okay, thank you.

(LINE HANGS UP)

(DEVICE HUMMING)

The precision with which this object
was constructed is inspiring.

Down to the molecular bonds.

I hope that a gigantic
metallic suppository...

...is not the pinnacle
of human achievement.

What is it?

Let me ask you a question.

If I tried reverse psychology...
If I said to you right now:

"Walter, don't tell me what that is,"
would that work?

Many years ago,
I worked on Project Thor.

Department of Defense
wanted a subterranean torpedo...

...a missile which could, in theory,
be shot from anywhere in the world...

...through the Earth's core
and hit its target on the other side.

I know for a fact that is ridiculous.

Open your mind, son,
or someone may open it for you.

PETER:
Even that doesn't make sense.

WALTER: The cylinder could be
any number of things...

...none of which
I am prepared to discuss.

PETER: Great. Well, I am glad
I stuck around for this.

OLIVIA:
I don't believe it.

PETER:
What?

OLIVIA:
Look.

It's one of the photos
from Jacobson's file.

Him. Remember?

The bald guy.

PETER:
No. Who is he?

- That's the point.
- You're starting to sound like Walter.

There are many things
I'm not good at, too many.

But one thing I can do,
that I've always been able to do...

That game, Concentration...

...memory, connecting things...

...putting them together.

See?

Two weeks ago at the hospital.

That's him.

PETER:
No way.

(DOORBELL RINGS)

MAN (ON RADIO):
...by early next week...

...the chances are not good
of reaching a resolution.

Can I help you?

(JACOBSON GRUNTS)

Still photograph from the crime scene
at Quantico, 1987.

Look. He was there. Look at this.

Less than two weeks ago at the
hospital in Quincy, the same guy.

And he looks the same.
And he was there, with us.

What?

Come with me.

Excuse us, please.

It took us a year to spot him.

You did it in three weeks.

Who the hell is this guy?

That is one excellent question.

You've run him
through every database?

- Of course.
- And there's nothing on him at all?

No positive ID.

We've recorded him
at over three dozen scenes...

- ...all of which relate to the Pattern.
- How?

- I mean, why? What is he doing?
- What it looks like he's doing...

...is watching...

...observing.

Which is why we refer to him
as the Observer.

But what he wants and
why he's there, we don't know.

He was there the other day,
in New York at the construction site?

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

This is Broyles.

When did it happen?

Okay. Turn it on.

(TONE PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS)

- What is that?
- Called "sound."

(PHONE RINGING)

I know that, thank you.
What's the point?

I need to compare the numbers,
confirm my suspicions.

Compare them to what?
Suspicions of what?

- Astrid Farnsworth.
- I'll explain later.

No, I want you to explain now. I wanna
know what the hell this tin can is.

ASTRID:
Peter?

It's Olivia.

- Hello.
- There's been an attack, Peter.

The team at the warehouse is dead.

- What? Who did it?
- I don't know.

We're moving the thing
to a secure facility. I'm on my way.

Got it. Whatever the hell that thing is,
you should have never brought it here.

Why do you say this?

- Someone come for it?
- Why would you ask that?

- Have they?
- Yes.

We need to keep this safe.

I need something,
something very important.

- What?
- Aluminum foil.

- Why?
- Trust me.

- No, thank you.
- Damn it!

Must you always be such a smartass?

I need the aluminum foil right now
to shield the frequencies of the cylinder.

Your life depends on it.

All our lives depend on it.

Go now.

I'm gonna go get you
your aluminum foil.

When I get back, you're gonna tell me
what you think that thing does.

WALTER:
While you're out...

...if you see a chance
to get me a root-beer float...

...that would be wonderful.

I'll see what I can do.

Would you be a lamb
and get me that syringe?

Sure.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Thank you.

(ASTRID GRUNTS)

Hey, I got the tinfoil.

Astrid.

Astrid, hey.

Astrid.

Astrid, you okay? Astrid, look at me.

Astrid. Hey, focus.
Focus for a second.

Where is Walter?

(GRUNTS)

(MACHINE BEEPS)

(PANTING)

(MACHINE PLAYING HIGH TONE)

Someone came to you.

Think about her.

(PANTING)

I know you were there.

The last time.

And she's come to you now.

Think about that woman.

Don't play with me.

(TONE INTENSIFIES)

(GRUNTING)

(TONE LOWERS)

Now, you tell me now
or I'll do that again.

Think.

See?

That was easy.

(WEAPON WHINING)

(ROGER MILLER'S " KING OF THE ROAD"
PLAYING ON RADIO)

Bless you.

(SIGHS)

(CHUCKLES)

I haven't had a root-beer float
in 17 years.

And how is it?

Heavenly.

And earthly at the same time.

Quite the connoisseur.

Do you want some?

No, thank you.

I wouldn't taste much anyway.

Seventeen years.

That's a long time
to go without something you love.

Where I've been,
you lose track of time.

So much now to make up for.

OBSERVER:
Thank you for hiding the beacon.

I can't touch it myself.

I know you have questions.
Soon you will have answers.

WALTER:
Of course.

Dr. Walter Bishop,
we're forwarding his photo.

- I want surveillance
outside his residence.

PETER: Come on,
this is getting...

- Do not tell me you have no idea...
PETER: You're assuming I have...

...any understanding
of that man's brain.

BROYLES: You gave us the impression
you could handle it.

I didn't promise you anything.
I warned you from the word "go."

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Agent Dunham.

Thank God. Where?

We'll be right there.

Walter just got picked up,
walking the median of I-95.

Thank you.

(DOOR CLOSES)

If it's possible, I would very much like
my own clothes back.

Let me explain
how this works to you, Walter.

You can't inject a federal officer with
sedatives, steal government property...

...escape from custody, and then ask
to be not treated like a criminal.

Have you never taken anything because
you knew it was the right thing to do?

This isn't about me.

Maybe it is, Peter.

You took the cylinder.
Do you remember that?

Yes, of course.
What would you like to know about it?

- Where is it?
- I can't tell you that.

But I can tell you that someone
is coming to seek the cylinder...

...thus I had to hide it.

And I don't recall
where or from whom.

OLIVIA:
We need you to remember.

It may be dangerous
and we need to help keep people safe.

Tell me what it is.

If I attempted to explain it to you,
you might think me mad.

Don't worry,
there's no chance of that happening.

I believe there are only
another four hours...

...in which I must keep the cylinder
from those who are trying to get it.

A theory I have discussed with
my friend, who agrees with me.

Your friend.
Um, he's a tall fellow, right?

- Pink, big fuzzy ears?
- No, he's a man.

Quite nice, albeit extremely bald.

No eyebrows either.

Ha, ha. It's disturbing,
but you get accustomed to it.

You talked to him?

You think it's a good idea
to feed into his delusions?

Walter, who is he?
Where can we find him?

- You won't be able to find him...
- He's in the seventh dimension.

He's shy.

Though he wouldn't be any
use to you. He just observes.

You haven't talked to this man. You've
seen him in Olivia's photographs...

...so cut out the gibberish
and tell us where the cylinder is.

Must you always be so small-minded?

Damn it, don't be like her,
like your mother.

Questioning my judgment.
I am not a child. I will not be babied.

(CHUCKLES)

Thank you for that.

That's exactly what I needed.

Guilt relieved.

Olivia, I am very sorry...

...but I think you'll understand why
I don't wanna hang around any longer.

I upset him, didn't I?

(DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

BROYLES: Where are we?
- I couldn't tell you.

Walter's hiding something.
He's being as cryptic as ever.

He says he had to keep the cylinder safe,
that someone is looking for it.

Welcome to the joys of Walter Bishop.

Where did he take it?

You'll have to ask Walter,
he won't tell me.

But apparently
he had a meeting with a man...

...matching the description
of our friend, the bald guy.

Well, I know a lot of bald guys.

The Observer.

Are you saying that
Walter said he knows him?

I'm saying he's not cooperating.
I'm saying I'm confused.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Hey, man.
Thanks for calling me back so fast.

Look, don't start with me
right now, okay?

Well, guess what, I'm calling this time
to ask for a favor too.

No, I need some work.

Well, I don't really care, as long as it
puts some money in my pocket.

Anywhere but Boston.

Okay.

Agent Dunham?

Agent Farnsworth is on the phone.

I don't know, about an hour ago.

When he left,
he was pretty upset with Walter.

Maybe he just finally left.

No, there was a struggle here.

I'll check it out. Thanks, Astrid.

Call Harvard campus security.
There's a closed-circuit camera...

...outside Countway Library
aimed at the Kresge Building.

I need footage going back two hours.

(PANTING)

PETER:
You don't work for Big Eddie, do you?

Look, I think you got the wrong guy.

What I'm saying is...

...whatever it is you want, I don't think
I'm gonna be able to give it to you.

No. No. Aah!

No.

(GRUNTING)

(PANTING)

(GRUNTING)

(PETER PANTING)

(GRUNTING)

You have something I need.

- Tell me where it is.
- I have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm going to ask you some questions.
Please answer honestly.

What's the most pain
you've ever felt in your life?

(MACHINE PLAYING HIGH TONE)

OLIVIA:
This was taken outside your lab.

Have you ever seen this man before?

I don't believe so, no.

Something's happened, yes?
Something unfortunate. What is it?

I believe this man
may have abducted Peter.

That's not... No.

- Peter will lead him to it.
- To what, the cylinder?

- Yes.
- How? Did you tell him where you put it?

No, of course not.

I don't need to.

You and your colleagues had
the cylinder last. Where is it now?

I have no idea.

And even if I did,
you're the last person I would tell.

(PETER PANTING)

But you just did tell me.

Your father hid it,
but you don't know where.

(PETER GROANS)

And yes, to answer your question,
when this is over, I just might kill you.

It depends on a few things.

When was the last time
your father kissed you?

- I think that's your lamest question yet.
- Yeah?

(GROANING)

Think about your father.

(MACHINE BUZZING)

Good. Good.

Now think about a time before
he was sent away to the institution.

A happy time. A time when you
still believed that your father loved you.

(GRUNTING)

(STOPS MACHINE)

(PANTING)

Beside his car and your old house, does
your father have any other hiding places?

Answer the question.
Does your father ha...?

(CHUCKLES)

Thank you.
You just told me where the cylinder is.

Come with me.

Shame you never met him.

Come on.

Dig.

Careful.

(BRANCH SNAPS)

(MAN GRUNTS)

(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)

PETER:
Olivia, over here.

(PETER GRUNTING)

- Are you okay?
- Yeah. He went that way.

Go. He's got a gun.

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(GROUND RUMBLING)

Departure on schedule.

(GRUNTS)

PETER:
Who the hell are you?

What is the cylinder?

- You know what it is?
- You know what it is?

BOTH:
Why is it here? Why now?

Who are you?

Apples, bananas, rhinoceros.

I wanna hold you hand.

" Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

OBSERVER:
Do you really know my father?

Did you talk to him this afternoon?

Are you his friend?

(PETER GROANS)

(PETER GROANING)

(PANTING)

Peter, is he all right?

He's fine. He has a mild concussion,
but he's gonna be fine.

Thank you. That's wonderful news.

Come on,
I'm gonna take you back to your hotel.

If you don't mind,
there's something I'd like to do first.

WALTER: What I did to you
was very untrustworthy of me.

I never intended to harm you.

I was simply doing
what was necessary to protect us all.

If it would help you feel
a sense of retribution...

...I would tell you to inject me too.

But I'd most likely enjoy it.

Hi. Uh, Peter Bishop,
he was brought in about an hour ago.

Excuse me.

Hi.

Are you okay?

Yeah.

I'm fine.

- So did we recover your cylinder?
- We dug out the hole...

...but there's no sign of it.
As soon as the sun comes up...

...we'll bring in an excavator, but
I don't have an expectation we'll find it.

So it just disappeared?

We ID'd the shooter. John Mosely.

Wanted for a double homicide
in Seattle last month.

- A few drug-related felonies before that.
- Seattle?

Came a long way
to try and get that thing.

Another in a long line of questions.

I should get back.

As you can imagine, there are some
interagency fires to quash.

NSA considered that device
their personal property.

They're looking for an explanation.

So I'll see you tomorrow?

Yeah.

Hi.

You ready to get out of here?

Something happened
out there tonight, Olivia.

The Pattern that Broyles refers to,
I always thought it was nonsense.

Inexplicable things happen
every single day.

That does not mean that
there is any deeper significance.

I know this is gonna sound insane.

I know that it sounds insane,
but the man in the woods, he knew me.

I don't know how,
but he was inside my head.

He knew what I was going to say
before I said it.

- The man I shot?
- No, the other guy, the bald guy.

From your photos, Mr. No-Brows.

- Peter, I didn't see anyone.
- You know me well enough to know...

...these are the last words I would expect
to be saying, but what if Walter is right?

What if this is just the beginning?

Listen, you took
a pretty bad blow to the head.

- You think I did this to myself?
- No, I just...

I was wrong to demand
that you stay here.

Walter is not your responsibility.

As you've always said,
this was just supposed to be temporary.

- You have your life.
- Olivia, did you hear what I just said?

I mean, I'm a fairly open-minded guy.
But there are things happening here...

...that I can't even begin to explain,
and I am not going anywhere until I can.

In that case, you might want this.

Your credentials have been approved.

Civilian consultant to
the Department of Homeland Security.

This mean I don't need an escort to
come into the federal building anymore?

Yeah.

Will it get me out of speeding tickets?

Maybe.

PETER: So let me tell you about my day,
Walter.

I was abducted, tortured,
I had two wires shoved up my nose...

...that were connected to a machine
I'd never seen before.

But maybe the strangest part of the day
is that somehow, without talking...

...I was able to answer a question
that I didn't have the answer to.

Where I buried the capsule?

How did I know that, Walter?

I didn't know that.

I didn't know
where the cylinder was buried.

- You know it, son, because I know it.
- No, I didn't know...

...because you didn't tell me.

I didn't have to.

You must adjust the way
you consider communications, ideas.

Ideas can be absorbed through osmosis,
through proximity.

You remember the night of the accident,
when you were young?

- I was driving.
- Of course I remember.

- Your mother was at home.
- I remember, Thanksgiving dinner.

She was anxious for us to get there,
join everyone.

When the car went off the road,
the ice was so thick...

...that it held the vehicle for
what must have been two minutes.

What does this have to do
with what happened today?

I regained consciousness,
I saw your body contorted horribly.

I reached for you, but the ice broke
and we sank into that dark water.

And then you swam to shore
and saved us both. I know.

No.

I was unable to control my limbs in
that icy water. They wouldn't respond.

I was incapable
of saving you or myself.

We were dead, Peter, you and I.

Until someone grabbed me,
and we were going up.

We were saved, the both of us,
by a man that I had never met.

A man that shouldn't have
been there at all.

He pulled us to the shore.

I remember that he was bald,
that he had no eyebrows.

And as he set us down in the snow,
I recall his stare.

Standing there in his suit, soaking wet,
seemingly indifferent to the cold.

It was as if he knew my thoughts
before I did...

...as if he were inside my head.

Without speaking, he made it clear
that he would need me one day.

A return favor, so to speak.

And this is it.

Today, what happened
with the capsule...

I'm not sure how I knew...

...about the vibrations,
the composition...

...but then when I tested it myself,
heard the vibrations, felt them...

...it was as if
an envelope had been opened...

...and I could finally
read my instructions.

Instantly, I knew
I had to protect the capsule for him.

Who they are and what they want,
as a man of science...

...I share your frustration
in not having these answers.

But what I know
is that you are sitting here now.

My son, alive.

I know you must think me insane.

Not nearly as much
as you might think.

Hello, Liv.