Tonight’s episode of Fringe was not for the squeamish. It’s not as if the show hasn’t ratcheted up the gore in episodes past, but the show’s prop master sure had to bust out bucket after bucket of fake blood this time round. But the gore was in service of what might have been the most intriguing mystery of the week so far. While convoluted, it nevertheless presented a scenario that seems somewhat plausible in the near future of our own reality.

The mystery of the week centered around what I like to call “Girls Gone ‘Splodey.” Several women were victims of a combination of time-released chemotherapy coupled with isotopes slipped into said drug cocktail that could be detonated remotely. (Say THAT five times fast.) What ensued were women turned into living breathing radioactive ovens, able to cook any and all things within  a nearby radius. Not an effective weapon should you want to take out a city block, but a pretty handy weapon should you want to slip a human-based weapon into the nearby vicinity of your target. And if nearby innocents also get caught in the fray, who cares?

Certainly not David Esterbrook, CEO of the pharmaceutical company Intrepus. His “research,” if you can call it that, is part of what seems to be a race based as much on bragging rights as monetary advancement amongst various like-minded companies. When Olivia slips undercover to interrogate him at a charity event, he tells her, “It isn’t about the money; it’s about the resolve.” Of course, Nina Sharp’s company Massive Dynamic saw a tidy profit in the wake of Esterbrook’s arrest, but I’m fascinated by the idea of a cadre of scientists in essence racing against each other to make the impossible possible. Morals (and human lives) be damned!

And yes, we did see Massive Dynamic come back into frame after weeks sitting on the sidelines. I know such absence allows the show to more easily pick up casual viewers, but Massive Dynamic is clearly at the epicenter of all things mythological in this show. As such, I think they warrant a weekly appearance; nothing major, but a reminder of what casts a shadow over Fringe. The Pattern stems from this central source, and every week we learn just how far their tendrils stretch into the fabric of this show. Were any of you surprised to learn that Nina Sharp and Walter Bishop were once close? (Of course not, even if Walter can’t remember which toothbrush is his; nevermind that his son once rode horses with the COO of a potentially harmful conglomerate.)

This week showed Peter making a deal with Ms. Sharp, which will undoubtedly turn into the proverbial deal with the devil. Sure, Peter can smooth talk tribes in Peru into doing business with him, but does he really think he can fulfill his end of the bargain without someone close to him getting hurt? I’m fairly certain she’s not going to call in a few months asking him to make a Dunkin Donuts run for her. Either Walter or Olivia will be hurt by said favor, so I’d watch out if I were them. Especially around sweeps period.

As for Olivia, we saw new sides to her tonight: some good, some potentially awful. On the plus side, she used her brain to both save Claire and incarcerate David. It’s important for the show to demonstrate her superior intelligence as much as possible. Since she’s cast opposite two genius scientists, it’s easy to forget she’s supposed to be a fiercely intelligent agent. Tonight’s episode went a ways in reminding us of that. (Next up: getting Anna Torv to emote. A far more difficult task, I fear.)

On the down side, this back story about her father could quite possibly bring the show down a notch, unless her father’s identity ties into the Pattern in some fashion. It didn’t strike me as a particularly organic story line so much as “back story for the sake of back story.” I’m not trying to be unfeeling towards a character who shot her abusive step-father at the age of nine, but the show’s already saddled her with remorse and confusion over her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. This girl’s got plenty on her plate without Stalker Stepfather thrown into the mix.

A few other notable things about this episode:

1. Raise your hand if you think Broyles got angry with Olivia simply for potentially shining a bright light on a controversial government program. OK, now raise your hand if you think Broyles got angry with Olivia because she was targeting a member of the secret society Broyles reported to way back in the show’s second episode. Ah. Eeeenteresting results.
2. How many of you spent thirty minutes looking up “Bellini’s lymphocemia” on Google before realizing it was made up just for the show? You know, um, not that I did that or anything. (Sixteen different spellings, I tried. Then I went to WebMD, which was a mistake, as I know worry that the cough I have could mean anything from a cold to SARS.)
3. I wonder if Walter Bishop used to test the readiness of the family’s Thanksgiving turkey in the same way in which he tested Officer Marty’s brain temperature tonight.
4. Peter mentioned at one point to Olivia that the Pattern might actually be in preparation for some future event. That’s about as direct a shout-out to The X-Files as we’ve seen so far.
5. When will the show shed some light on Peter’s previous activities? We know now he’s done business in both Peru and Iraq, and according to Sharp, several other places as well. All the while, he obtains business deals no one else can. Was he unwittingly helping the forces behind the Pattern, or just the best salesman this side of Michael Scott? Discuss below!

Walterism of the Week: “To understand what happened at the diner, we shall use Mr. Papaya! This is upsetting because he’s the friendliest of fruits.”

Perhaps the element working against Fringe the most right now? The Tampa Bay Rays, who not only knocked off my beloved Red Sox this past week, but knock Fringe off the air for three weeks. This will undoubtedly lead to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver causing our ears to bleed in much the same fashion as “Girls Gone ‘Splodey.” Not only did the episode provide its most solid (and plausible) mystery to date, but also moved Olivia and Peter closer together as characters. Such a move will undoubtedly evolve in weeks to come, which will make Peter’s betrayal in service of Nina that much more painful when it happens. But all that is for another day.

What did you make of this week’s episode: an improvement, decline, or more of the same?  Did Olivia’s past make her a more sympathetic character or merely bog her down in too much emotional baggage? Is The Pattern in fact preparation for events to come, or simply the byproduct of scientific competition gone astray? Leave your thoughts on the episode below!