Alone in the World - Recap

Walter meets with his appointed psychiatrist, Dr. Sumner, for his monthly evaluation. Sumner wants to hear about Walter’s hallucinations of a strange man and the fact he’s covering all reflective surfaces, but Walter insists that it’s merely a temporary aberration caused by personal alterations in his self-medications. As they talk, Walter sees Peter’s reflection in Sumner’s clipboard but insists to the psychologist that he’s fine.



Twelve-year-old Aaron Sneddon is running from two bullies, Matthew Mitnovitz and Brian O’Toole. Aaron runs into a sewer tunnel in Hyde Park and Brian and Matt follow him down. Matt prepares to beat him up for squealing on him at school, but Brian says that something touched him in the darkness. Matt dismisses it until he turns and sees plant-like veins immobilizing him and covering Brian’s face. The same veins cover Matt as Aaron away.

Olivia is running a search of facial databases when Lincoln arrives at her call. She asks how he’s handling everything since he’s learned about Fringe Division and tells him that she’s there for him if he’s freaked out. Lincoln insists that he’s fine as Broyles calls summoning them to Hyde Park. The corpses are in an advanced state of decomposition despite the fact they’ve only been dead for 10-15 hours. While Astrid checks in with Walter, who insists that he needs to see the bodies, Lincoln finds a third set of footprints and they realize that another boy was there.



Astrid brings in one of the bodies and Broyles accompanies her. He explains that Sumner expressed some concerns to him and Walter says that he’s fine, and insists that he needs two corpses. As they talk, Walter hears Peter calling to him. He starts talking loudly to drown out the voice, insisting that he’s not losing his mind. The voice fades away and Walter calms down, asking Broyles to send him the remains. Broyles receives a call from Olivia confirming that they tracked down the third boy, Aaron, when the principal revealed that he knew Matt and Brian were preparing to beat Aaron up.

Olivia brings Aaron to the lab and tells Broyles that the boy claims that it was to dark for him to see anything. Aaron has few friends, his father is out of the country, and his mother is usually working. Olivia notices that Aaron is drawing and talks to him, saying that she draws as well. She then tells him that Walter will have to examine him and assures Aaron that there’s nothing scary about him. Walter reassures the boy and gets a sample, and then goes to analyze it. Aaron wanders around the lab and notices a GI Joe figure. When he picks it up, Walter snaps at him and then explains that it belongs to his dead son, Peter.



Astrid calls Walter into the office and reveals that the corpse is releasing gas and sucking in oxygen. He examines the mold on the body and realizes that it’s visibly growing. They get it into the incubation case just before it explodes, releasing a burst of spores. Walter realizes that an aggressive form of fungi killed the boys. Astrid calls Olivia and Lincoln, who went to the morgue to get the second body. She tells them to evacuate the morgue and secure the body, and then calls the morgue. The morgue attendants are busy eating lunch and one of them notices the mold on the corpse growing. As the other attendant finally answers the phone, the mold explodes. Olivia and Lincoln arrive and Lincoln wants to go in, but Olivia says that they can’t open the door without risking contamination.



Once they have hazmat gear, Lincoln, Olivia, and Broyles go in to examine the scene. Walter reports that the fungus is capable of releasing a neurotoxin that will paralyze it host and allow it to grow and reproduce on it. He assures the team that as long as they don’t touch the mold, it shouldn’t attack. Lincoln confirms that some of the mold is extending down the drains, and Walter says that UV light or heat should eradicate it. Broyles sends Olivia and Lincoln to the tunnel and Olivia suggests that flamethrowers will be more effective.

Walter tells Aaron that he’s free to return home but the boy admits that his mother his gone and the neighbor he stays with doesn’t talk to him much. Walter sympathizes and offers to let Aaron stay with him at the lab for the time being. The boy agrees and Walter is soon making milkshakes and tinfoil hats. Walter describes how he lost his son Peter to a disease and then found another Peter in an alternate universe. However, when he brought him back, he fell through the frozen lake and died.



Olivia and Lincoln take a team back to the tunnels and find Aaron’s artwork on the walls. The lines of the fungus follow it exactly. They turn on the floodlights and reveal the fungus inside of a crevasse. At the lab, Aaron suddenly complains that the lights are too bright. At the tunnel, the fungus extends tentacles to short out the floodlights. Olivia orders her team to burn it, unaware that at the lab, Aaron has collapsed. His temperature flares and Walter realizes that Olivia’s attack on the fungus is affecting Aaron. He calls and tells her to stop because she’s killing Aaron.

Astrid and Walter cool off Aaron in an ice bath. Olivia calls and Walter insists that her actions are connected to Aaron’s illness. He admits that he doesn’t know why the destruction of the fungus at the morgue didn’t affect Aaron, and that he needs to determine why there’s a connection. Walter talks to Aaron about how he lied and that they know he had gone to the tunnels many times. He went there and started to feel badly, and that whatever was there felt as he felt. Walter realizes that Aaron intentionally led Matt and Brian there because the fungus told him to bring him there. Aaron insists that he didn’t know what the fungus intended for them and breaks into tears, and Walter assures him that he didn’t do anything wrong.

When Olivia and Lincoln arrive, Walter explains that fungus, which he’s named “Gus,” is a single organism with telepathic abilities that allowed it to form a bond with Aaron. Aaron wasn’t affected by the destruction at the morgue because the colony hadn’t connected to the network yet. As Gus, it becomes ever more conscious of its loneliness, and reached out to Aaron because of their shared sense of isolation. Until Walter breaks the bond, any assault on the organism will hurt or kill Aaron as well. Broyles calls and tells them that the fungus has killed a homeless person when it came up through a grating six miles from the tunnel. The Boston sewer line runs through the area, meaning that the fungus can spread throughout the city. Walter explains what has happened and insists that Broyles will kill Peter, not Aaron. Broyles gives him two hours unless the fungus attacks again and says they’ll need some help to deal with the fungus.



Olivia and Lincoln meet with Broyles, who explains that the fungus is encroaching on other buildings that they’ve evacuated. Nina Sharp sends a technician with a toxin capable of destroying the fungus. Olivia calls Walter, who explains that the link is established through Aaron’s pre-frontal lobe. If he can’t shut it down, he warns Olivia that he may have to lobotomize Aaron to save his life. Olivia tells him to find another way while she buys time. However, the fungus has reached a subway platform and Broyles orders the fungus’ immediate destruction. Olivia calls Walter and warns him of the new time limit and he goes into the lab to think.

The agents go into the tunnel with Nina’s technician and find a central mass. Olivia reluctantly gives the order and he injects the toxin. As Aaron screams in pain, the fungus extends a tendril, impaling the technician. As Aaron’s system collapses, Walter gets an idea.

Olivia warns Broyles that the toxin is having no effect. As they try to retreat, Lincoln realizes that the fungus has immobilized him.



Walter explains to Astrid that the fungus has linked to the emotional center of Aaron’s brain, and that the boy has a hold on the fungus as well. He wakes Aaron up and tells him to let go of the organism. The boy insists that it’s his friend and his body continues to fail. Walter pleads with Aaron to release it, saying that he can’t to lose Aaron again and promises that he won’t leave him. He asks Aaron not to leave him and the boy stabilizes as his brainwave and the fungus’ separate.

In the tunnel, the fungus finally dies, releasing Lincoln. He jokingly echoes her earlier words and says that she looks freaked out and offers to be there for her if she needs to talk.

Later, Aaron is sent to the hospital and Walter tells him to keep the GI Joe toy. He says that he’ll see Aaron later but there are things that he needs to do... as he sees Peter’s reflection in a fire extinguisher case. Once Astrid takes Aaron to the hospital, Walter gets a medical book, a hammer, and an awl.

Olivia returns to the lab and finds Walter in his office... ready to drive the awl into his own brain through his left eye. She stops him and Walter admits that he’s going insane and having hallucinations. When Walter describes Peter, Olivia shows him a sketch she’s made of Peter and explains that she’s seen him in her dreams of the last three weeks. She explains that she’s been searching databases to match the picture but hasn’t find anything yet, and Walter insists that they have to find him.



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