An Enemy of Fate

An Enemy of Fate



Season 5, Episode 13
Aired: January 18th, 2013
Written By: J. H. Wyman
Directed By: J. H. Wyman

Recaps: Fandom Wiki | Fringepedia | AV Club
Resources: IMDb | Wikipedia | Transcript
Listen: The Fringe Podcast
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Previous Episode

SYNOPSIS

All five of the primary Fringe Division members face-off against the invading Observers in a complex and extraordinary battle to manipulate the fate of mankind by altering future events and deflecting history away from the path to total oppression.

Synopsis provided by the Fandom Wiki, Fringepedia, and Wikipedia.

THE GLYPHS

This episode's glyphs spell:

C-L-O-S-E

This episode brings the story of Fringe to a close.

Glyph symbol CGlyph symbol LGlyph symbol OGlyph symbol SGlyph symbol E
Glyph symbol C
Glyph symbol L
Glyph symbol O
Glyph symbol S
Glyph symbol E


THE OBSERVER

Observers are featured in this episode.

Observer
Timestamp: 38:10

EPISODE CLUES

Previous Episode Clue

Signage on the dock in 'Liberty' shows an image of a man putting a finger to his lips (to say 'quiet'), foreshadowing Michael giving the same gesture to Olivia in 'An Enemy of Fate' when she asked him what they have to do next and when she killed Windmark.

Previous episode clue
Timestamp: 38:55

ITEMS OF INTEREST

  • All 12 Observers from the scientific team started to develop emotions by being around pre-Observer humans and they agreed to speak nothing of it.
  • The plan to defeat the Observers: an initiating reactor will provide a surge of energy to start up the device. The device will create a singularity, a small wormhole. The radioactive power from the red rocks will sustain the device's energy. The beacons stabilize each end of the wormhole, one in 2036 and one in 2167. The large electromagnet is a launch platform, launching the beacon into the wormhole at the exact right angle to reach its destination. The scrolls of physics are to set and prepare the cylinders. Walter has to accompany Michael to guide him to the scientists in Norway.
  • Walter knew that the universe would delete him and Michael at the point of the invasion in 2015. He made his goodbye tape to Peter sometime between 2012 (season 4 finale) and the invasion, when he and September were working on the plan. So when Walter disappeared the tape would still exist since it was made pre-invasion.
  • December is dead, hung by Loyalists. (Image 1)
  • Olivia asked Michael what to do next when they realized they couldn't trigger the device, and Michael put his finger to his lips as if to say 'stay calm, wait, and the solution will come to you.' Michael repeated this gesture after Olivia killed Windmark with her powers, staying calm and quiet.
  • Gene has been in amber this whole time. (Image 2)
  • Walter called Astrid 'Astrid'.
  • After getting thrown to the ground by Windmark, Olivia saw Etta's bullet necklace on the ground. The feelings of fear and love inside her caused Olivia to summon all her strength and use the last of her Cortexiphan abilities to defeat Windmark.
  • September is dead. (Image 3)
  • Peter's last words to Walter were "I love you, dad."
  • It would be a paradox for Walter to live the same years of his life onward from 2015 and also from 2167. He can't have two lives. So he was erased from 2015 at the moment of the would-be invasion.
  • Time travel possibilities:
    • 2015 was a fixed point in time and so everything before it remained the same while everything from then on was different.
    • Walter stopped the Observers from being created, but knowing how instrumental Observers were in setting him on the path we saw all 5 seasons, he created special time travelers using Alistair Peck's time traveling device to go back in time and make sure all the same events still happened (like Marty McFly making sure key moments still played out so his parents would get married even though the specific details were different).
    • Walter still allowed Observers to be created, and possibly even a science team to go back and observe history, but they were like Michael in that they still had emotions in addition to higher intelligence. So they still went back, still distracted Walternate, etc. so seasons 1-4 still happened, but the invasion never happened because, having emotions, they never ruined their planet and therefore had no need to invade the past.
  • One of the envelopes Peter sorted through said "Thank you for your support!", a direct message from the creators of Fringe to all the fans. (Image 4)
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Item of interest: December
Image 1
December
Timestamp: 17:05
Item of interest: Gene
Image 2
Gene
Timestamp: 23:06
Item of interest: September
Image 3
September
Timestamp: 40:04
Item of interest: Thank you for your support!
Image 4
Thank you for your support!
Timestamp: 42:56

VIDEOS

Featurettes
Interviews
Commentary
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GLYPH SIGHTINGS

  • A hand can be seen on the wall when Olivia and Peter attack the Observers and Loyalists.
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Glyph Sighting: Hand
Hand
Timestamp: 31:58

NAMES FOR ASTRID

Walter called Astrid 'Astrid'.

CONNECTION CHART

A visualization of all the ways this episode connects to other episodes. Scroll down to see the actual connections.
Connection chart: An Enemy of Fate

EPISODE CONNECTIONS

S1E01 - Pilot

  • The translucent skin toxin from "Pilot" was used as a weapon against the Observers in "An Enemy of Fate". (Image 1)
Connection: Translucent skin toxin
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Translucent skin toxin
Timestamp: 32:37
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S1E06 - The Cure

  • 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". (Image 1, 2)
Connection: Exploded head
Image 1
S1E06 - The Cure
Exploded head
Timestamp: 05:10
Connection: Exploded head
Image 2
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Exploded head
Timestamp: 32:13
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S1E09 - The Dreamscape

  • The hallucinogenic drug from "The Dreamscape" was used as a weapon against the Observers in "An Enemy of Fate" to make them think they were being attacked by butterflies. (Image 1)
Connection: Hallucinated butterfly attack
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Hallucinated butterfly attack
Timestamp: 32:26
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S1E11 - Bound

  • The super-sized cold virus from "Bound" was used as a weapon against the Observers in "An Enemy of Fate". (Image 1)
Connection: Super-sized cold virus
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Super-sized cold virus
Timestamp: 32:04
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S1E14 - Ability

  • The Fringe team used the skin-growth toxin from "Ability" as a weapon against the Observers in "An Enemy of Fate". (Image 1)
Connection: Skin growth toxin
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Skin growth toxin
Timestamp: 32:07
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S1E19 - The Road Not Taken

  • The Observers read Broyles' phone call from the impressions his sound waves made on the glass in his car in "An Enemy of Fate", like Peter did in to hear the phone call Nancy Lewis made in "The Road Not Taken". (Image 1, 2)
Connection: Peter cutting out glass
Image 1
S1E19 - The Road Not Taken
Peter cutting out glass
Timestamp: 32:38
Connection: Loyalist reading glass impressions
Image 2
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Loyalist reading glass impressions
Timestamp: 04:00
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S2E09 - Snakehead

  • The creatures from "Snakehead" were used as a weapon against the Observers and Loyalists in "An Enemy of Fate". (Image 1)
Connection: Snakehead creature
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Snakehead creature
Timestamp: 32:58
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S2E15 - Peter

  • The entire story of Fringe started in "Peter" when Walter crossed worlds with a boy that wasn't his because he couldn't stand to let Peter die, and the entire story concluded in "An Enemy of Fate" when Walter crossed worlds with a boy that wasn't his knowing he would never see Peter again. (Image 1)
Connection: Walter and Michael
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Walter and Michael
Timestamp: 41:07
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S2E17 - White Tulip

  • Walter sent Peter the white tulip note from "White Tulip" in the mail and Peter received it in "An Enemy of Fate" after the future was successfully altered. (Image 1)
Connection: White tulip
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
White tulip
Timestamp: 43:08
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S3E16 - Os

  • The anti-gravity osmium bullets from "Os" were used as a weapon against the Observers and Loyalists in "An Enemy of Fate". (Image 1)
Connection: Osmium bullet used
Image 1
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Osmium bullet used
Timestamp: 36:40
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S4E14 - The End of All Things

  • September (in "The End of All Things"):
    "We [Observers] are one of countless possible futures for humanity."

    In "An Enemy of Fate" the Fringe team successfully changed the future so that Observers would never be created.

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S5E05 - An Origin Story

  • In "An Enemy of Fate" the Fringe team used a shipping lane to send Walter and Michael to the future, determined from the shipping manifest Astrid previously decoded in "An Origin Story".
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S5E11 - The Boy Must Live

  • Michael stepped off the monorail in "The Boy Must Live" so Olivia would have to get dosed with Cortexiphan to save him by universe-hopping. That remaining Cortexiphan is what allowed her to defeat Windmark in "An Enemy of Fate".
  • Michael played the music box from "The Boy Must Live" for September after September got shot in "An Enemy of Fate". (Image 1, 2)
Connection: Music box
Image 1
S5E11 - The Boy Must Live
Music box
Timestamp: 16:21
Connection: Music box
Image 2
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Music box
Timestamp: 39:58
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S5E12 - Liberty

  • Michael stepped off the monorail in "The Boy Must Live" so Olivia would have to get dosed with Cortexiphan to save him by universe-hopping in "Liberty". That remaining Cortexiphan is what allowed her to defeat Windmark in "An Enemy of Fate".
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Episode Information
Episode Synopsis
The Glyphs
The Observer
Episode Clues
Items of Interest
Videos
JJ Abrams Easter Eggs
Fringe Division Case File
Glyph Sightings
The Redverse
2036
Walter's Food
Names for Astrid
Walter's Lab Notes
Notable Quotes
Connection Chart
Episode Connections