Os (Fringe)

Plot

The Fringe team investigates a metal depository robbery where the body of one thief floats off the ground. The thief stole osmium, one of the densest elements, and an autopsy reveals the dead thief's body is filled with the metal. Tracking a security card, they enter a warehouse and find the second culprit dead alongside several other bodies, all paraplegic. Walter notes that osmium's gravitational and thermal properties have been reversed.

By melting the osmium from the first victim with liquid nitrogen, they detect lutetium, a rare element typically found only in meteorites. Recognizing that a local science museum has a meteorite display, the team secures Dr. Crick, the man behind the osmium injections, and another paraplegic who took his injections while attempting to steal the display. In custody, Dr. Crick explains he worked in aerospace on an alloy for fighter craft and discovered an osmium-lutetium alloy lighter than air.

He sought a permanent solution to allow his paraplegic son to walk, having promised the same to those who died from earlier lethal doses. Walter, who lamented needing William Bell back to feel whole, realizes the alloy became lighter than air only because his own transgression into the parallel universe is breaking down reality. To reverse the effects, Walter plans to use "soul magnets," microscopic devices that call forth another's soul. He rings a bell Bell had given to Nina Sharp, believing it will activate the magnets.

Meanwhile, Peter shows Olivia the five data discs from the shapeshifters he killed. As they discuss it, Olivia hears the bell and turns to reveal she is now possessed by Bell.

Production

The episode was co-written by co-executive producer Josh Singer and executive story editor Graham Roland, and directed by former Fringe producer Brad Anderson. The return of William Bell was inspired by Leonard Nimoy from earlier seasons. In his first Fringe appearance in the first season finale, Nimoy requested a bell on his desk as a play on the character's name. When the writers considered bringing Bell back for the third season, they recalled this mannerism and wrote it into the larger mythos as the means by which Bell's mind emerges from Olivia at the episode's end.

On March 3, Entertainment Weekly reported that Jorge Garcia would make a cameo appearance. Garcia, previously known for playing Hugo "Hurley" Reyes on Lost, appears as a Massive Dynamic guard smoking a bong with Walter at the start of the episode. Alan Ruck guests as Dr. Crick. The producers approached Ruck having envisioned him for the role.

Ruck described the character as no dummy, obsessed, and trying to use his discovery for good while causing damage. On a possible reappearance, Ruck commented that technically his character could return but probably would not. As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan in collaboration with Science Olympiad for grade school children, focusing on the science in "Os" and teaching about meteorites and ways of finding them.

Reception

On its first broadcast, "Os" drew an estimated 3.76 million viewers and earned a 1.5/5 rating among adults 18-49, making it the second most watched show in its time slot after CSI: NY in that demographic. Time-shifted viewing increased the episode's ratings among adults by 53 percent to a 2.3 share, the largest such increase for the week among network shows. Reviews were generally positive. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly praised Alan Ruck's "sustained, understated" performance and called Olivia being revealed as Bell's vessel "a clever development," particularly praising Anna Torv's imitation of Nimoy's voice.

Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club graded the episode B−, finding the "soul magnets" concept goofy and feeling the connection to the ongoing storyline was forced, though she praised Ruck as well-cast and noted the episode nearly managed to parallel Walter's desperate measures to those of other men trying to save themselves or their children through science. Andrew Hanson of the Los Angeles Times commented the episode was "better than any movie you're going to see in the theater right now" and thought the mystery produced "surprises around every corner."

Ramsey Isler of IGN rated the episode 8.0/10, enjoying the classic Fringe opening scene, Ruck's acting, and John Noble's performance, but was unsure about the Bell-Olivia plot twist, remarking it could become either the best plot device of the season or the cheesiest thing in recent sci-fi history.