Of Human Action - Recap

In Queens, NY, the police close in on two kidnappers who have abducted a teenager boy, Tyler Olson. They take refuge on the top floor of a parking garage but the police close in. The two men seemingly surrender, but one of them concentrates and stares at one of the officer. The man turns and backs off the edge of the parking garage, falling to his death. Another officer shoots her two co-workers and then herself.

The Fringe team investigates the occurrence and Broyles gives them the briefing. As they wait for investigation teams to identify the men from the security camera photos, Walter insists that the four officers were the victims of mind control. Peter doesn't believe that hypnosis can force someone to do something against their will. They discover that Tyler's father works at Massive Dynamic in the aerospace division. They talk to him and Nina Sharp. As they go in, Walter falls behind as he stares at the massive building in awe and wonder.

Dr. Carson explains that he isn't close to his son and that he didn't realize he had been abducted until the kidnappers called. Broyles' people identify the two kidnappers as Patrick Hickey and Tom Dobbins, two seemingly ordinary car salesmen with no criminal record. Nina has no idea who the men are. Olivia suspects the men are going to use Tyler to force his father to turn over top-secret aeronautic designs. Dr. Carson is clearly upset at the loss of his son, and Walter suddenly gets up and walks outside. Peter goes after him and Walter talks about how his old partner William Bell achieved so much, and how he met Bell through Peter's mother, who always hoped they would form a company. Walter admits that he's glad she was there for Peter while he was locked away.

In the car, Tyler complains that he's hungry and the two kidnappers pull over at a convenience store. Hickey tells the clerk to give them all their money and a truck driver tries to interfere. Hickey mentally controls himself into pouring hot coffee on his head and then ramming his head through a glass refrigerator door. When the clerk draws a gun, the kidnappers force him to drop the gun and then electrocute himself by jamming his keys into an electrical outlet.

Later, the Fringe team investigates the store and review the security footage. Peter notes that the kidnappers don’t seem to have any kind of plan, and that they deliberately hurt the two men rather than simply take the money and leave. He observes that Tyler simply watched while the two men tormented the others but doesn't believe that the boy is suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Broyles calls and confirms that Hickey and Dobbins have no criminal record and appear to be car salesman. Olivia wonders if the men are sleeper agents who were planted in the U.S. in ordinary jobs, and activated when their services were needed.

At Harvard, Walter cuts open one of the police officer's skulls, believing that mind control will cause visible damage. He confirms the victim had hematomas and that the kidnappers are using direct manipulation of the brain, rather than hypnosis. Walter concludes that sound waves are the medium and starts to come up with a way to block it.

The kidnappers force Tyler to call his father and demand $2 million. They give a drop-off location and cut off before the FBI can trace the call. Olivia wonders if the demand for such a relatively small amount is a distraction from something else, and proposes they set a trap.

At the lab, Walter finds an old teddy bear that belonged to Peter, one equipped with a white noise generator designed to simulate the wound. He rigs it to generate the same noise on the frequency necessary to block the sonic mind control waves. Once he's ready, Olivia and Broyles assemble a FBI assault squad and explain the plan. Each man will wear headphones and the white noise will be pumped in. Only their team leaders will have microphones allowing inter-team communication.

The assault squad surrounds the warehouse where the kidnappers are waiting for the ransom. Dr. Carson goes in and Hickey meets with him. They struggle and Hickey grabs the money and runs, while Dobbins slams through a warehouse door in their car as a distraction. Olivia goes after Hickey while Peter spots someone fleeing the scene and follows. Olivia discovers that Hickey, missing one of his own fingers, is trying to kill himself with an empty gun. She removes her headphones and Hickey tells her that he's not the kidnapper.

In the alleyway, Peter suddenly reaches up and removes his headphones. Tyler steps out, holding the ransom, and tell him that the headphones don't work. He then mentally controls Peter into driving both of them away in Walter's car.

Afterward, the FBI secures the warehouse and Walter learns that Peter has disappeared. Hickey explains that Tyler mind controlled both of them into playing the part of kidnappers and forced them to do everything.

Peter tries to resist Tyler's mind control but only gets increasing headaches. Tyler finally stops after Peter agrees to obey him willingly. However, when Peter suggests they pull over, Tyler forces him to drive faster and faster until Peter gives up.

Olivia meets with Nina and tries to figure out how Tyler could have mind control powers. Nina reveals that Dr. Carson was working with the pharmaceutical division to develop a drug that enhanced mental impulses as part of a project to develop a hands-free jet fighter piloting system. Carson admits that he took samples of the drug home and presumably Tyler was exposed.

As they drive, Peter tries to get Tyler to describe his power. Tyler refuses to cooperate and Peter points out that he is simply acting on impulse, as part of a vendetta against his father. Peter admits that he has father issues of his own and can sympathize.

Dr. Carson notes that the drug didn't cause similar symptom sin any of the test pilots, but Walter speculates that Tyler's adolescent body chemistry interacted with the drug in an unpredictable manner. Further, Tyler was taking psychostimulants for ADD, adding another variable. Walter accuses Dr. Carson of being an unfit father, and endangering Walter's son as well as his own.

A police officer pulls Peter and Tyler over. Tyler tells Peter to deal with the cop or he will. The officer orders Peter out of the car. When it appears he's going to arrest Peter, Tyler forces the officer to turn over his gun to Peter. As Peter is forced to aim it, he begs Tyler to figure out a different way. The teenager has Peter club the man unconscious.

Broyles informs Nina that the NSA has determined that Peter bought two one-way tickets to Costa Rica, and believes the boy is selling top-secret data. The NSA is taking the matter out of Fringe Division's hands. Olivia is convinced that Peter will be harmed in the crossfire and the NSA has no idea how to deal with Tyler. Broyles agrees and tells her to do everything possible to find and neutralize Tyler before the NSA finds the boy. Olivia and Nina go to see Walter, who is distracted over his concern for his son. Nina, surprisingly, manages to reassure him and get him to focus. Walter decided that they can scramble Tyler's brainwaves using an EMF scrambler. Astrid checks Tyler's computer and discovers he was running Internet searches on women who had died in car accidents 14 years ago. The last one he located was a Renee Davies, who works at a halfway home for drug users. Dr. Carson admits that Renee was his ex-wife.

Peter persuades Tyler that he should go to a strip bar for food and entertainment. As they eat, Tyler angrily defends his actions, insisting that he didn't want to kill anyone but things got out of hand. However, Tyler says that his father lied to him and his mother isn't dead.

Dr. Carson explains that his ex-wife was a drug user and abandoned her father and son for weeks at a time before disappearing entirely. Dr. Carson figured she died of an overdose and lied to Tyler to spare him the pain of knowing his mother abandoned him.

At the strip bar, Tyler explains that he finally found his mother's name on his birth certificate and learned she was a rehab councilor. Now he plans to reunite his family. When Peter tries to protest, Tyler forces him to pick up a knife and drive it into the chair next to Peter's leg, and warns him that the next time it'll be for real.

Walter has checked the Massive Dynamic project and learned that the pilots were susceptible to magnetic interference. He builds an EMP pulse that will scramble Tyler's brainwaves and render him unconscious long enough to take him into custody. Once Walter is done, they head for Renee's rehab house in Springfield.

Peter and Tyler arrive and Tyler introduces himself to Renee as her son. Peter convinces them to go inside and Tyler says that he blames his father for driving Renee away. Renee says that it wasn't her ex-husband's fault. Her new husband Seth comes in and Peter realizes it's trouble. Before he can get the teenager out, Tyler takes control of Peter, Seth, and Renee and then commands Peter to shoot Seth.

Broyles and Olivia arrive at the house ahead of Astrid and Walter. Broyles sees Peter threatening Seth and goes in, tasering Tyler. The boy manages to stay conscious and forces Peter to shoot Broyles. They leave and Olivia comes in. She checks on Broyles, who is only injured in the arm. Olivia runs out and gets into the car with Astrid and Walter as they arrive, and they drive in pursuit of Tyler. They find Walter's car and Walter tells them to get within 20 feet so he can target Tyler. Astrid pulls up and Walter activates the device. Tyler passes out for a few seconds, long enough for Peter to ram the car into a pole and knock them both out.

A few minutes later, Peter wakes up to find his father hovering anxiously over him. Walter tells his son that Tyler was concussed during the crash and they're keeping him unconscious using sedatives. Broyles is having his wound treated and Peter explains that he managed to pull his aim just enough to avoid a fatal shot.

Later, Olivia calls Peter at home to give him an update on Tyler's situation. When the drugs wore off, Tyler lost his abilities. The teenager will be going into therapy but isn't being held responsible for his actions. Walter is doting on Peter and making crepes, and talks about how his strong Peter's mother was.

Nina writes an e-mail to Bell, hoping that he will receive it. In it she says that the Penrose-Carson project to create a series of mind-controlling teenagers has resulted in one success. However, Tyler sought out his surrogate mother, putting the project at risk. She goes over the files, which reveal that other teenagers were placed with Massive Dynamic scientists and given similar drug treatments. Dr. Carson takes the sedated Tyler to a room with other unconscious teenagers. Nina finishes her letter by saying that despite the four deaths, the project has been at least partially successful.

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