Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver. (S02E17)
Airdate: 8 April 2010
Written by: Matthew Pitts Directed by: Brad Anderson
Running Time: 44 minutes
Following the ambitious, character-focused detour of Peter, Fringe snaps back to its procedural comfort zone with Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver.—the seventeenth instalment of the second season. Yet this return to the familiar "freak-of-the-week" format is not quite the retreat it might appear. Rather than abandoning the serialised momentum built by its predecessor, the episode manages to weave its standalone case tightly into the overarching mythology, resulting in a satisfying hybrid that neither alienates casual viewers nor frustrates those invested in the show's deeper mysteries.
The episode opens with the sort of visceral body horror that became Fringe's trademark during its early years. In Providence, Rhode Island, attorney Miranda Green (played by an uncredited Diane Kruge) finds herself in a café meeting with James Heath (Omar Meatwally), a gaunt and visibly unwell man. Heath claims they attended preschool together, though Greene has no recollection of him. He is ostensibly one of her clients in a class-action suit against a pharmaceutical company, yet there is something unsettling about his presence, an air of desperation that transcends mere legal grievance. When Greene returns home, she is struck down by a sudden, violent illness. Before anyone can intervene, her skin erupts in grotesque, tumourous growths—a transformation as swift as it is horrifying.
By the time the Fringe Division arrives on the scene, Miranda Greene is already dead. The team has been summoned to examine her body at the local morgue, where the cause of death is revealed to be the rapid onset of aggressive tumours. What baffles the investigators is the timeline: mere hours earlier, Greene had been in perfect health. The speed of her demise defies conventional pathology, pointing squarely into the realm of the scientifically inexplicable that Walter Bishop and his colleagues are tasked with exploring.
While her team grapples with the biological impossibility before them, Olivia Dunham is wrestling with demons of a more personal nature. The revelations of the previous episode—that Peter Bishop was abducted from the Alternate Universe as a child—have left her deeply troubled. She is torn between her instinct to tell Peter the truth about his origins and Walter's desperate pleas to maintain silence. Seeking guidance, she turns to Sam Weiss, the enigmatic bowling alley attendant who serves as an unlikely confessor and therapist. Weiss offers little in the way of concrete advice, yet his counsel to “do the right thing" hangs heavily over Olivia's subsequent decisions, adding emotional weight to an already complex dilemma.
As Olivia investigates Miranda Greene's death, she discovers that similar incidents have occurred recently, and a disturbing pattern begins to emerge. The victims, she realises, share a connection that hits uncomfortably close to home: like her, they were all participants in the Cortexiphan trials conducted in Jacksonville, Florida during their childhoods. Determined to uncover the full scope of the threat, Olivia pays a visit to Nina Sharp at Massive Dynamics. Her ostensible purpose is to demand the complete list of Cortexiphan subjects, but the confrontation carries a secondary agenda. Olivia directly challenges Nina about her involvement in Peter's abduction, though Nina astutely perceives that the real purpose of the visit is more psychological than practical—she recognises that Olivia is seeking permission, or perhaps persuasion, to keep Peter in the dark.
The investigation reveals that Heath's next victim is Lloyd Becker (played by Jamie Switch). More significantly, Heath is actively searching for Nick Lane, another Cortexiphan test subject who featured prominently in the first-season episode Bad Dreams. Through flashbacks and exposition, we learn that Heath has been ravaged by terminal cancer, and that after encountering a mysterious figure, he developed the ability to induce aggressive cancer in others who share his Cortexiphan-altered biology. Physical contact with these "special" individuals temporarily alleviates his own suffering, creating a monstrous symbiosis that forces him to kill simply to survive. When his attempt to locate Lane fails, Heath is directed to Olivia instead by Nick's aunt, Mrs. Lane (played by Catherine Barroll).
The inevitable confrontation occurs in her apartment building’s hallway, where Olivia immediately recognises the danger Heath represents. The tension of this sequence lies not in whether Olivia will prevail—she is, after all, a trained FBI agent facing a weakened, dying man—but in the psychological battle she wages with herself. She must resist the urge to allow Heath to touch her, knowing that contact would mean certain death, while simultaneously subduing him without becoming his next victim. Once neutralised, Heath is placed in an induced coma and transported to Massive Dynamics for study. In the aftermath, Broyles and Nina Sharp discuss the implications of the case, expressing grave concern that other Cortexiphan subjects might have their dormant abilities triggered by the same mysterious figure who manipulated Heath.
The episode concludes with a quietly devastating scene between Olivia and Walter. Having wrestled with her conscience throughout the instalment, Olivia informs Walter that she has decided not to tell Peter the truth about his origins. Yet in a twist that underscores Walter's own moral evolution, he reveals that he has changed his mind—that the truth, however painful, must eventually come to light. It is a moment that reframes their entire dynamic and sets the stage for future revelations.
Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver. marks the writing debut of Matthew Pitts, who would contribute five additional episodes to the series over its run. The script represents a deliberate attempt to bridge the gap between procedural storytelling and serialised mythology, and for the most part, it succeeds admirably. The case-of-the-week is not merely window dressing; it is organically connected to Olivia's past and Walter's secrets, with tantalising hints that shadowy forces—referred to only as "the man"—are orchestrating events from behind the scenes. The script demonstrates commendable respect for continuity, explicitly linking this case to the events of Bad Dreams, widely regarded as one of the strongest episodes of the first season.
Beyond its plot mechanics, the episode excels in its exploration of Olivia's personal turmoil. The romantic tension between her and Peter, simmering since their near-kiss in Jacksonville, finally receives acknowledgment, with Peter directly addressing the moment that has hung between them. Yet this potential development is wisely deferred, overshadowed by the more pressing moral question of whether to reveal Peter's true parentage. It is a narrative choice that prioritises character integrity over easy melodrama.
Brad Anderson, a filmmaker of considerable reputation, directs with his characteristic visual flair, particularly in the cold open sequences that establish the episode's unsettling tone. The final confrontation between Olivia and Heath, however, proves somewhat anti-climactic—a necessary consequence of the character's physical deterioration rather than a failure of imagination. Omar Metwally's performance elevates material that might otherwise feel exploitative; he imbues Heath with a profound weariness, capturing not merely the physical toll of his illness but the psychological exhaustion of a man forced into monstrous acts merely to extend his existence.
The opening scene featuring Diane Kruger—one of the most striking actresses of her generation—being covered in grotesque boils walks a fine line between effective horror and gratuitous shock. Some viewers may find it veers uncomfortably close to exploitation territory, though the uncredited nature of her appearance adds an interesting meta-textual layer. Kruger and Joshua Jackson, who plays Peter, were in a long-term relationship at the time, and both reportedly insisted she remain uncredited—a curious footnote that lends the episode an additional frisson of Hollywood intrigue.
Despite these minor quibbles, Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver. is a very good episode that successfully advances Fringe's broader narrative while delivering the standalone thrills that sustained its network run. It reminds us that the best science fiction procedural television does not force a choice between episodic and serialised storytelling—it finds ways to make them coexist, enriching both in the process.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo Substack https://draxster.substack.com
LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7 BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9
