Fringe (2008–2013): Season 3, Episode 17 - Stowaway - full transcript

As the Fringe team hopes to alleviate Olivia's possession quickly, Agent Lincoln Lee of the F.B.I. meets them for the first time over the curious case of what he calls "the compassionate soul vampire."

NARRATOR:
Previously on Fringe:

LAWYER: The last will and testament
of William Bell.

"Nina. A memento of me."

I need Belly. I need his help.
I can't do this alone.

I have to protect our world.

Remember how good
we were together.

William is gone.
You can't bring him back.

Wherever Belly is, he will find us.

OLIVIA (IN WILLIAM BELL'S VOICE):
The decoder key is in my office.

- At the FBI?
OLIVIA: No. In Massive Dynamic.

Hello, Peter.



It's nice to see you again.

I understand your concerns,
but I assure you Olivia is perfectly fine.

She is simply resting.

BROYLES:
What do you mean, she's resting?

Well, not exactly, of course.

Just in the sense
that her conscious mind...

...her awareness, is at a state of rest.

But I assure you, she is totally safe.

This is all exactly as I planned it.

You haven't heard the best part.

Ask him when he planned it.

Several months ago.

When I first met Olivia
in my office on the Other Side.

I gave her a cup of tea.



The soul magnets were in that tea.

So these soul magnets
drew your consciousness into Olivia...

...after you died.

Well, after my physical body died.

As you can see, I am quite alive.

WALTER:
Indeed. Look at this.

Two distinct patterns
of electrical activity.

This one, active. That's you, Belly.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

The other one inert.

Like the brainwaves
of a long, dreamless sleep.

Uh, which suggests that Olivia
was aware of none of this.

I understand that this could
take some time for you to get used to.

Imagine how I feel.

I never realized that a bra
was so binding.

(LAUGHS)

Astrid, you can start taking
the electrodes off her.

Him.

How much time? You're not
suggesting this is permanent.

OLIVIA:
Oh, no, no.

We simply need to find a more
suitable home for me to move to.

Now, Olivia's brain can accommodate
my consciousness for several weeks...

...before anything would happen to her.

Weeks?

Not a chance.

And I am confident that Walter will find
a more stable home long before that.

Same question. How long?

Twenty-four hours.

Forty-eight at the most.

Has anyone ever told you, dear,
that you have lovely hands?

Thank you.

You're not seriously considering
sanctioning this, are you?

Well, what would you suggest, Peter?

If I leave Olivia's brain now,
without finding a suitable host...

...I would die.

Don't you think that my life is worth
an extended nap?

Besides, William can help us understand
Walternate's plan. Can't you, William?

Walter.

What he intends to use the machine for.

- And how to keep Peter out of it.
- Stop.

I wanna know how we get Olivia back.

Forty-eight hours to find a new
and suitable host.

Then I want you out of my agent.

Or I'll have Dr. Bishop figure out
how to drive you out. Agreed?

You have my word, young man.

Now, I need to retrieve my files
from Massive Dynamic.

There's a box labeled "reentry."

- I'll get it myself.
- As fast as possible.

You don't have to tell me twice.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

That was fast.

You said I didn't have much time, Jim.

You didn't.

You don't.

You were right.

It's gonna rain.

There is hope in raindrops.
Isn't that what you said?

What does that even mean?

It means...

...that every drop of rain...

...holds the promise of regrowth.

Each has a purpose,
even if they don't know it.

I think...

...we can feel that way.

That we don't have a purpose.

But we do.

Jim.

Do you believe what you're saying?

About purpose?

You said you know how I feel.

You said you know pain.

That you wanted
to kill yourself too, you said that.

Yes.

So?

What's your reason to stick around?

My reason?

Have you found your purpose?

Jim.

It's okay.

You did your best.

I don't believe in hope anymore.

All I know is...

...we're all gonna die.

(BREATHING)

Fringe
s3e17 Stowaway

PETER:
Okay. Here are the reentry files.

Need anything else?

A computer with access to social-service
and medical databases would be useful.

Now, the host needs to be biological.

Able to cognate, but without
its own governing consciousness.

A human brain would be ideal,
but, uh, not a prerequisite.

What?

Hmm.

Peter...

...your father wouldn't wanna
hear me say this...

...but, um, even if he does find out more
about this machine...

...that doesn't necessarily mean
he'll be able to prevent...

...the events depicted in that picture.

I mean, that just could
simply be your fate.

Thankfully, I don't believe in fate.

Whatever Walternate's plans are for me,
I'm not getting in that machine.

(LAUGHS)

Well, son, it isn't always that simple.

I've lived a long time, Peter.

So believe me when I tell you...

...that sometimes
when one walks away from his fate...

...it leads one directly
to fate's doorstep.

Hey, Broyles just sent something over
that you need to see.

PETER:
Excellent.

You go get it, I'll show you.

(CRASHES)

Holy...

This video was taken last night,
just after 10:00 in Roxbury.

Nobody could have survived
that impact.

And yet she did.

What are you thinking, Walter?

Maybe it's not the woman at all.

- Maybe it's the location.
- Walter.

You think that this is spatial decay,
don't you?

Caused from a soft spot
between the universes.

We're beginning to see
signs of degradation on this side.

Well, it was bound to happen.

I'm surprised that it's taken this long.

All right. We need a Geiger counter.

No, no. "We" don't need anything.

- We can handle this. You need to s...
- What?

Go to my room?

Ha, ha. Sit on my hands?

The computer is searching all
the local hospitals for a potential host...

...based on the parameters that
you retrieved from Massive Dynamic.

Now, I am not someone
who can make that occur any faster.

What I am is the only person
on this universe...

...who has extensive experience
in inter-dimensional decay.

PETER:
Fabulous.

Fantastic.

CARL:
Agent Lee.

You're gonna wanna see this.

- Where is she?
- Boston.

OLIVIA: We have more advanced ways to
detect molecular degeneration Over There.

But a simple radiation test
should be enough to see...

...whether the fabric of the universe
has begun to decay.

And?

Well, everything's within normal range.

Nothing unusual here.

If it's not the place, then it's the girl.

Must be something about her
that allowed her to survive the fall.

Then we need to get to know
more about her.

- DNA. Excellent.
- Ha-ha-ha.

OLIVIA: I'll take the samples
from the passenger side.

WALTER:
Look at this.

Me and Belly collecting human tissue
and fluid specimens...

- ...just like when we were kids.
- Ha-ha-ha.

Glad you guys are enjoying yourselves.

This is Peter and Dr. Walter Bishop,
the civilian consultants I told you about.

This is Special Agent Lincoln Lee.

He has some information
regarding this case.

Hi. Uh...

PETER: Uh, this is...
- Agent Olivia Dunham.

Fringe Division.

What division?

So, what you got?

The, uh, woman who jumped
and walked away?

Her name is Dana Gray.

She was murdered 18 months ago.

Two bullets in the head.

ME said she died instantly.

She was killed with her husband
and her children...

...in a home invasion robbery.
Olivia: Oh...

- That's grisly.
- I can't argue.

This was a tough one.

You ever find who did it?

Yes. We, uh, tried to bring him in,
but he drew on us.

Two agents ended up putting him
down in a shootout. So case closed.

That is until I get a call about Mrs.
Gray's body disappearing from the morgue.

- I assumed it was stolen.
- Reasonable assumption.

I didn't think anything of it
until I saw this.

Witnesses report seeing two people
jump out of a dorm window.

Cops get there, one body.

Grad student who lived there.

The cops find two sets of fingerprints
on the ledge during their investigation.

The second set, those fingerprints
were identified as Dana Gray's.

Which is insane because she's dead.

Well, you know,
stranger things have happened.

Um...

- No, they haven't.
- Don't listen to him. Her.

Sorry. Go on.

Not knowing what to make of it,
I flagged Gray in the system.

Over the next two months, we found
prints at three other double suicides.

Security photos show her there
and eyewitnesses report seeing her die.

First responders show up,
there's only one body.

And it's never hers.

I know this sounds insane,
but I don't think this woman can die.

Isn't this our lucky day?

(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)

Hello?

ASTRID:
Hello.

What's he doing here?

- I invited him.
- Belly invited him.

ASTRID:
That's Gene.

(MOOS)

Come down here.
I've got something.

Um, what is this place, exactly?

Uh, this is the place where the mysteries
of the universe get answered.

Congratulations,
whatever your security clearance was...

...it just got seven levels deeper.
WALTER: Something to show you.

We found two sets of DNA in the
specimens we took from the scene.

Two different people.

But in performing the tests...

...we noticed something odd
in the molecules of Ms. Gray's body.

They didn't want to come apart.

They were held together by an unusually
strong electromagnetic bond.

Um, I'm confused.

You're saying that her body
is being held together by magnetism?

OLIVIA: Well, we're all held together
by magnetism.

Our molecules
are like these hematite rocks.

Magnetism is what keeps us
from flying apart.

It's what keeps us solid.

In Ms. Gray's case,
the attraction was almost unbreakable.

It's a miracle she left
any blood behind at all.

I think it suits you, dear.

Um, but... But how?

I mean, why did she get...

...magnetically supercharged?

Belly, what if she took
the energy from her victims?

- Victims?
- The people she's jumping with.

Hey, that makes sense.

She absconds with their life force
at the moment of death.

Life force? Uh, you mean like a soul?

Is that even a scientific concept?

You know, it's best to try
not to be reductive.

I mean, after all, every living thing
is simply bundled energy.

I mean, perhaps Ms. Gray
has found a way...

...to capture some vital portion
of another person's essential energy...

...and therefore,
has extended her own life.

Extending her own life.

- Yes.
- A soul vampire.

As it were.

It says that each one of the victims
tried to commit suicide previously.

Perhaps it's simple compassion, Belly.

Yes, that's brilliant. She only wants
to take the souls of those...

...who are already prepared
to surrender their own.

A compassionate soul vampire.

- Yes.
- Yes.

Oh, boy. Um, who are you guys?

- Why don't I explain that to you as we go?
- Are we going somewhere?

If you were looking for victims
who had previously...

...tried to commit suicide,
where would you go?

Uh, suicide hotlines, therapy groups.

PETER: Exactly. Walter, give me a call
if you can figure out any more about...

...why Dana Gray can't die.

(PHONE RINGING)

Help line. This is Joan.

Hello?

BRIAN:
I think I'm gonna hurt myself.

Okay, sweetie. What's your name?

I'm Brian.

Hi, Brian.

I guess you're in
a bad place right now, huh?

(BRIAN SOBBING)

I'm tired.

I know, sweetie. Life can be tiring.

I know. Listen, Brian...

...I really wanna help you,
but you have to let me do that, okay?

And this is too important
to do over the phone.

You're just trying to trick me.

You're gonna send the police to stop me.

No. Listen to me, Brian.
I would never do that. I promise, okay?

Now, sweetheart,
just tell me where you are.

That's her. Yeah, that's Joan.

- Is she working today?
- No, she hasn't been in for a few days.

Is she in some kind of trouble?

Was she close
with anybody in the office?

Well, she was friendly,
but I wouldn't say she was close to anyone.

She did her job and went home.

Here's your desk.

I hope nothing's happened to her.
She's one of our best counselors.

How so?

Well, if there was
a particularly challenging call...

...a person who was at risk,
we'd forward it to her.

She was amazing.

In three months,
she's saved at least 37 lives.

She had an uncanny way of connecting
with people feeling hopelessness.

I mean, anybody who gets struck
by lightning twice and survived...

...has to have a perspective
on hope, right?

Do you have her address?

Yeah. Let me go get it.

If Dana Gray is stealing
people's souls as they die...

Then why is she so committed
to saving their lives?

Brian?

Hello, Brian.

You're not scared.

I know when people are scared...

...and you're not.

Why?

Why are you doing this?

You think you convinced me
to allow you to come here.

But it was me who wanted you to come.

Okay.

I don't wanna hurt people.

But I always do.

Who do you hurt?

I have no hope.

Like those raindrops that
you mentioned on the phone.

You said they have a purpose.

Well, I don't like my purpose.

Do you think the raindrops will
help those people on the train?

What people on the train?

I don't wanna hurt them.

But I will.

And that's why you're here.

You have to save them.

There's a duffel bag with my bomb.

And that's why you're here.

East Bay Railway train 67.
Car two. Seat 17.

Like Azrael...

...let his angels carry
my damned soul to heaven.

(LINE RINGING)

OPERATOR (ON PHONE):
911, what is your emergency?

Hello?

Hello? What's your emergency?

Hello?

No. Nothing.

None of them fit the parameters.

Here either.

We're looking for such specific conditions
to accommodate your transfer, William.

A brain-dead patient like this
could be one in a million.

(MOOS)

(GOO GOO DOLLS'
"GIVE A LITTLE BIT" PLAYS)

Huh.

William.

No.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

LINCOLN:
There's not much in here.

No friends, no acquaintances.

No one that can tell us where to find her.

- You?
- Mm-mm.

Just a bunch of books...

...and a receipt from a flower shop for
a dozen roses, but she paid in cash.

Hmm.

One of these things
is not like the others.

What's that?

You never watched Sesame Street?

The Afterlife of the Soul.

- These other books are clinical...
- But this one's religious.

Exactly.

The highlighted passages are
about what happens after we die.

What's she doing?

Trying to convince people to jump by
telling them how great heaven would be?

(BOTH LAUGHING)

What if we're thinking
about this backwards?

What if that book's
not for other people, it's for her?

Maybe she's the one that wants to die.

Even if we were able to transfer your
consciousness safely inside Gene...

...there are other matters to consider.

We would communicate
through my brainwaves.

You would hook me up to an EEG
machine and decipher my thoughts.

Hmm, that may work.

Still...

...I'd have to milk you.

We could assign Astrid.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Walter? Walter.

Not now, son, we're on to something.

Uh, look, if Dana Gray was
hit by lightning twice...

...think that would explain why
she's so overly electromagnetic?

I suppose that's possible.

The ions due to
the multiple lightning strikes...

...could cause her molecules
to be supercharged.

And possibly intensify
the electromagnetism.

Why do you ask?

We don't think that she's trying to live
forever. We think she's trying to die.

Dana Gray's description just went out
over the police bulletin in Dorchester.

Somebody spotted her.

This is the woman
you saw leaving the apartment?

Like I already told the police...

...I was making dinner
when I heard the gunshot.

I came out
and I saw that woman leaving.

Did she kill him?

This is an ongoing investigation.
I can't comment.

Oh, I see, you're the only one
who gets to ask questions.

Thank you for your cooperation.

ME says the angle of wound
and powder burns are consistent...

...with suicide,
but the gun only discharged once.

Takes one to blow your brains out.

But up until now, her MO
has been to try and kill herself...

...either with or directly after
the suicide victim. Why?

If she can't die and her soul, energy,
whatever you wanna call it...

...is bound to her body...

...maybe she's trying to go with theirs.

Like a hitch-hiker.

- Ha, ha. Like a stowaway to heaven?
- Yeah.

Yeah, but she was here.

Why didn't she pick up the gun
and shoot herself...

...try to catch a ride?

What changed?

NUN: I think this is the story
you were looking for.

I'm surprised you've heard of it.

I'm taking a night class
and we're doing...

...an essay on the journey
of the soul to the afterlife.

Then you'll find this very interesting.

The Ascension of Azrael.

It's about a sinner named Azrael whose
soul was condemned to purgatory.

After years of watching him suffer,
the angels asked God...

...to let Azrael free,
but God ignored them.

So the angels went down into purgatory
and lifted Azrael up to heaven.

When God asked why they did this...

...the angels said Azrael
had suffered enough.

And the combined innocence
of the angels' souls...

...outweighed Azrael's sins.

Finally, God agreed. And Azrael's soul
was welcomed into heaven.

Good luck with your assignment.

Hello, freak show.

It's some kind of shrine.

More like a trophy room.

So, clearly, this guy was nuts.

I believe the clinical term
is sociopath, but...

...yeah, heh, he was.

So why was Dana Gray here?

Agent Broyles.
I found this invoice in the bathroom.

Twenty pounds of plastic explosives?

This guy was making a bomb.

So where is it?

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

MAN:
Okay, I'll pick them up on the way.

Yeah. I said, okay.

All right. See you soon.

My sister. She had another baby.

Her and her husband,
they're like rabbits.

I'm heading to Providence to see them.

What about you?

Where are you headed?

I'm on my way to see family too.

BROYLES: Alert BPD and put the bomb
squad on standby. Tell me when it's done.

Broyles. Timers.
And the wires are stripped.

He was getting ready
to attach to a power source.

- He's rigged the bomb with a detonator.
PETER: Yeah.

We went over every inch
of this place. It's not here.

Check his credit cards,
ATM withdrawals, metro cards.

I want a list of possible targets,
any place this guy'd wanna blow up.

Yes, sir.

What if you're tracking the wrong person?
Dana Gray was here.

And you think she took the bomb?
And why would she do that?

No. She didn't take it.

I think I know what's going on here.

It sounds insane, but here's my theory.

She can't die, but she wants to.

And she's been trying anything and
everything she can to move on, right?

She's been trying to stowaway
on the souls of the recently dead.

Which is why she's been
using suicide victims.

How is that related to the explosives
about to be detonated in the city?

Because her plan isn't working.
She's looking for another way.

You see, Dana was here when
this guy committed suicide.

I think that he told her
where the bomb is.

The only reason she didn't
pick up the gun and follow suit...

...is because she's gonna
try something new.

You think she's trying to increase
her chances of making it...

...to the afterlife by killing
herself with a group?

It would explain why she's not here.

This woman lost her entire family.
She's desperate.

Even if you're right,
that still leaves the problem:

How do we find the bomb?

Hey. Is this the suicide's phone?

Placed a phone call before
he shot himself. Boston area code.

How much you wanna bet
that's Dana Gray's phone number?

(PHONE RINGING)

(VOICEMAIL RECORDING) You've reached
the crisis helpline, this is Joan.

If this is an emergency, hang up...

She's not answering.

I can't run a trace unless
the line's open. She has to pick up.

Can you change the outgoing caller ID
on this phone?

- Yeah, sure.
- What are you thinking?

She may not answer this number,
but I know whose she will.

(PHONE RINGING)

- Hello?
- Dana, please don't hang up.

- Who is this?
- My name is Peter Bishop.

The number that you're calling from,
how did you get it?

I work with the FBI, Dana.

Then I'm sorry,
but we have nothing to talk about.

Dana, please.
I know what happened to you.

I know about your family.
I know how they died.

I know you're only doing this because
you wanna be reunited with them.

Just because you've read some files
about me...

...doesn't mean you know
the hell that I've been stuck in.

- Or what I have to do to make it stop.
- But I can help you.

The people I work with are scientists,
they are the best.

And if you come in, I promise you,
they can help you.

Can you promise me
you'll reunite me with my family?

Can you promise me that killing
a bunch of people will?

It's the best chance I've got.

I'm sorry. I have no choice.

Dana, that's not true.
You have a choice. We all have a choice.

Not me.

I should've died that night
with my family.

But for some reason...

...some impossible cosmic joke...

...I'm stuck here.

I didn't ask for this.

As strange as this sounds, I know
exactly what you're going through.

But believe me, Dana,
this is not the solution.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Did you get it?

(LINCOLN GROANS)

DANA (ON RECORDING): I should've died
that night with my family.

CONDUCTOR: Next stop...
- There. That. In the background.

Can you isolate that?

CONDUCTOR:
Next stop, Norwood Station.

ASTRID:
Here it is. I've got it open.

There are three different trains that stop
in Norwood at this time of night.

Are you sure?

Yeah, uh, the 6:15,
the 6:25 and the 6:45.

She could be on any one of them.

Ask him when they spoke to her.

- What time?
- Hey, when did you speak to her?

- What time?
- Uh, I don't know. It was 10 minutes ago?

Ten minutes ago.

Oh, good, I love word problems.

Three trains,
all passing through Norwood.

Each traveling
at its own constant velocity.

Not accounting for station stops.

What are they saying?

No idea, they're doing that thing
where they don't finish sentences.

Now we merely need to insert the
parameters based on the train schedule.

That is too early.

- She's on the 6:25.
- She's on the 6:25.

She's on the 6:25.

Excuse me.
Can you keep an eye on my stuff here?

I have to use the bathroom.

(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)

FBI. We need to clear the train.
There may be an explosive on board.

We think it's due to go off
in eight minutes.

This is the suspect.

There are over 300 people on this train.

That girl's in the next car.

She was right there.

Bring the dogs in now.

I need everyone to stay calm
and in a single-file line...

...move toward the nearest exit.
Leave your belongings.

You can get them later.

(CRYING)

I don't understand.

She's gone.

(EXPLOSION)

(SCREAMING)

AGENT:
Hey. I've got something.

It's down here.

She's dead.

LINCOLN:
So, what changed?

After all that time trying,
why is she able to die now?

Welcome to the Fringe Division.

Every answer you get
just leads you to more questions.

That may be.

But it's a lot more exciting than Hartford.

Feel free to give me a call if you ever
find yourself needing some help.

Be careful what you wish for.

Hello, Peter.

Walter thought that it would be
a good idea for me to stay here tonight.

I just made a pot of tea.

Would you like a cup?

Yeah, why not?

So I've been thinking about Dana Gray.

You're not the only one.

Well, I have two thoughts.

My first thought is that
the energy emitted from that bomb...

...somehow reset the
electromagnetic charge in her body.

That it was that unique charge
that enabled her to die.

Permanently.

Okay. That makes sense.

What was your second thought?

That my first thought is wrong.

And?

What if, Peter...

...this isn't about biology or physics.

What if what we witnessed
was the very reason...

...Dana Gray couldn't die?

- Why?
- Because she needed to be here...

...to save those peoples' lives.

You think it was her destiny?

Well, destiny, fate.

Jung called it synchronicity.

The interconnectedness
of apparently unrelated events.

I mean, don't you think
that it's curious we meet a woman...

...who was unable to die
at the exact moment...

...my consciousness seemingly
returns from the grave?

As a scientist, I like to believe
that nothing just happens.

That every event has some meaning.

Some sort of message.

You just have to be able
to listen closely enough to hear it.

(CHURCH BELL TOLLING)

See?

It's a church bell.

So tell me, what's the meaning?

(OLIVIA SHUDDERS)

You okay, Bell?

(IN NORMAL VOICE)
Peter?

Olivia, is that you?

- (IN WILLIAM BELL'S VOICE) Oh, no.
- What the hell just happened there?

I think that I may have been wrong.

This may be a little more
complicated than I first thought.