re: **Official** Fringe: Episode 2 Final Season: "In Absentia"

Big thanks to Omniscient_Jay this week:

Hey, folks!

Just as I did for last week's episode, I will be compiling all the new information we learned about Observerkind physiology/behaviour/society in 5.02. We didn't get nearly as much as last week, but we did get something to chew on.

Let's begin:

-The torture device Etta used on Loyalist agent Manfretti (sp?) - which is apparently called an Angel Device - worked by leeching the atomic charge off the victim, causing them to age rapidly***. However, this particular brand is a Loyalist-repurposed version of what was originally Observer tech. The device's original purpose was to prepare an Observer for the effects of time travel, in the same way that an astronaut or a jet pilot have to undergo G-Force training to prepare their bodies for travel. I would imagine that the Science Team members had to undergo this process as well, as part of their training; however, the Loyalist-brand is fatal, so I'm guessing the original version of the device isn't intended to increase the risks of dying.

-Back in the day, Observers used buses for transit (it was the Resistance trying to blow up such a bus that caused the death of Manfretti's eldest son). I'm guessing this was earlier in their occupation period, since it seems subway trains are the preferred mass transportation method in 2036.

-Harvard University's Science Building has been repurposed as a general laboratory, wherein the Observers are said to be conducting a wide variety of experiments. We got glimpses of three ongoing experiments in the restricted areas. In the first room, someone is lying limp on a chair, their head seeming to have been partially shaved. In the second room, an Observer scientist is monitoring human brains suspended in tubes. And in the third, we see a human head being kept alive without a body (who in this case is, unfortunately, Simon Foster). It's interesting that all these experiments are related to the brain. My guess is that the Observers are keen to study the brains of their distant ancestors, much as I imagine today's scientists would jump at the chance to examine the brains of Neanderthals or earlier hominid species (though perhaps using methods not nearly as arguably extreme or unethical as those used by the Observers).

That seems to be all we got this week, though our picture of Observerkind is becoming progressively clearer. Hopefully, we continue to get these small insightful nuggets in episodes to come.

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yurintroubl

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The commercial glyphs for episode 1 spelled DOUBT.

The commercial glyphs for episode 2 spelled FAITH.

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So I don't know how I missed it.. but the dandelion from the last episode. The Observer mentioned while he was interrogating Walter that "Nothing grows from scorched earth".. well the dandelion was growing from the scorched earth, just like walter's memories would grow back.. "Doubt" was replaced by "Faith" after seeing the dandelion.