“The Bishop Revival” is episode thirteen of season two of Fringe.
A wedding is taking place in Brookline, Massachusetts. An elderly woman sees a man by the door and asks who it is; her companion doesn’t know. The groom is having an asthma attack and the elderly woman starts saying that she knows the man, but it can’t be true. Then she collapses, turning blue, as do others as the man by the door leaves.
Olivia is told when she arrives that there are 14 dead so far. Walter is driving himself and Peter, crashing the car into some bins whilst reminiscing about his own wedding. He kept his tuxedo for any son he had to wear. Peter thinks it will be out of style; Walter tells him purple is always in style. Walter also thinks that Peter’s wedding may come sooner than he thinks. And will she call him dad? Who? Agent Dunham. She’s just what Peter needs.
Peter and Walter confirm that all those inside died of asphyxiation and Olivia tells them they were all on the groom’s side. Peter suggests anaphylactic shock, which Walter says is a logical explanation; perhaps food or drink. Olivia sees a tattoo on the elderly woman’s arm. She’s a Holocaust survivor. Olivia asks Walter if this is a deliberate attack. He doesn’t know. Nor does he know how 14 people suffocated in a room full of air. Olivia and Peter head to look at the food and hear a sound. They find the groom choking. He drops his inhaler and before he can be given it back, he dies.
In the lab, Olivia confirms that the dead are all direct descendants of Eva Stollar, the elderly lady. Anyone not related survived, as well as one grandchild that Astrid suspects is illegitimate. Walter cuts into one of the victims and asks Astrid to come over and confirm that the blood is indeed blue. Walter says something bonded with the haemoglobin, depriving the body of oxygen. He tries the inhaler. Astrid thinks it might be dangerous, but Walter believes it kept the groom alive for longer by temporarily weakening the effects.
At the venue, Olivia is asking if anyone was at the wedding who wasn’t invited. She’s told that Eva was upset by someone. Peter is sniffing the candles as Olivia asks for the man to be pointed out in the wedding video. Peter is told the candles are jasmine. He tells Olivia this one is cinnamon.
The candle is taken to the lab to be analysed and the photo of the man is uploaded to law enforcement databases. It’s confirmed the candle is the toxin; Olivia asks how it killed some of the guests. Walter says this is a good question. Then remembers something. Nazis. Mengele wanted to create a weapon that would target specific individuals. Like what happened here. Not that he’s saying this is the work of the Nazis. Or just a murder. The wedding is the perfect laboratory; a target group and a control group. And a scientist tries to recreate his results. The man is now in a coffee shop, where he adds something cinnamon-smelling to his very hot tea.
Broyles tells them that there are nine victims in the coffee shop, not related. No cameras inside or on the street, which probably helped the killer choose it. No candles, but Walter says there are any number of ways it could be delivered. It just requires a heat source. Walter suggests tea, and Walter confirms that would work. Walter has found that all the victims have brown eyes. He tells Broyles it’s a good job Broyles wasn’t there.
Walter wants to head back to the lab. He has an idea. Peter offers to drive. Outside, the killer asks a police officer if that’s Bishop. He’s told it’s Dr Bishop. The man says he, Walter, looks just like his father.
Back at the lab, Walter has modelled the toxin. The person is proud of his work though the toxin is quite rudimentary. Peter recognises it; it’s highly regulated. Walter has found carbon molecules that make a signature. Peter thinks it looks like a seahorse. That means something to Walter. His father, Dr Robert Bishop, was nicknamed the Seahorse. He worked at the University of Berlin and didn’t come to the U.S. in 1933 like Peter thought, but 1943. Walter fudged the dates. Peter asks if Walter is saying his grandfather was a Nazi. Technically, yes. But actually an Allied spy sabotaging German research and passing scientific information to the Americans. He developed the formula as a theory. The information was smuggled out in German novels. Which Peter sold. Walter is not happy.
They still need to find the killer and there’s one question that never really gets asked. What sort of person would a Holocaust survivor be both horrified and surprised to see alive?