The Bishop Revival

Plot

Fifteen people suffocate at a Jewish wedding, appearing to have asphyxiated from the inside out. Olivia identifies that all victims were from the groom's side, whose grandmother was a Holocaust survivor; Walter surmises they were killed via shared genetic traits. A similar mass death at a coffee shop leads Walter to recognize the victims all had brown eyes. Fingerprints at the scene identify the culprit as Alfred Hoffman, a Nazi scientist apparently over 100 years old.

Walter realizes Hoffman likely worked with his own father, Robert Bishoff, in creating a chemical agent that, when heated as a gas, could target any specific trait using DNA from the subject. Peter had sold his grandfather's files ten years earlier; he tries to recover them but finds some used by an artist. The team traces Hoffman to his home, finding his equipment but no sign of him. Walter nearly suffocates from an agent left by Hoffman, but Olivia and Peter save him.

Evidence points to a convention promoting world equality. At the convention, Hoffman has replaced heating elements for chafing dishes with his own. Walter uses a fogger to distribute a chemical agent specific to Hoffman, and the man is found dying. Walter admits to killing Hoffman, but Broyles lets him go.

Peter recovers the rest of his grandfather's work; Walter finds an old photo of his father and Hoffman working together.

Production

"The Bishop Revival" marked the third script from the duo Glen Whitman and Robert Chiappetta, and stands as the sole Fringe episode directed by Adam Davidson. It unveiled that the seahorse featured in the show's promotions from the start was a genetic "signature" devised by Walter's father, Dr. Robert Bishop. After the episode aired, consulting producer Akiva Goldsman referenced it while discussing flashbacks on the series, noting he preferred to avoid excessive time jumps. The guest cast included Craig Robert Young, Max Train, Sierra Pitkin, Brendon Zub, Barbara Kottmeier, John Macintyre, Lauren Attadia, Al Miro, Aaron Brooks, Magda Harout, Leonard Tenisci, Alberta Mayne, Nancy Linari, and Dan Joffre. Clark Middleton returned as rare bookseller Edward Markham, his first appearance since the first-season episode "Ability".

Cultural references

The episode features two Brahms compositions: his Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Major, Op. 25, third movement, and the same quartet’s second movement in G Minor. A Dharma Initiative tea bag appears, nodding to the fictional organization from Lost. The Nazi character resembles Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer of the SS, who was a Nordicist and occultist. A frightened elderly woman points at him and shouts, “It’s him... it’s him...!” This line carries a double meaning, as it could be heard as “It’s Himmler!”

Reception

The episode aired on a Thursday night filled mostly with repeats, and Fox's new episodes of Bones and Fringe finished #1 among adults aged 18–49. Fringe drew an estimated 9.153 million viewers, up fifteen percent from the previous week with a 3.0 rating, tying its highest 18–49 ratings share for the season. It was the second most viewed episode of the season after the premiere. Critical reception ranged from mixed to positive.

Jane Boursaw of TV Squad loved the plotline about Walter's dad being a German spy. Annalee Newitz of io9 called the episode "surprisingly meh," appreciating the family revelations but finding the backstory about Walter's father "too much." Noel Murray of The A.V. Club criticized the plot as minimal but praised the killer's methods and "Aryan aloofness." Tim Grierson of New York magazine considered the Nazi connection of Walter's father a "stupid revelation" that felt like a variation on earlier episodes linking phenomena to Walter's work.