Bullet Points: Fringe Part Two

In my last blog entry of this series "Bullet Points" (read it here) I tried to take a forensic look at the bullet that was used to "kill" Olivia Dunham and the weapon it was fired from.  With some help from my fearless Fringe feedback followers I think we pretty much determined that the bullet in question; the one that hangs from Etta's neck and the bloody one expunged by Walter, are one in the same.

I suppose it would have been to much for Fringe to pursue two different narratives for each bullet.  The show itself seems to drifting from the bizarre to the banal anyway in that they have spent most of their time examining the existential crises and romantic involvements of their players rather than the extreme and challenging circumstances they are faced with.

Hopefully all that will change as Fringe has given itself a major shakeup by introducing a dystopic future in which the current iterations of our heroes must now exist.  Add to this a present day timeline that will shape the future and we have a pretty interesting dynamic. 

So how does this involve our weapon of choice and the slithering slug that exited Olivia?

When William Bell placed the Holographic Emitter atop his table it was a deliberate device by the Fringe production team to steer our eyes towards the pistol inside the display case.  In our previous discussion we discussed the stopping power of the Luger pistol and the grain of the slug and found it was ideal in delivering a mortal wound but not a catastrophic one in terms of tissue damage.  It stands to reason that we might question why that weapon was made so readily available by Bell as he certainly must have known it might come into play.  Surely a brilliant mind such as Bell's could foresee the Luger being used if not by him then against him by either using it to stop Bell by shooting him or by foiling his plan by killing Olivia.


In terms of history, many people were correct in noting that the gun was a firearm of historical significance in that it was the favored firearm of the German army that predated the First World War and was still in heavy use by the time of the Second World War.  In the second season episode, "The Bishop Revival" we learn that Walter's father, Robert Bischoff, was in the employ of the Nazis but he was also acting as a spy for the Allies feeding them information to hamper the Nazi war effort.

A TV show like Fringe asks us to imagine the impossibilities.  Would it be too outrageous to think that William Bell left that gun there deliberately there for Walter to use?

Given the Luger's historical significance perhaps Bell hoped to tap into Walter's collective subconscious knowing that Walter would be compelled to use it.  During the Bischoff era of the Second World War the Nazis were known to use weapons, such as the Luger, on themselves, their countrymen even on family members if it meant to further their cause.  Robert Bischoff himself was considered a traitor to the Nazi cause, figuratively turning against his own family.  Knowing this Bell placed the gun within easy use of Walter estimating the collective impulses of the past would be too much for Walter to resist and brought him to use it against a daughter figure like Olivia and leaving him a turncoat in Peter's eyes.  Walter may have reasoned in his own mind that shooting Liv was his only recourse.  But was it?  Olivia was deprived of the opportunity to resist Bell herself.

Beyond the legacy and the historical significance of the Luger we may also surmise that Bell saw that weapon as the ideal delivery system for his machinations.  Remember, the gun with its bullet were meant to stop Olivia not catastrophically wound her.  The brain would remain intact.  Bell knew Olivia was inundated with Cortexiphan and he also knew, as we learned in "Letters of Transit", that he and Walter always had an exit plan.  Walter exercised that escape plan on Olivia and the bullet was allowed to pass.  But the slug had done its job and made its delivery.  What did it deliver?

Nanites.

When Olivia had a premonition of the man who was going to kill her, Mr. X from the episode, "LSD", she didn't know how literal she was going to be.  Many have surmised that Bell had a figurative hand in leading to her death.  What with the "X" marked Nanites and the information supplied by Pinkner and Wyman we all assumed we knew the end of that story.  But with the information I've supplied above we can now presume that Bell directly intended on seeding Olivia with Nanites into her Cortexiphan ladened brain.

Yes, it stopped his folding of the universe.  Yes, his creatures were captured and cryogenically stored.  It seems as though Bell's plan was utterly defeated.  Was it?  What if this was all part of the plan?  The "other" universe isn't going any where and his creatures were not destroyed, they are still available to him; indefinitely in fact.

William Bell deliberately seeded Olivia Dunham's brain with nanites.  Was this his original plan? Quite possibly.  I'm sure he would've loved to form his own universe and ultimately play God as he boasted to Walter but if that was plan A then plan B was to seed Olivia.  Bell had extensive knowledge of the Observers, their tech, their weapons and the runes.  So its logical to assume he may also had insight into the futures they beheld.  The character of Jessica Holt said as much in the finale episode.  Bell may not have a universe to call his own yet but he's started a future in Olivia that will shake the world

Next: The stunning truth behind Olivia and the nanites in Bullet Points Part Three!