Snakehead
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| Talk | Snakehead | Theories |
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Introduction
| Snakehead | |
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| Season | 2 |
| Episode | 9 |
| Air Date | December 3, 2009 |
| Written by | David Wilcox |
| Directed by | Paul Holahan |
| Starring | Main Characters |
| Guest Cast | Tzi Ma as Ming Che Colby Paul as Matt Jarvis Ingrid Torrance as Elizabeth Jarvis Jack Yang as Tao Chen Zen Shane Lim as Pan Che Rene Wang as Mei Lin Fane Tse as Mister Lin Melody Choi as Daughter Lin Diana Ha as Fao Simon Chin as Street Vendor Sean Carey as Paramedic Brett Chan as Dockman Yang Gordon Lai as Wu Zhe Lan Raymond Yu as Second Man Linda Feng as First Woman Susie Lee as Terrified Woman |
| Previous Episode | August |
| Next Episode | Grey Matters |
| Transcript | |
| Additional Images | |
Snakehead is the ninth episode of the second season of FRINGE. It first aired on December 3, 2009. After a cargo ship runs aground near Boston, the shoreline becomes littered with bodies hosting large parasites. The science team examines the corpses and discovers that the mysterious organisms provide remarkable immuno-deficiency qualities. As the investigation unfolds, Walter recaptures some of his personal style and begins to find his own way again in the world, only to place Astrid in grave peril.
Synopsis
Prologue
A wet, shivering man, Wu Zhe Lan, frantically combs the streets of Boston looking for Ping-On Street. He stops a female pedestrian and gets directions. He finds the street and the address he wants and urgently presses the intercom button. He is granted entry and joins Ming Che. Warming-up inside, Lan is certain that those he was with are all dead. Che comforts him and offers him food and shelter. Che also offers hope... the morning may bring more travellers, as Lan is the first to arrive. Che shows Lan his quarters for the night, but Lan is feeling worse. His stomach is severely distressed. As Lan lays down in agony, Che puts on heavy gloves and uses shears to cut the shirt from Lan. Lan's adbomen is distended and wriggling as something crawls around inside him. A large squid-like parasite crawls out of Lan's mouth and Che retrieves it.
ACT I
The science team arrives at Dorchester Bay Inlet where a Chinese merchant freighter is partially submersed and continues to burn. Walter and Peter arrive in separate vehicles, Peter in the station wagon and the newly independent Walter, arrives in a taxi. Olivia takes the explanation on the travelling arrangements, then leads the two to the shoreline. Broyles joins the trio on the rocky beach littered with victims who apparently died trying to swim ashore in the frigid water and strong current. The initial cause of death is believed to be hypothermia, until some people are found with large wormlike creatures with tentacles in their mouths. Walter examines the parasitic creature, which he suggests is similar to a parasite found in livestock, however, he has never seen it this large before. He removes one from a body to take back to the lab to study. An FBI agent finds one woman still breathing and the paramedics rush to take her to the hospital before she dies.
In a backroom at his shop, Ming Che comforts another male refugee that has arrived in duress. He assures the man that he is the first to arrive.
ACT II
At the hospital, no worm is found inside Mei Lin's body. She informs Olivia that crewmen on the boat were giving others medicine for seasickness, but she did not take the medication. Mei Lin is worried about her husband and daughter who were on a boat that was scheduled to arrive 2 days after her.
Back at the lab, Astrid and Walter study one of the parasitic worms. Walter believes that humans were used as incubators for the worm to grow, as the time of gestation is equal to the time of transport. Olivia gets a phone call that the coast guard found a manifest on the sunken ship and has traced it to a local shipyard. They have someone in custody.
The man from the shipyard, Yang, sits in the interrogation room by himself. Peter recognizes the tattoos on his body; the man is a Triad gang member. Are the worms a new type of street drug? Before they can talk to him, Yang suddenly cuts his neck with a blade.
ACT III
Broyles debriefs Olivia and Peter on the information he has found on the Triad and its leader, John Hsu. He has set up shell companies to cover his criminal activities. They discover a woman, Elizabeth Jarvis, who transferred $500,000 to one of his companies, Beijing Executive Construction.
Peter and Olivia arrive at Elizabeth's home and are greeted by her son, Matt. Elizabeth reveals that her attorney advised her that there was money to be made in the company. Peter's attention is caught by an abundance of hand sanitizer and hermetically sealed windows.
After Walter is inadvertently bitten by one of the worms, he discovers that his white blood cell count is extremely high and he has new antibodies. The worm is not a narcotic... it's a medicine.
ACT IV
Walter visits three herbalists in Chinatown who sell hookworms similar to the ones found on the victims, but smaller. He spots Astrid following him and becomes angry. He finally relents and lets her come with him to the shop. They arrive at Ming Che's shop, and Walter tells him that he has a four-foot hookworm. After Walter leaves, Ming Che makes a phone call to another man who begins to follow Walter and Astrid. Walter wanders off when he becomes distracted by a nearby shop- Astrid is unable to find him.
Peter returns to the Jarvis' home to talk to Matt. He reveals to Peter that his mom isn't the one who needs the medicine from the worm... he is. Matt suffers from a rare immune deficiency disorder in which he doesn't have enough white blood cells to fight off infection. The powder from a gland in the hookworm is the only thing keeping him alive. His next treatment is scheduled in 2 days...the same day as the next boat's arrival.
Walter begins to call various numbers, unable to remember the correct sequence of Peter's phone number. A Chinese woman empathizes with him and takes him back to her apartment.
ACT V
Peter and Olivia return to the lab and find Astrid knocked out on the floor. The hookworm is gone. Peter receives a phone call from Walter and leaves to get him.
The boat carrying Mei Lin's family has finally arrived. The FBI team arrives but they are too late. All of the immigrants are gone. Olivia finds a child's toy with wings that move when a lever is pressed.
Peter retrieves Walter and finds out that Walter told one herbalist shop that he had a four-foot hookworm. Peter believes this is the place responsible for following Astrid back to the lab and stealing the worm. They pull up to the shop and discover a large number of Chinese exiting a van. Peter calls Olivia to inform her, and she assembles a team to come over.
Peter retrieves Walter and finds out that Walter told one herbalist shop that he had a four-foot hookworm. Peter believes this is the place responsible for following Astrid back to the lab and stealing the worm.
ACT VI
The Bishop's drive to the herbalist shop and park nearby just as refugees start to unload from a panel truck in the alley. Olivia calls Peter to inform him that the freighter they raided was the correct vessel, but that they were too late to intercept the human cargo. Peter tells her about the refugees arriving at the shop on Ping-On Street and she redeploys the assault team to his location. Peter wants a look inside and tells Walter to stay in the car. Walter is worried and thinks going into the shop is not a good idea. Peter promises to be careful.
Peter approaches the shop cautiously, then picks the lock to gain access. Inside, he finds a dozen or so refugees strapped to tables and Ming Che is preparing a gagged woman for parasite removal. The terrified woman sees Peter sneaking in. He signals her to be quiet, then attacks Che from behind, knocking him to the ground. While Walter sits nervously in the car, singing to himself, Peter has been subdued and bloodied. He is strapped down and Che prepares a worm for him to ingest.
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Back at the hospital, Olivia reports to Broyles that only time will tell in the recovery of the refugees, as some are in surgery, and others in the Intensive Care Unit. Broyles adds that the refugees will be granted political asylum by the State Department, and that financial records at the herbalist shop identifies six other immune deficient clients, like Matt Jarvis. What's more, John Hsu is just an alias that Ming Che uses for his finances. Olivia excuses herself and joins the Lin family in their hospital room. Olivia returns the toy bird that the girl left on her freighter.
At the Bishop residence, Walter rousts Peter from a nap on the couch... he needs to talk. Walter confesses that he does not want to be treated like a child anymore. He has been out of the institution for a year and is just beginning his "journey to being whole". He still fears there will be a time when he will get lost, so he has implanted a tracking device in his neck. He gives Peter a transponder to help keep track of him. The tracking device beeps softly as Walter wanders off to bed, Peter smiling in amazement.
Quotes
- "I want so badly to be independent again... to live like a man, not a child. Not to have my son watching after me all the time. Not that I don't appreciate all that you do for me. That's not the way it's supposed to be." - (Walter, to Peter about a new personal objective)
- "Oh, that's a shame. Most people find me very trustworthy." - (Peter, boldly taunting his torturer, Ming Che)
- "Walter. You are not smoking this thing!" - (Astrid speaking to Walter when he suggests the parasitic worms might have a narcotic effect)
Trivia
General
- The Observer walks from left to right down the sidewalk on Ping-On Street, just after Ming Che calls Pan Che to follow Astrid.
- Snakehead (shé tóu) is a term for organized criminal gangs in Southeast China that smuggle people (human trafficking) to wealthier Western countries.
Recurring Themes
- Supersized Parasites. The gigantic hookworms in this episode were similar to the scientific oddities during In Which We Meet Mr. Jones (Loeb heartworms) and Bound (super slugs).
- Comfort Song. As Walter waits nervously in the car for Peter, he returns to a favorite - "Van Amburgh's Menagerie" - the same tune he used to calm himself when facing the beast in Unleashed.
Music
• Juke by Little Walter 
Glyphs
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Unanswered Questions
| Theories about these unanswered questions should be placed and read at Snakehead/Theories |
| Unanswered questions |
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- Who is responsible for creating the genetically-engineered hookworms?
- Why is Walter suddenly so worried about having placed Junior Agent Farnsworth in peril?
