The Cure



Season 1, Episode 06
Aired: October 21st, 2008
Written By: Felicia D. Henderson, Brad Caleb Kane
Directed By: Bill Eagles

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Resources: IMDb | Wikipedia | Transcript
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The Cure

The Glyphs



This episode's glyphs spell: C-E-L-L-S

The victims in this episode suffered from Bellini's Lymphocemia, a fictional disease that affects the blood and blood cells.

Glyph symbol CGlyph symbol EGlyph symbol LGlyph symbol LGlyph symbol S
Glyph symbol C
Glyph symbol E
Glyph symbol L
Glyph symbol L
Glyph symbol S

The Observer



The Observer passes behind David Esterbrook and Olivia at the party.

Observer

Timestamp: 26:11

Episode Clues



Previous Episode Clue

In 'Power Hungry' there is a coffee mug with an INtREPUS logo on it next to the news report playing at BiCoastal Parcel Service. INtREPUS gets investigated in 'The Cure'.

Previous episode clue

Timestamp: 15:08


Next Episode Clue

Walter puts a thermometer with the letters ZFT printed on it into the head of one of the victims in Holly's Diner in 'The Cure'. ZFT is the organization responsible for the parasite in 'In Which We Meet Mr. Jones'.

Next episode clue

Timestamp: 08:35

Items of Interest



  • Walter called Astrid 'Asterisk.'

JJ Abrams Easter Eggs



  • David Esterbrook's assistant was named after Elizabeth Sarnoff, who wrote 19 episodes for Lost.
  • INtREPUS stock plummeted to $23 a share (Lost).

Fringe Division Case File




U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
121 105th Street • Washington, DC 20735
Phone: (202) 555-2100 • Fax: (202) 555-2101
E-mail: washington.fbi@fbi.com

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE #106-102608


FRINGE EVENT: Methyleugenol injected radioactive weaponization of human subjects

CLASSIFIED CASE CONNECTION(S): Dr. David Esterbrook secret INtREPUS Pharmaceutical Research Division studies

AGENTS ASSIGNED: Dunham, Francis

SUPERVISING AGENT: Broyles

FILE ARCHIVED BY: Barbara Butler, Patrizia Tucci

WITNESSES/CONTACTS: Ken Williams (spouse), Dr. David Esterbrook (in custody), Elizabeth Sarnoff (in custody), Paula Kramer (mother)

LOCATION: Holly's Diner, Milford, MA; Williams residence, Acton, MA; 5620 Stapleton Avenue, Framingham, MA

VICTIM(S): Emily Kramer (patient zero), Officer Williams, Marty Pitts, Dr. Nadim Patel (deceased), Claire Williams (in treatment)


CASE REPORT SUMMARY:

Two weeks after being reported missing by her parents, Emily Kramer turned up at Holly's Diner in Milford, Massachusetts. Kramer's cranium spontaneously imploded, and patrons near her also expired due to exposure to high levels of radiation. The level of radiation coming from Kramer's body was almost three times as great as that from the rest of the victims.
 In an autopsy, consultant Dr. Walter Bishop determined that Kramer suffered from the irreversible autoimmune disease Bellini's lymphocemia. However, Kramer seemed to have been in remission. Dr. Bishop found on her person the evidence of subcutaneous injection marks and the strong smell of hyacinth. She was found to have traces of the radioactive isotope strontium-90 in her blood.
 Agents Dunham and Francis discovered that another Bellini's patient, Claire Williams, was also reported missing by her husband, Ken Williams. He revealed that Claire Williams and Emily Kramer were treating themselves with radical therapies through the aid of Dr. Nadim Patel. The doctor admitted he was reporting to Dr. David Esterbrook of INtREPUS, who developed time-released radioactive capsules for the women that cured their disease but also weaponized them. Injected methyleugenol caused the capsules to burst at once, sending out a microwave blast using their own heads as sources of energy.
 Peter Bishop sought information about Dr. Esterbrook from Massive Dynamic's Nina Sharp, who provided the doctor's lab location. Agent Dunham found Claire Williams and dosed her with the antidote. Agent Dunham publicly arrested Dr. Esterbrook, and as a result, was later given a warning for breach of protocol by Broyles.

Walter's Food



Walter asked for onion soup, experimented on (and then ate a little of) Mr. Papaya, asked Peter to bring him some cotton candy (blue, not pink), and was eating papaya in his lab notes.
Connection: Onion soup
Onion soup
Timestamp: 09:13
Connection: Mr. Papaya
Mr. Papaya
Timestamp: 15:51

Names for Astrid



Walter called Astrid 'Asterisk'.

Walter's Lab Notes



- Project 1051 - Exploration 1 -

Autumn has arrived, and the whole city is in a funk because the Red Sox failed to make the Series. Astonishing. Whence this strange expectation? During my 17 years in captivity, did we enter some alternate reality in which the Sox are a viable team?

It was always this time of year that the orderlies would propose a ballgame, staff versus inmates. The orderlies insisted upon their three strikes per out, three outs per half-inning, seven or nine innings per game. The inmates played along, knowing that the line of scrimmage ran from home through the mound to third, that wickets could trip unwary outfielders, and that every strike guaranteed another frame. The game ended when the score was Q to 12.

The orderlies never could crack the secret of Dashiell's quantum knuckleball. The batters were unable to determine its position and momentum at once! Unable to bear it, they recommended shock therapy for the poor fellow. In confidence, Dash confessed to me that it was a cheat: after all, the direction of the ball's hop was determined after the batter had chosen where to swing! True, there may exist parallel timelines in which every swing connected -- in which they made line drives and smacked home runs and even drove the balls' cork nuclei from their leathery skins -- but we do not live in them.

Speaking of nuclei, those in the young woman's bloodstream are shedding electrons and antineutrinos as we speak. Soon she will perform her Darryl Revok routine. Stains on the carpet and stains on the scenery, unless we can forge an antidote, a bonding agent, a Zephyrus for the Hyacinth. Wait! Hyacinth! That's it!

Walter's Lab Notes

Notable Quotes



PETER: "What if these people aren't just experiments? What if somebody's preparing for something?"

Connection Chart


A visualization of all the ways this episode connects to other episodes. Scroll down to see the actual connections.

Episode Connections



S1E01 - Pilot

  • In 'The Cure' David Esterbrook has an aleph pin on his jacket that can also be seen on the canoe from Olivia's dreamscape in 'Pilot'.
Connection: Canoe
Canoe
S1E01 - Pilot
Timestamp: 51:20
Connection: Aleph pin
Aleph pin
S1E06 - The Cure
Timestamp: 25:26


Spoilers for future episodes below!




S2E15 - Peter

  • Nina told Peter that she knew him as a child in 'The Cure'. In 'Peter' she is intimately involved with (and opposed to) Walter's attempt to kidnap Peter.
Divider


S4E02 - One Night in October

  • OLIVIA about her stepfather in 'The Cure': "He kept a gun in the drawer near his bed. When he opened the door, I pulled the trigger. Then I pulled it again. And I can still see his face, almost daring me to finish. But I couldn't. So... they took him to the hospital and said that he couldn't be saved, but he didn't die. He recovered. Then one night, he just slipped away. We never saw him again."

    FAUXLIVIA talking to Olivia about Olivia's stepfather in the new timeline in 'One Night in October': "So what happened to him?"
    OLIVIA: "My stepfather? I killed him."

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S4E05 - Novation

  • Olivia had a horse-riding ribbon in Nina's old photograph in 'Novation'. Nina rode horses herself in 'The Cure' so it stands to reason that Olivia would have done so as well in the timeline where she was raised by Nina.
Connection: Nina with a horse
Nina with a horse
S1E06 - The Cure
Timestamp: 34:33
Connection: Olivia's horse-riding ribbon picture
Olivia's horse-riding ribbon picture
S4E05 - Novation
Timestamp: 12:29
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S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate

  • The radioactive isotope compound from 'The Cure' that caused heads to explode was used as a weapon against the Observers in 'An Enemy of Fate'.
Connection: Exploded head
Exploded head
S1E06 - The Cure
Timestamp: 05:10
Connection: Exploded head
Exploded head
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Timestamp: 32:13